Posted on Jan 16, 2016
I am PCSing to Schofield Barracks in April 2016. What areas do you recommend for off post housing?
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Hawaii
Hawaii
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I lived all over the island for a period of ~4 years. If you're headed to Schofield, do not move to Ewa. You will run into a ton of traffic both ways. Ewa is a great place to live, but a terrible place to commute. One way in, and one way out. It's a huge choke point, and believe me, it chokes.
I also lived in Mililani for awhile. This would be the location I'd most highly recommend. You will have zero traffic, as your drive to Schofield in the morning is going north (against the traffic headed into town), and same the other way going home. Mililani also happens to be very close to Schofield, which is also nice.
Mililani isn't the least expensive area, but if you're going to get an apartment and a roommate like I did, you'll be more than fine. That Hawaii BAH is a huge help.
Another option is actually looking for a place north of Schofield. You'll find fewer military folks living up there, and really fewer people in general. You'll find that the prices drop significantly quite quickly as you move north. You can get some really great deals up there. I had friends that lived up all the way at North Shore in the mountains, and they had a nice house with big yard for 1/2 what I was paying. The commute is longer, but you're moving the whole time.
I also lived in Mililani for awhile. This would be the location I'd most highly recommend. You will have zero traffic, as your drive to Schofield in the morning is going north (against the traffic headed into town), and same the other way going home. Mililani also happens to be very close to Schofield, which is also nice.
Mililani isn't the least expensive area, but if you're going to get an apartment and a roommate like I did, you'll be more than fine. That Hawaii BAH is a huge help.
Another option is actually looking for a place north of Schofield. You'll find fewer military folks living up there, and really fewer people in general. You'll find that the prices drop significantly quite quickly as you move north. You can get some really great deals up there. I had friends that lived up all the way at North Shore in the mountains, and they had a nice house with big yard for 1/2 what I was paying. The commute is longer, but you're moving the whole time.
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SSG(P) (Join to see), I lived in Hoakalei for two years. It's a great community. It's a long story, but we were going to leave when I retired but decided not to. We sold the house anyway and made $25K in just two years. We now live (rent) on the beach in a community called Kapolina Beach homes. The community is very active. And you can take one road straight to Schofield. Most days the drive is about 40 min.
I hope that helps. Let me know if you need anything.
I hope that helps. Let me know if you need anything.
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I was stationed there as well, I would recommend against living off post. The traffic is horrible. Most people live down towards Honolulu because it is a lot cheaper, but they sit is traffic for a couple of hours. If you must live off post, I would recommend Ewa Beach, it is a bit more affordable and the traffic won't kill you. It does rain more often on the North side of the Island. There are beautiful places to hike all over the island and you can get scuba certified easily and pretty inexpensive! Enjoy Hawaii, it is expensive, but beautiful!
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Hey! I lived there. Here is a blog post I wrote for RP that answers your questions: http://tagsfortum.blogspot.in/2013/03/moving-to-schofield-barracks-military.html?m=1
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SSG (Join to see)
SSG(P) (Join to see), SSG Deiler is my best friend and he was previously stationed at Schofield. He lived off post so he should know some decent places to reside at.
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SSG Daniel Deiler
SSG(P) (Join to see) It boils down to what you are willing to deal with. If you don't mind a 30-45 minute commute, Kapolei was great. Easy access to the highway and there will be light rail access to Aloha Stadium within the next year or so I believe. They're extending it to Honolulu within the next 2-3 years. You'll find tow homes and houses there and in the Ewa Beach area. Kapolei being a newer and growing area, you will find everything you need for your family from shopping to entertainment. If you don't mind older homes and plenty of traffic, Ewa Beach is ok. I lived there for a year and Kapolei for a year and preferred Kapolei by far. Wahiawa is close to base but pretty run down and ghetto. Great place to grab some lunch off post but not for living in my opinion. waipahu or waipio is a good location. Again the homes are a little older (1980's) but it's a nice place I considered when looking. If you want to be in the middle of all the action and close to Waikiki and Honolulu and don't mind living in an apartment or high rise, The Pearl City area is fine. You should be getting around $2,400 in BAH so you should have no problems finding good, affordable housing. Houses and Townhomes will be more expensive than apartments. The closer you move towards Honolulu the rent will get higher. The Pacific Palisades is a nice area if you can find anything there. Personally I'd have loved to have lived on the North Shore but it was too far away from some of the things I liked doing that were on the Southern side of the island. If you give me an idea what you're looking for and what your budget is I could help a bit more and pinpoint areas more specifically. AHRN.com is a GREAT source to find rentals that has filters you can add that will narrow down your search.
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SSG(P) (Join to see)
SSG Daniel Deiler - Thank you. I am moving out there with three children and a wife. My oldest will be going to college in a year and that will free up a bedroom so I am open to renting a three bedroom home. I have seen how expensive some four bedroom homes are and don't wan't to come too much out of pocket for utilities. My wife wants my kids to attend Mililani schools since they have really good grades and she heard they have the best schools. I'll check out AHRN.com and see what I can find there with the info you gave me. Thanks again.
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LCDR (Join to see)
We started off living in the Temple Valley/Ahuimanu area of Kaneohe, and it would take 45-75 minutes to get to work at MCBH depending on if worked started at 0630 or 0730. Now living in the Hoakalei/Ocean Pointe area it takes 45-60 minutes to get to MCBH. It takes my husband 30 minutes to get to Camp Smith. There is traffic, but it moves well. The homes are twice (2500-3000 sq ft) the size with lavish amenities, family-friendly, it's easy to PT, etc. In Kaneohe, it rained most days, everything was moldy all the time in our house, and it wasn't a good spot for our kids. We are 109x happier in Ewa than Kaneohe--well worth the bit of traffic. Honestly, most people make it out to be worse than it is. Best advice I can give is buy your house, don't rent here. Homes values increase 4-5% a year.
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SSG Daniel Deiler
It's too bad they'll never open up that back gate to Schofield or Ocean Pointe would be an amazing option.
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