Travis AFB info

[Guest walkernm]

I just found out that I will be on casual status at Travis. I will be completing my IFT there and I was wondering what is the good the bad and the ugly about being there.

[ 04. April 2004, 15:50: Message edited by: gobucks ]

[Guest AirGuardian]

Sacramento is a good place and Napa Valley isn't too far either. Great places to hang out and good wine to be had. I'm just referencing the local area of course. Weather isn't bad as well - I would get my physicals out there when I was at SJSU many moons ago!

[backseatdriver]

Travis is nearby San Francisco as well, and all gay jokes aside, it is a very cool city (just steer clear of the Castro District).

[ 04. April 2004, 20:43: Message edited by: backseatdriver ]

[Guest egghead]

2nd that Opie. I grew up in Vacaville just 15 minutes from Travis. That area has EVERYTHING within a 2 hour drive. One day back in High School I went snow skiing and surfing the same day. Made for a long day but one hell of a memory. Any paticular q's just send me a PM. But it's a damn fine area. Travis is my #1 choice for next summers PCS's. You lucky dog.

[Techsan]

I was curious where most guys live around the Travis AFB area. I know that the housing market is crazy in CA and the bubble is going to burst there first, but I'd like to buy something there. Any suggestions?

[Guest Flow777]

Here's what I've gathered so far:

- Vacaville. 10 min from base. Brand new homes. Many military live there.

- Davis. 30 mins. Smaller town compared to others I listed. Lower crime rate.

- Peabody road around base. New developments. It might be cheaper because I hear it's underdeveloped based on their original plan.

- I may have a broker contact for you--still waiting for her reply.

I hope this helps. I'm not very knowledgeable about the Travis area (I live in the Roseville area about 1 hour away) but I'm asking my friends who live around there.

Let me know if I can help you more.

[Guest Xtndr50boom]

To add to Flow's remarks,

Fairfield: Some good, some bad. About 5-10 minutes from base. Alot of riff raff, but you may get lucky.

Suisun City: Not nearly as bad as fairfield. 5-10 minutes. Some brand new homes, near waterfront, etc.

Check out the Rio Vista area, don't know much about it, but it's worth a shot. Suisun rocks, mainly because I live here though. If it weren't for me it'd be nothing more than a sign post with BB dents all over it ;)

[Guest thebronze]

The housing market in Cali is not going "burst". It has gone down slightly (to a little more "reasonable" pricing), which is probably good.

Regardless, housing in Cali is pretty expensive, no matter where you live, although you can find some newer developments that are priced okay (for Cali standards).

If you're planning on buying, look at Winters, Woodland or W. Sacramento.

Stay away from anything west of Vacaville. Faifield and Vallejo are sh*tholes...

[Guest Flow777]

Here are more suggestions:

Lawler Ranch - Suisun

Rancho Solano - Fairfield

Green Valley - Fairfield

Rolling Hills - Fairfield

Paradise Valley - Fairfield

Foxboro/Westgate - Vacaville

Alamo Place - Vacaville

There are other areas as well. New developments are popping up almost

every month. It's pretty easy to tell which areas are nice around here.

[Guest Xtndr50boom]

Check out the Cordelia area too. Pretty nice up there, and far enough from fairfield so you won't hear la policia. Good bar right there too

[The Kayla]

OKie..

I'm From CALI..

I was Born in Napa Valley, Raised in Vallejo.

I met my husband while he was at travis, he lived in Vacaville, then moved to Davis to rent out a house with his buddies, then we moved back to Suisun.

EVERY TOWN is going to have good parts and bad parts.. Keep THAT in mind, will ya?

I know some cpls who live outside the "limits" so that they can get paid more? I'm not sure HOW the ligistics to that work.. but they live so many miles away from the base, that the base pays for gas, or some crap like that.

If you want to live on the 80East side:

Fairfield, VV, Sac, Davis, Dixon, Cordilia, FF, VV, Suisun CIty, Rio-something(Its on the other side of the 12),

If you want to be on the other side of the 12:

Napa, American Canyon, Yontville, St. Helena, Lake Berryessa,

There's also:

Benicia(I went to high school here)

Glen Cove

Concord

Walnut Creek

Black Hawk

Antioch(sp?)

Martinez

Theres a ton more cities, I just cant think of their names.

I went to College In walnut Creek.

