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?)

I was almost done and lost my entire post. >:( It's too late at night, I'll have to do it again later....

Ok, trying this again....We lived here from 2000-the end of 2002 so everything is from that time period.

NAWS China Lake-there is no lake. China Lake is actually IN a dried up lake bed. The town adjoining the base is named Ridgecrest.

Housing:

At the time, the smallest base housing they had were 3 bedrooms since they were tearing down old housing due to asbestos. They weren't allowing people without kids into housing since the smallest unit was so big and they didn't have a bunch of extras. So we lived out in town. The base housing is a little old but well kept up and is one of the few places with actual air conditioning.

Out in town, the main place you want to stay away from is Sierra Village (nicknamed Crack Village)-they'd recently redone the place, so it looks decent but there are cockroaches and it has that nickname for a reason. Most other places are decent to live.

Rent is VERY low, and so is the cost of buying a house (well it was at the time we lived there).

Do NOT get a place that ONLY has air conditioning-make sure they offer a swamp cooler. Air conditioning in this heat will make your electricity costs be astronomical. A swamp cooler only cools the air in the house 20 degrees cooler than the air outside, but at least it's affordable. People who have both in their house do not use A/C because it's not affordable.

Schools:

I didn't have kids at the time, but my friend grew up in Ridgecrest and said the schools were ok. There is a small college that only offers a few programs.

Shopping:

The commissary is TINY. The NEX is TINY. They had recently added a tiny NEX furniture store about the time we left. There are about 4 grocery stores in town including 2Albertsons and a Vons. For other shopping out in town you have Kmart, Walmart, Mervyns and some small mom and pop places.

If you want more shopping than this, you can drive 1 1/2 hours to Bakersfield or Lancaster (both have malls). I really liked the Lancaster mall-it was decent.

Cost of living:

Cost of living was pretty low.


Military Community:

Since this is a shore based command, the Ombudsmen are practically non-existant. Our command had a few picnics which were nice. The Fleet and Family Support Center is pretty helpful and the people there are very nice-at tax time they do your taxes free at the Center. This is one of the few bases with a LINKS/COMPASS class (a guide to everything you need to know as a military spouse)-I highly recommand any spouses stationed here take advantage of this class since even wives of 20 years learn something new.

Ridgecrest consists of mostly military personell and their families-it's a very military oriented town that would cease to exist should the base ever close. This is a plus because most people are nice to you when they find out you're military, but it's also a hinderance. It's hard for spouses to get decent jobs in this town-most employers here will ask that taboo "how much longer do you have here" question if they see you haven't lived there very long. You pretty much have to know someone working there or be a local to get a decent job.

Recreation:

There is an indoor pool in the gym on base, we think (we can't quite remember). There is an outdoor pool on base with a waterslide (there might be 2, we can't remember). There is also a roller hockey rink on base. On base, they also have an R/C flying club that flies every Saturday morning.

There are some community parks, and a dinner/arcade place called John's Pizza and a small movie theater near the base. John's Pizza has unusual pizza creations and here's a tip: if you want to try a pizza but are afraid you won't like it, get the buffet. Go in knowing what you want to try and before you are seated, ask them to make/put out at the buffet the pizza you want, and they'll do it. I say do it right away because it often takes a while for them to make it and you don't want to be finished with dinner before it comes out. Some of the unusual pizzas they offer include peanut butter pizza and chili pizza.

Other than this, you're going to have to go out of town for recreation. Lake Isabella (yes, a real lake) is about 1/2 hour away. Ridgecrest is the "gateway to Death Valley" which is a pretty neat place to see including a mansion called "Scotty's Castle." There are other more nature attractions that my friend told me about but I never saw and don't remember how to get there. L.A. with Knott's Berry Farm, Six Flags, Disney Land is about 3 hours away, San Diego with Sea World is about 4 hours, and Las Vegas is about 4 hours.

For in town adult entertainment, there are plenty of bars. The best ones are El Charro (when the bar is open and not just the restaurant) and has a D.J. with dance floor. The other best one is Tommy T's with a live band and dance floor.

Weather:

Hot, hot, oh, and did I say hot? Summer temps of 120 degrees are common. The summers are VERY long too. I can't even remember the temp in the winter, but I think it was in the 50s or 60s. It hardly ever rains, and when it does, some of the plant life smells like animal urine. It's very dry and dusty here.

Overall:

We would not go back again. It's too ugly, dry, dusty, HOT, and way too remote.