So we have finally arrived here at Leonard Wood. I think I am in complete culture shock haha. Anyway, we went into the housing office today and were told we are going to be waiting about 6 months for the 4 bdrm houses. I knew there would be somewhat of a wait but now we are totally homeless. We have staying in a hotel since Sat night as lodging on post had nothing available. We found one townhouse today that literally sits in the "woods". The lady will let us do a month to month lease but the rent is $875 and our stuff will have to stay in storage as there is no room in the townhouse for everything. Does anybody have any other recommendations as far as living arrangements for us? we have three kids under the age of 5 and we really don't want to sign a years lease anywhere. 

Welcome to FLW, glad you all made it safely. Sorry, I can't be much help on the housing situation as we simply chose to live off post to begin with, but I'm sure other ladies on here may be more help.

Have you spoken with any real estate agencies in the area? I know many of them do rentals and perhaps could help meet your needs? 

Welcome. You will get used to it and before long it will grow on you.

Sorry you are haveing such a hard time. you might want to check out www.ahrn.com There are houses for rent on there and you may be able to find one cheaper for a 6 month lease or month to month. Also check out the rentals companies in the area, just be careful. Make sure if you rent from a rental company that you go over everything from screens on the house to the edging and who is going to take care of the yard.

Good luck finding a house. 

I think people can accept a house with one less bedroom if they choose to. I know it's not ideal, but it would get rid of alot of the stress.... and with kiddos that young, I don't see what the problem is with sharing a room for a bit.

Good luck with finding a house off post. We looked, but even at e-6 BAH, it was just not worth it financially to live off post for us. 

I was in culture shock when we arrived here too. We came from San Diego (We're USMC) and we've been here 4 months.... I hope it grows on you quicker than it's growing on me :(
Talk to the real estate agents. That's actually how we found our home and decided to buy (MUCH cheaper than renting and the base housing we were offered was disgusting)
They always have tons of listings for renting and hopefully that way you can find something that suits you better. Good Luck!!! 

Angela...yes we are debating on whether to accept a 3bdm. It wouldn't be an issue as far as the size goes since we are only going to be here for 3 yrs max. We just don't want a dump to live in. We just didn't like that fact that if we accept the 3 bdrm...we have no chance what so ever of getting a 4 bdrm. Oh well. hopefully something will come open for us soon. 

It is a hard place to get used to after being in san diego - I went there briefly a few years ago for business and fell in love with it!
It really makes a difference if you can find friends to connect with, I have been here 3 years now and am starting to like the place. Have been all over the place and have learnt home is wherever you are sent....
I would love to help you adjust...there are meetup groups in the area...and I just started a facebook group for women interested in healthy living.....am planning healthy potlucks and activities...
I like Lebanon - there are some nice thrift stores there...and more shopping opportunities....
look me up on facebook
melissa levasseur
take care
namaste 

We had the same problem! We looked at some crappy rentals that they wanted over 1,000 a mo for. At our last stop reality executives they talked us into buying. We now live in a brand new 3 bed for 850 a mo. We plan on renting when we leave here. rentals in our neighbor go from 950-1400. If your interested there are 3 houses for sale in my development and 3 or 4 for rent. 

We bought, it is definitely cheaper than renting! 

I agree! Utilities arent that ad here either. All of my utilities equal my gas bill back home.. 

Welcome to the area, we live on post. I actually live in stonegate in the older housing. I don't like living in older housing as we have been in brand new housing since my husband joined at our last two duty stations,I guess its what you make of it. We have awesome neighbors so that's great,and my kids have made lots of friends, we didn't buy bc we will only be here two years max 3 for drill duty. We have had 3 duty stations in less than 5 years. I like ftl wood so far, hated ft stewart and my fav was bliss. If you have a facebook ladies,holler @ me you can find me @ beth galloway-boles or beth7262@yahoo! This is a great site! 

Great idea Beth. My facebook lookup is Jessi Lee or mcdowell798@yahoo.com Always love making new friends! 

