Go to VT-28 and live at my place.

I recommend getting 2 of your buds and renting an apartment off base. Although there have been discussions with which is better, on or off base, I'd go with off-base purely for the fun factor.
As far as island vs southside, it depends on your personality. To me, going to the beach is great for the weekends. On the normal weekday I like to go to restaurants, coffee shops, movies, etc. There is just a helluva lot more to do on the southside than on the island. I personally lived in Arbors on Saratoga and enjoyed the location... it is far better there nowadays (in terms of places to eat, clubs, etc.), which is why I just recently bought close to it. You can always drive to the island on the weekends and crash at your buddy's place.