February 27, 201510 yr Of course, the obvious choice at face value is Travis, but I'd like to hear what anyone might have to say regarding Dover. I feel like my wife and I have Cali blinders on and I'd like to take a step back to make sure we are taking everything into consideration. If anyone has lived in both places it would be great to hear about schools for kids, commuting, crime, areas to live, how drastic the cost of living difference is, home buying, etc. But all info is welcome and appreciated.
February 27, 201510 yr There's nothing wrong with it...except that you're in California :barf: Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
February 27, 201510 yr Right, 60's in January. Surfing and skiing on the same day. Trips to wine country and the central coast. Sounds like a terrible place :barf: If your AD just make sure your a resident of another state so you don't have to worry about the 9% income tax rate. If you stay away from the bay Northern California isn't that expensive. Edited February 27, 201510 yr by scoobs
February 27, 201510 yr Right, 60's in January. Surfing and skiing on the same day. Trips to wine country and the central coast. Sounds like a terrible place :barf: If your AD just make sure your a resident of another state so you don't have to worry about the 9% income tax rate. If you stay away from the bay Northern California isn't that expensive. truth... specially round travis area, hell mather/mcclellen were great spots to live, 2 hours to tahoe 90 min to the bay
February 27, 201510 yr I spent 4 years there and loved every minute of it. The town itself may not be that big, but it's got more than everything you need. Plus, Philly, DC, NYC, Baltimore, Annapolis, and Boston are all within 5 hrs driving. PM me if you want some more indepth info. Edited February 27, 201510 yr by Truman08
February 28, 201510 yr There's nothing wrong with it...except that you're in California :barf: Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Why's that? I've lived in NorCal for 5 years now; I think it's pretty awesome.
February 28, 201510 yr O-3+? Go to Travis. O-2-? Travis is really f-ing expensive. The house we bought was over $400K, a similar one on Dover would have been about $280K. Other than cost of living, there is absolutely nothing that makes Dover a better place to me, other than close proximity to a few awesome cities.
February 28, 201510 yr Author O-3+? Go to Travis. O-2-? Travis is really f-ing expensive. The house we bought was over $400K, a similar one on Dover would have been about $280K. Other than cost of living, there is absolutely nothing that makes Dover a better place to me, other than close proximity to a few awesome cities. Even with base living and shopping at the commissary CA is prohibitively expensive? Yeah home buying seems to be out of the question at Travis although I make O3 after about a year there.
February 28, 201510 yr I was stationed at Travis for 5 yrs. I wouldn't say it was f-ing expensive, but cost of living is > Dover. We really loved our time there, but one of the big drawbacks is California's generally shittier schools.
February 28, 201510 yr Author i went from Dover to Beale......I'm back in Dover by choice now...... Why is that?
February 28, 201510 yr Enlisted Airmen are stationed at Travis and live off base. Somehow they're able to afford it. I think you'll be ok. Edited March 1, 201510 yr by Azimuth
March 1, 201510 yr Yeah you can def make it work, my point was that houses, gas, recreation and just about everything else is more expensive in Travis (sometimes much more). BUT: California is beautiful and Delaware is not. If you have the choice, I can't think of enough pros for Dover unless there's family, your a Philly fan, or something like that. If you're a big beach guy, the one at Dover is more accessible and better for laying out/swimming than those in NorCal. The ones in Cali are better looking and have bigger waves and bigger sharks. If you like the outdoors (hiking, boating, etc), it's not even close. Besides, if you really want, you can probably go to Dover in 4 years.
March 1, 201510 yr NorCal beats the northeast any day of the week hands down. So much more to do nearby and much more scenic. Been transient through both bases, Dover more often though. Better than McGuire but it's still the east coast...
March 1, 201510 yr Choose based on beer selection. Out Dover doesn't have sales tax, but they tax the crap out of their beer. Also, you can only buy beer at liquor stores. In CA, you can buy it in grocery stores. BL: better beer at Travis Edited March 1, 201510 yr by ARIs 'R' Us
March 1, 201510 yr Enlisted Airmen are stationed at Travis and live off base. Somehow they're to afford it. I think you'll be ok. *see Travis thread for what areas to live in. California can go from a dream location to a Snoop video real quick.
March 1, 201510 yr California Politics and gun control climate tend to turn people sour on California.
March 1, 201510 yr Why is that? My opinion: CA has great scenery and lots of good outdoors stuff, but that's where the positives stopped for us. Everything else was expensive and we weren't fans of the gun laws there and the other CA politics. Dover for us isn't the best, but there is lot's to do around and Delaware is unbelievably cheap in terms of property tax and no sales tax and goods in general.
March 1, 201510 yr Honest question: how do CA politics affect a non-taxpayer? I feel like I'm scamming the system by not paying income tax but still living in CA. I used to think the property tax was high, until I learned how high some East Coast areas can be. Watch out for Mello Roos. Gas costs about 25% more, but that's kind of insignificant on an officer's budget. Maybe if you want to own >10 rd magazines that could be a big deal as well. I think it's important to remember that you have a good chance of being based at both locations.
March 2, 201510 yr 1. Dover = sorta close to a lot of places that don't actually suck. (Not really that great of a thing) 2. California property taxes = actually cheaper than Texas property taxes. 3. How much do the politics actually effect your daily life (as a temporary resident), compared to the benefits to your daily life by enjoying the climate, culture and topography? 4. Basically, like with anything else, you get what you pay for. California costs more because you get more. Unless guns are your thing. YMMV
March 2, 201510 yr 2. California property taxes = actually cheaper than Texas property taxes. You might want to be careful about this. California property taxes are held down because of a law passed a few decades ago which limited yearly growth...the infamous "Prop 13". Unfortunately, it didn't do anything about spending, so funds to operate the state, counties and cities continued to grow significantly and required the combination of some cuts in public services and added taxes elsewhere and added to the states massive debt. I'm no tax expert but I suspect a sizable chunk of the overall tax burden simply shifted (to the 9% sales tax, for instance??) rather than being reduced.
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