NY vs SC Nuke training base

[SailorsSweetheartJessie]

Hi everyone! My fiance and I are getting married this summer in between Power school and Prototype :D We were talking about whether he should request that he go to Prototype school at the NY base, or stay in Charleston SC. Does anyone know pros and cons for either place? Thank you!
p.s. Any tips for planning a wedding or starting a new marriage in the Navy would be greatly appreciated too! Thanks! 

[Caitlin]

Do you have a definitive start and end date for both? I know the issue we ran into was we thought my husband was going to be done A school by a certain date, so we planned our wedding for when he should have had a break. However, when he got to Pcola he found out his A school is backed up and he won't class up now until Feb or March so we had to cancel our plans. We made sure every contract included the ability to change our date if necessary. So far I would say the best advice I would give is be prepared to be flexible and be prepared to have to sacrifice some things. Hopefully you don't have to go through what we did! We ended up planning a wedding in two weeks for when he came home for New Years and we are going to plan a big church wedding when we have official dates. Best of luck to you though! It is definitely a different experience for everyone.

[Anti M]

My nephew went through prototype in New York, he really enjoyed the area.  It was slower going, let's just say there were fewer issues at SC (even in training there's OPSEC, yeah?).  And no winter in SC.  Everyone rents in NY, even the single guys, so usually nukes rent a big house and share the expenses and pocket the spare change from the BAH.

@Caitlin, nukes have a more structured timeline than other A schools.  Different world than the other Navy schools.  She'll probably know her dates well in advance, but your flexibility advice is spot on!

[miss magoo]

Hi :)  Well I can't say much about the actual schooling I can tell you a little bit about life around the NY prototype base since I grew up there.  I actually met my sailor while he was stationed there for prototype.  First I'll give you the pros:  the area is absolutely beautiful and there are tons of out door activities to do year round.  Ballston Spa/Saratoga is at the base of the Adirondack mountain range which means in the winter there's ski and snowboard slopes all around, and in the summer there is tons of hiking, lakes to visit/swim/boat in, places to camp and explore if that's what you're into.  There is also a pretty cool bar and restaurant scene in downtown saratoga and the surrounding areas (actually one of the highest bars per capita in the U.S., or at least that's the rumor.)  The town itself has a nice quaint home/small town feel while still having plenty to offer as far as variety, diversity and activities.  And if you're there during the late summer, the track is a huge part of Saratoga culture and a fun thing to do during the day.  In the fall there's gorgeous foliage and of course pumpkin patches and apple picking, hayrides, all the cute fall stuff is abundant.  It's also only a 3 hour drive to both Boston and NYC which make visiting those cities for a weekend or even day trip completely doable.  

As for cons, the biggest one would have to be the weather.  Winters can be bitter cold and very snowy, and during the summer temperatures can be in the high 90's with humidity to match (but summers are the same, if not worse in SC - they were spared the winters though.)  And unless you live near downtown saratoga, you're probably going to have to drive places.  

As someone else posted, most sailors rent in the area using their BAH, and many will choose to rent a large house together.  There is base housing as well and it's pretty nice, as well as plenty of 1-2 bedroom apartments around town that are completely affordable on BAH (we lived in one.) 

I can't really say much about SC since i've never been there!  Good luck with everything and let me know what the outcome is.  if you go to NY i can give you pointers and places to go :)

[Emily-aaronsgirl11]

My husband went through all of it in SC, including Prototype. 

They don't provide housing no matter where you go to Prototype, so they live off base. My husband just found a random roommate from his prototype class and roomed with him for six months. They got a nice two bedroom apartment for less than the price of their BAH, so they were both able to pocket a decent amount.

It kind of varies from time to time which plants are getting more graduates through, so that's not really a consideration you should consider. When my husband went through some of his friends got stuck up in NY for a few more months even though they started around the same time because of issues. 

It's pretty much the same exact training, the difference is the location... Do you have family closer to NY or SC? If so, that could be a deciding factor. Would you rather live in NY vs SC weather wise, culture wise. The plant in NY isn't too far from NYC from what I can tell, so if that's your kind of scene for a day trip, go for NY. If you like winter and snow and ice, go for NY. The plant in SC is really close to Charleston (obviously), so if you like the beach and the downtown scene, go for SC. If you like the warm weather and the 50 degree winters, go for SC. 

[SailorsSweetheartJessie]

Thank you everybody! I really appreciate the help :)