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?)

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?)

The housing is alright. The outside is ugly (monopoly housing) and the homes are old but the inside is alright. There isn't a wait list here either. The architecture of the base sucks though! Do I like it? No! I can't wait to leave this base! I would not recommend renting because the BAH isn't enough and the Goose Creek area is ghetto.

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 kids.


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?)

The commissary and the NEX are small but nice. I shop everywhere, LOL. The local shopping in Norh Charleston, about 10 min. away, is alright. The malls aren't that great though.


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?) The cost of living is low, I think. We never really had any problems.


Military Community:
(How is the military community? Are there resources for family and spouses? Any likes or gripes? Additional thoughts?)
The community is horrible! Hardly anyone says hi or welcomes you. Everyone is so stressed out all the time because of nuclear school. The resources stink! People are rude here. I hate this base!

Recreation:
(What is there to do in the area for adults? For kids/families? Is there anything within a few hours driving distance?)
Charleston is nice but the charm quickly wears off when you realize how expensive the actual city of Charleston is, and it's also 20 minutes away. There is nothing to do around Goose Creek.

Weather:
(What's the weather like? Mild? Seasonal? Hot? Humid? Rainy? Cold? Are there seasons?) HOT AND HUMID!!! HORRIBLE! No seasons.


Overall:
(Would you go back again? Why or why not? What are your main likes and gripes?) I WOULD NEVER GO BACK! MY HUSBAND AND I ARE MISERABLE HERE!
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Housing:
We choose not to live in houseing as the BAH my husband receives is more than enough to cover our rent & utilities. My husband is not in the nuke school though so it might be a different situtation if he was a student. I think it is very affordable to rent or buy here if you choose to do that. At this time Goose Creek has alot of new subdivisions being built so there are lots of new homes available.


Schools:
My daughter went to Marrington Elementary for 2nd grade, this is the elementary school on base. She liked it except for the play ground does not have a swing set so that upset her. Her teacher Ms Gibbs was a good teacher for her. Marrington is a small school and there is talk of merging it with a more artsy school by the name of Howe Hall, Marrington only had something like 300 students in full for grades K-4. My son went to pre-school at Devon Forest, the elementary school in our subdivision. This school is much larger something like 1,100 students in full for grades k-5. His teachers were good for the most part. As a whole I feel the schools in this area are a little slower education wise compared to other states. I don't attend school but there is a local school Trident Technical College. I've talked with ladies/girls I work with and they seem to like Trident.

Shopping:
The commissary and NEX here are both small. The prices at the navy commissary are sometimes more expensive than the air force base commissary which is 20 minutes away from Goose Creek. The NEX prices are about the same as all NEX prices from what I have seen. I don't normally shop at the NEX, just the commissary. There are also Publix, BI LO, & Food Lion grocery stores here...I think they are much higher priced so I don't shop there plus I live really close to a super Wal-Mart. There are 2 malls in the area Northwoods & The Citadell Mall both are just regular malls to me. Then there are the other normal department stores like Target, Kohls, Kmart, & Wal-Mart. There are some good resturants in the area also Carrabas & Sticky Fingers are two I would recommend.

Cost of living:
I feel as if the cost of living in Goose Creek is low but the closer you get to the coast it rises significantly. The job market is ok if you are looking to get a part time position they are not difficult to find but you won't be making big bucks either. I am sure if you are willing to commute along with an education you could make good money here.

Military Community:
I don't feel overwhelmed by military in this area even with the Naval Base and the Air Force Base as close as they are. I think the Naval Base offers alot for the single sailors (atleast what I've seen) and for families to go and do and very low cost or free. They offer the same resources that all bases offer sometimes you just have to dig to find what your looking for.

Recreation:
There are alot of historical things around Fort Sumter, Patriots Point, of course downtown Charleston, the different plantions, Cypress Gardens, a water park called Wannamaker. I know downtown has nighclubs and such I haven't been so I can't give my thoughts on those. Savannah GA & Columbia SC are both just a couple hours away. Orlando FL is like 6 hours good for a weekend getaway. We enjoy the beaches here, Isle of Palms & Folly Beach. Folly Beach has more shells while Isle of Palms has a little area with a playground and grills. Also the base has free movies and a bowling alley both good on rainy days.


Weather:
The weather is hot and humid in the summer. I would have to say you get two seasons here Spring/Fall and then Summer. The winter was mild felt more like a warm Spring/Fall to me, we did not have any snowfall last winter (2005-2006). You get patches where it will rain mid-day for a few days in a row and that is always nice as it cools things off a bit. The winter are chilly low 30's I would say is as cold as got...my guess on an average temp for winter would be mid 40's...so like I said no snow for us.

Overall:
It feels alot like country living here to me. We haven't moved yet so as of right now I can't answer if I will miss it here or not. Most of the people I have met besides military have that southern charm (be nice to your face and then talk smack behind your back) so I don't get along with many of the locals :giggle but I have made a few good friends in the past year. I like the small town feel of Goose Creek but it's what I grew up with so I'm used to it also. I think my main gripe would be the no snow in winter thing...I like to have all 4 seasons.

dh is in goose creek. he's almost done there. he's in prototype now. i've only visited but the weather is not so bad, then again i'm from texas so....
i don't find the mall to be to horrible, granted it isn't much but it has all the staples (foley's, pacsun, shoe stores, etc etc). there is a couple of movie theaters in like a 10 minute drive of the general goose creek area. most of the stuff to do is in north charleston (10 minute drive). dh and i liked to go into charleston and just drive around and look at the different houses or go into the open air market. i like it but then again i don't live there.