1. Your name (as you would like it to appear):
AJ

2. Army Post Name:
Ft. Richardson, now called JBER (Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson)

3. Army Post Location:
Alaska, just outside of Anchorage

4. Dates When You Lived Here (please include year):
09/2008 – 05/2010

5. How is housing? On-post? Off-post?
Our BAH was approx 1800.00 – we lived in on post housing, but on the Elmendorf side due to insufficient housing on the Richardson side but the Richardson housing office was very good about getting us to the Elmendorf housing office to get housing. From what I now understand ALL the housing on Richardson & Elmendorf has been privatized and the standards of housing are improving on the Army side.

Off post starting at around 1500.00 for two bedroom and this doesn’t even include the extras like cable, electricity, internet and landline phone service, other possible charges are garbage pick-up and natural gas used for heating and hot water usage in most areas.

Personally I recommend on-post/on-base housing there because it is so costly to live there.

6. Rate the PX and Commissary.
Commissary serves its purpose but is sometimes limited in selection of some items, depending on what time of year it is and distribution.
The PX serves its purpose as well but again, some things are limited due to AK being detached from the remainder of the US.

7. Are there activities on post? Is there lodging on post?
There is on-post lodging on Richardson as well as the Air Force Inn on the Elmendorf side.
Most activities are during the brief summer months which are usually the end of May thru August. School starts back in September (or late August). They do have baseball leagues and soccer leagues for the children, some FRG’s have leagues as well. During the winter there are some ski/winter activity lodges on both sides of post/base as well.

8. What is there to do in the area?
If you enjoy the outdoors there is fishing, hiking, kayaking, skiing. There are also some tours with the Alaska Railroad and glacier cruises out of Whittier and Seward, skiing and other things at Aleyska, Denali Nat’l Park as well.

9. Rate the school system.
On post and Eagle River area schools are fine. I do not know of off post other than ER so I cannot say for certain.

10. Are there colleges in the area? Please list.
University of Alaska, Anchorage (UAA) – several Army wives are attending there and say it’s a good school
There are some other, smaller colleges/technical schools as well in the area. I believe there is also a branch of a couple of colleges on post.

11. How is the job situation? What types of jobs are in the area for spouses?
The economy isn’t helping right now but I do know of some wives who have worked or work at places like Starbucks, AT&T, Michaels, Best Buy, and for professionals, the State of Alaska and local city/municipality agencies are usually hiring as well.

12. Favorite aspect of the post and surrounding area?
It’s located in what is called “The Anchorage Bowl” – scenic and beautiful for those who have never been anywhere like AK or somewhere comparable.

13. Least favorite aspect?
Not a lot to do during the winter months except go to the gym or the movies.

14. List any local websites.
www.mwrarmyalaska.com
www.usarak.army.mil

http://fortrichardsonhousing.com

www.anchorage.net
www.alaskaanchorage.net
www.adn.com
www.muni.org
www.dot.state.ak.us/anc

Your Name (if you would like it to appear):

Maren

Base Name:

Ft Wainwright

Base Location:

Fairbanks, AK

How long have you been here? (give years please, ex. 2003-present)

May 2007- present

What is housing like? On-post? (waiting list, conditions, etc.) Off-post? Any areas to stay away from? Average price to rent or buy?

We live off post and really prefer it. We have a two bedroom, one bathroom apartment right between the University and post. We pay $925 +electric. Prices in town can be a bit steep. For a 2 bedroom 1 bath apartment you can expected anywhere from $800 to $1200 a month. For the more adventurous you can rent cabins for $150 – $400 a month, but many don’t have water. I would stay away from North Pole and South Cushman. There tends to be a lot of violence and drug use in both areas from my understanding. The new homes on post seem very nice, but the older places I have only heard complaints about. One of my friends has an older place and in the basement she has pipes labeled “caution: asbestos.” If you don’t have kids I would suggest avoiding living on post, you can find a cheaper place in town that’s more suitable for two people

Rate the PX & Commissary.

The PX is pricy and small. If you need something, go to Walmart or Freddies. Often the PX doesn’t have things that you need anyways (like power steering fluid… those lines break a lot in winter) The commissary is cheap, but like the PX there is a lot that you can’t get there either. And definitely go to Walmart for milk. On post it is around $5 a gallon, at Walmart it is $3 a gallon. Be prepared to be run over a lot if you go to the commissary.

Activities on base?