Benicia is beautiful, its by the bay... I lived there.. went to high school there... *sigh* memories... But, you'll be paying a pretty penny to live there.

Now, If you're *cough* lazy *cough cough like my husband...couch cough* Then you're going to want to stay closer to the the FF area(now, I'm not saying that you have to stay IN FF, just NEAR the area..)

Traffic is CA is a B!tch. There is no way of sugar coating that. You live with it, you get used to it.. its just part of they daily grind..

Good Luck. PM me if you want more info. I can give you info on a rental agent who's a vet, who likes to work with Military couples, or solos, whatever the case may be. I also know a name of a great couple who are in the rental biz who perfer to rent to military people.

Lemme know..

[ 17. May 2006, 02:51: Message edited by: lcgsdmama ]

[Techsan]

So does anyone actually commute from West Sacramento to Travis? I'd imagine it would take up to an hour each way.

Can anyone shed some light?

[Guest Xtndr50boom]

C21,

I used to commute from Fair Oaks (NE of west sac) to the base and know a few pilots in the 69s who commute daily. It is about an hour from WS, an hour and a half from FO. Traffic is easy going to base in the morning (Midway road exit) and it's not bad going back into sacramento in the afternoon since you get off the 80 before Truxel and the 5-bottleneck around Northridge.

[XL0901]

Another revival?? Also just assigned to Travis. Any info on the 21 AS? Also I was wondering if anyone had more recent insight with on-base housing situation? Anyone know the possibility of civilian nurses working at the base hospital? (Wife) Thanks in advance.

Edited October 14, 2008 by XL0901

[HuggyU2]

XL,

Base housing had a fire about 2 months ago that supposedly destroyed a number of homes. That's all I know there.

I see a lot of civilians in David Grant Hospital, but don't know how easy a nursing position is.

However, realize that there are a number of good civilian hospitals around. UC Davis Medical Center is right off highway 50 in Sacramento, and about 45 minutes from Travis: very top notch.

If you're going to be deployed a bunch, look at some of the older homes in Sacramento: your wife will be close to work at least. Your fellow 21 AS pilots should be able to point you in the right direction.

[Techsan]

XL,

Base housing had a fire about 2 months ago that supposedly destroyed a number of homes. That's all I know there.

True, however those homes burnt to a crisp were all condemned and unoccupied. Probably saved the AF on demo costs.

Waiting time for O base housing is still about 1.5 yrs. The houses are somewhat new, however are quite small. My wife about shit herself when she saw how especially tiny the kitchens are. We ended up taking a pass on base housing when we made it to the top of the list.

[XL0901]

True, however those homes burnt to a crisp were all condemned and unoccupied. Probably saved the AF on demo costs.

Waiting time for O base housing is still about 1.5 yrs. The houses are somewhat new, however are quite small. My wife about shit herself when she saw how especially tiny the kitchens are. We ended up taking a pass on base housing when we made it to the top of the list.

Tech,

Where are most people settling down off-base? Is Fairfield a good option...I've heard it's kind of, well, gangster (Have you seen the youtube video?). I've heard Vacaville is better but I'm sure has its slums like anywhere. Also is anyone buying or just renting?

[Techsan]

75% live in either Fairfield or Vacaville. The other 25% is mostly Sacramento, Davis, Dixon, and Benecia. There are certain parts of Fairfield (everything south of Air Base Pkwy) that are straight up ghetto, however there are parts of Fairfield that are nice (I live in Fairfield). If your wife will be working West of Travis...Fairfield, Green Valley, Benecia would probably work best. If she will be working East of Travis...Vacaville, Dixon, Davis, W Sac will work out nice.

Vacaville isn't too bad. It does have older areas like Fairfield, however they are not quite as ghetto. Vacaville also has more restaurants, shopping, etc. Most folks live in the area called Brown's Valley.

Most people nowadays are renting. I would venture to say that about 75% of guys rent. The other 25% are usually those that both husband and wife work, and no kids (DINKs). I would probably stay away from purchasing a home right now, but if you are willing to spend some time looking, you may be able to find a few foreclosures....a whole other discussion.

I'm sure you all will enjoy your time here @ Travis. I just wish it would rain here! I haven't seen any precip for months now!

[The Kayla]

I'm sure you all will enjoy your time here @ Travis. I just wish it would rain here! I haven't seen any precip for months now!

