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Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Fort Sill: Pros and Cons
We've been at Fort Sill for almost two months now (minus the time we went home on leave) and we are getting settled in. We are still waiting on our household goods, our storage from Louisiana and our car to get here. Needless to say I'm ready to have all my stuff! So, I wanted to give my two cents so far about what I think about Fort Sill
Pros:
The post has a lot to offer and is large. At least larger than the previous two posts we've been at.
The commissary is open 7 days a week (huge plus!) and has a good selection
I like our house. It's big for 2 people and the biggest house we've had while in the military. I even have bushes out front!
The library is good with lots of great choices and services. Libraries are always one of the first things I check out at each post.
People are friendly and generally very helpful. This was not the case of most people, at least in the customer service capacity at our last post, so the change is nice.
I love the old historic buildings and homes that are on post. Can we say photo time?
There is a decent mix of classes at the gym, athough I wish they offered more yoga classes. And all the classes are free, which is a huge perk.
Lawton is a decent sized town, with lots of antique stores, restaurants, two Goodwills (squee!) and pretty any other store you need. No Target yet, although that is rumored to be on the way, along with a TJ Maxx.
Lots of nice walking paths on post. I've been taking Boomer on walks in the evening and we've both been enjoying getting out and about.
Cons:
As with any post, I've noticed wives like to complain about being stationed here. "Oh, we don't have fill in the blank in this town, I hate it here." Listen here toots, you pretty much have all the basics, plus lots of extras. If you can't find it here, drive an hour and a half to Oklahoma City or trek three hours to Dallas. I'm sure you can find it there. Sometimes I want to tell these wives they'd never make it stationed in Europe when they can't even find the basics they are used to, or try Fort Polk where you had to drive 45 minutes to the nearest mall or chain sit down restaurants. Grow up!
We have roaches in our home. I haven't had to deal with roaches since college in some of the apartments I've lived in. I'm currently trying to get rid of them, even though I realize I'll probably never get rid of all of them.
The speed limits in the housing areas are kind of ridiculous. I understand why they are low, but at least set them to 20 and not 15mph. I pretty much have to ride the brake the entire time.
The PX customer service does need improvement. For starters the PX is split into two different stores. One has most of the main things and the food court, the other has furniture, garden tools, toys, etc. When you're new, it's a pain if you're trying to find something and then realize you have to go to the other PX to get it. Also, we tried to buy a couch and loveseat from the PX and it turned into a huge mess and we finally just said forget it.
There you have it! My take on Fort Sill so far. I really like it here told Sean I was kind of disappointed we weren't going to be here for more than a year, because I'd like being stationed here for longer.
Oh....and before I forget, to thank you all for being such great blog readers, I'm giving you a code for 15% off in my Etsy shop. Just use the code blogfriends when you check out.
I have only had one speeding ticket in my life and it was after I had driven on to Ft Sill for the first time and had been on post about two minutes...oops! The speed limits there are crazyyyy!
ReplyDeleteI love it here too! If my husband has his way we'll only be here about a year as well. He's not a fan of his job, but I'm a huge fan of the post and the location. I'm glad you're getting settled in!
ReplyDeleteYou being there is the best thing that could have happened to me. Selfish? Maybe, but I'm finding myself getting excited to be back there next year. Keep posting about it :)
ReplyDeleteI'm headed there tomorrow to see my husband at ALC I'm really excited and your post made it a little better. It's a possible duty station for us after Bragg. I'm from Utah so it would be nice to be a little more closer since we were just in KS! Lol.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you're settling in nicely--and how awesome that you have such a great house :) You've got a great attitude about everywhere the military sends you, and I really think that makes all the difference.
ReplyDeleteI thought that Lawton had some surprisingly great food. If Julio's Mexican is still there (it's somewhere on 11th St, I think, and it's lime green), check it out. Husband and I ate there are least once a week. And Meers longhorn burgers in the Wichita Mountains...YUM.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like it!! It's my favorite post (granted, we've only been to 3) and I can't wait to go back. Of course, it seems like everyone thinks I'm crazy because most people seem to hate it... I'm guessing it's 'cause they never drove out to the wildlife refuge. It's a fabulous place to take pictures (especially at the top of Mount Scott).
ReplyDeleteWe lived at Fort Sill from 2004-2008. I hope you do get the Target - but that rumor's been around since 2004!
ReplyDeleteWe lived at Fort Sill from 2004-2008. I hope you do get the Target - but that rumor's been around since 2004!
ReplyDeleteI was just in your neighborhood yesterday, picking up something I'd bought on the Mommy Sale page, lol. I would've texted you but I had to get home to pick up Jericho from school. PE houses are nice! And you're right about the commissary; every time my mom visits, we have to go grocery shopping so she can oooh and aaahh over the produce section.
ReplyDeleteJust came across your blog via To Make Love Stay and had fun reading about your move and so on. My favorite thing about blogging is how easy it is to connect with other women via the internet - why is it so difficult in real life? We're expats living in Denmark for the time being; I meet chatty men all the time - but NEVER women! Blows my mind.
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