Station/Boat Location~
USCGC BAINBRIDGE ISLAND (110')
Date there~
2005 - 2007
Weather~
You have four seasons, the extreme ones always seem to last the longest. Summer gets insanely hot, winter gets really cold.
Military facilities~
Small exchange on base, the good stuff is located about 20 minutes away at the Fort Monmouth location
Medical~
Depends on what you have, Tricare goes to Fort Monmouth, Family Health Plan - external doctors.
Housing~
The Sandy Hook housing is located at the end of a major tourist attraction beach. From late spring through mid fall it is near impossible to get on and off the base during the daylight hours due to the tourist season, and ticketing booths. There is no specialized "Coast Guard" lane to wade through the traffic, if you live off base - you best be planning to arrive early, very early.
Housing itself is pleasant. I was unsatisfied by the smaller bedrooms in our 3bedroom home. I feel that a 9x10, or 9x11 room is just too small for a bedroom. The downstairs half bath was more like an afterthought tucked into what should have been a closet. On the up-side, we were able to fit in our oversized washer and dryer upstairs (convenient) and the heating in the house works great.
Speaking of internal temperature, on the downside, you will need to buy air conditioners unless the person before you is kind enough to leave a few behind. There is no internal cooling system and surviving through summer without them is not likely. There is a pool, no life guard on duty - but hopefully you guys have all taught your wee-little-ones to swim :-P
There is a major problem with raccoons on base. You will need to bind your garbage and recycling up with bungee cords in order to keep the buggers at bay. A friend of ours discovered that even if you humanly catch them the park service folk will not\cannot remove them or put them down. Rather aggravating.
If something breaks in your home - do not simply report it. You must, must, MUST keep on the maintenance people because they tend to "forget" for months at a time and do half jobs.
A small shed is provided for storing outdoor equipment. You will need a lawn mower and a shovel as you are required to maintain quite a sizable lawn\yard.
Shopping~
If you want to go shopping, you may find yourself checking the weather and hoping for rain just so you can get out and about without hassle.
Child Care/Schools~
Not familiar as my children are not yet of school age. I do know that childcare in NJ is very expensive.
Adult Schools~
There is a school for massage therapy in Redbank about 25 minutes away. I believe Monmouth County has a community college nearby as well.
Fun Activities~
There are a couple playgrounds for the kids to play right out your front door. The beach is literally at your back door, there is a ferry to Manhattan, the mall is 20 minutes away and there's lots of strip malls to suit your retail therapy needs. Sorry, no local Wal-Marts, but there is a Target and a very, very, sad looking K-Mart. There's salsa dancing friday nights at one of the spots in Sea Bright (just off base) and a bunch of local restaurants have Karaoke Nights.
Additional Info~
We were not warned about any of these "additional" expenses to keep in mind
- units have washer dryer hook-ups, not washers and dryers
- you will need a bare minimum of 2 air conditioners, probably 3 or 4 to be truly comfortable.
- Lawn mower!
Homeport NJ
USCGC BAINBRIDGE ISLAND (110')
Date there~
2005 - 2007
Weather~
You have four seasons, the extreme ones always seem to last the longest. Summer gets insanely hot, winter gets really cold.
Military facilities~
Small exchange on base, the good stuff is located about 20 minutes away at the Fort Monmouth location
Medical~
Depends on what you have, Tricare goes to Fort Monmouth, Family Health Plan - external doctors.
Housing~
The Sandy Hook housing is located at the end of a major tourist attraction beach. From late spring through mid fall it is near impossible to get on and off the base during the daylight hours due to the tourist season, and ticketing booths. There is no specialized "Coast Guard" lane to wade through the traffic, if you live off base - you best be planning to arrive early, very early.
Housing itself is pleasant. I was unsatisfied by the smaller bedrooms in our 3bedroom home. I feel that a 9x10, or 9x11 room is just too small for a bedroom. The downstairs half bath was more like an afterthought tucked into what should have been a closet. On the up-side, we were able to fit in our oversized washer and dryer upstairs (convenient) and the heating in the house works great.
Speaking of internal temperature, on the downside, you will need to buy air conditioners unless the person before you is kind enough to leave a few behind. There is no internal cooling system and surviving through summer without them is not likely. There is a pool, no life guard on duty - but hopefully you guys have all taught your wee-little-ones to swim :-P
There is a major problem with raccoons on base. You will need to bind your garbage and recycling up with bungee cords in order to keep the buggers at bay. A friend of ours discovered that even if you humanly catch them the park service folk will not\cannot remove them or put them down. Rather aggravating.
If something breaks in your home - do not simply report it. You must, must, MUST keep on the maintenance people because they tend to "forget" for months at a time and do half jobs.
A small shed is provided for storing outdoor equipment. You will need a lawn mower and a shovel as you are required to maintain quite a sizable lawn\yard.
Shopping~
If you want to go shopping, you may find yourself checking the weather and hoping for rain just so you can get out and about without hassle.
Child Care/Schools~
Not familiar as my children are not yet of school age. I do know that childcare in NJ is very expensive.
Adult Schools~
There is a school for massage therapy in Redbank about 25 minutes away. I believe Monmouth County has a community college nearby as well.
Fun Activities~
There are a couple playgrounds for the kids to play right out your front door. The beach is literally at your back door, there is a ferry to Manhattan, the mall is 20 minutes away and there's lots of strip malls to suit your retail therapy needs. Sorry, no local Wal-Marts, but there is a Target and a very, very, sad looking K-Mart. There's salsa dancing friday nights at one of the spots in Sea Bright (just off base) and a bunch of local restaurants have Karaoke Nights.
Additional Info~
We were not warned about any of these "additional" expenses to keep in mind
- units have washer dryer hook-ups, not washers and dryers
- you will need a bare minimum of 2 air conditioners, probably 3 or 4 to be truly comfortable.
- Lawn mower!
Homeport NJ