WHAT?! That's odd, this is one of CA's rainy seasons.. spring is another rainy season!

For hospitals for your wife:

Kaiser

David Grant

UC Davis Medical Center

Sutter Solano

UC San Fran Medical Center (It's in San Fran.. but if she was a traveling nurse, and worked there for 7 days, once a month, she would make bank..)

and a gazillion private practices too.

This is a futher drive, but Benicia is awesome. Great Schools, center to the Bay Area.. they have an amazing Farmers Markets on Thursdays down town. A whole bunch of really cute shops.. Benicia is just awesome... Ok OK... I'm very biased, I lived there and went to High School there.. I love Benicia.. and I would do all that I could do to live there again.

[Techsan]

WHAT?! That's odd, this is one of CA's rainy seasons.. spring is another rainy season!

Rainy season hasn't started yet...probably not until November. It seriously hasn't rained here @ my house in the past 5 months. I'm sure by March I'll be wishing the sun would come out more.

The housing market in Cali is not going "burst". It has gone down slightly (to a little more "reasonable" pricing), which is probably good.

Regardless, housing in Cali is pretty expensive, no matter where you live, although you can find some newer developments that are priced okay (for Cali standards).

I just re-read this post...

We have 3 homes in foreclosure within 50 yds of where I live. One home was for sale 2 yrs ago, asking $525K. It sold @ auction last month for $345. Ouch!

Glad I didn't buy a couple yrs ago!

[XL0901]

Anyone have any new info on the housing market out there. After talking to a bunch of folks I was set on renting but the more research I did it seems like I could buy for the same price I would be renting for. Not to mention the tax breaks and equity. I will be moving out there end of april and probably won't get serious until I there. Maybe rent month to month while I find something. Any input would be appreciated.

I've been looking almost exclusively at Vacaville but I'm open to anything in a descent neighborhood.

[The Kayla]

Anyone have any new info on the housing market out there. After talking to a bunch of folks I was set on renting but the more research I did it seems like I could buy for the same price I would be renting for. Not to mention the tax breaks and equity. I will be moving out there end of april and probably won't get serious until I there. Maybe rent month to month while I find something. Any input would be appreciated.

I've been looking almost exclusively at Vacaville but I'm open to anything in a descent neighborhood.

How opposed are you of a drive?

Davis is 30mins East, and is a great location.

Benicia is 30-45minutes West, and is AMAZING! OK, so I'm very biased. I grew up there.

You have Winters, West Sac, Cordillia, Suisun City, and Fairfield Hills.

[Techsan]

Housing is definitly more affordable now...compared to 2.5 yrs ago. I still would think its not a bad idea to rent, as home prices are still on the decline in this area (Solano County). Having said that, I think you would be ok buying now...esp with the low interest rates.

Houses that used to go for $550K 2.5 yrs ago, are now on the market for $325K. Still overpriced, IMO.

Vacaville is a nice town.

[Guest Vettepilot]

If you are a USAA person I would suggest looking into the MoversAdvantage Program. They sent me a 21 page report on the area with weather, demographics, local attractions, schools, and some pretty detailed information about the housing market over the past 4 years. If you dont use USAA PM me your email and I can send along what they sent me. A Lot of what has already been said is reflected, from the graphs of the average home sales price trends it looks like the market might be starting to level off at about 332k while the median price is still dropping through 290k.

[Guest C-21 Pilot]

If you are a USAA person I would suggest looking into the MoversAdvantage Program. They sent me a 21 page report on the area with weather, demographics, local attractions, schools, and some pretty detailed information about the housing market over the past 4 years. If you dont use USAA PM me your email and I can send along what they sent me. A Lot of what has already been said is reflected, from the graphs of the average home sales price trends it looks like the market might be starting to level off at about 332k while the median price is still dropping through 290k.

I don't want to thread hijack because there is a multitude of stuff on USAA - but, make sure you shop around FIRST before settling w/ USAA. The stuff that USAA puts together you can EASILY find on the internet yourself if you have the time and patience. Although it seems personalized, USAA simply just cut's and pastes info together.

Bottom line, I agree w/ Vettepilot that the USAA Movers Advantage Program is nice, but don't settle with them becuase of that program. You can easily find better rates elsewhere and do the research yourself.