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We are considering moving to Niceville, near Eglin. I was there for a few days over Christmas and didn't hear a single jet fly over. We lived in Bellevue, NE where the AF had training missions over our house day and night. Good thing but wasn't expecting as much traffic as we had. When looking on the map Eglin is HUGE and is right up against Niceville...
I feel your pain about the jet noise. my DH is active duty air force, and I refuse to live on base or in the flight pattern if I can help it. But you get used to it if put in the situation.
They have fighters there so you will hear some jet noise depending on where you live in relation to the flight patterns, but if you have lived near an AFB in the past, you know what to expect. I'm sure there are quiet hours so don't expect 24 hour noise. I also don't think that it is a primary training base so not quite as much air traffic.
I think the beauty and amenities of the area would far outweigh the "sound of freedom" (jet noise) for me personally. In my 10 year affiliation with the air force we have lived in 2 places- mississippi and oklahoma. I would give a non-vital organ to move to Eglin or Macdill.
Eglin is near Shalimar, Niceville, Crestview, Navarre, Fort Walton, Milton and other smaller town. Eglin is the largest USAF base (land ). Eglin AFB
Yes it does generate a lot of noise do to the fighter aircraft and test range.
We live in Navarre and the Test Range noise was a bit of problem, but now is normal.
The area is great and the Eglin area is going to continue to grow do to the addition of a large Army unit that will bring about 5,000 additional members to the area (military members, defendants, civil service employees, and contractors).
Read the Global Security article or read the local newspaper articles: NWFDailynews.com
We lived in Bellevue, NE near a stratcom base and they had flyovers ALLLLLL the time. I appreciate the work and was really more concerned about them dumping fuel (maybe a rumor but it was one I heard frequently) in the air than the noise. Occasionally I could sit on my deck and almost see the eyes of the pilots. I was fine unless it was 2 in the morning. A friend who worked on base gave me the base commander's number and I only called it twice when I felt they were going to land on my bed....they stopped immediately. I only wanted them to tell the person training for night missions to raise the plane a bit but they stopped it all together.
The noise was tolerable and after living all over I like living near an air base. Not sure if it is my imagination or not but the youth seem more controlled and respectful, no matter what they look like, near a military community. THAT I really appreciate having two young men myself.
I was house sitting for friends in Crestview over Christmas and our youngest and I love Niceville. When I showed my husband on the map he freaked seeing how large Eglin is. I don't want multiple moves, and I would like Niceville...of course it was quiet over Christmas...just wanted to have an accurate concept of the noise.
I don't know how much current events have changed the USAF's operational commitments related to flying in the U.S. but previously, bases were required to have "quiet hours" normally from 10 pm to 6 a.m. Sometimes "Night Flying" operations would be scheduled to get aircrews some night time training. Normally those were posted in local newspapers to let the base's neighbors know ahead of time. Eglin, as most bases do, has "sound suppressors" and "hush houses" to run aircraft engines for maintenance during quiet hours and on weekends. And, normally bases that have runways align their primary runway so that aircraft can take off and land in the wind. Bases that have multiple runways (and Eglin does) may change runways to get the prevailing wind and thus the flight patterns around the base might change from time to time.
Last edited by Crew Chief; 01-03-2009 at 10:47 PM..
We are considering moving to Niceville, near Eglin. I was there for a few days over Christmas and didn't hear a single jet fly over. We lived in Bellevue, NE where the AF had training missions over our house day and night. Good thing but wasn't expecting as much traffic as we had. When looking on the map Eglin is HUGE and is right up against Niceville...
Love what you all do and how you train but...
What can we expect living there?
Thanks for your thoughts!
I visited my cousin there once, and I hated it. It's horrible, think of backwoods Alabama and then move it to Florida. The Panhandle sucks except for the city of Penscola.
Wow, how sad...I grew up in St. Petersburg and have been all over the state and I think the Niceville/Destin/Sandestin area is wonderful. But, then again I think areas of Alabama are beautiful too.
Its actually one of the reasons I hope DH re-enlists with the Unit he is in so we get to move there in the next 2-3 years.
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