Should I live on base or off base when stationed in Colorado Springs?

It depends on why you want one or the other. Start with your life: quality of life, schools, community, and how you want your days to work. If off base fits better, then decide whether to rent or buy. Wherever you land first, plan to stay. Most families who start on base stay there for the whole tour, because moving twice costs money and time. If you want on base, apply as soon as you have orders, and have a backup plan in case the waitlist runs longer than your report date.

Start with why

When a military family asks me whether to live on base or off base, the first question I ask is why they want one or the other. The answer usually comes down to a few things:

• Quality of life. How close do you want to be to work, the gym, the commissary, and the clinic? How much do you want to handle yourself, such as maintenance and yard work?
• Schools. On-base housing comes with an assigned school, and off-base homes come with their school district boundaries. If schools matter to you, that can decide it.
• Community. Some families want neighbors who share the military life and the built-in activities that come with living on base. Others want a neighborhood mix, or more space.
• Everything else in your day. A spouse's job, activities for the kids, church, trails, and friends all pull in different directions around a city this spread out.

Life comes first. Once you know what you want your life here to look like, the housing decision gets much clearer. If off base is the better fit, the next question is whether to rent or buy.

How on-base housing works here

Family housing at every Colorado Springs installation is privatized. You sign a lease with a private housing partner rather than living in government-owned quarters.

• Peterson and Schriever Space Force Bases: family housing is owned and managed by Tierra Vista Communities. The Air Force says to contact the Military Housing Office as soon as you know you're moving. At Schriever, you're required to visit the Military Housing Office for counseling before you sign any lease or rental or sales contract for housing.
• Fort Carson: family housing is managed by Balfour Beatty Communities. Waitlists are organized by rank and by the number of bedrooms you need.
• Across installations: the Army's Fort Carson garrison notes that any Soldier with family members can apply for privatized housing on any of the four local installations: Fort Carson, Peterson, Schriever, and the Air Force Academy.
• Single junior enlisted: at Fort Carson, single Soldiers in grades E-1 through E-5 generally must live in the barracks. Other services have their own rules for unaccompanied members; ask your gaining unit.

How BAH works on base. In privatized housing, your Basic Allowance for Housing goes to the housing partner by allotment as your rent. When you move out, the allotment stops and your BAH comes back to you. Ask the housing partner what's included, such as utilities, and what isn't. For your BAH amount, use the official DoD BAH Rate Lookup.

Getting help before you arrive. Air Force and Space Force members can use the Housing Early Assistance Tool (HEAT) to request housing help from the gaining installation before a PCS.

Plan to stay where you land

In my experience, families rarely start on base and then buy off base during the same tour. It does happen around retirement or separation, when you'll need to leave military housing anyway. But most tours here are short, so if a family goes on base initially, they stay. Nobody wants to move twice and pay for everything that comes with it.

That makes your first decision a bigger one than it looks. Choose the option you'd be happy with for the whole tour.

When you want on base but the waitlist is long

The other situation I see often: a family wants to live on base, gets on the waitlist, and then has to find somewhere to stay because they can't get on base in time, for whatever reason.

If that happens:

• Apply as soon as you have orders. Waitlist timing depends on your rank, the number of bedrooms you need, and the time of year, and summer PCS season is usually busiest.
• Decide your fallback before you arrive. A short-term rental, a month-to-month lease, or temporary lodging are the usual options. Ask your finance office what temporary lodging allowances may cover.
• Weigh the cost of moving twice. If the gap would be long, a family sometimes decides it's simpler to rent or buy off base for the whole tour rather than move again when a home on base opens up.

If off base fits better: rent or buy?

Off base, you'll use your BAH toward rent or a mortgage, and you'll choose where to live. A few things to weigh:

• How long you'll be here, and what happens when you leave. Buying makes the most sense when you're willing to hold the home long enough, including renting it out if you PCS. See whether to rent or buy and whether to sell or rent when you PCS.
• What you can realistically afford. Your BAH is a starting point, not a budget. Price, down payment, rate, taxes, HOA dues, and insurance all decide the real payment. See how BAH affects what you can afford and, for junior enlisted members, whether to buy at all.
• Timing. See how early to start buying before a PCS and buying remotely during a PCS.
• Renting first is always an option. It gives you time to learn the city. For many military families it becomes a short stop, since many want to settle in right away.

What's specific to Colorado Springs

• Several installations, one city. Peterson, Schriever, Cheyenne Mountain, the Air Force Academy, and Fort Carson sit in different corners of a spread-out metro area. Service members live throughout the city, not just next to their gate. See drive-time windows from sample neighborhoods to each base.
• Schriever is the farthest east. If you're assigned there, the choice between on-base housing and a longer commute matters more than at the other installations.
• School district boundaries don't follow base lines. Off base, your address decides your district, and several districts serve the military community. Verify any address with the district's own boundary tool.
• Costs vary by address off base. Two similar homes can have very different property taxes, HOA dues, metro district levies, and insurance. On base, those aren't your concern.

A simple way to decide

• If community, convenience, and predictable costs matter most, apply for on-base housing as soon as you have orders, and have a fallback in place.
• If schools, space, or a spouse's job point to a particular area, off base is likely the better fit. Then decide whether to rent or buy.
• If you may be here more than one tour, or you're willing to rent the home out later, buying off base may be worth a closer look.
• If the waitlist would leave a long gap, compare the cost of a temporary place plus a second move with renting or buying off base for the whole tour.
• If you're near retirement or separation, plan for where you'll live afterward, since military housing ends when your service does.

What could change the answer

• Your orders. Tour length, a follow-on assignment, or a deployment changes the math.
• Waitlists. Availability changes with the season, your rank, and your bedroom requirement.
• Your family's needs. Schools, special needs, a spouse's job, or pets can rule options in or out.
• Your BAH and the market. Rates and rents change; check current numbers rather than relying on last year's.
• Service rules. Housing eligibility and barracks requirements differ by service and grade.

When to talk with a professional

Your installation's Military Housing Office or Housing Services Office is the right place for waitlists, eligibility, and lease counseling. Your finance office can explain BAH and temporary lodging allowances. A VA-experienced lender can tell you what you'd qualify for if you're considering buying. A real estate professional can help you compare renting and buying off base, and your commute and school options.

Sources

• Air Force Housing, Peterson SFB (privatized housing, Tierra Vista Communities): https://www.housing.af.mil/Home/Installations/Peterson-SFB/
• Air Force Housing, Schriever SFB (privatized housing; contact the MHO as soon as you know you're moving): https://www.housing.af.mil/Home/Installations/Schriever-SFB
• Air Force Housing, Welcome to Schriever SFB Housing (MHO counseling before any lease, rental, or sales contract; HEAT): https://www.housing.af.mil/Units/Schriever
• U.S. Army Garrison Fort Carson, Housing (privatized housing on any of the four local installations; single E-1 to E-5 Soldiers in the barracks): https://home.army.mil/carson/index.php/allservices/housing
• U.S. Army Housing, Fort Carson Frequently Asked Questions (waitlists by rank and bedroom size; BAH paid to the private partner by allotment): https://www.housing.army.mil/Installations/Carson/FAQ.pdf
• Defense Travel Management Office, BAH Rate Lookup: https://www.travel.dod.mil/Allowances/Basic-Allowance-for-Housing/BAH-Rate-Lookup/