HELP - Moving to Fort Hood!!! (Killeen, Harker Heights: fit in, rentals, homes)

[SweedDiva]

Hi bellestar,

Is it really nice?? This might be a dumb question to ask, but you are truly the first one I hear saying that Ft.Hood has nice housing on post. everyone else I spoke to kept telling me that it is supposed to be REALLY BAD and old, old and even older.

Thanks in advance
TINA

Originally Posted by bellestaroftexas

dont know why you wouldnt want to live on post-they have really nice post housing-some real new.
if you are just one of those opposed to living on post, i heard Harker Heights and Copperas Cove are nice. if you want country living, Lampasas

[121804]

There is newer housing on FT Hood & then there is some very old housing that needs serious fixup. The "newer" stuff is found on the West Fort Hood area. There is probably a mix of half & half. I never met anyone who wanted to live on post. Most are happier living off post. Fort Hood is the largest military post in the US; you will see when you arrive just how MUCH you have to choose from. You would probably want your husband to see if there is a waiting list for on-post right now if you are considering living on post b/c that waiting list can be quite long.

Fort Hood is an interesting place. The more you have prepared before you arrive the easier it is going to be for you

[SweedDiva]

hi 121804

thanks for the information. Yeah we heard about the waiting time although we have been told that it shouldnt be no longer than 1-2 months of time. I do not know if this is true because my sister and her hubby got stationed on Fort Riley, Kansas and they waited for almost 7 months until they could get housing.

Tina

Originally Posted by 121804

There is newer housing on FT Hood & then there is some very old housing that needs serious fixup. The "newer" stuff is found on the West Fort Hood area. There is probably a mix of half & half. I never met anyone who wanted to live on post. Most are happier living off post. Fort Hood is the largest military post in the US; you will see when you arrive just how MUCH you have to choose from. You would probably want your husband to see if there is a waiting list for on-post right now if you are considering living on post b/c that waiting list can be quite long.

Fort Hood is an interesting place. The more you have prepared before you arrive the easier it is going to be for you

[121804]

The nice thing about Hood is that there is SO much availability in housing. Since 2002 to now (we left 2 months ago), I cannot tell you how many new developments have sprung up all over.

Because there are so many places to live off post, the waiting list may be shorter at Hood. A lot of people actually make money by living off post, so that is another draw.

Best of luck.

PS...Clear Creek Commissary is the better of two by far!!!! It is cleaner, not as crowded & better stocked

[SweedDiva]

Hey,

Thanks for the information, I will make sure to check the clear creek commissary out
Yes we will be looking at the different areas around Hood soon as we get there. Temple is one of our first choices but we are open for most of it.

Tina

Originally Posted by 121804

The nice thing about Hood is that there is SO much availability in housing. Since 2002 to now (we left 2 months ago), I cannot tell you how many new developments have sprung up all over.

Because there are so many places to live off post, the waiting list may be shorter at Hood. A lot of people actually make money by living off post, so that is another draw.

Best of luck.

PS...Clear Creek Commissary is the better of two by far!!!! It is cleaner, not as crowded & better stocked

[121804]

Is there a reason you guys are looking at Temple? The only reason I ask is that it is sorta of a long drive to worrk. But if your hubby is fine with that, go for it. While Killeen is not the "prettiest" of places by any means, we just preferred there b/c it was closest to base [especially b/c of PT] & the city that offered the most in terms of grocery stores, restuarants, etc. Lots & lots of heavy traffic in Killeen, though. Then again, we were only renting & knew we'd be leaving in a few yrs, so we found the safest & closet area. Everyone is different

I will say that if you are looking to buy a home, the Temple area is probably one of the better. Just make sure you guys have a really good person working with you and/or friends and family who can make sure you end up in the right area of Temple. There are areas of Temple you do not want to live in!! It is slowly growing & there is a mall there with some ok stores. Not a huge selection, but something to do if you are bored.

Another place nicer than Killeen is Belton, which is right by Temple.

PS...you are arriving during MAJOR construction on the main interstate through Killeen. Just giving you a heads up to be prepared. They are FINALLY widening the lanes & fixing some problems that really needed to be addressed with traffic in Killeen.

[SweedDiva]

Well the reason why we are looking at temple is because we found two nice areas (or at least it seems so on pictures) to live at. So we decided to check these places out for appartments since we knew that we most likely had to wait for on post housing. No we are not looking for buying a house in Texas since we are not staying there any longer than what the Army wants us to stay. So for now it will only be something to rent or onpost housing.
And as far as the driving part, Yeah my hubby is okay with that. While we stayed in germany he drove an hour back and one hour fort every day to get to work. But we do have our eyes open on Killeen as well. My husband has a few family members there. I never heard of belton before so I will make sure that we get to look into that as well.
Oh well I just hope things will be good. I never try to make any judgments before I been to any place, and even if it turned out to not be anything that I like I always make the best out of the situation.