If you look you can find it. People off post aren’t told about the opportunities as much. The gym is rather nice and there is open hockey and skating in the winter time at their indoor rink. There are sports leagues you can get involved with, a ski hill that doubles as a skeet range in summer, a golf course, a river, and countless hiking, cross country skiing, snowmobiling and 4×4 trails on birch hill.

Active Spouses Club?

The officers wives club recently turned into a general spouses club, but they can be elusive. I only found out about them through http://www.myspace.com/ftwainwrightwives an offshoot club of the spouses club. The spouses club has its own webpage, but is very rarely updated.

Things to do in area?

Outdoors in the summer is amazing. There is hiking all over the hills (oh by the way, there are no mountains in the Fairbanks area just hills or “domes”) there is floating on the Chena, Nenana, or Tanana rivers. Pioneer park can be a fun little place to take the kids or to shop for your family back in the 48. The MWR offers many programs in the summer and winter. Winter in Fairbanks is different. There is skiing, snowshoeing, dog sledding, and snowmobiling, but expect to be cold. There is a lot of drinking in town due to lack of things to do. Fort Wainwright has the highest amount of DUI’s out of all military bases. Your indoor activities are limited pretty much to going to hockey games, indoor glow in the dark mini golf, and going to the movies. There isn’t much shopping either if you are a shopper. Walmart, Fred Meyers, Old Navy, Sportsmans Warehouse, Barnes and Noble, Gotschalts, Sears, American Eagle, Pac Sun, Hot Topic, and Game Stop. That’s basically the entire list of shopping in town. If you are from a populated place, this is going to be a culture shock.

School System?

No idea. No kids, no plans on them.

Any colleges in area?

The University of Alaska Fairbanks. You get instate tuition with your military ID, but I do not like this school, they have been nothing but difficult. Fall term starts the first Thursday of September, I personally didn’t receive my financial Aide until the first week of November and they charged me late fees in the mean time. Parking is horrible. Unless you pay the hundreds of dollars for preferred parking, you will more than likely be in a dirt covered, un plowed parking lot about ¼ mile from the main classroom buildings. They do have shuttle buses though, but I have heard a rumor that they are going to start charging for them.

Jobs? (on post and off)

On post the PX and commissary are always hiring. Off post, everywhere is hiring. Jobs are not hard to come by up here. Good paying jobs can be a problem though.

Favorite aspect of this base/surrounding city?

It’s beautiful in the summer time! If you love the outdoors you will love this place.

Least favorite aspect?

Neither my husband nor I like Alaska. It is cold, prices on everything are high, and Fairbanks is rather isolated. There really isn’t much to do either. If you don’t have a good car being taken up here, be prepared to go into debt. Well even if you do have a good car make sure you have savings to fix it. The cold is brutal on your car. You need winterization, auto start is recommended (usually between $300 to $900), lines and wires will snap in the cold, and 4 wheel drive is very highly recommended. And after years of locals and natives driving in the winter up here, they still don’t know how to drive, there are a lot of wrecks. Internet service assigns you only so much in downloading a month and if you go over, be prepared to pay big time. Be prepared, as oil prices skyrocket, so is the heating fuel, the main source of heating. Overall we find Alaska to be more of a hassle than fun.

As for the base, its nice, but its very very spread out. The opportunities for spouses are often rather uncoordinated and under publicized. The only way I ever found out about our FRG was by accidentally meeting the FRG leader at the nail salon! I still haven’t found contacts for the spouses club other than postal mail. The events and groups that are easy to find seem to be mostly aimed towards families with children. Although childless families can usually participate, they don’t really fit in. For other events that the soldiers are told about, they are often told of them too late or on very short notice. We had a 4 day notice for 1-24’s annual ball.

Local websites? (base, chamber, newspaper, schools, etc.)

http://wainwrightcsc.org/1801.html spouses club

http://www.wainwright.army.mil/sites/local/ Ft. Wainwright

http://www.uaf.edu/ local university

http://www.newsminer.com/ local paper

http://www.co.fairbanks.ak.us/ParksandRecreation/PioneerPark/ pioneer park

Any other tips?

Stay active! It’s easy in the three months of summer, but its harder in the winter. Probably 80% of the new comers to this state that I have met have gained about 10 pounds within a year of being up here (I went from 118 to 129)  also shop for as much as you can in the lower 48 before coming up here. Clothes and such are expensive and there isn’t much selection up here. Many online stores won’t ship to Alaska or the prices are much higher (Victoria secret for example, add and additional 50% on to regular shipping prices!)

