So my husband and I just found out that we are going to Andrews AFB. Does anyone know what its like there? Or any information at all, that would be helpful. Thanks

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Wife to A1C Preston Furtick and loving mother to Nathan Lee.

The AFRC usually has pamphlets (and sometimes videos) about bases available, you might want to check with them.

www.afcrossroads.com also has an area with some decently detailed information about bases, including pictures,etc. It *is* a fairly secure official AF site, and requires you to sign up for an account, which will be confirmed through the DEERS database, so access can take up to 24 hours.

My only caveat about the base info section at AF Crossroads is that you may find some information out of date, as not all bases update their information as frequently as they should.

Dee :)

I flew in there a couple of times-seems to be small. It is almost in Washington, DC. So it has to be congested and expensive, but they probably give you extra pay to afford the rent. Don't worry a lot. Lots of Pizza places.

I'm at Fort Meade, about 25 mins from Andrews AFB. What do you need to know?

do you know of any small towns near andrews that would be a nice place to raise a kid, and thats not really expensive. Anything that could help. thanks

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Wife to A1C Preston Furtick and loving mother to Nathan Lee.

You'll get some suggestions, I hope, from someone there.
My guess is you may be able to afford a car, but not much gas at $3.50 per gallon. Driving to and from a distant small town won't fit in your budget. Your son may have to put up with city life for a couple of years. This whole area is one big city, from Maryland to DC to Virginia. Probably would be best to put in for Base Housing and wait. The base is safer, too. The voice of experience.

There really is no "inexpensive" place to live in this area, it is all about value for money here, so just prepare for things to be a little more expensive than you are used to.

As far as housing goes, I am at Fort Detrick so things are a litle more rural here. Even so, I spent a MONTH looking for off base housing and found nothing that was in my budget, so I opted to take a plce on base... and I HATE living on base for lots of reasons we won't discuss here! It is really not a bad option when you live in this area, but I am sure things around Andrews are a little different. Good luck!

Most of the people stationed at Andrews live in Waldorf or LaPlata, MD. It's about 10 - 15 miles south of Andrews. Like others have said, there isn't anyplace near DC that is inexpensive. But, Waldorf is a "bedroom" community and is a little cheaper and safer than DC. In that area, the median average for a house is $350,000 to $450,000. That's not more that 2500 sq feet. However, Andrews does get the higher rate BAH compared to Fort Meade, so that may help a little. I hope this helps.