Moving to Deleware with my fiance who is in the Airforce, what should I expect? (Dover: rentals)

[lovelynicole89]

Hello, my name is Nicole. My boyfriend and I recently got engaged and he is going to be stationed in Deleware come November, of course this means I will be moving there with him. But I wont be moving there until ive gotten my AA degree here in St.Pete, Fl.. so I wont be going until the summertime around May. I would like to know if anyone has any advice on what I should be expecting.. Im new to the millitary lifestyle as well and I was curious as to how the housing on base is. Anyone with any insight please help me out and let me in on what I should be preparing myself for! Thanks

[sanddollar]

Nicole, you didn't say if you and your fiance will be married by the time you move to Delaware.

If you aren't married by then, you will not be able to have any privileges on base (commssary, BX, library, base pool, etc.) or access to Tricare medical care because you need a military issued ID card. Only legal spouses and children of service members (both are called dependents) are issued an ID card.

I don't know about unmarrieds living together in base housing. Technically you could live with him there, but then you have the added problem of going off base and then getting back in without a military ID card.

I have heard of couples getting a civil marriage first so that the non-military spouse can be covered under the military member's benefits (mostly for medical care). Then if they have to be separated due to work or school commitments, the spouse has access to insurance and medical care until they have their church or other kind of ceremony with attending party.

I'd suggest that you come up for a visit after your fiance moves up here. That way you can look at on and off base housing and see what's available.

Good luck and I wish you a happy life as an Air Force wife. (I was one for 25 years. )

[lovelynicole89]

Hey, Yes we plan to be legally married by the time I move there. We're not going to have a real wedding just yet, we're gonna do that next year somtime. We just need to have the legality of being married so that I can have all the privileges and can move on base with him for now.

You said you were an air force wife, what were your housing situations like on base? I read the the whole housing facilitlies for the Dover AFB were recently redone so Im hoping they are fairly nice and descent sized.

Also, Im a Florida girl and am not used to a lot of cold weather.. maybe you could clue me in to how the weather is there??

Thanks for your help!!

[sanddollar]

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding plans!

Yes, Dover AFB housing has been updated. I haven't been in any of them myself, though. Actually I am not able to give you much info as I don't live in Delaware yet. We are planning to move there when we sell our house in Michigan. Our son is AF active reserve and they live near Dover. They have been there for two years now and like Delaware.

Years ago a service member's rank determined whether or not they were eligible for base housing. Lowest ranks E-1, E-2, etc. were not eligible and had to find off base apts if they were married. Unmarried lived in the barracks. But then, that was years ago. I would recommend your fiance contact the base housing office and ask questions. You could also post some questions in the military life forum at city-data. There might be some currently stationed DAFB folks who post there.

My dh was active duty AF for 12 years and reserve for 13. We moved a lot during his active duty years, which was stressful, but also gave us so many new experiences. We wouldn't trade those years.

Best of luck to you.

Oh, weather-wise, Delaware is moderate in climate. You will get change of seasons, but not bone-chilling cold in winters as in climates further north. It does get warm and humid in the summer, but doesn't stay that way from April through October as it does in Florida. (I used to live in Florida, too.) Dover is only 45 minutes or so from the beaches, so you'll get to visit the ocean. It's only 3 hours or so from the mountains in Pennsylvania, and close to big cities of Phily and DC. I think you will find plenty of places to visit.

[debbiekr]

My husband is also active Air Force and this is our second trip to Dover. We have now been here a total of 8 years! We love it here and are planning to live here after he retires. The beach in close, which we love. Shopping is not so great compared to other places we've been. We also are NASCAR fans so it's nice being close to the track.

We lived in the new housing for the first year. The houses are okay, they are new and big with garages, but we hated housing. We had the worst neighbors! The base cops had been called on several of our neighbors so it was interesting anyway. The one neighbors ended up getting kicked out (they were Army) and I found out later that they had previously lived a few streets over and had complaints so they were moved to our street! I would not let my kids play with the neighbor kids because they were always in trouble. There were several fights after the buses dropped them off and an ambulance even had to come once to pick up a kid that had been beaten up! There was a lot of stealing and vandalism of vehicles. Our garage door never worked after several calls to have it fixed, we would get ants very bad every time it rained and the houses are too big for the type of heat and ac they have in them. They should be dual systems because the downstairs would be freezing and hot upstairs in the summer and the opposite in the winter. The worst thing was we had to sign a year lease. We came within a few months of the one year but couldn't take it anymore so we ended up having to pay to get out. The best thing I can say about housing is that it was convenient and had sidewalks and walkways to go for a walk, other than that it was terrible. Maybe I just ended up on a bad street but it has cured me of base housing forever. There are plenty of very nice rentals available through military people who are leaving but keeping their homes. The monthly rent may be the same as housing if you check around. Either way, good luck. If you have any specific questions about colleges, shops, jobs, etc. let us know.

