The Pros and Cons of Living on Post at Fort Campbell

Did you just find out you are going to be stationed at Fort Campbell? If so, the decision to live on post at Fort Campbell can be a difficult one to make. We went back and forth on living there ourselves when my husband was still active duty. In the end, we decided to buy a house in Clarksville and have been there ever since.

I have had many friends who have lived on post at Fort Campbell and have loved it, I have had other friends who moved off because they didn’t. I decided to ask my Facebook group what they thought about living on post at Fort Campbell to come up with this list of pros and cons.

Pros of living on post at Fort Campbell

• Schools– Schools on post can be good and are easy to take your children too. While there are a lot of good schools off post in the area, there are some not so good ones too. Most housing areas at Fort Campbell have a school close by and easy to get to.
• Community– If you are looking for community, you will definitely find that on post at Fort Campbell. There is always something going on and activities and events to get involved in. From kids sports to MOPS to playdates for your kids.
• Starbucks– Fort Campbell is home to two Starbucks that just happen to be at parks with a splash pad. This is fantastic for the summer. Bring your kids to play and relax with your favorite drink. While you are welcome to these places even if you live off post, living on gives you better access and might just be a short walk from your doorstep.
• Save on electricity– Living on post at Fort Campbell should save you money on electricity. Living off post can cost you $200-300 a month. While this isn’t always the case, it is something people complain about on local pages and something you can avoid by living on post.
• Everything is close– The nice thing about Fort Campbell is that all you need is relatively close together. Most of the neighborhoods are not too far from the hospital, the Commissary, the PX, the Chapels, and being on post means you are close to your spouse’s workplace. You can get to any of those places without having to wait in line to get on post or through the traffic of Clarksville and Oak Grove which can be terrible at times.
• Playgrounds– If you have small children, on post at Fort Campbell can be the ideal place to live. There are playgrounds everywhere. No matter where you have your home on post, you should be able to walk to at least one, if not two playgrounds or more. There are also two splash parks that are open during the summer.
• Pre-K– Getting into free Pre-K off post can be a challenge. Doing it on post is a lot easier if that is important to you.
• Fenced yards– There are a lot of fenced yards on post. Off, it really just depends. If you have a dog or children, a fenced yard is probably going to be important to you.

Cons of living on post at Fort Campbell

• Break-ins/Vandalism– Sadly, break-ins and vandalism happen on post just like they happen off. Some spouses do not want to live on post for this reason. They feel that they are more likely to have something stolen if they live there. Just being on post doesn’t mean you are completely safe from these things.
• There are nice and safe housing options off post-In the Fort Campbell area, you have a lot of options for where to live. There are plenty of off post options to find a nice home in a safe neighborhood. A lot of these neighborhoods are closer to restaurants, stories and places you will probably want to go quite often. If you are worried about not being able to find a home in the area, spend some time looking to see what is in your price range.
• Farther commute for spouses that work in Clarksville and Nashville– For military spouses that work in Clarksville or Nashville, living off post might be a better option. There are quite a few off post neighborhoods that are closer to the Interstate making it much easier for the spouse to get to work.
• Can’t leave work behind– A lot of military families like to live off post so they can leave work behind when they are not at work. Clarksville makes this easy to do since things are more spaced out. You can live 15-20 minutes from post or even further and have a more off post experience. Living on post you will be right in the middle of everything, and some people do not want that.
• Pocket BAH off post– Some families can pocket BAH by living off post. If you receive $1000 a month for BAH and your rent is only $650, that is some extra money in your pocket every month. This doesn’t work for everyone as families who are looking for a bigger home will have to pay more, and that could end up being over the BAH amount.
• Housing can be difficult to deal with– Quite a few spouses mentioned that dealing with on-post housing was a big headache. That the people they talked with were rude and they had trouble getting things done. While you can still encounter this with a rental agency, dealing with housing can be a big con for some people.

As you can see, there is a lot to think about when you are trying to decide to live on post at Fort Campbell. What works for one family might not work for another. There are definitely pros and cons to either choice.

If you are trying to decide what you want to do, take some time to check out the local area. If you can’t visit ahead of time, try to find photos and listings online. You can always start on post and move off or the other way around if things change.

What about you? Have you ever lived at Fort Campbell? Where did you live when you did?