What's it like living in Baumholder Germany?

Question

We are moving there the end of this year and I would like information about the post (Smith Barracks) the housing area. We have 2 kids and 2 dogs and would prefer a home with a fenced in backyard. Anyone live off post, is it expensive? Also would like to know about traveling to other countries do they have a train? How far is Paris...I'm dying to go to Paris!!! Anything would be greatly appreciated. Thank You!!

Answer 1

A house with a fenced yard in housing....never!  We live in stairwell housing (apartments muck like the projects).  Many of the apartments are less than 1000 square feet.  Plan accordingly when packing large pieces of furniture.

Off-post housing is a possibility, but the Euro/Dollar rate is bad and is expected to get worse.  Many people are now moving on post do to the extreme costs of living off post.  When the Euro rate drops, your COLA does NOT change.  As a matter of fact, our COLA keeps dropping even though the rate keeps rising!

As for travel, you can go anywhere by train.  There is a new ICE train schedule that goes directly to Paris now.  Remember the Euro rate sucks and our gas prices are going up.  Trips are still affordable if you plan ahead and shop around for deals.  MWR offers trips.

To look at floor plans of the housing, check out this web page https://onestop.army.mil/

Answer 2

i spent 7 years in germany in the u.s. army , relax you'll love it

Answer 3

Now that's funny.  I'm in Baumholder, Germany now, where I've been living with my husband for the last three years.  The post is small; roughly 12,000 Americans are stationed here, as well as the 4,000 or so Germans who live in town.

The housing isn't bad.  We have a two bedroom (it's just my husband and me), and I just love the gorgeous herringbone hardwood floors, lol.  It's not HUGE, but we've got a lot of stuff, and we've made it work.  The post has two main housing areas: Wetzel, which is not on the main post (but is still post housing), and Smith, which is part of main post.  The great thing about Smith is that the rooms are pretty big, bigger than the ones in Wetzel.  Plus, living in Smith, you'll be closer (depending on which unit you're placed in and your MOS) to work.  And believe me, when there's two feet of snow and you have no car, being close to where you work is a VERY good thing, needless to say.  The rooms in Wetzel housing are smaller, but the great thing about Wetzel is that every apartment has its own balcony.

Also, when you first arrive you'll probably be put up in the Lagerhof, which is just a short walk from the PX, Powerzone, and commisary (which are all tiny, just to warn you).

You will NOT have a fenced-in yard in on-post housing...and actually, you won't have a fence in off-post housing, most likely.  However, there are plenty of walking areas throughout post to take your dogs.

Living off-post is expensive, and of course you have to have a special waiver to live on the economy.  But, if you can find a place off-post, they're pretty nice.  I had a friend that lived off-post, and her apartment was ADORABLE.  Plus her landlady was kind enough to loan her furniture.

It's expensive to travel to other countries.  The best way to do it is WAY in advance, usually through MWR or through Sato, which is the travel agency on post.  Paris is a four hour drive, but you don't want to drive there.  People are nuts in Paris.  You want to take the train, trust me.  Yes, there are trains, and they go just about everywhere.  And if you DO go to Paris, book your hotel through ratestogo.com, and NOT through Sato or anyone else.  At ratestogo, you can stay in a four or five star hotel for the same price you would pay to stay in a two or three star.  We stayed in the Rue de Maubeuge, which is a two star, and it was awful, especially for 85 euro a night!  That was booked for us through Sato.

Baumholder is tiny, and there's not much to do here.  Lots of soldiers just go out and get drunk every weekend.  If that's your thing, that's cool, there are clubs where you can go to do that.  If not, there are lots of places nearby to go and explore.  Kaiserslautern is only about a half hour away (depending on how fast you want to drive on the autobahn; we've made it there in fifteen minutes before), and the Air Force base there has a very nice PX and Powerzone.  Idar-Oberstein has the world-famous Felsenkirche (Church in the Rocks) and lots of cool little shops.  Trier is considered the oldest city in Germany, and is only about a half hour or so away.  It has several gorgeous churches, a Roman coliseum, the 2nd century Porta Nigra, and the Roman baths (kaiserbad).  Worms is also worth visiting.  Also, near a town called Münstermaifeld, there's a castle called Burg Eltz.  It is my favorite castle in Germany, and is definitely worth checking out.

I could go on and on about stuff to see while you're here.  You'll love it, and I'm sure your kids will, too.  Anything else you'd like to know, feel free to email me any time.

Answer 4

It is true what CSM'sWife wrote about Germany and military housing. Germany became very expensive since the euro and the costs will be rising in the near future. I remember the difference when I went visiting Germany in 2002, when it was still affordable as the euro just came out and the difference when I went back in 2004 for four weeks and after three weeks I was already broke! This never happened before.

Anyways, I don't know what your husband's rank is but for Germany, he must be very high ranked to get a house and even Officers are living in 2-4 family houses, no single family house and no fenced in yard. Enlisted families are mostly living in up to 8 family housing.

The only house, that was also a townhouse for any ranked soldier are for the stationed NATO soldiers in Belgium.

Yes, you can live off-post but as she already explained, it is very expensive, mostly energy costs (water, electric, oil, poss. gas) and I personally wouldn't recommnd living off-post. You will be better off living on-post as it is also more secure; especially in these days.

Good Luck!