Family Retention: Housing Challenges for Military Families
By Sally Velez | DEPLOY Family Retention Fellow
My husband has been in the military for nearly 16 years; we have moved five times in those 16 years. The irony is that we moved twice in the first 10 years and three within the last six. One of our moves took us to England, where we chose to live on the economy, which we positively loved. When it was time to return to the States, we decided to live on the military installation where my husband was assigned. We had no problem living on post and even enjoyed our time there, but it wasn't memorable either. We ended up PCSing at the height of COVID in 2020. My husband could not leave the local area because of COVID, but I could. I decided to fly to where we would be stationed and house hunt because there was no housing at our new installation. I ended up securing a gorgeous townhouse in a fabulous location under BAH because the landlord was prior military and tried to rent out to military families to help them while living in a high-cost-of-living area. I loved where we lived. We were 20 minutes from the beach, and great restaurants and shops were right by our house. We were even conveniently located between two major airports! It was a fantastic place to live, but we needed to move like any military family.
When we first got orders to the D.C. area, I was excited. One of my best friends lives in D.C. We met in England and have maintained our friendship since then. My husband and I decided to travel to D.C. to house hunt. My husband and I decided to purchase a house (or townhome). He is a master sergeant, and his BAH was almost $3,000, and it felt like the right time. Buying a home should have been easy. What we came to find out is that it was easy in a lot of other places, except the DMV area. The VA Loan can be challenging to use in the area, and it is encouraged to waive all contingencies and go well over the asking price by at least $50,000. My husband and I decided buying here with one income was not for us. We then looked into renting, which was just as competitive as buying! People would bid several hundred dollars above the rental price, which was something my husband and I did not want to do. We wanted to stay within BAH because we knew we would need to pay for utilities.
Ultimately, we decided that renting off post was not for us. We needed a garage because we have two vehicles plus a motorcycle. We noticed that many townhomes did not have much storage space. My family needed the storage space to ensure we could put certain things away. We were lucky enough to get an offer for base housing on the base we wanted. The house we got, while on the smaller side, fits our needs and desires for a home. We do not pay for utilities which is a major bonus. It was interesting that the most stressful move my family has ever had was moving to the D.C. area, all because housing is so competitive here.
While my family lucked out with housing, the same cannot be said for every military family. As the Booz Allen DEPLOY Family Retention Fellow, housing is an area that I focused on for my capstone. Blue Star Families has noted that most military families live off military installations and that the more a military family pays out of pocket for housing, the less likely they are to recommend military service to other people. Paying out of pocket for housing can also potentially cause financial hardship for military families.
I know some websites focus on military families looking for a place to live, such as Military By Owner. Still, before it became the main housing website for military families, there was AHRN (Automated Housing Referral Network), which is the housing website I prefer. What I learned with moving to the D.C. area is that it is an area unlike any other; anything within an hour's drive to you is considered close, and it is not uncommon for military families to move an hour, maybe even an hour and a half away from the D.C. metro area. The Virginia Railway Express and the Maryland Area Rail Commuter make living an hour and a half away from D.C. manageable for military and civilian families. Still, it is an added expense that military families need to consider if moving further away from the city is what they want.
Another area that housing impacts is that of schools. I previously wrote about schools, but housing impacts where a child goes to school. While a military family may love a house, if it is zoned in an area that does not meet their child's needs, they may choose a different home or opt for alternative schooling. While living on post was not our first or second choice when moving to the D.C. area, I am so happy that we live where we do because of the community we have built. My family was fortunate that we were able to secure military housing because, in areas like the DMV, military housing waitlists can last for well over a year. My husband put our name on the waitlist 10 months before moving here, and we received an offer of housing less than a month before moving to the area. Our friends had to be in temporary lodging for nearly two months because they were waiting for housing to become available. Moving here was stressful.
Housing is so much more than just where you live and sleep. It is where you create your home, and ensuring military families can afford quality houses in safe locations is essential in retaining them and their recommendation to serve. While we initially struggled to secure housing where we are, now that we have been here for two years, I can firmly say that living here has been amazing, and I am happy we live where we do, but that isn't the case for everyone.