Welcome! I live on post as well and was lucky to have one of the nicer, older, housing. This place did grow on me as well but I'm ready to go somewhere else for sure! We have been here for almost 2 years. I hope you are able to find a place soon! My email for facebook is Sely Pena or lchs_2004@hotmail.com. Beth and Jessica, I'm going to be adding you. :) 

Thanks everybody for the encouraging words :) well today we were offered one of the old 3 bdrms. It wasn't bad in my opinion but the bdrms were way too small for all of us. So, we are going to stay on the 4bdrm wait list and hopefully something will become available soon. we looked at some nasty rentals off-post today and then we foundnd a brand new apartment that the landlord is willing to work with us with. So hopefully tonight my husband and I can come to an agreement on it. I would also like to get to know you all better. maybe we can plan something soon. I have two boys and a girl. My facebook email is armywife2002@rocketmail.com. 

Oh and my husband got picked for recruiter duty so that is why we are here:) 

Amy I added you to facebook 

so, after looking and looking for a rental place...we had no choice but to rent in Lebanon. We didn't want to be that far away but we called every single listing that the housing gave us and there was nothing available around here. The townhouse we got is SUPER nice and they are letting us do a 6 month lease while we wait for the 4bdrm housing. I just wish it was in ST Robert area. Oh well..I am sure we can manage the drive for a little while. 

I think people can accept a house with one less bedroom if they choose to

Yes you can. Thats what we ended up having to do because of my oldest asthma issues. You just have to sign a piece of paper saying you wont ask later on to move into a bigger house 

We were in a three bedroom with in a month of signing. I know there is two by me now that are being redone. 

Yea, we were offered a 3 bdrm but there was just no way all of our stuff would have fit. My husband has a bunch of tools, etc and we just would not have been happy. It was also not a renovated one so we opted to wait on the 4bdrm. our oldest also has asthma and we are getting ready to enroll him in the EFMP. we didn't find out that he was eligible until a few weeks before our move. 

Mon-of-Three...where did you guys stay while you were waiting for housing. we can't move into the townhouse until Aug 1st and lodging has no openings for us. Right now, we are staying in a hotel but we are financially drained if you know what I mean. 

We sold our two antique vehicles when we found out we wouldn't have a garage.
Come on Balfour Beatty! Renovate the Piney Hills/Thayer/Williams area! Momma needs a new hot rod, and a garage to keep it in! haha! 

Your funny Angela, lol. Yes, they definitly need to get on the ball and do some more renovations. We were also told that we may not even get one of the nice 4bdrms but we are going to take it either way. I hear that E-7's have no problem getting right into the 4bdrms. I know rank is a priority but when a family is "homeless", I think they need to make adjustments. Alot of people on the list haven't even PCS'd here yet. 

Sweetcheeksgirl, I don't think the "homeless" thing would fly because there are rentals off post... if you choose not to rent something because of size, location, price, condition, that is your choice. You were offered a 3 bedroom, correct? You were offered a home on post, you chose not to take it. So you technically are not homeless, you are just choosing to wait. I'd wait too for a bigger house, but we only have 2 kids, so we only qualify for a 3 bedroom. 

well they told us to to find a 6 month lease off post and from the list they gave us....there was non available. That is why I quoted us as being "homeless". Yes, we were offered a 3 bdrm and we indeed did choose to wait under the assumption that we would find a rental close by. oh well...I will watch the words I choose, lol. It will all work out. we will only be living far away for a short time so I won't complain. we also learned today that unless you are living on post, you can't been seen for your medical on post. Oh well, it is what it is. 

I personal like being seen off post,the walk in clinic is great and you dont have to wait 2wks for a real apt. The dr's at st johns are great. Check with realtor executives for rentals they do property management for a lot of this area. They are located on MO Ave right outside main gate. 

I'd rather live off post and go to an off post doctor, but holy heck, what they want to charge for rent is crazy!

I like the idea of a walk in clinic... and my son is so behind on his shots because I can never get him in on post. Maybe having to be seen at a DR off post is a blessing in disguise! 

I live OFF post and we are seen ON post.. but maybe because we were already being seen on post before they changed things. We NEVER have a problem getting in.. I always call early though for wellness appointments.. About 3-4 weeks out.

This is a GOOD military hospital.. For all that everyone wants to gripe about them, I have never really had a problem getting an appointment, or with the doctors.. In fact, I really like most of the doctors over in Pediatrics.

I have had issues at other military hospitals.. but I like GLWACH. 

I hope this can help someone out, I just recently moved to the area about 3 weeks ago and I was able to find my home on a referal program called the AHRN.com. It helped me out a lot. I found my home in 2 days and in a nice area close to post. You can also check remilitary.com. they also have rentals and homes for sell.. Good Luck... hope this help 

Welcome to the woods! Hope you grow to like it if you don't already! :)