Vance AFB information

[Guest bigmaffy]

Someone mentioned the train tracks along side the base housing on Vance. Is the train very loud? Does it blow it's horn at all hours? We live near tracks now, but there's a golf course between us and the train, so it's not that loud. Just wondering!

[brabus]

Someone mentioned the train tracks along side the base housing on Vance. Is the train very loud? Does it blow it's horn at all hours? We live near tracks now, but there's a golf course between us and the train, so it's not that loud. Just wondering!

I live in one of the houses that's right next to the tracks and honestly it's not a big deal. I really thought it was going to be before moving here, but w/in 2 days or so I just got used to it. A train usually comes by anywhere from 11-2am, which sounds bad but they don't blow the horn and I've personally never been wakened by it...the only reason I know it comes then is if I already happen to be awake. There might be one or two other trains during the day, but it's really not as bad as it sounds.

[Guest USAFmama]

I am SO relieved to have stumbled on this forum! Like others have said, finding information about Vance AFB on the internet is painful. My husband and I just found out our first station will be at Vance, when he commissions this May 2008. I know we've got plenty of time, but I've been SO anxious to find out where we're going and it's such a relief to finally know.

How's the weather out there? I'm so sick of Tucson, although we finally got below 90 this week. I saw a couple CHILLY pictures of the base and kicked myself for wanting colder winters. Is Vance in serious tornado territory? That's one of our hesitations about considering buying out there.

Has the area been hit hard with the housing slump? IF our place sells here, we'll be in a position to buy, but with the market so crummy, we're not sure if we want to. Any thoughts?

So far, from what I've read, I think Vance will be good for our family. We just had our third little one in August. Making the Air Force stronger one kid at a time!

[Guest AFwife62406]

We've only been here since May, but I've heard it gets pretty cold here in the winter. The summer was hot, but probably not as bad as Tuscan is. It rained for the first 2 weeks we were here, but after that it was pretty dry for the most part. It gets pretty windy here sometimes. We've been considering buying a house is my husband FAIP's here, and the housing market is still decent. There are many nice houses for sale in the area. I can recommend a great realtor to you if you'd like also.

[HerkDerka]

How's the weather out there?

There's a saying, "If you don't like the weather in oklahoma, wait five minutes."

Hot summers, generally mild winters. Lots of rain in the spring. You'll see a little snow, but freezing rain and ice storms are more likely. Enid is in the middle of the great plains, so it's nice and windy.

Is Vance in serious tornado territory? That's one of our hesitations about considering buying out there.

Yes. Enid is in the middle of Tornado Alley.

HD

[Guest DMR]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to most of this, so please bear with me. My husband just started his pilot training today (yay!) at Vance. I am back home (in Ohio under contract as a teacher) until summer. I plan on visiting a few times between now and then. Since I missed the initial "introduction to classmates/spouses" cookout, any advice on how to meet other spouses? I know that some meet as a group (when and where?). I know I will have some time on my hands and would love to meet new people!

Thanks!

Dawn

[The Kayla]

Welcome!

Every Spouse group is different. Some meet every week, some don't. As far as your class goes, I couldn't tell you anything. I'm *guessing* that since he just started today, he's in the 71st OSS until he moves to the flight line.

If you want, PM me your email addy, and I'll have the Spouse in Charge of the OSS roster add you, that way you can recieve emails and such, regarding spouse socials, play groups (if you have kids), and other things that are going around in the 71st. When he moves to Phase 2, he'll either move to the 33rd or 8th. From there, you should be contacted by his C/O's spouse who will be your "POC" (Point of Contact). She will always send you emails regarding social events, play groups, and other events going on the the squadron.

Are you moving on base or off base?

I can't speak for all classes, but our class is pretty close. We all hang out and have a dandy good ol' time. Once you get here, you will meet more spouses in your class. Also, your husband's class will have a roster and a spouse roster. So, if you feel froggy, you can always email everyone and go out to eat or what not.

Spouse activity varies by Class. You might have a class where it's mostly single guys, or a class where it's mostly old guys that are married w/ or w/out kids.

There is the OSC (Officer Spouse's Club) and SOSC (Student Officer Spouse's Club).

Lemme know if you want anymore information!

Again,

WELCOME TO VANCE!

[brabus]

First off, I don't think Vance is going anywhere anytime soon. Secondly, housing is going to be a huge problem in Enid in the near future. Vance is taking down all the old housing (where most of the O's live) and building new housing, but of course this will probably take the next 3 yrs or so to do. In the mean time Advanced Foods (big company on the outskirts of town) is expanding and adding 800 jobs, thus tons of people moving to Enid for those jobs. Apparently Advanced has already "reserved" all the new apartment complexes that have yet to be built. The city managers are realizing they have a big problem on their hands due to this large influx of people coming to Enid for work and all the new military coming to Vance. So, my thought is this will drive up the average home cost (much more demand than Enid can handle) and hopefully if you guys buy a house before all this happens, then when you turn to sell the market should hopefully still be riding this "high demand" wave. Just a thought.

