Station/Boat Location~
Sector Detroit
Date there~
June 2011-Current (transferring June 2014)
Weather~
Summer- It’s warm about 80’s-90’s but with humidity. There seems to always be a few weeks during the summer that are super hot. like in the 90-100’s. We have been here for three summers though and every one was very different. The first year it was really hot, humid and rainy. Second year it was hot but not too much humidity and not a lot of rain and the last summer it snowed until June and there was only like 2 weeks that got really hot. otherwise it was more in the 70’s.
Fall- It is so beautiful here in the fall, with so many trees all changing different colors. It normally starts to get chilly in morning/evenings in about late Sept/early Oct.
Winter- Super cold. Again it has been different each winter we have been here. The first winter it only got really cold for a short time and it mostly just rained. When it did snow it was only a tiny bit. not even enough to go sledding. The next winter it snowed more and was colder but still not that much snow. This last winter it has snowed a lot and has gotten so cold they had to cancel school because the buses won’t start if its below zero. This year it also started getting cold much earlier.
Spring- It also has been very different every year. One year it started getting very warm in March and the next it snowed until June.
So far every year has been very different and every year the local michiganders say,”That’s normal for Michigan”. So we have come to the conclusion theres not really a “normal’.
Military facilities~
At sector there is only a very small exchange that mostly sells cigarettes, alcohol and snacks. The closest commissary is at Selfridge AFB. That is also where The CG member goes for medical, dental and sick call. There is an air station there as well. It is about 30min from Sector. Theres also another building closer to sector that has Id’s and a tricare office, but I can’t remember what it is called.
Medical~
CG members go to Selfridge AFB. Dependents are on Tricare Prime. I’m not sure how it is in other cities around Detroit but in Farmington Hills there is tons of hospitals, Doctors and Dentists but not very many of them are in the Tricare network. There is still an okay number to choose from though.
Housing~
There is NO base housing. They used to have housing on Selfridge but it was closed. There are many smaller cities around Detroit where you can rent. Some are very nice cities and some you will want to avoid. We live in Farmington Hills, MI. It takes my DH about 30min to get to work. It is a great area with really good schools. A lot of members also live in St. Claire Shores and Livonia. St Claire shores is closer to sector but we weren’t able to find a house that was within our BAH. It was hard for us to find a rental when we moved here but I have heard it has gotten easier since then.
Shopping~
Theres lots of shopping. Where you go just depends on where you live. There’s the Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi, MI and it is pretty big. There’s also a few big outlet malls as well. A large IKEA is located in Canton, MI. You will find pretty much all the big name stores, restaurants and fast food joints here as well as great local places.
Child Care/Schools~
Our kids are in the Farmington Public School District. We have liked it a lot. I don’t know a lot about the other school districts but I have heard Bloomfield and Novi are good. I don’t know much about the other schools. I have heard that St. Claire Shores has good schools too but I don’t have any first hand experience with them.
Adult Schools~
There are lots of schools around
Fun Activities~
They have some really great parks here. Some have watersides and cool beaches(for a fee). Here in farmington we have a really big nice park with a splash pad and lots of nature trails. There’s also some fun indoor play area like Jungle Java, Zap Zone and Sky Zone. There is also a nice zoo that has concerts for kids in the summer. There is quite a few museums as well.
Additional Info~
We have enjoyed living here. Mostly because we love where we live, and we love camping. It seems that people’s opinion of their time here really depends on if they like the area they live in or not. As with most places , how much you enjoy it really depends on your attitude about it. All the members are pretty spread out so there really isn’t much getting together with other wives/families. I’m used to that so it wasn’t anything new to me. I made lots of friends with other moms at the school and also at church.
Homeport MI
Sector Detroit
Date there~
June 2011-Current (transferring June 2014)
Weather~
Summer- It’s warm about 80’s-90’s but with humidity. There seems to always be a few weeks during the summer that are super hot. like in the 90-100’s. We have been here for three summers though and every one was very different. The first year it was really hot, humid and rainy. Second year it was hot but not too much humidity and not a lot of rain and the last summer it snowed until June and there was only like 2 weeks that got really hot. otherwise it was more in the 70’s.
Fall- It is so beautiful here in the fall, with so many trees all changing different colors. It normally starts to get chilly in morning/evenings in about late Sept/early Oct.
Winter- Super cold. Again it has been different each winter we have been here. The first winter it only got really cold for a short time and it mostly just rained. When it did snow it was only a tiny bit. not even enough to go sledding. The next winter it snowed more and was colder but still not that much snow. This last winter it has snowed a lot and has gotten so cold they had to cancel school because the buses won’t start if its below zero. This year it also started getting cold much earlier.
Spring- It also has been very different every year. One year it started getting very warm in March and the next it snowed until June.
So far every year has been very different and every year the local michiganders say,”That’s normal for Michigan”. So we have come to the conclusion theres not really a “normal’.
Military facilities~
At sector there is only a very small exchange that mostly sells cigarettes, alcohol and snacks. The closest commissary is at Selfridge AFB. That is also where The CG member goes for medical, dental and sick call. There is an air station there as well. It is about 30min from Sector. Theres also another building closer to sector that has Id’s and a tricare office, but I can’t remember what it is called.
Medical~
CG members go to Selfridge AFB. Dependents are on Tricare Prime. I’m not sure how it is in other cities around Detroit but in Farmington Hills there is tons of hospitals, Doctors and Dentists but not very many of them are in the Tricare network. There is still an okay number to choose from though.
Housing~
There is NO base housing. They used to have housing on Selfridge but it was closed. There are many smaller cities around Detroit where you can rent. Some are very nice cities and some you will want to avoid. We live in Farmington Hills, MI. It takes my DH about 30min to get to work. It is a great area with really good schools. A lot of members also live in St. Claire Shores and Livonia. St Claire shores is closer to sector but we weren’t able to find a house that was within our BAH. It was hard for us to find a rental when we moved here but I have heard it has gotten easier since then.
Shopping~
Theres lots of shopping. Where you go just depends on where you live. There’s the Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi, MI and it is pretty big. There’s also a few big outlet malls as well. A large IKEA is located in Canton, MI. You will find pretty much all the big name stores, restaurants and fast food joints here as well as great local places.
Child Care/Schools~
Our kids are in the Farmington Public School District. We have liked it a lot. I don’t know a lot about the other school districts but I have heard Bloomfield and Novi are good. I don’t know much about the other schools. I have heard that St. Claire Shores has good schools too but I don’t have any first hand experience with them.
Adult Schools~
There are lots of schools around
Fun Activities~
They have some really great parks here. Some have watersides and cool beaches(for a fee). Here in farmington we have a really big nice park with a splash pad and lots of nature trails. There’s also some fun indoor play area like Jungle Java, Zap Zone and Sky Zone. There is also a nice zoo that has concerts for kids in the summer. There is quite a few museums as well.
Additional Info~
We have enjoyed living here. Mostly because we love where we live, and we love camping. It seems that people’s opinion of their time here really depends on if they like the area they live in or not. As with most places , how much you enjoy it really depends on your attitude about it. All the members are pretty spread out so there really isn’t much getting together with other wives/families. I’m used to that so it wasn’t anything new to me. I made lots of friends with other moms at the school and also at church.
Homeport MI
