We currently live off base and don't like it. So we put ourselves on the housing list for vogelweh apartments a few weeks ago. They said the wait is 3-5 months. Im wondering if anyone has recently move on base, did it really take that long?? 

We went on the list in August on a Monday. That Friday, housing called us with a house. We were number 175 on the list. They gave us a month so we could give our landlord notice.

From what the lady at housing said, most people on the list only want to live on Ramstein because of the school district. That's why we were able to get a house so quickly on Vogelweh. 

Also, it depends on how many rooms you need, the 2 bedroom list for Vogelweh goes pretty quickly. 

We were on the list for Ramstein for 10 months, added Vogelweh to our options and we were offered a place in less than a week... we were #59 on the list when we decided to add Vogelweh... 

We are wanting ramstien because my son is efmp and he has attended ramstein for 3 years now and do not want him to transfer if possible. With military and everything, they move enough as it is. But we have been waiting for ramstein, jr nco 3 bed for almost a year and nothing. It's frustrating when i hear people who get on housing, especially townhomes there that have not been here long and coming from the states. I think the housing is a bunch, umm yeah.... 

The more kids you have, the quicker you get town homes. Like you are rewarded for having lots of kids or something. 

Maybe it's to save people's sanity in the stairwells so they don't have to hear lots of little feet running across the floor because a family of six is living in a 3 bedroom apartment. 

yeah i have two but i also have two dogs who like to run around and go out alot, so to save myself, the dogs and whichever may become our surrounding neighbors, we won't move into a stairwell. Our nighbors would go crazy hearing dogs running around plus we just have way too much junk to move in there...We are 27 on the list for ramstein for the last month so we are keeping our fingers crossed...lol 

We were on the Housing list for all 3 bases and it took us 2 years :( my husband is an AF Lt and we have three kids... I have found that a lot of the higher ranks (major and above) move directly onto base... We are in stairwell on Ramstein now and I am so much happier than when we lived out in Miesau.... 

Thanks everyone hopefully I will be getting a call soon because we just need a two bedroom. We made the mistake of getting a house all the way in homburg and it's such a hassle! 

Besides schooling, what is the appeal of living on base??

Personally, I'd be utterly miserable. But that's me. 

Bethany...the part about higher ranks moving directly onto the base is not true. My husband is a Lt. Col. and we have been on the housing list almost a year. I also have two friends who are also on that list, one is a Major and one is a Lt. Col Select and both of those have been on the list one for over a year and the other for almost a year. I have only known 1 family that moved directly into base housing when they PCS'd in and that was because his job required him to live on base. I am not sure if it is because anything Major and above get a house (so I am told) and there is a HUGE wait list for those on Ramstein. 

My husband's commander moved directly on base, but they were only able to get into stairwell housing on Vogelweh. I'm guessing it is also tied to what you are willing to accept.

We lived on base last time we were stationed here, and it was fine. We live off base this time and it is fine. It helps that our landlord is an american who has lived here since the 50's or 60's, so communication was never a barrier, and he is used to dealing with military people, so understands the pitfalls that sometimes occur. I know that there are some areas I would not be happy living in. 

a2900765uu.... Sorry, I was just going by the 3 ladies I met that live in the new housing behind us... They are all Lt Col and moved strait from TLF on to base housing... They have only been in Germany for 4 months and had to stay just 3 weeks in TLF. Our squadron commander, also an Lt Col moved straight on to base housing. I was just going by the people I personally know..
Sorry... 

I would be happy living off base if we were closer But we want to move on base now because we don't want to pay the deposit again and everything. Dealing with finance is such a hassle! 

a2900765uu, We were told when we first got on the housing list, if my husband had a line number for msg because if he did, we could get in one faster. SO rank does have something to do with it and the type of house you get. 

The benefits of living on base is:

You don't have to deal with paying house bills, such as heat, water, garbage, electricity, and so on and so on. Winter you can use heat a little more, my kids can walk to school and back, alot more parks and a little safer for the kids to play and the townhomes are alot nicer than some of the houses they have around here that charge a outrageous fee. 

Bethany, I did not mean to sound as if I were correcting you I was just stating that in most instances it is not true just because you are higher ranking you get to move in right away. There are lots of factors. If you are willing to live on Vogelweh you may move in faster. Some jobs have a requirement of living on base. If you are willing to live in stairwell vs. a house. I was told that a Lt. Col. get s a 4 bedroom house and the wait is more than a year. Again I did not mean to sound harsh just stating personal experiences. I do have some enlisted friends that moved in wayyy faster because they had housiing available but the wait for officers for a townhouse is a long one. 

And we wonder why the utility usage on base is at an all time high. 

