Camp Lejeune: Midway Park

This was our first experience living in military base housing, and having now lived off base in the same area, I would recommend any experienced military family to think hard before accepting housing in Midway Park. Don't get me wrong, being on base has it's advantages, but living in Midway Park was at times frustrating. Here's the breakdown:

Pros:
You get the security of being tucked neatly behind a military gate with a sentry present 24/7. Utilities are included, as well as lawn care (unless you have a fenced in yard). You have the ability to put up a fence if you wish, and as long as you get the required permit from the housing office (we rented one from a local fencing company for $40 a month). There are dog parks and playgrounds (although most of the playgrounds were undergoing construction when we left). There is a Marine Mart with an attached gas station on base, as well as a small movie theater. To top it off, the housing is fairly new and the unit we had specifically was updated for the most part. We only had one issue with having to nag the maintenance crew to come check out an issue. But other than that, we were able to get issues resolved quickly. The housing office will provide your replacement air filters for your home, you just have to ask. They also claim to provide drip pans for the stove, but every time I would ask for them, they were out of them.

Cons: Our townhome had a one car garage with no opener (several neighborhoods had two car garages with automatic openers). While my husband was deployed I got a notice for "weed removal" but the common areas that are the community's responsibility to maintain were still riddled with downed trees and debris from Hurricane Florence a YEAR before. For the majority of the time we lived there, all the street lamps in our neighborhood were not operational. Most of the driveways in our neighborhood and others were designed so that rain water pools and creates a puddle that almost never goes away. And speaking of rain water, while we did have a screened in porch, every time there was heavy rain, it flooded. They've also closed the laundromat that was next to the Marine Mart, so be sure you have your own appliances or you'll have to go out in town to do laundry. The entrance to Midway Park is located at an extremely chaotic intersection that could really use a traffic light.

All in all, we spent about a year and a half living on base. We've since moved into a three bedroom house with a large backyard and a two car garage for about two thirds the price of what our BAH rate is, so we have funds left over for utilities and more. If you're looking at living on base, I would probably recommend trying to get into Tarawa Terrace on the main base or even looking at options off-base. We are much happier living off base in Hubert, and we have access to one of the base's back gates.

We have a 4 bedroom with a decent size backyard. As a family of 7, I do not feel cramped as the floor plan is open and two stories. I love the flooring and only carpet upstairs.