base housing (one year later)

It's been one year since we moved to Offutt AFB!  We were just remembering what it felt like to drive here for the first time, explore base and see our new house.  In September, I shared pictures of our house and talked a little about base housing here.  If you want to know more about which style of house we have, that post will fill you in.

Since we've lived here for a year, I'm sharing a little update on what we've thought of base housing.  This is solely based on our experience here with Rising View.  I am receiving no compensation from Rising View for this review, I simply wanted to help other families who might be considering where to live when they move to Offutt.

• Overall Neighborhood
• We like living here!  We are close to base and close to other amenities (Target, movie theatre, Churches, Walmart, restaurants, etc).  Since we have friends who live in the neighborhood, we can walk to their houses.
• There are playgrounds everywhere!  They vary in size and style which keeps it interesting.  It's really nice to have so many options for the kids.  When it's warm, we go to the playground once or twice a day because they are close and convenient.  However, most of them are not shaded and there's no running water, so come prepared.  Also, there aren't trash cans.
• We love taking neighborhood walks.  There are a few areas with bumpy sidewalks, but overall there are nice sidewalks throughout the neighborhood for pushing a stroller.
• Our area of the neighborhood is very active.  Lots of people walk/run for exercise.  Our street has a lot of children who play outside in the evenings.  In the summer, there are many people sitting on their porches which gives it a friendly, family feeling.
• My one major complaint about the neighborhood is completely out of Rising View's hands:  the birds!  There are some very territorial birds who try to build nests each spring near people's front doors.  I happen to be petrified of birds, but even my husband (who normally isn't bothered by birds) thinks that these birds are mean.  We've seen people put up fake owls or wind chimes and that seems to keep them away.
• Maintenance
• We've had a good experience with maintenance.  I've called about four or five times this year and have always had someone come within 24-48 hours.  
• When it was something serious (my fridge wasn't cooling properly), they sent someone over within about an hour. Even though I hadn't given them any details about the fridge ahead of time, he guessed what was wrong and walked in with the proper part in hand.  It was installed in about ten minutes and my fridge was working again!
• The smoke alarms can be very sensitive which can be frustrating if it happens while cooking or in the middle of the night.  However, when we called they had someone out that day to replace it and we haven't had a problem since (11 months).
• We have had some problems with bugs (crickets, water bugs, etc).  Rising View will come out and fill holes to keep them from coming inside and if the problem persists, they will have a terminator come.  We have had them come out twice to fill holes (about six months apart).  I was very skeptical about it, but the second time it really did seem to help.  We also spray our garage regularly for bug and spray inside the house with a herb-based bug spray (so we don't fill our house with nasty chemicals).  
• House Condition/Size
• Again, if you want to see more about our specific house, you can read about it here.  Our house was clean upon arrival and was in very good condition overall.
• The house is basic and is built with some cheap material (e.g. carpet, paint).  The appliances are also basic (e.g. fridge doesn't have an ice maker).  While it would be nice to have beautiful, cushy carpet, painted walls and a fridge with all kinds of cool features, it has been fine for us.  
• The downstairs rooms can be awkward due to size.  This is also true for a friend of mine who lives in a different style of new housing.  We don't have a lot of furniture, so it has worked out for us, but if you are coming with a sectional couch or a big dining room set, you may have problems getting it to fit nicely.
• Backyards vary in size based on the house, but most of them are good sized.  If you would like a fence, there is a rental company that you may use.
• Moving Out 
• We don't know because haven't done it yet!  :)  We have heard rumors that they are strict about cleaning and maintenance before you move out, but we have no personal experience.

Again, I can only speak to our experience in Rising View.  I know that other people have had different experiences living here, but overall, we have liked living here for the past year.  We plan on staying here until we PCS again!