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?)

Andersen Air Force Base
Housing:
Due to Typhoons, the housing on base (Air Force) is concrete and not the prettiest to look at but will stand up to a Super Typhoon. The insides are nice if you can get a remodeled home, but they are all the same size so no matter how many rooms you have you still have the same amount of space (equals smaller living area if you have more bedrooms). We will not live off-base because the theft rate is somewhat high and it is just easier for us to live on-base, however the housing is pretty affordable for an island.

Schools:
The schools off-base are struggling for money (most but not all) however all military students (elementary and middle school) go to the DOD school, Andersen Elementary/Andersen Middle schools. The high school students are bused off-base but the high school is well taken care of due to the high number of military students.

Shopping:
Commissary is average sized and offers the normal varieties of items. The check-out lines are not usually that bad. The AAFES is small, however they are in the process of building a new AAFES mall and once it is done it will be monster sized (lol).

Cost of living:
I would say average for an Island but high for a mainlander (like us). COLA does seem to cover most of the extra costs, but not all.

Military Community:
Due to this being an Island that is well over 6000 miles from mainland USA, the military community is great! We are all everyone's extended families. Both the Navy & Air Force bases allow members from either branch to reside on their base so we have a mixture of branches which makes it more interesting!

Recreation:
First, it is an island so there is ALWAYS the beach ;) There are also a lot of memorials and various drives/parks to visit. The tourist area has an abundance of night clubs, bars, pool halls, etc and a very large aquarium exhibit where you can go under water and see the fish in their ocean habitat. There are always free hops to Japan and Hawaii; and Australia is only 5 hours away (Oye mate!)

Weather:
Hot & Humid - around 70's to low 90's depending on the time of day. Typhoons can pop up with less than 3 days notice so we are always on alert. The actual season is from May to December, but can happen anytime. Rainy season is from July to September/October but as long as you (your kids) have an umbrella/rain slicker you are fine!

Overall:
I LOVE it here. Granted we haven't been here for a long time but the community, the island, the school, the people, etc make this a great place to be stationed!
:tu :tu :tu :tu :tu