[mznatalie]

Hi I am also from Florida (tallahassee) and recently relocated this way.. Sorry to tell you but compared to Florida it sucks.. It smells bad and the weather sucks. People definitely aren't has friendly as they are down south. Dover is probably about the size of Brandenton.

[lovelynicole89]

Hey Everyone! Thanks so much for the feedback, its really helping me get my mind ready to deal with whats coming my way! lol... Well it sounds like the whole on base housing should be interesting... I hope we dont end up in as bad of luck as you debbie! You said the shopping is not so good?? Uh ohh.. Im a shopper, this could be a problem haha.. Ive researched the city a little bit and Ive found that it has two malls, what kind of stores are in them? I hope atleast like a dillards or a Macy's? Also that umm I believe its called Schwartz center sounds nice I think ive read that they have plays and like ballet things going on there.

Im interested in going to Delaware state university, I will have gotten my associates degree and plan to get my masters in education. How are the jobs in that field there?
Anyway thanks for all the help. I realize a lot of places are gonna have a tough time competing with the florida lifestyle I have now, but my fiance and I are just looking forward to being together, we're willing to rough it! This whole year he's in training and Im in school, so we're only seeing each other every few months.

Thanks again all! =)

[kat196]

There is one mall in Dover and one about 45 minutes away in New Castle County as well as one about an hour away in Brandywine Hundred. The one in Dover is small but it does have a Macy's, Boscov's, Penney's and Sears as well as an assortment of smaller stores and a movie theater. There are outlet stores near the beaches about 35 minutes away -- three centers with a total of 130 stores.

As far as teaching, I think you'd be able to find a job pretty easily from what I have heard.

The Schwartz Center in Dover does offer a variety of shows and is very cute. There is also the Kent County Theater Guild which is community theater.

Truthfully there is not a whole lot to do in the immediate area but if you're going to school or work, you'll find plenty to do in your spare time, especially if you don't mind a little drive.

Good luck!

[debbiekr]

Our three local school districts are Caesar Rodney, Capitol and Lake Forest. You can check their websites for openings. I know a friend of mine just recently was offered a teaching position after interviewing for several over about 7 months. She said she was told one job was interviewing 25 people! The good thing about our area is they are always making changes to the schools, for the better in my opinion. What grade will you be teaching?

As far as the shopping, the Macy's here is not probably what you are use to. It's the size of a small Kmart, if that. Where I came from we had a 3 story Macy's! But if you really want to shop you can always travel about an hour and a half and get to some great shopping in MD and PA. The Christiana Mall in Newark is definitely better than Dover Mall. They've been saying they are updating Dover for about the past 4 years but nothing yet. We do have a Kohl's which is nice. Also, Salisbury Mall in MD is only about a 45 minute drive.

[jayman1981]

Well let me give my two cents. I was stationed at Dover from 2003-2005. I was raised in D.C. So to come to Dover was a culture shock. During my time there, I couldn't get use to Dover AFB because it seem like a lot of people wanted to get out of there. After being there I understand why. The City of Dover itself wasn't to my liking, but that is just me.

To give you a far opinion Dover did have a lot of family friendly events downtown. Outside of that the main things are Dover Mall, and Super Wal-mart in Camden. If your into Nascar they have races there (correct me if I'm wrong) twice a year. Also if your into gambling Dover Downs is the place. Outside of that you'll be hard press to try to find something fun to do in town. D.C. is an 1 1/2 away and so is Philly. Loved going up to Philly. Rehobeth and Dewey Beach is about 45 mins away if you want to smell the salty Atlantic ocean. Dover is what you make of it. If your use to a fast paced environment, be prepared to slow down a lot. This is a family oriented town that has tried to make improvements. This is a city where you can let your kids run around and not be to worried about it. There is no state tax. I would say something about jobs, but I honestly did not try to look for one around here. I knew I was relocating back home. Overall because I'm use to a fast paced lifestyle and the hussle of the big city. Dover was just way to slow for me. I just don't like having to travel a lot way to get to interesting stuff besides the mall. I mean no disrespect to the people. It all how adaptable you are that will make Dover great, or one the worst.