[The Kayla]

OH!!! I will tell you this now: there is a city Called North Enid. It is in teh North side of Enid, it's a mom and pop type city.. the city have (no joke) two cops, one Mayor, and all are really good friends. So, what I'm saying is, watch out. If you piss one of the cops off, you will be screwed by pretty much teh whole town.

I have friends that live in North Enid, and man, the stories that they tell...

There is a long history between North Enid and Enid, and something to do with the train tracks and cutting off supplies. It's insance.

Stay away from North Enid. stay far far far away.

[Guest USAFmama]

We probably won't be able to come out there in advance. My hubby's reporting to ASBC 6 days after commissioning and I'm assuming he'll be going from there to Vance. We're toying with the idea of staying on base a year or so, giving us time to scope out a place off base. We're worried that we won't get approved for much or at a great rate because of our tremendous school debt between the two of us. hehe... we're right now living in my parents' garage (which was converted into a room), since our house sold and graduation is so close. Even base housing looks good compared to what we're living in right now- 11 people in one house!

Has anyone here done a DITY? Since we're living with family, ALL our stuff, except our clothes and some toys for the kids, is boxed up in storage. I dread the idea of the movers going in and unpacking everything, tossing it into other boxes, all random. I found a website about doing a DITY and they recommended using a service where you pack and load the truck but they drive. Any insight on that?

Sorry about all the questions :P

[The Kayla]

Has anyone here done a DITY? Since we're living with family, ALL our stuff, except our clothes and some toys for the kids, is boxed up in storage. I dread the idea of the movers going in and unpacking everything, tossing it into other boxes, all random. I found a website about doing a DITY and they recommended using a service where you pack and load the truck but they drive. Any insight on that?

most of the services that TMO use, are usually very organized about what goes in what box-- It's not random at all.

If you are going to do a DITY move, you have to get it 'approved' before you move. If not, they might or might not pay you for the DITY.

[Guest KM]

Changing the subject a little.......anyone know a good eye doctor in Enid? I hate picking random names out of the yellow pages for things like contacts ; )

[The Kayla]

Changing the subject a little.......anyone know a good eye doctor in Enid? I hate picking random names out of the yellow pages for things like contacts ; )

I think I saw a Dr. in the Enid Opto Group-- They are near St. Mary's.. crap! I can't think of his name! the co-pay was $15 bones..

Another thing to USAFmama:

TO live on Base, you have to sign a lease. They are yearly leases, and the only way you can get out of your lease with out getting into trouble is if you have PCS orders. Trouble includes: They take another months BAH.

[Guest echofox]

Looking for a good place with storage units. The one over by sunridge is full. Anyone use any of the places around town? Only need 10x5 space at most.

Also, anyone have experience with any of the auto body shops in the area?

Edited March 20, 2008 by echofox

[The Kayla]

Looking for a good place with storage units. The one over by sunridge is full. Anyone use any of the places around town? Only need 10x5 space at most.

Also, anyone have experience with any of the auto body shops in the area?

There's a storage unit on Van Buran, the cross street is South GAte (very close to the base) Emrick's, I think, is the name.

I'll ask my husband about body shops. He should know some good ones.

[Guest lovemyflyboy]

Yeah, Sunridge is probably going to be your best bet I would think. Don (the owner of Sunridge) isn't too strict on when you come and leave so 6 mos shouldn't be a problem here. He's building new units so they might be ready, I'm not sure. Let me know if you want to know anything else.

[Guest USAFmama]

A couple more questions...

We right now have a 94' Saturn SL1 and Honda Odyssey minivan. Since we're pretty sure we're gonna do the base housing thing, we're considering just taking the Odyssey, assuming my hubby could get to work without a car. Is that realistic? Do you know if many people living on base ride a bike or carpool? Going finance we're assuming he'll probably have pretty consistent hours. lol.. of course, you know what they say about people who "assume" :P

ALSO, what utilities are NOT covered on base housing? I've heard electricity, water, gas is covered. I'm guessing trash pick-up, too. I liked hearing the lawns are taken care of now. What about phone lines and television? On that note, what cell phone services can you guys recommend? We have Alltell right now and like it.

Thanx!

Edited March 26, 2008 by USAFmama

[The Kayla]

A couple more questions...

We right now have a 94' Saturn SL1 and Honda Odyssey minivan. Since we're pretty sure we're gonna do the base housing thing, we're considering just taking the Odyssey, assuming my hubby could get to work without a car. Is that realistic? Do you know if many people living on base ride a bike or carpool? Going finance we're assuming he'll probably have pretty consistent hours. lol.. of course, you know what they say about people who "assume" :P

Bring two cars. Yes, he can bike to work, but he's probably not going to want to if he has to wear his Blues. The weather here is iffy. It can be beautiful one day, and thundering/raining the next. Plus, during winters, we get ice storms and some "snow". bring two cars, two cars are life savers.

ALSO, what utilities are NOT covered on base housing? I've heard electricity, water, gas is covered. I'm guessing trash pick-up, too. I liked hearing the lawns are taken care of now. What about phone lines and television? On that note, what cell phone services can you guys recommend? We have Alltell right now and like it.

