Station/Boat Location~Coast Guard Cryptologic Unit, Buckley AFB
Date there~2007-2009
Weather~All four seasons. Wonderful thunderstorms in the summer. Lots of snow in winter.
Military facilities~Commissary, exchange, gas station, base gym(no pool)
Medical~Off base military medical clinic. Small. I had my first child there and was sent over to the Colorado University hospital for all my prenatal care. (i used the wonderful midwives program they had there) They did have my baby go to a civilian pediatrician at first, but then pulled us back to the military clinic once they hired on a pediatrician, but was very hard to get an appointment. Usually we were sent to a urgent care due to no appointments available.
Housing~There is housing through the privatized Buckley family housing people there on base. Had no problem getting a unit on the AFB. The homes are 4 and 3 bedroom homes. they cluster the houses by rank. the E4 and under housing has 4plex style housing with only one car garage, E5 has a duplex style homes with two car garage and then single family homes for higher and officer ranks. They do not have fenced in back yards. you must pay to install one and it has to be a specific kind. Though you may get lucky with a house that has a fence left behind (like ours ). Our house was brand new... We were the first ones in.. and about a few months after moving in the ceiling started separating from the walls. we had crack and gaps everywhere. pieces of the ceiling looking like it was going to fall apart and some crack almost two inches wide. doors would no longer shut do to the shifting and all. our electric bill was out of control ... I'm guessing due to the poor build. electric bill was $350 a month in winter and that was keeping the heat at 70! There are a lot of nice neighborhoods close to base that have homes cheaper than housing on base and the Housing allowance. Lots of people seemed to move off base once moving on. They were even giving incentives to get people to move on by offering $300 to those who got someone to move into their housing units! yikes! there is a community pool and a little gym that was nice. Just a few machines, but it was right there in the middle of housing. The curb appeal is very nice, but if we went back we would not live on base.
Shopping~lots of shopping. Close to a target and Southlands outdoor mall. I believe they were building an Ikea when we were leaving. Safeway up the street about 5-10 min away.
Child Care/Schools~two child development centers. no school on base, but there are schools nearby and buses that come on base for the local schools. Did not have school age children while I was there, but heard great things about the schools.
Adult Schools~One the same block as the Aurora city college
Fun Activities~Lots of fun things to do. Denver is under 30min drive. colorado springs is about 45min away. beautiful view of the Rockies! large sports arenas... Broncos, Rockies, avalanche. 45-1hr away from great ski resorts!
Additional Info~Fun place to live. your in a suburb of Denver so things can get crowded, but with the right planning things can be fun!
Homeport CO