Originally Posted by 121804

Is there a reason you guys are looking at Temple? The only reason I ask is that it is sorta of a long drive to worrk. But if your hubby is fine with that, go for it. While Killeen is not the "prettiest" of places by any means, we just preferred there b/c it was closest to base [especially b/c of PT] & the city that offered the most in terms of grocery stores, restuarants, etc. Lots & lots of heavy traffic in Killeen, though. Then again, we were only renting & knew we'd be leaving in a few yrs, so we found the safest & closet area. Everyone is different

I will say that if you are looking to buy a home, the Temple area is probably one of the better. Just make sure you guys have a really good person working with you and/or friends and family who can make sure you end up in the right area of Temple. There are areas of Temple you do not want to live in!! It is slowly growing & there is a mall there with some ok stores. Not a huge selection, but something to do if you are bored.

Another place nicer than Killeen is Belton, which is right by Temple.

PS...you are arriving during MAJOR construction on the main interstate through Killeen. Just giving you a heads up to be prepared. They are FINALLY widening the lanes & fixing some problems that really needed to be addressed with traffic in Killeen.

[RSTX]

SweedDiva, what apartments are you looking at in Temple? I have lived here since 1997 and would be happy to help if I can. The south side of Temple will be your best bet. Lots of Ft. Hood families live here and commute. Off the top of my head I would suggest Echo Station apts. and Village at Meadowbend. I've never lived in an apt. here, but I drive by them frequently. Both seem nice and well maintained.

Belton has several nice places, too. Both cities are good choices.

Best of luck to you.

[SweedDiva]

Hi RSTX

We found on apartments.com two places that seems to be very nice looking and well taken care of. One of the is what you mentioned Village at Meadowbend and the other one is woodbridge Crossing.
Now the pictures look really nice, especially meadowbend and I can kind of say that I did fall in love with the looks of it. But what things look like in real life is a different thing.I saw that happening to my sister as they got stationed on Ft.Riley,Kansas. The areas online looked so nice but then when they ended up there it looked nothing like on the pictures. So therfor we said that we have to check the places out in person, at first and also look at the other areas.
Well,since you have lived there for 10 years now I would be more than happy if you could give us little information about Meadowbend and even the whole Temple area. What is there to do, what is the daily living life like, how far is the nearest grocery store, shopping areas, what is the downtown area like, how family friendly is temple and how close is hospital, dentist and so on.

I appreciate it. Thanks in advance

Originally Posted by RSTX

SweedDiva, what apartments are you looking at in Temple? I have lived here since 1997 and would be happy to help if I can. The south side of Temple will be your best bet. Lots of Ft. Hood families live here and commute. Off the top of my head I would suggest Echo Station apts. and Village at Meadowbend. I've never lived in an apt. here, but I drive by them frequently. Both seem nice and well maintained.

Belton has several nice places, too. Both cities are good choices.

Best of luck to you.

[RSTX]

I have walked through VaMb (Village at Meadowbend). My sister-in-law looked into living there about two years ago but decided to stay closer to her parents. It was clean and well kept. The pool was nice, but not big. More for splashing around than swimming laps. The rooms were standard apt. size. If I recall correctly they had washer/dryer hook-ups. The property is located on the east side of Temple, and is almost in the country. It is easy to get around and close to the major stores (HEB, Wal-Mart, Sams, Temple Mall) and restaurants (El Chico, Fudruckers, Cotton Patch, Chili's, and some upscale ones downtown like Cheeve's Brothers and Pignetti's (try googleine both names along with "Temple, TX")). There is a little used back road that will get you from VaMb apts. to Highway 190 (the road to Ft. Hood) so you can avoid the traffic lights and crowds. I worked on base at the Army hospital (Darnall ACH) for two years. It took me right at 30 minutes to get to the main gate and park at the hospital. From VaMb you could add about 5 minutes or so to that travel time.

I don't know much about Woodbridge Crossing. I've seen it but never stopped by. It is on the west side of Temple. They appear to be older than VaMb, but I'm just going by outside appearances.

Daily life is laid back and quiet. There is a small community college but no major university, so not too many wild party places. Night life is not what you will find in abundance, although to be honest I've never looked. We have three children and are active in our church. Most people are pretty friendly. Like anywhere else, you will find all kinds. Scott & White Memorial Hospital is a major employer here and it is a teaching hospital. Lots of resident physicians learn here. My wife was a resident there and a staff physician for a few years. She now works for Hillcrest Family Health Clinic in Belton and sees a LOT of Ft. Hood military families. The military community is well represented here. Our church (and many others) has a military pastor dedicated to serving that community. You will not be alone.

Downtown is mixed. Some of it has been restored and is a popular place to eat and visit. Some of it is not as nice and needs work. The kids and I go to the library downtown once a week for story time and to visit. I've never felt nervous or uncomfortable.

Shopping is mostly grouped together and easy to get to from any part of town. There are several good dentists and doctors available. Email or pm me for my suggestions.

Good luck with everything. I hope you enjoy your time in Texas.

BTW, my family is mostly of German blood (grandmother was a Herbst). I would love to visit the country some day.