Please give me any info on housing, schools,resteraunts, or anything. 

I lived there as an Army brat. All the housing there is mostly brand new I believe. While I was living there (2005 to 2009) they were tearing down all the old houses. I would think they would be done by now. The houses are very nice too. Housing off post is expensive, but you can find cheaper housing in Woodbridge (like 20 miles down the road).

One Major con to living there is the HORRIBLE traffic. One and off post at Rush hour don't expect to get anywhere quickly.

They are building a brand new hospital there too. It should be almost done. It is replacing a lot of Walter Reed's services at it, and closing down Walter Reed so, it'll be even more busy on post then what it was.

What age are you kids? I know there is an elementary school on post. Mount Vernon High School off post is pretty big.

Fort Belvior is located off of Route 1. Some of the neighborhoods are nice (the ones by the river, and the high school), but anything that is directly off of Route 1 in Alexandria is not to nice to live in. The locals call Route 1 the "ghetto". Springfield (15 minutes away regular driving time) is a nicer area, and it isn't far, but the rent isn't cheap.

There are malls every way you go. Great restaurants everywhere. Mikes American Grill in Springfield is a MUST! Tyson's Corner has 2 awesome malls. Pentagon city has a great mall. There is an IKEA and huge Outlet mall in Woodbridge.

D.C. is very close too.

I liked that there was so much to do there, but hated the overcrowded feeling and traffic. It was truly a love/hate relationship. 

Overit is the one you wanna ask ~ she is there now. :) 

The base is good. Lots of construction going on. They are not done building the new houses yet or remodling them. Our house is only about half the size of the one at Riley. Its tiny. But its decent I guess. You get the same crap with kids not being supervised etc.. that you get anywhere. Crime is a big thing. There has been a ton of break ins lately. Pinnicle ( the rental company) is a pain. Once you sign your lease you will not move anywhere for at least a year. Even if you have too many people in a house. Make sure that you walk through the house first before signing. We had no hot water or heat for the first two weeks we were here because they kept telling us it was fine or just not sending anyone out. They are worse then Picerne by a long shot. Here you cant say that you dont want maintenance to not come in while you arnt home. They do it no matter what. You cant opt out of it like you could at Riley. The houses are packed in. It makes Forsyth look like they have a ton of room. There is almost no back yards but you do have a wooden privacy fence. They will do the yard work on the front but not in the back. You can only have garage sales on certain weekends at certain times. I dont really understand that one. Umm... I cant think of anything else at the moment.

The traffic is insane. It takes us over an hour most the time including on weekends to get to Woodbridge that only 8-10 miles down the road. People cant drive...lol.

There is an awesome mall in Woodbridge. Its really big. I havnt been to the one in Springfield but I heard its nice. There is a new hibachi grill in Lorton called Tokyo One. It is amazing.

I agree with anything off of Route one being the ghetto.

Dont expect good Walmarts. They have one super but it is a condensed version of the normal super Walmarts. Not worth driving to.

Overall I like living here. DC is very close. There is lots to do. I love our neighbors.

I have heard lately that the wait list for housing is really long right now due to half the people that were at Walter Reed will now be here starting in August. If you have any more questions or need help just PM me. 

I forgot about how crappy the Wal-Marts were! LoL! 

Overit, what neighborhood do you live in? I lived on Gillingham behind Starbucks in an end unit "4bdrm". They weren't that bad, except the 4th bedroom was pretty small.

The neighborhoods are crowded though. I remember in the alley of the row of houses across from us a person was backing out of his garage, and killed a child because he couldn't see him. At first they thought it was a hit and run and closed off the whole neighborhood. They found out later on that it was an accident because he honestly couldn't see him. I believe they named the park by there after him. It was really sad. 

We are in Woodlawn. I dont mind it but I hate Pinnicle. We are having a baby in a couple months and have no room to put him. Every room that can be is doubled. We were told we could either pay almost 1400 or I could put the baby in the storage room. So when I say Pinnicle sucks Im not kidding :) 

Wow, that does suck.

My parents didn't have a problem with them, but my mom was best buds with the neighborhood manager, so thats probably why. The neighborhood events they put together sucked.

I bet the waitlist there is ridiculously long because SO MANY people are stationed in that area.

Are you delievering at Dewitt or will the new hospital be open by then? I transfered out of Dewitt because a friend had some majors issue with an OB there when she delievered. I delievered at Bethesda and that was great! How does the new hospital look? 

Its nice. Its huge!! I hope they open Pence gate 24/7 though. Im delivering at Bethesda Well that or on the side of the road trying to get there...lol. It has been taking us 2 1/2 hrs to get there. Bethesda is becoming the other half of the old Walter Reed so there is a ton of construction there too. 

I remember they just started the construction on Bethesda when I left. I went into labor at night, so it only took us like 40 minutes to get there. That ride seemed sooooo long though! It was worth it. Hopefully that happens to you to, and there isn't any construction blocking you. I hated the never-ending construction on 95/495/395. Oh and I swear they always were opening and closing Pence gate. It was annoying. When it was open, I always went around to Tulley, because I was so used to it.