Thanx!

Cable, phone, internet are not included. I have sprint, and I love it. I know some people who have AT&T and Verizon, and they love it as well. Also, if you have a fenced in back yard, you are responsible for it's up keep. Also, see if Pinnacle will send/fax you a copy of teh lease.. You need to go over that with a fine tooth comb.

Also, you have to bring your own washer and dryer. The dryer can be either gas or Electric, the houses should have both hook-ups. I don't know about the brand new houses. I will hopefully be out of this hell hole by that time.

If you have anymore questions, please feel free to PM me. My one year of being here at Vance is April 1. I don't remember the ages of your kids, but there's a school on base, Eisenhower Elem. that your two eldest can go to. If you home school... there's quite a few people that do that here as well.

**Cross posted**

OH! if you decide to spend any of your money making the outside of your house beautiful (plants, flowers, scrubs etc) put a sign in there saying "DO NOT TOUCH!!" The stupid phucking landscapers took out two of my Plants!! and I had left the "tag" (the thingy that tells you what plant is what..) in the garden... That tag is still there.. the plants are not!!! They are GONE.. I was pissed.. stupid phuckers. So, this spring, I'm putting a sign in my flower bed saying "Landscapers, Do Not Touch. Or Else."-- or something along those lines. THIS is the time when my flowers would be blooming. :-(

[Guest ukwxbelle]

Hey Ladies-

One of my airmen and his wife just had a baby girl Friday morning. They will be PCSing to Vance in June. I found your suggestions for the OBGYN and Eye Docs, but do any of the moms have a recommendation for a pediatrician? I told her I'd ask.

[The Kayla]

If I remember correctly, They have to be seen on base first, and if you don't want to have your kid seen on base, then you are allowed to see a Dr. off base After you talk to the Med commandor (this is what was in my spouse's orientation booklet thingy). My neighbor has three girls, the youngest being 18months, and they see Dr. Barnyard at the Vance clinic. He is awesome, the Pediatrician that lives two houses up from me, also has three kids, and they all see Dr. Barnyard.

[The Kayla]

I'm in the process of house hunting as well in the Enid area. I found two websites that I thought I would share. www.militarybyowner.com and www.ahrn.com You must register on the AHRN site, but it remembers your search everytime you log in. AHRN shows 37 listings and MBO shows like 3-4 (rentals). Like many have said before, some are nice, some are not. Out of these listings I've found like 10 that accept pets. It seems like the Sunridge landlords have more strict restictions on what type/size of pets you can have, based on these listings.

See you soon!

At SunRidge: as long as you don't have a rottie, pittbull, or any other breed that say deem "agressive", you will be OK. They allowed German Shepherds back when I called them over a year ago.

[Guest newbie]

Hey Ladies-

One of my airmen and his wife just had a baby girl Friday morning. They will be PCSing to Vance in June. I found your suggestions for the OBGYN and Eye Docs, but do any of the moms have a recommendation for a pediatrician? I told her I'd ask.

The base pediatrician is AWESOME, there will be no real reason to look somewhere else!

[The Kayla]

FYI to all new Vance newbies planning on living on base:

Be ready to hand over a check for the first months rent. They will probate it accordingly to when you move in. And they won't tell you until after you sign the lease that you owe them anything.

This has happend to two of my friends/neighbors.

[Guest AKANGselectee]

I had to follow up with Pinnacle to get them to pay my 2 pro-rated days of rent that I didn't end up using. At first they told me I wouldn't get it because I was Guard. Then I exposed the glaring folly in that reasoning and eventually a check arrived - but only after I called 2 months after moving out. Also, be sure to document all broken or damaged window blinds, carpets/flooring, fixtures, etc. Basically treat moving in like renting a car. I had moved in when Uncle Sam still ran the joint and had 0 remarks regarding all the broken stuff. I didn't end up paying, but I had done painting and other repairs during my stay, so the place was immaculate during the inspection.

[Guest newbie]

Yes, most, if not all of them, do live on base.

They live in bigger versions of the house that I posted pictures of. They just have more "defined" areas, like an entry way or a dining room. They also have more covered parking, longer driveway, and aren't connected to any other house.

Only a few of the squadron commanders live on base. The size of a house is not based on the job but on the rank. Field grade officer houses are around 1300 sqft and depending on availability you can choose between a 3BR or 4BR house. The "covered parking" depends on the shape of the house. Some have two stalls but others only one. If you want I can e-mail you some pictures so you get an idea.

Hey, my wife and I (and 2 puppies) are PCS'ing mid-August and I was wondering what the wait is looking like for couples who have recently got a house on base, what did you do if you couldn't move in right away, tips for the first couple days and how to handle the Pinnacle posse?

Thanks for the info! Tip

The wait will depend on your rank. There are still quite a few field grade officers houses empty but they are filling them now with company grade officers. You can stay in TLF but make sure you will make reservation soon since they fill up quickly. Vance is going to expect over 100 casual students (plus their families) in the month of August, so you an imagine what that will do...