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?)

Anyone here or lived here before?? This is where df currently is training and where he will be stationed (hes a corpsman)- so I will be moving there in feb/march after the wedding.....any input?? also- since he is green side navy- how different is a marine base from a navy base?? are they set up pretty much the same?

Jacksonville is okay......there is alot to do around there......it really depends on what your into.... some of the newer base hosing is great......good luck

We were stationed in Jacksonville back in the 90's. Bill is a FMF Corpsman. I also have family there. There is a lot to do, and the weather is pretty nice. I will write more about it later this afternoon when I have a chance ;)

I can't wait to hear more about this area! We have it as #1 on our list so far!

Housing:
When we were there, we lived out in town(in the Southwest area). When we were there, the housing was pretty old. There is Tarawa Terrace 1 and 2, Midway Park, Housing at MCAS New River and Camp Lejeune. When I was back there this past March, they tore down a lot of the old housing and built new houses. They look very nice :yes


Schools:We didn't have children yet when we were there, but I went to elementary and jr high there when my stepdad was stationed at Camp Lejeune. I also worked for Onslow County School District. I really liked it. I think that the schools are a little weak with the curriculum, but overall, it's pretty decent. Also, they still have DOD schools at Camp Lejeune and MCAS New River.

Shopping:The commissary at Lejeune is rather large and the Exchange is big! It looks like a mall in some ways. The exchange at MCAS New River is much smaller. Jacksonville has a mall, which isn't very big, but it's not really small either. Also, there is a Target, Super Walmart Bed Bath and Beyond, Home Depot, Books a Million and so many other shopping strip malls. I can safely say there is more variety in shopping there than there is here in Bremerton and Silverdale..lol.


Cost of living:
The cost of living is really low. So, finding something within the BAH won't be difficult at all. Also, if you work in town, the pay isn't going to be as high like San Diego or Hampton Roads. Again, mainly because the COL is so low. They do have some nice houses, apartments and town homes there.


Military Community:
The city of Jacksonville has a population of 66,000. A big portion of that is military. The town wouldn't survive without it's bases. For the most part, it is a very "military friendly" town. You will find a lot of military discounts almost everywhere you go. You have three bases there...Camp Lejeune, Camp Geiger and MCAS New River. Camp Lejeune has a lot of "family friendly" activities and concerts that are put on there.


Recreation:There is so much to do in Jacksonville. There are the beaches. The popular ones are Topsail Beach and Onslow Beach, which is on base. You don't need to pay for parking at all. The beaches are very clean and very pretty. You can go a bit north to Swansboro and Emerald Isle, where they have an aquarium and water park. Jacksonville has festivals through the year. They seem to have soemthing for every season. Also, you are fairly close to a lot of the larger cities. Wilmington, where they made Dawson's Creek, Days of Thunder, Cape Fear and other movies is only 45 mins south. Myrtle Beach, SC is 2 hours south, New Bern is 45 mins north and Raleigh/Durham is about 2 1/2-3 hours west.

Weather:Summer is can get pretty hot and humid. Average temp is 89 degrees, Spring is 74, Fall is 60-75, and winter is in the 50-60 degree range


Overall:We want to get stationed back there so badly! I love the people, the weather and the area. The town has really exploded in size and there really is so much to do, and in a relatively close distance. The area is full of history and the beaches are great! The bases are very family friendly and they have a lot of activities there as well. I highly recommend this base, if you are able to get stationed there :)

That is an awesome response, Sarah!!! Thanks so much, it makes me feel like we made the right decision. We'll find out in a few weeks if we are going there or not :)

Good luck to you! I hope ya'll get the orders there. I really hope we get back there too!

I'm new to the boards and I've only lived in Jville since July but I love it :)

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?)
We rent out in town because they've been sticking most new people in the old crappy housing only to force them to move within the next year (but when you move you supposedly get the new housing) so we just rent out in town . We live actually outside of town a little ways (more towards richlands) and we like it here but to each his own. So if you are looking to rent explore the realtors around here and they'll help you :) There's some bad areas around though that's why we live a little bit farther out of town but there's alot of great areas too! Down Gum Branch Road, down Henderson/Onslow drives... up Western ... You just have to check out the area prior to renting :) and it's quite affordable! We rent a 3 br house for $725 which is $125 less than our BAH...


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?)
Our daughter isn't in school yet so all I know about are the colleges... the Community College in Jville (Coastal Carolina C.C.) is great and very accomodating to military families... also East Carolina University has a few online degree programs that are fantastic!


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?)
As far as on base shopping it's better to drive to New River to go to the commissary... it's alot nicer than the one on Lejeune! The PX on Lejeune, however, is more like a mall! It's fantastic :) And out in town you have anything you could ever want! They have all regular stores and lots of restaurants :) I think it's fabulous!


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 here is right along with your pay... you can definitely manage here and still have some left over for special things :)


Military Community:
(How is the military community? Are there resources for family and spouses? Any likes or gripes? Additional thoughts?)
There's alot of resources for military and with so many Marines around here there's a ton of spouses that you can meet :)


Recreation:
(What is there to do in the area for adults? For kids/families? Is there anything within a few hours driving distance?)
There's parks and such in Jacksonville but if you drive out of town for activities you can find ALOT! The beaches are so close! There's even a beach on Camp Lejeune... and Wilmington is about a 40 min. drive... Raleigh is even within driving distance (about 2 hours) so there's tons to explore!


Weather:
(What's the weather like? Mild? Seasonal? Hot? Humid? Rainy? Cold? Are there seasons?)
The weather here is fairly mild... it's almost december and some days it's still up in the mid 70's.. it does rain a fair amount here though but it's nothing people can't handle :)


Overall:
(Would you go back again? Why or why not? What are your main likes and gripes?)
I love it here! i hope we get to stay for a long while!

the beach is so close...enjoy......

OKay, so now that we are finally married :) yay!!! I will be moving there soon. For those of you that are there, i need help!! i will only be there one wknd in jan and then my daughter and i are hoping to move some time in feb. I dont want to end up in a bad neighborhood or anything. any warnings or suggestions on where to start or basics?? thanks girls!!