For me, the appeal to living on base is being within walking distance of parks, friends and other things that I don't have access to without a car. And, I know they have the public transit here, but I did that once and with 2 kids it's just more difficult than it's worth. 

Yep a2900765, I am waiting for a towhome. Probably won't get one but the stair well housing is not something we are interested in. As far as the utiltiy usuage being at a all time high, i can't talk for other poeple but i do keep my consumption low. But heat for my kids is somthing i don't mess with. 

I don't see what the point to "living" overseas is - if you want to live in an American enclave, you probably shouldn't leave the States.

And everything gets taken out of our account automatically - so I don't worry about the water, gas, electricity, garbage or rent. And our house is huge, with radiant floor heating (it's new, also). And is it actually safer on base? We've had things stolen right out of our car while on base (broken window, stolen jacket)... so I'm not convinced of the safety factor. And the village we live in is very quiet, no problems.

Sorry. *shrug* I just don't understand the appeal.

And Mojo - my husby works at HQ and they've been discussing putting a cap on certain utilities and making people pay if they go over. In the States, I've been to some houses on base where it's been like a sauna in winter - 85F and kids running around in diapers only. Talk about Fraud, Waste, and Abuse!!! ;0) 

JuggsBunny....

Our utilities are low also..but the house we are in, is hard to heat. During night and part of the day (when it is just the youngest and I) it is 64-66 in the house. At night, and early morning when we are more here, it is 66-68. We only heat part of the house and have still used just over 2000 liters of oil.

We don't waste or abuse. I hang dry clothes and do what I can to save energy. It is just harder to heat the houses here. Especially when you have an older one.

I would like to see it in base housing though. I've seen waste there....at many bases. 

You can live on base and still experience living overseas just the same. Of course if you never get out and do anything but that is the same as if you lived off base. Not every company takes all your bills directly out because none of mine do and it wasnt an option, even my landlord only takes cash. My house is 100 years old and is very hard to heat so yes I am looking forward to moving on base where its not 50 degrees at all times. 

I agree there should be a cap on electricity on housing, pending on how large your houshold is. The older houses here are very hard to keep heated off base. If you stand close to the window you can actually feel the cold air blow in. Not very insulated. As far as us experiencing what German has to offer for us, what does that have to do with wanting to live on base for our kids sake? I also said a little more safer, which could mean numerous things. I didn't say it was one hundred percent safer, everywhere you go will have some kind of trouble. I do travel and see germany so that comment american enclave really doesn't apply here. Some of us are not lucky enough to find that big huge house that it seem you have. Some of us are lower ranking, sra and below who can't afford to live off base to experience "germany". You can experience germany and not have to live off base. In this case, it's basically your own preference to live on or off base. 

JugsBunny... No matter if you like it over here or not, many people did not have a choice to come here. Once you get orders, you go where the military sends you. To tell people they shouldn't leave the states is sort of silly when so many people on here are active duty. 

Hi everyone,

I work for housing in the KMC. Rank DOES NOT MATTER (unless you are key personnel). There are different lists based on your rank. I.E. if you are an E-7 looking for a 3 bedroom, you will not be competing with officers or JNCOs looking for a 3 BR. Only those that are SNCOs looking for the same type of housing.

We give you the wait times because we honestly do not know the exact wait time you will get an offer. The wait times could be drastically different from person to person. If contracting finishes construction on a lot of homes at one time, you may be bumped up 25 spots within a week or so. And when the summer comes, these numbers will be even hard to predict because everyone is PCSing in and out. 

I find if odd that Red Cross people are allowed to live in base housing. My friend's upstairs and downstairs neighbors are both red cross people, single women, living in 3 bedroom housing. When there is such a long list of active duty personnel waiting to get on base I find it strange that civillian employees are allowed housing. 

JuggsBunny, we've lived off base for 2 years now, and I enjoyed it, while I had a car. Now that we are back to a 1 car family, the area that we live doesn't have much to offer within walking distance. I would much prefer to stay in our off base house but then we'd end up putting money we could be using for traveling into a car. I'd rather live on base, forget worrying about a 2nd car and be able to use that money to do things.

I didn't "choose" to come to Germany, it was chosen for me. And we have tried to make the most of the local economy and have really enjoyed it. You may not see the appeal of living on base, but there are some of us who just know it would be better for our family. 

We were living off base for half a year when we got on the list for Vogelweh, where my husband works. Two weeks later we got picked up for the SNCO town houses.
They are wonderful and I don't have to deal with traffic on back roads, snooty landlord, sky high utility bills and my baby in a school bus for 2 hrs total each day driven by a lunatic. Now my kid can walk to school and as far as me not experiencing Germany, well I am German, grew up here and it's not like I can't leave base. There are many spouses just as stuck off base somewhere isolated in some tiny town that's not exactly experiencing Europe either...