This topic should be of some interest to all, as it's directly related to your biggest monthly expense: Housing.

For our readers that are on their way to Guam, you've probably been busy scouring the internet for information only to find out there's not really that much out there to find. Most websites are seriously outdated and few have any useful information anyway. Before I came here in August 2004, I must've spent 3 or 4 hours a day trying to find out what I've got myself into when I accepted a job here.

Well, flash forward a few years and here I am (sporting the #1 spot in google for many of the search terms people seem to use). I hope this blog along with our websites www.guamrentals.com, and www.guampcs.com help to satisfy some of your curiosity about the Island. As far as I can tell they are the best on the internet. I'm aching for some competition, by the way.

So on to the topic..

Navy Base Guam Enlisted Housing

While this post mainly concerns military service members and their decision to live on or off base, our civilian visitors should find it helpful in that it should give you an idea what you're faced with in the housing market.

For our military people, living on or off base is a decision you have to make every time you PCS (that's permanent change of station for our civilian guests). Some people are steadfast base housing occupants, while others are just the opposite.

In 20 years in the U.S. Marines, I lived on base exactly once and swore "never again." This happened after my 1st Sgt chewed me out for not raking my sand (we had no grass in the high-desert of California, so no grass to mow. Instead, we had to rake our sand to smooth out our yard. (It was the Marines, what can I say?). God help you if you're rake tracks weren't perpendicular to the road.

Guam's Overseas Housing Allowance (OHA) has always been pretty heavy, and added to that was a separate allowance to cover the cost of utilities ($600 for single people and $800 for service members with dependents). So it's been rather tempting to live off base during your assignment on Guam.

Paradise Estates 4 bedroom 3 bath

Now, even the most junior enlisted service member without dependents receives just over $1,900.00 per month for housing plus the utility allowance and E-5′s and up receive $2450 per month plus utilities. This generous housing allowance affords military members the opportunity to live in premium housing that might otherwise be out of reach.

Where else can you live in an beachfront condo or a brand new executive style home? Nowhere I was ever stationed. But on Guam, oceanfront properties are full of military personnel, as are most of the "high end" housing developments.

One of the big factors we hear about when we ask a service member about their housing plans is the convenience of living on base. It's definitely nice and close to work, but on Guam, if you live on base, that's all you're close to. The base.

Villa Perez, Yigo

Over the past couple years, Guam's developers have realized the need for more "western" style housing to appeal to our service members. Homes with garages started being built, and it felt a little more like something you'd rent in the Mainland U.S.. Paradise Estates subdivision in Dededo is probably the most noticeable example of this. Military tenants are moving in as fast as they can be put up. Other developments are planned to capture the Navy market in the south. On Guam, DoD school buses even make stops off base.

If you're in need of assistance in locating and off base home to rent or buy, or you just have general questions about living here, please feel free to call on us. We're happy to arrange temporary accommodations in a TLA approved hotel and provide you with a free rental car for as long as you are under our reservation. All receipts come directly from the hotel to comply with TLA regulations, so you won't have any problem getting reimbursed. Check our website for details.