Living on The Boat

[picklesuit]

Put this here as SWO's may have a better idea.

I'm departing this fall for Dissociated tour (Shooter) on USS Haze Grey in Norfolk. I am leaving the family here in Milton, FL (variety of reasons to include schools, crime rate, price of continuing to own horses, work schedule) and will be joining the Geo-bachelor herd.

I'm looking at a few options, please give me your thoughts.

1. Living on the boat. Pro:not fighting traffic, not paying rent, keeps me less expensively occupied.
Con: 1MC, boat food
Unknowns: How does this work when not underway? How much do I typically pay in dues/mess fees? BAS?

2. Trying to weasel an RA spot in UH.
Pro: Not living on boat, short commute, own room, real shower, easier (less awkward) to watch "training videos"
Con: Admin hassle, 99% enlisted neighbors and their shenanigans, having to play dad, cost?
Unknowns: Cost, availability, food arrangements, do I still pay mess fees?

3. Live out in town.
Pro: not being on base when off duty, privacy, quiet, etc.
Con: Commute, cost (BAH is only about $500 more in Norfolk) dealing with landlord/tenant crap
Unknown: How common geobach crash pads are and availability.

Any input is appreciated, looks like (according to Google/Navy Crimes) I will be checking in while they are getting/already underway.
Thanks!
Pickle

 

[armada1651]

1. Living on the boat.

GOOD GOD, MAN.

I have never been (and hopefully will never be) a ship's company type, but having spent a decent amount of the past 3 years on one of those things, living under a bridge seems like a better option to me.

 

[nittany03]

1. Living on the boat. Pro:not fighting traffic, not paying rent, keeps me less expensively occupied.

F. NO. HORRIBLE. DO NOT DO THIS.

I will admit I've never been ship's company, but still. Holy God, man. Drop this idea while you still can.

 

[Gatordev]

Didn't we do this already in another thread?

 

[xj220]

I say do it. Pussy.

 

[picklesuit]

We were debating the semantics of Geobaching last time...
Now looking for Intel on the how...

Any idea on the numbers?

 

[BigRed389]

For your sanity, do not live onboard.

Even if budget is a concern, ask yourself how much (in $/mo) getting away from the ship and work stuff in general is worth to you. I'd bet a few hundred/mo starts to sound like an easy trade.
I never spent more than ~$1200/mo, and always lived somewhere pretty nice. If you're willing to slum it a bit, you can go quite a bit below $1K/mo.

Availability shouldn't be a concern. I moved 3 times in the area and always found a nice place to live within a week.
As long as you don't have to commute from downtown Norfolk during peak base traffic hours, traffic is usually something you can manage. Shore Drive to the Air Side gate is usually the most consistently "OK" for traffic.

 

[Hotdogs]

1. Living on the boat.

If it hasn't already been reiterated....just one more time:

 

[SynixMan]

I cannot explain in english words how terrible an idea it is to live on the boat. Don't fucking do it. No amount of money is worth your sanity and soul.

I'd recommend getting a place out in town. Plenty of HSC/VAW/VRC/SWO JOs have a room for rent and would be glad to have the extra cash from a roomie who's gone a lot on the boat. There are good parts of Norfolk to live in, and shitty parts. Best advice is to ask a person already here (and I'd be happy to help, PM me), or drive around the area at night.

 

[ea6bflyr]

If you do decide to live on the boat, the mess is pay as you go. In-port, if you eat a meal, you check off your name in WR3. End of the month, you'll pay up. Underway, they charge you for all three meals. You'll keep your BAS, but it will not come close to covering the gap. Recommend that you get a stand alone checking account where part of your paycheck is deposited into your individual account. This worked well for me during work ups and deployment. Momma had money to pay the bills, and I had money to pay the mess dues with a little left over for port calls. (Consider using your flight pay as your individual deposited money)

Consider renting a room vice an apartment...

 

[e6bflyer]

DO NOT LIVE ON THE BOAT

Get a room, an apartment, something. We had a shooter live on the boat. He was miserable. I mean absolutely miserable. When we went into the yards, he got a paid room in the Q, but the whole rest of the time he was stuck on the boat with airman Timmy, going down to the hangar bay to make phone calls, and generally miserable.

Think about this: how much extra are you going to be making in sea pay, tax free, etc over the two years? I bet more than enough to get a leased apartment and break the lease and store your stuff when the time is right. SCRA is your friend. Besides, you will honestly probably save money if you cook your own meals in your apartment and won't be forced to eat slimy lettuce and hot dogs that have been sitting in a tray of water all day.

When mrs P and the gherkins come, you will want a place of your own. I may or may not have tried to get frisky with my wife on duty days. Something about haze gray really turns her off.

 

[Flash]

I sense a common theme here but am having a little trouble putting my finger on it....

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Hey pickle I have a feeling people are suggesting not to live on the boat

and +1 to all the post, seen too many guys try to live on the boat, didn't turn out well.

 

[robav8r]

I suspect this may be more of a "financially motivated" decision making process than purely a pro vs con discussion . . .

 

[azguy]

Not to pile on, but from four years on two ships, I only saw one guy attempt GeoBaching and living onboard. He didn't last a year.

To answer your questions...
1) I'll defer to the CVN fags on how much dues are. O's get charged per meal inport and automatically pay for all meals U/W. IIRC, on a small boy, if you ate three square a day inport, plus dues, it would probably run you ~$250/month.

2) I'm not sure exactly sure what "RA spot in UH" means, but if that means living in enlisted barracks, frankly, I'd rather stay on the ship and not deal with any E dog drama.

^^^^Both shitty options!

3) Given that you think they will be U/W (on deployment?) when you check in, DEFINITELY get a "place" out in town. O's are entitled to BAH in their permanent duty station at all times, no lease required. So just bank the BAH (or the extra $500/mon) while on cruise and then get a roomie out in town when you get home. You're kidding yourself with the "beat traffic" and "short commute" arguments. 30 min to and from work is WELL WORTH the sanity of having your own place to go home to.