Location: Whidbey Island, WA

[Brandi]

please note, all of these questions are generic and will be asked for all locations so some may sound silly. The questions underneath each area are only there to help you think. Please feel free to skip things that don't apply or to elaborate on things that I did not mention.

Housing:
(How is military housing there? Which area did you live in and did you like it? Is it affordable to buy or rent in town and if so what areas would you recommend? Any additional thoughts?)


Schools:
(Which schools did your kids attend? Did you like them? Did your kids like them? How do you think the school system was overall? Any schools you would recommend over others? Did you go to college while you were there? If so, which college and how did you like it? Any additional thoughts?)


Shopping:
(How are the commissary and NEX? Do you shop there or out in town? What stores are available out in town? What is the local shopping like? Malls? Any places you recommend? Any additional thoughts?)


Cost of living:
(What is the cost of living like? High? Average? Low? How did it effect your family? Was there anything special you had to do to make ends meet? Any additional thoughts?)


Military Community:
(How is the military community? Are there resources for family and spouses? Any likes or gripes? Additional thoughts?)


Recreation:
(What is there to do in the area for adults? For kids/families? Is there anything within a few hours driving distance?)


Weather:
(What's the weather like? Mild? Seasonal? Hot? Humid? Rainy? Cold? Are there seasons?)


Overall:
(Would you go back again? Why or why not? What are your main likes and gripes?)

[April]

Housing:
(How is military housing there? Which area did you live in and did you like it? Is it affordable to buy or rent in town and if so what areas would you recommend? Any additional thoughts?)
Yes there is military housing. We lived in Crescent Harbor. It is off base. It’s fairly nice with quite a bit of renovated units. The neighborhood is fairly clean and well kept (of course there are always some less kept up than others). Decent houses out in town are really expensive for the island. New houses on the Sea plane base are being built (2006 and 2007). There are actually 2 bases. The Seaplane base has the commissary and NEX, some housing, thrift store, minimart, and lodge. Ault field is where most sailors work, the chapel, chiefs club, officers club, movie theatre, and small NEX.

Schools:
(Which schools did your kids attend? Did you like them? Did your kids like them? How do you think the school system was overall? Any schools you would recommend over others? Did you go to college while you were there? If so, which college and how did you like it? Any additional thoughts?)
NAS Whidbey Island is in the city of Oak Harbor. School District is http://www.ohsd.net/
Crescent Harbor Elementary is in the Crescent Harbor housing area. There are quite a few schools in this small town including a Christian school and a “school of choice”. School of choice is a public school that wears uniforms.

Shopping:
(How are the commissary and NEX? Do you shop there or out in town? What stores are available out in town? What is the local shopping like? Malls? Any places you recommend? Any additional thoughts?)
Commissary and NEX are ok. There is very little shopping on the island. Oak Harbor has a new Home Depot and a Walmart and Kmart. Applebees is the only chain restaurant on the island besides fast food. Other shopping, a small mall, Costco……pretty much anything is approximately an hour away.

Cost of living:
(What is the cost of living like? High? Average? Low? How did it effect your family? Was there anything special you had to do to make ends meet? Any additional thoughts?)
Cost of living is average. I grew up in a very low cost of living area and then went to Hawaii where COL is high. I’d say Whidbey Island area is somewhere in the middle to high middle range.


Military Community:
(How is the military community? Are there resources for family and spouses? Any likes or gripes? Additional thoughts?)
The military community is great. Lots of support and programs for family/spouses. There are very few job opportunities in the area. If you know (or suspect) you will need childcare you need to be put on the waiting list. The wait can be fairly lengthy at times.


Recreation:
(What is there to do in the area for adults? For kids/families? Is there anything within a few hours driving distance?)
The mountains are quite near and there is a good long snow skiing season. Lots of boating and camping in the summer. Summer programs for children are pretty good.


Weather:
(What's the weather like? Mild? Seasonal? Hot? Humid? Rainy? Cold? Are there seasons?)
The weather is very mild. The winters are long and cool but hardly below freezing for more than a day. It just stays cooler for a lot longer, around 40-50 for about 9 months. Mid-June to Mid-September temperatures are around 80 maybe 90 on some days. Very few houses have air conditioning. Sleeping with the windows open is comfortable. Also, there is some humidity but it’s not overwhelming.


Overall:
(Would you go back again? Why or why not? What are your main likes and gripes?)
I would not go back by choice. It is just too remote and small town with very little to do close by.

[rosebud*]

Housing:
(How is military housing there? Which area did you live in and did you like it? Is it affordable to buy or rent in town and if so what areas would you recommend? Any additional thoughts?)
I live in unrenovated Crescent Harbor housing. I sometimes like it, the yards are nice, it's nice to not have to worry about spills( in the house,no carpet only tile). I would have liked to live in renovated for the garage aspect. Affordability depends on what size house or apartment you need. There is no way me and dh could afford to live out in town with our family size and make ends meet. There are several housing areas to choose from and most are fairly new, all accept pets, some with restrictions though. The upside: any lawn not in a fenced area is mowed by a landacape company.
Schools:
(Which schools did your kids attend? Did you like them? Did your kids like them? How do you think the school system was overall? Any schools you would recommend over others? Did you go to college while you were there? If so, which college and how did you like it? Any additional thoughts?)
Crescent Harbor Elementary. It's ok, I feel that the school system is wayy behind here. The school is nice, the teachers are good and pretty involved. Since this school has a 85% or so military community the kids learn all about moving away. I went to Skagit Valley College and the WWU magnet school. Both were great. The college doesn't always have the class you want because it is satallite campus, but I think they do offer a good selection.