Your Name (if you would like it to appear): Jill

Base Name: Fort Richardson

Base Location: Alaska

How long have you been here? (give years please, ex. 2003-present)

2008-present

What is housing like? On-post? (waiting list, conditions, etc.) Off-post? Any areas to stay away from? Average price to rent or buy?

We live on post.  The waiting list wasn’t long at all, actually we got our house the next day.  The walls are really thin, but the home was old but really nice.  It had new carpet, new dishwasher, fresh paint, etc… We have a really big basement, large bathroom, and 2 very large bedrooms.  They are building new housing and they are suppose to tear down these since they are very very old.  The parking kinda sucks.  You have one parking spot in our housing that is assigned and there is 2 extra ones for 8 homes which is first come first serve.  Off post it can get pretty pricey.  Average rent is 800-3000 depending on what you get.  One of our friends got an apartment and was paying 900 a month, and there wasn’t enough room to turn in it, it was a 1 bed 1 bath, and i kept my shoes on.  There was garbage in the hall ways in the building too.  No real places to stay away from that I know of.  Just be careful going into the woods because of bears and other wildlife.

Rate the PX & Commissary.

I like them both.  The commissary can be crazy crowded on payday so I go a few days before so I can beat the rush.  The prices are ALOT better than going off post!!!  PX-7, BX-8

Activities on base?

There is skiing, a bowling ally, a very big fitness center with indoor pool, and several parks.  I am sure there is more, but we haven’t gotten to explore the entire post and what it has to offer yet.

Active Spouses Club?

My neighbor is very involved in the FRG and loves it, but i do not participate in it so i really couldn’t say with first hand experience.

Things to do in area?

TONS of stuff.  Parks, several malls, different kinds of shopping, theaters, touristy type of stuff too (train rides, day cruises)

School System?

Don’t have kids

Any colleges in area?

University of Alaska is the main one, but I am attending Central Texas College with the help of the ed center.

Jobs? (on post and off)

Since there are so many shops and things to do in town, there are a ton of jobs in anchorage to grab.  There are several people I know that work at the PX on post and seem to like it but I don’t know the salary range for on post but minimum wage here is around 7 an hour.  Most jobs start out at 10+ easily.

Favorite aspect of this base/surrounding city?

So many things to do here and it is really beautiful.

Least favorite aspect?

Thin walls in the housing and the cold temp’s.  It got down to -20′s this past winter.

Any other tips?

Be sure to keep your camera handy, there are moose running around everywhere.  Dress warm.  Make friends with your neighbors because they can make your life miserable if they want to.

Your Name (if you would like it to appear):Kelli B

Base Location:Alaska

How long have you been here? (give years please, ex. 2003-present) November 13th 2007 – present

What is housing like? On-post? (waiting list, conditions, etc.) Off-post? Any areas to stay away from? Average price to rent or buy?On post, its not too bad. We were luck enough to get a 4bdr since we have 3 kids and the full basement comes in handy for storage and a place for the kids to run wild! Off Post – we had done a little looking before we got here and decided to live on post, a 1-2bdr seems to run between 1000 an 1750 a month and some aren’t even nice places, but I guess it depends on what you are looking for

Rate the PX & Commissary. PX is SMALL but has the basics. The commissary is pretty nice

Activities on base? indoor pool, Theatre shows 1 movie a night Fri-Sun

Active Spouses Club? heard there is, but haven’t made it that far…

Things to do in area? Well, if you like hunting and fishing I guess there is plenty to do.I’m not an overly outdoorsy kind of person, but I’m am enjoying the mountains and the snow!

School System? Greely Middle school is on post and seems to be great!Delta Elementary is where my younger two go and I’m not nearly as impressed with it. But, everyone has their opinion.

Any colleges in area? I think UofA @ Fairbanks

Jobs? (on post and off) There might be, haven’t seen anything that just screams “NOW HIRING”

Favorite aspect of this base/surrounding city?The people here on base are wonderful. Everyone is really nice and helpful. The entire area is beautiful which works out well for me since I’m a picture taking fanatic!Least favorite aspect?the long distance to a decent sized town. Delta has a grocery store, a few places to eat, and the schools but not much else that I’ve seen

Local websites? (base, chamber, newspaper, schools, etc.) deltanewsweb.com gives great info about the area, things going on, etc.

Any other tips?bring plenty of warm clothes, especially if you have kids cause the first thing they want to go do is play in the snow!