What's Feasible? Stuttgart, on Post or off Post?

As of now, base policy is that EVERYONE who's married or with children move into base housing...we're lucky and live off:*) So you'll probably want to live at Kelly. Nice small base, off the track. Daughter will go to school at Robinson I think.

Good luck,
kt in sindelfingen

K.,

We just moved to Germany from Ft. Lewis, Wa. we shipped our new truck and boy am I glad we did. We live in the KMC area and all though they do have shuttle, my husband works at LRMC and must me there at 0430 and is on call alot. Getting our vehicle was extremely easy. The driver’s license test is tricky but if you study, esp. the signs it is no problem. I would definitely recommend living on post, considering the dollar is doing so poorly, you only get about .63 Euros for each $1.00. Well, good luck and I hope this helps.

We have never lived on post and find it much more enjoyable and a great way to learn about the local area. Stuttgart has a lot of support, great things for kids and a large population, tho spread over many kasserns. Go on line and check it all out. I think if you live on post it will be instairwell housing.
B.

I live off post close to Kelly and near Patch. You will have to see what is available at the time of your arrival. Housing is hard to get by these days because of the new command that you will be most likely working at. I am German so I have a whole different reason why we needed to live off post than you have maybe wanting to live on post. You need to elaborate more so that I can help you but then again it goes back to the point what housing will be able to offer you upon your arrival and how long you are willing to wait on housing and living in the hotel.

K.,
Right now if you are military, I believe they are making people live on base. I live on Patch and it is wonderful. For three people the housing on base is adequate. We have my husband and I and a 16 year old. Now we didn't bring all of our stuff from the states, but just coming from Korea, you probably didn't either. Patch has the main commissary, an elementary school, the movie theater, a youth center, a couple banks, the post office, a new library, food courts, arts and craft store, thrift shop, the medical clinic and wonderful bus transportation between all of the bases. I think it is the best base of the 4 to live on. They also have several of the "celebrations" here on Patch so you are walking distance to everything. Parking is very limited on all of the bases. So parking your car outside of your apartment and taking the bus is a wonderful idea.
We also have a friend that is living on the economy and the expenses were astronomical. Renting is first and last months rent plus a months rent fee to the realtor or the immobilia. Most of the houses use heating oil and that is quite expensive as well. Besides, anywhere that you can move so your daughter could be in the bussing area for the base schools the prices are higher. I don't know if your mom drives, but the family that you have on a military base is great conpared to the German economy where the Germans pretty much stay to themselves.
As soon as you have your orders, fax a copy to housing so they can put you on the housing list. May and June are huge turnover months here just like every where else. There is a wonderful hotel downtown Stuttgart that isn't too far from Kelley called the SI Suites, they have nice rooms that you can stay in by the month. Give them a call and ask for one of the larger suites once you know your dates for sure. They are also pet friendly if you have a four-legged family member as well. I hope this has helped. If you would like anymore information please email me at ____@____.com. A.

We just moved to the Stuttgart area and we are waiting to live on Kelley. I don't believe that you will live on Kelley. I think you might have to live on Robinson Barracks, which is a hike from Kelley and Patch. The good news is the military has a wonderful shuttle bus that goes between all the little posts. My husband has used the military bus system to do all his in-prossessing. He said that he never waited more than 15 minutes for a bus. Housing waiting is huge here but, if you can wait it out it might be better. We have decided to wait and live on post. We have also decided that we will use the military bus system because gas is expensive and the euro is doing better than the dollar. On other small thing. The pace of life here is slow. I hope this was a little helpful.

K.-

I live in Stuttgart and I love it here. We are leaving in May and I am very sad to go.

I am not sure how much you know about the area, so sorry if this is a little redundant. There are actually 4 bases: Kelly, Patch, Robinson and Panzer. Panzer has offices, the exchange, bowling alley, USO and lots of housing; Patch (where I live) has offices, the commissary, craft store, gas station and, again, housing; Kelley has offices, a theatre, coffee shop and housing; Robinson is almost 100% housing (no offices) and a small AAFES/BX combo shop. The bases are very small in size (we walk EVERYWHERE) and parking is a BIG issue for commuters. I think that all of the bases have an elementary school, EXCEPT for Kelly. Not sure what school district they are in, but I can tell you that the elementary schools on Patch and Panzer are very crowded - Robinson's housing is finishing up renovations & lots of their units are currently empty, so it's elementary school isn't that full.

Base housing consists of stairwell apartments. (unless you are an O-6 or above, then there is a chance at a house). Our is quite nice, but we miss having a fenced in backyard for our dog. There are newly renovated playgrounds all over the place. Our building has 12 units & we are very social. For example, we are planning our own Easter Egg hunt for the building's kids, followed by a building brunch.

My off base friends find that they are constantly driving back & forth between bases. Drop off/pick up at school, drop off/ pick up for girl scouts, drop off/pick up for sports, etc. plus trips to the commissary, exchange etc.

The Euro is very strong against the dollar. I think today's exchange rate is $1 buys 0.64 Euro. Somehow our COLA keeps dropping, so off base housing is quite pricey. It can also be hard to find. I've had two friends who waited in hotels for 4 months before finding something suitable. Now, that being said, their houses are great and they have more room than I do.

I guess the bottom line is how much time you want to spend in your car. Keep in mind that this is a major German city & has all the traffic associated with big city living. A commute from Kelly to Patch that normally takes 10-15 minute (non rush hour) can take up to an hour+ in rush hour... and it's not that far away!

Let me know if you have any more specific questions!!

E.

Hello K., My name is N. (as in Christmas). I & my family (Army husband) just moved from the States last summer from Fort Sill Oklahoma. I also have a female single soldier friend that is almost done with her tour over there in Korea. She is going to be transfering here to Germany as well. Now, with all of that said, our family lives in Mannhiem "ON" the base. There are a few soldiers & yes I do mean only a few that choose to live off the base. let me tell you this though K., this is the way it goes "all over Germany". Most of the families live on the bases instead of off of them. If I can help you out in any other way please let me know my, I would be glad to help you out. Oh you can also goto www.stripes.com (not sure how much the one will help, but it's the local Military paper). There is also www.militaryonesource.com (just check out the area you want & you should be good togo here).
Hope it helps
Cheers
N.