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I think the worst thing a young enlisted could do is buy a house near a base.

Here’s why:

I have seen deployments become permanent. In the First Gulf War, many units were returned to a different permanent bases elsewhere when the fighting was done.

Base closures still happen. It really sucks to suddenly own a home nobody wants and you have to leave.

My advice?

Rent off base. Be part of the community but not tied to the market there. We did so in Germany and it was the best experience of our lives. Got to really understand the people and language. Rarely had to cook for ourselves; friends always wanted us to come over. Through my many purchases of Weber grills I taught the neighborhood to really grill and BBQ, American style! Oh, and we even had a guy deliver beer and wine to our house, twice a week.

Wait. if you’re planning on a military career, live on base and save money. Someday, you WILL own property, and have a nice nest egg to pay for a lot of it.

I didn’t buy a house until I was an E-8 and getting ready to retire. I bought a farm, actually, and a nice quiet one in the country. Still loving it, 21 years later!