Greetings,

I will be in Osan in August from the great Kirtland Air Force Base Last time I was in Korea was in Kunsan from 91-92. I am sure everything has changed. I am looking forward to any tips anyone can provide.
Tim

Welcome Tim! Take a look at the Osan Forum for a lot of good threads.

Mike

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Coming in August? I hope it works out. A lot can happen in 5 months. My last Civil Service job was at Kirtland, with the C-130,s. I really loved it there. As much as I do Seoul!

Hey, I came from Kirtland too. I loved it there. Contrary to what other might think, I thought Kirtland was a charming place. Got to go hiking and roaming around the desert every weekend. LOL>
Welcome to Osan. Too bad, I'll be gone when you get here.

I have read several threads about Osan. I will be a SNCO and after going through the waiting list to secure a room. I secured a phone through a friend, but what is the best thing for my wife to use to call me there or vice versa? Additionally, I saw many threads about high speed internet available on base, do we go through the BX?
Additionally I am pondering bringing my '03 F150 over, would this be advisable? From what I remember from years ago, you can pretty much get anywhere on a bike. Hey guys thanks for your time.

You might consider getting a VoIP phone like vonage. That way, when your wife makes call to you, it won't cost you anything. Yes, we do have high-speed DSL in the room. You can sign up for the internet in the BX complex. The cost now is $40 a month.
If you just getting a regular phone, then it would probably be best for your wife to use calling card. Phone and DSL sign up is at the same location.
For me, I don't have a regular phone nor a VoIP phone. Since I make call back to the States a lot, I just have a cell phone plan that allows me to make unlimited call to the State. With the plan, I also have 250 local minutes a month, all for $50/month. This is from an off-base shop. The steep price is in paying for the phone itself. I paid about $230 for the phone initially.
Whatever your choice is, you will need to have a local phone for recall. The Vonage phone works great, but people have difficulty getting in touch with you during recall. People with vonage phone will either have a regular line or get a cheap used cell phone and buy the minutes for it from off-base shops.
Yes, on Osan, you can get anywhere on bike. But I think I prefer to have a car. For just base transportation though, you can buy one of the used junkie car for less than a thousand dollars. It'll guarantee to take you around the base and in town. If I have to do it again however, I would have shipped my car over. I don't like getting into my junkie car anymore lol. Be aware that the driving condition in Korea is not like in the States. Just drive a lot more defensive.

Getting here after June and you will have to get your VOIP service through LG Dacom (the company taking over the cable/internet service). You will no longer be able to bring your own VOIP box over. Makes it a little tougher for the little lady to call you, but it would work for you to call her. Lots of people don't have either a cell or VOIP and get along just fine with MSN MessengerLive or Yahoo! Messenger.

Depending on where you are going to work will determine whether or not you really want a car. I haven't found the need to go out and spend the money on one and I'm only a few months from being out of here.

If you live off base, I agree that you will need to get a cell phone for recall purposes. If you live on base, someone will knock on your door if you don't have one.

Life is good here. You won't want for anything other than to go home to your family.