advice on housing

[NavyDoll Ebony]

Me and my fiance plan on gttn married in the nxt couple of months.I dnt knw how any of the housing works. How soon do we sign up for housing? Before or after we are married? How long does it usually take to get it? And is it best to live on or off base? Our area will be san diego. So anyone who knows first hand on that area please help. But just in general anyone else who knws about housing/marriage please help as well. thank you.

[Anti M]

No one can sign up for housing until they are married.  San Diego does have a wait list, I don't know what the current time frame is, but when we were there is was almost a year.  We chose to live offbase because we didn't want to move again and we liked our condo.  Housing isn't really on base, it is a baselike area.  

[Jasmine<3]

My sailor and I are also getting married in the next couple months he stationed in GL and i live an hour away. We already found the apartment we want, which is across from school i plan on attending this fall. I just want to know if we get married next month, do you think the process will be over before classes start in september?

[Anti M]

At Great Lakes, it takes longer to get approval to marry than to do the paperwork after.  Be sure you have already ordered your birth certificate now so you have it in hand to give to them.  A really good office can get your DEERS paperwork and ID card done in one afternoon.  But it can take time if they stumble over details.  Just be sure you have your SSN card, your birth certificate, and your state issued ID/driver's license all ready to go before you go get married.

Also, it can take a few weeks for him to get his Live Ashore packet approved so he can stay offbase with you.  

BAH, the housing allowance, can take a few pay cycles to kick in, so save up. THAT could take as long as September.  You'll need the deposit money anyway.  

[Jasmine<3]

Thank so much I had no clue they have to approve us to get married. We would like to get married on the second, so should we start the process now? And I all those documents ready.  

[Anti M]

Yes, have him submit the special request chit.  Great Lakes gets picky about that, they can require him to take a class of have an appointment to talk to a chaplain.  He shouldn't skip this step, he could potentially lose privileges for not letting the Navy know beforehand.  

[Absoltuekraze]

I'm a native San diegan and we're currently stationed there as well. I wouldn't get too close to the 32nd street base cause its a pretty rough neighborhood, but closer to 60th street and El Cajon Blvd (the college area near San Diego state university) there are lots of apartments and houses and its not a bad drive to base. And the nieghborhood isn't too bad. There are a lot of areas within 20 minutes of base...too many to name honestly. I used Craigslist to find my apartment. Just Google the address to see how close it is to base.

Keep in mind it'll take a while for you guys to start receiving the housing allowance. You have to file the paperwork and wait for them to process it. It took almost two months for us to get ours cause there were problems with our paperwork. They will give you back pay when it does kick in though which is a nice chunk of money.

[Anti M]

If he has orders and they aren't married yet, they'll need to save up to get her out there too, it won't be a paid move.   

We lived in Birdland, which is above Mission Valley, near Linda Vista.  On a little mesa south of Children's Hospital and Juvie detention.   Nice quiet area.  Even folks from San Diego often don't know about it.

[NavyDoll Ebony]

idk what u mean by orders. sorry im so foreign to the military language. i knw he comes back from deployment in a few wks and his base is san diego. and doesnt go on deployment again until nxt summer. so how do i know?

[Anti M]

Usually the question is asked by a fiance whose sailor is moving to a new base (orders tell them where to go).  I was guessing in general since you didn't say.  Yours is already on a ship, so nevermind about the orders.  Still, the Navy won't pay for you to move to San Diego.  

[jmasseca]

Hello!!! 

I am getting married this August and then my husband will be deployed for eight months but when he returns I plan on moving to SD. Okay, so I know this may sound pretty stupid but I am not 100% sure how this works yet. I was talking to my fiance and he said after we get married the navy will be paying us more money because he is married. Is there paperwork that I need to fill out in order to get that? And what about housing allowance? Since my fiance will be gone for eight months I want to try and have all the paperwork and everything taken care of by the time he gets home so we don't have to wait months to get it. We will probably live off base so I don't think we will have to wait for a place on base but can you tell me where I find the paperwork to fill out for all this stuff?? Thank you so much for your help! 

And your bit about where to look for places is helpful, if you have any other ideas or information about anything, marriage, money, looking for places please feel free to just write to me! Any information is greatly appreciated! 

[Angie]

The Navy isn't going to pay to move you to where you soon to be hubby is.  Also there is a waiting list to get into housing, which means there isn't enough room for everyone so you have to wait, if you want base housing.  BUT if you decide to wait for base housing, the Navy isn't going to put you up somewhere for that year plus time frame, you will need to find a place to live out in town..while you wait for housing.  Than when you are allowed to move into base housing, you will have to move your own stuff to housing the Navy won't do it for you.

 

So a few things to save up for...1) the move from where ever you are now to where your soon to be husband is 2) save up money for an apt (as was said before, it will take a few weeks to a few months for the extra Navy pay to kick in) 3) security payments and start up costs for an apt (first, last month rent, down payment for utilitys) 4) furniture (unless you have some and are taking it with, than add more money on to #1)

[mary [AJ's Wife]]

When my husband and I first got married we went to the housing office and got a house that day. That was in nuke school in South Carolina. Where we are now in Washington State their is always a waiting list for housing. As to if it is better to live on or off base. I loved living on base in SC but I hate it here in Washington. Their are to many restrictions and problems with the company in charge of housing. We are actually moving off base. I did have a friend who just got transfers to San Diego and they chose to live off base because it is so crowed on. I think it just depends on how much stress you can take. As for you getting married my number one piece of advice would be to make friends. It is very lonely if you do not have friends. I am across the country from my family so I really needed friends. Congratulations on your marriage and keep supporting your sailor and our country.