Best place to live here is on the island. Low crime rate, close to the beaches, easy drive to the base, and lots of JO's live out here. Coupla bars out here, too ... but not sure I would call being close to Farrah's & the Lighthouse much of a benefit
Most houses on the island are 3/2/2 and you should expect to spend around 1500-1600 per month on a place that is on the water (canals - worth it)
As far as finding a place - I know of plenty of people (myself included) who just drove around looking for signs in the yard that said "for rent" and it worked pretty well.
Do you know the date you are reporting? A friend of mine is headed over in a few weeks, too, and I told him I would gather some addresses/phone numbers for him before he came out. Would be glad to forward them on to you, too. I had a few weeks of sitting around before I started primary, but right now people are checking in on Monday and starting that Friday.