Posted By AdinaVerbena on 18 Jan 2010 08:16 PM
I hear you, Val about the paper walls and tatami mats. I shudder to think how rough my children would be on them. ETA - Julie, I'd happily go for Ikego now. Except for housing not letting us go on the wait-list for a town house. And there's still the whole, "Matt's been home before dark approximately 5 times in the last year" thing.

Posted By JennSia on 18 Jan 2010 08:12 PM
on base you have everything close to you there's NEX COMMISSARY etc.
off base you'll experience more of the way how japanese culture is correct me if im wrong please...

Posted By Julie on 18 Jan 2010 08:16 PM
We live in Ikego

Posted By offbasefamily on 20 Jan 2010 06:49 PM
I live out in town. It is a great experience and honestly it is not difficult to adjust to the small differences, such as the laundry and the 15 minute MAX drive to the base for medical. I live near a yoko toll on ramp so I can get to the base in five minutes. We have two parking spots just like a drive way in the states. We have a big yard and it is fenced. We have a view, large streets (two cars can fit down them) and our home is a great size. We have great kid parks in our neighborhood as well. The home is about 1500 sq feet, three bedroom, two bath. The only downside I feel is the vanity in the bathroom. Being a woman it can be too small, but I adjust just fine. Our rent is what the base allowed at the time for my spouses rate and dependents which was $2250. The only other thing that is hard sometimes is the insulation, or lack of. But we have managed and have heaters that work just fine. Our utility bills are not outrageous. I have read on here gas bills over $100. Mine has never been over $40 and that was when my husband was home everyday due to the ship being in dry dock. My electricity has never been over $130 and I run our air in the summer. It is also a newer home, five years or so.

So overall, I have a great experience, our home is in an ideal area, we went through Lifetownjapan as well. There are many Americans in our neighborhood but I only know this from taking walks around the neighborhood and seeing a Y plate in the driveway.

Posted By Richard McManus on 19 Jan 2010 12:32 PM
I am a civilian employee and have no option but to live off-base. I would move on-base if allowed for a few reasons.
1. Size of the house
2. Storage space
3. Kitchen with an oven and garbage disposal
4. A washing machine that holds more than 3 or 4 items. A dryer to dry your clothes even when it's raining outside.
5. A parking space for your car that doesn't cost extra.
6. Heating and air conditioning. Not waking up in the morning and seeing your breath in the winter
7. Insulation to keep the heating and cooling in.

I do love living in Japan but wish I had an American house.
With a housing allowance you can find a larger, newer, nicer place to live.
Off base living is nice and quiet and close to local markets.
It also gets you off the base and forces you to interact with the Japanese people.
For the full experience of being stationed in Japan everyone should live off-base for a year.

blbennett

Computers & Internet Forum

Posted By Julie on 20 Jan 2010 07:12 PM
Wow, that sounds really nice! When we lived off base, which granted was 8 years ago, the house we found was 975 q.ft, one parking spot that often others parked in, no back or front yard whatsoever, no oven, Japanese fridge and washer, no storage, and we thought that was pretty good considering what we had seen! There were no Y plates by us at all and our utility bills were very high. I honestly with there could have been places like that years ago, I think it ma have been much easier to live off base then!


Oh yikes! No way could I live in a place that small. We live in Shonan Ikegami. It is close to the base and on a hill off the 26 and 27 area. In between Kinugasa and Hemi station. My husband found it before I was here. He also looked at five other homes and they all were small, bad areas (just difficult to park and drive, etc.) or old. Our fridge, stove and microwave came from the base, housing lent them to us until we PCS. The fridge is an American fridge as well. The stove is small but I use my American pots and pans and have been able to cook a 20 pound turkey in the oven. Sure our kitchen is small, but it keeps us grounded from buying crap we do not need. I enjoy living here because I really feel that less is more. All our American furniture fits and we have hard wood floors throughout the house. It did not come with storage outside so we did buy a shed on base.

I strongly recommend going through lifetownjapan. Our agent was Chris Kelly.  http://www.lifetownjapan.com/listings.htm  He knew where my husband and I came from back in the states so he knew what my expectations would be. I think the timing was the biggest key here because my husband found this place on the first day of looking and within a week of getting here. Good luck!!

We used to live off base but now live on base.

Off base positives: Quiet, getting to meet new people and a new culture (where we lived, no military neighbors), more likely to venture out (Japanese grocery stores have fresher foods and it's neat to experience the new stuff), the posibility of a bigger and nicer house, the option to control your own heat/ac, AWESOME high speed internet service, the seemingly constant need to be at home for vent cleanings, etc.

Off base negatives: Electric/Water/Sewage can be more expensive than your allowance depending on your lifestyle, possibility of no parking (but we didn't have this problem), HORRIBLE insulation (in houses...why we moved on base when we had our baby), small washer/dryer, the possibility of having neighbors that complain about you using a grill (happened to us, and we were asked not to by housing...probably because we were frying a turkey and the husband sent 20 foot flames up in the air), possibly not being close enough to an emergency facility (although it's no different than if you were in the states...except off base hospitals supposedly make you pay the full bill before you check out, and then you have to get reimbursed), super narrow and steep stairs (again, worried about the baby), if you want to drive it can be intimidating to drive off base for a little bit.

I know some people complain about the bugs out here, but I have a worse problem living on base than I ever did off base.  To be honest, I very much dislike living on base, regardless of the fact that my negative list is longer than the positive.  The positives by far outweigh the negatives.  If it didn't cost so much to move back out, I most definitely would now that our daughter is older and I'm not concerned with her respiratory problems she had when she was born (why we moved, actually).  Now the only positive for me is not having to bother paying for rent/electric/water and having a bigger washer/dryer.  Oh, and living super close to my work (husband still has a drive).

But to answer your initial question, is most likely convenience and comfort of what's familiar vs the unknown.

Could you send me pics of the interior and tell me where you are located and how did you get this home. Ie the agent ect. I love the look of the home from the outside. Could you fit a king size bed in this home? My email is john.caddy@navy.mil Thanks!

John Caddy