I just moved into a place last week that is close to Governors Gate, but a house instead. Whiting is just north of Milton as you look on your map, and NAS Pensacola is just south of Warrington. The NFO’s have it made for living, I drove down with one, and he moved into a place in Perdido Key. They found a two bedroom apartment for around $700 – all they have to do is cross the street and they are on the beach. Perdido Key is pretty damn close to the back gate.
I chose to live by the intersection of nine mile and university so that it will be about 25-30 min drive to both Whiting and Pensacola. I pay $325 for rent, $25 for storage, whatever utilities are, and then BAH is around $640 or so. My college roommates both chose to live in Gulf Breeze so that they could be close to Pensacola Beech. Once they start making the drive to Whiting for a 5am flight, they are going to hate life. There are a lot of things to balance in choosing the location because of how spread out things are. It really pissed me off because I had my mind set on living on the beach, but training comes before play.
As far as buying a house, the VA loan is something you will want to do some research on – it’s a good deal. There are some that buy a house everywhere they go, and then rent em out when they leave. I don’t want to worry about the dishwasher breaking down, or getting gas for the lawn mower while I am busting my arse in hopes of a jet slot. First things first, perhaps as on O-2 I’ll get into the whole real-estate thing.