Shopping:
(How are the commissary and NEX? Do you shop there or out in town? What stores are available out in town? What is the local shopping like? Malls? Any places you recommend? Any additional thoughts?)
I don't like the NEX because I don't think they have things that are really practical or inexpensive especially kids clothes. And it never fails that when you have a child it seems like everyone has the same age and sex as your child because when you go to buy clothes or diapers that size is always sold out. Also there are hardly any good boy's clothes that I saw anyway. THe nearest mall is 30 minutes away in Burlington. The Commisary was renovated about 3 years ago and it is much bigger and has a good selection of food. There is a Home Depot, an Applebees, as well as rumours of a Target, someday. If you venture out of Oak Harbor and travel the Island you can find great stores down in Langley as well as other towns. During the spring and summer time there is a Swap Meet in the Everett area

Cost of living:
(What is the cost of living like? High? Average? Low? How did it effect your family? Was there anything special you had to do to make ends meet? Any additional thoughts?)
COst of Living is High here, gas is high, food out in town is high and rent is high. It's an Island.

Military Community:
(How is the military community? Are there resources for family and spouses? Any likes or gripes? Additional thoughts?)
SOmetimes the locals resent you it's a slightly older community, so we mean loud noise and parties. lol. I always feel like the Military community is focused on the single sailor out here. There aren't many jobs here and there is a slight well you are military attitude. Childcare is difficult at best and if you have an infant,under the age of 2 forget it. It is next to impossible. Hourly day care is expensive and regular day time care is expensive.

Recreation:
(What is there to do in the area for adults? For kids/families? Is there anything within a few hours driving distance?)
If you like the outdoors this is a great place to be. There are tons of camping areas and hiking trails, not to mention fishing, clamming and all kinds of beach wild life out here. Mount Baker has Hot Springs. If you go to Seattle there is lots of culture and all kinds of neat stuff to do there too.
Weather:
(What's the weather like? Mild? Seasonal? Hot? Humid? Rainy? Cold? Are there seasons?)
I like it because it doesn't get freezing cold, you get used to the rain, not really like it but get used to it. When the sun is out it's great and not too hot.
Overall:
(Would you go back again? Why or why not? What are your main likes and gripes?)
I like it here, I would def come back ( this is our second tour here). I like that I feel safe here and there are lots of out door things to do. I don't always like the rain.

[andrea]

Housing:
(How is military housing there? Which area did you live in and did you like it? Is it affordable to buy or rent in town and if so what areas would you recommend? Any additional thoughts?)
I don't know much about the housing here. I've seen some near the seaplane base and it seems to be town homes with paneling, very typical housing. There are some new houses on the base, but I don't know who qualifies for that. I live near the air base and I really like it. Off of Crosby there are several new homes. Housing here is kinda pricey. When I was looking at home rentals, I didn't see anything nice for under $1,100. Buying is expensive too, but since the market is turning towards buyers, maybe the prices will drop. On the other hand, it may be hard to sell in a few years if the market is still bad. I haven't run into any bad neighborhoods here. Near the seaplane base the homes are older, smaller and more run down looking.

Schools:
(Which schools did your kids attend? Did you like them? Did your kids like them? How do you think the school system was overall? Any schools you would recommend over others? Did you go to college while you were there? If so, which college and how did you like it? Any additional thoughts?)
I don't have any kids, so I don't know about the schools. The community college here is nice, Skagit. I go there a lot because that is where the city library is, and I use their testing center. There is a university that holds classes at the community college here too (if you are looking to get a BA or BS).


Shopping:
(How are the commissary and NEX? Do you shop there or out in town? What stores are available out in town? What is the local shopping like? Malls? Any places you recommend? Any additional thoughts?)
Commissary is nice. Its the only commissary I've been to that reminds me of an actual grocery store. The NEX is okay. I was surprised to see how expensive some of their stuff is (women's clothing and such). There are not many places to shop around here, as others have mentioned. Burlington mall is okay, I've been to MUCH better malls.


Cost of living:
(What is the cost of living like? High? Average? Low? How did it effect your family? Was there anything special you had to do to make ends meet? Any additional thoughts?)
High-Average.


Military Community:
(How is the military community? Are there resources for family and spouses? Any likes or gripes? Additional thoughts?)
Um, I haven't really gotten involved much with the military community here.


Recreation:
(What is there to do in the area for adults? For kids/families? Is there anything within a few hours driving distance?)
Lots of outdoor stuff.


Weather:
(What's the weather like? Mild? Seasonal? Hot? Humid? Rainy? Cold? Are there seasons?)
Cold and cloudy ALL the time. It can get VERY windy here. I hear the summers are nice, I haven't experienced one yet.


Overall:
(Would you go back again? Why or why not? What are your main likes and gripes?)
I love the west coast, and I would come back here if it was the only way we could stay on the west coast. But I really hate the constant cloudy weather.