I'm moving my spouse up to my duty station. What are the pros and cons to living on or off post?

When I was at Ft Bliss, we lived on-post, and liked it; of course it helped we got a nice location, which isn't a guarantee, so choice can be an issue. Often you are closer to work; though that isn't guarantee, as I had some buddies who lived off post and made it to work a lot faster that I did. Sometimes on-post has closer amenities that you'd want to make use of; in my case, we had our own park, a salt pool/rec center, and was a 5 minute walk to the Army hospital (which, as it turned out, came in handy a few times).

When it comes to deciding which is better, maybe its six of one, half a dozen of the other. I don't know, but I liked our on post home.

You usually will not be given an option, unless you have some waiverabke conditions. If on post quarters are available that is the priority. You should contact the housing office to see if quarters are available. If they are not, they will be able to provide you with off post options. Aside from that you need to look at lifestyle requirements and do some research in your area.

With my family, we always lived on post. Having my wife and three girls, it was just easier living on post. And we liked the schools, that was unit they started going to middle school and high school then they had to go to school off post. Downfall, you may not get the house you want living on post. Having four dependents helped with what housing section we lived in, though.