1 income military family. ...Doable in Hawaii? (Ewa Beach, Schofield Barracks: rental, daycares, how much)

[MPArmywifeandMamaof4]

We have orders for Schofield Barracks around June. We are a 1 income military family with 5 kiddos and a step kiddo. We currently have a very high child support payment(1 child) that comes automatically so after that we make 1250 per 2 weeks living on post. In Hawaii we will also be getting cola which is about 1200 monthly for us there so basically between 3700-3800 assuming we can get on post housing which has ridiculous wait times for 5 bedrooms so we may wind up having to go off post. We don't need 5 bdrms (who does really...) so we plan on signing waivers to take older housing or less bedrooms so we can get on post. Assuming we can, how affordable will Hawaii be for us at that salary? We don't currently use the commissary with frequency because I buy all generic cheaper at Walmart but I would imagine there the commissary will be much cheaper. If we can't get on post our housing allowance will be 3100ish I think. Obviously we don't see any of that if we get on post housing. How feasible is that near Schofield to include utilities. We homeschool so school are a non-issue for us. I would imagine post is but around the island in general....how family friendly is it? Thank you! We are excited but nervous!

[ScottStielow]

Here is the BAH for off/on base housing if you haven't already looked at it. Just have to put your rank and Schofield Barracks zip code in 96857 in the block to get the rate.
Allowances

Yes there are PX's all over the Island at the different military bases. I used to go to the Schofield Barracks PX just to take a drive from Pearl Harbor and get away from the traffic, and a change of scenery.
Hope this helps.
Good luck on your PCS move.
Scott

[hunterseat]

The question would be schools. You'll be here for probably a few years? We were in a 4br in the Waterfront for about $2K plus utilities. There's an elementary school on property and daycares and it's well protected, lots of playgrounds and beach. Lot of military there including Schofield Bks people. If you get on the fb page for The Waterfront or go to their web site you can get more info. Of course there are people who love it and hate it but for your needs it might work. Choose your location wisely if you decide to move there. It makes a difference. Some are more "flight path" than others and also more traffic than others. It's spacious, though, and that's hard to find. It's in Ewa Beach, a doable drive to your post. Your post has the most awesome swimming pool on the island imo, besides the local water park and beach, though Pearl Harbor has a great pool for kids. The Hickam Beach is nice if small, there's a military place in Waienai (sp) and Bellows is a great camping spot!!! (all of these beaches have equipment rental for military)

[kbeefy]

From what I've heard theres not much savings to be had at the PX compared to Walmart, but there are still a few good deals to be had. I think fresh meat was a good one. Costco will be your friend, Theres one in Waipio not far from Schofield.
If your on Facebook search for Schofield, theres several groups that might be benificial.

I work on Wheeler as a civilian contractor and found a spot in Mililani because it was close and has good schools. I have a 4br house and after all expenses/utilities except food and gas spend about $2700/mo. We don't use AC, but I do have broadband internet and cable. Be aware that electricity is really expensive here, last I checked around $.42/kwh. $500/mo electric bills are not unheard of, though we keep ours under $200/mo.

Are you saying you will get an additional $3100/mo for off-base housing allowance? If I read that correctly, you'll be just fine.


FWIW, the drive from Ewa to Schofield can easily be 45 minutes without traffic.

[md7]

If it is just financial worry, then do a budget of living in oahu. Use realtors/craigslist/local contacts to get the price of rent and add a few hundred $ to it (it is also safe to assume rent will go up by a couple hundred $ each year, better safe than sorry). Then add in cost of food and transportation. How much and where else do you currently spend? You should figure that in too (priced for oahu).

Since you are not permanently relocating, I think it'll be a nice experience for everybody.

[clickdale1]

I'm pretty certain you will be fine...after all....there are already thousands of military personnel already stationed on the islands.

[MovingAloha]

The housing on Schofield has been upgraded and new homes have been built on the old Kalakaua Golf Course() Lol- can you tell I play golf.
If you cannot get on base housing, then your BAH of approx $3100 should be fine in paying for a four bedroom home in either Mililani (Great Schools) or even Ewa Beach (Gentry or Hoakalei sub-developments).
For Mililani, you have a couple of ways to get to work, either by just heading north on H2 or on Kamehameha (Kam) Hwy to get to Schofield. And if you move to Ewa Beach, you can drive straight up Fort Weaver Road that then turns into Kunia Road and head right past Schofield or you can fight the H1 to H2 traffic. The schools in Gentry and in Hoakalei are good.
I found that the Commissary was important when buying Meat and many of the specialty items like Pre-packaged Pasta dishes, etc. Costco will definitely be your friend and will aid not only with food and other household items, but their gas prices competed with on-base prices.
In addition to your housing office, also start monitoring the Automated Housing Referral Network (AHRN) at AHRN.com | Connecting the military community with housing which you can plug in all your info and it will fill in and update the site with homes that fit your criteria.
Good Luck!