off base utilities

[luvshack409]

Can anyone tell me an estimate of how much you spend a month in utilites for off base housing? We will be PCSing to Kadena this summer and I've heard utilites can get very high... I know you get a nice allowance for utilites but I wonder if it is actually enough to cover the cost????

[DoctorP]

A lot depends upon the size of your family and the size of your house. Average electric bill is probably between $100-$200, gas around $40-$80, water probably around $100. I have a family of 6. I've known people who were quite wasteful and would leave A/C's on all day when no one was home...electric bills would go up to $500-$600.

I'm sure others will chime in with some different #'s though. It really depends on each individual family. You will be paid enough usually to cover the expenses though.

[Muku]

Can anyone tell me an estimate of how much you spend a month in utilites for off base housing? We will be PCSing to Kadena this summer and I've heard utilites can get very high... I know you get a nice allowance for utilites but I wonder if it is actually enough to cover the cost????
A will all depend on your useage. During the summer months here it get really hot and many people whether they are home or not leave the a/c on day just to have it cool when they get home. Those idiots are probably paying $700.00 to $1000.00 per month for their electric alone. There is no central a/c off base in apartments or homes they are individual units.

Most people are most conservative in their useage of a/c and they spend much less maybe $200.00 or a bit more for electricity. Water well that is based on use as well but probably around 100.00 or so a month. Depends upon your family siz.

fyi, I would suggest next time supply a bit more information so people here can get a better idea of what you are looking for, asking a question like this is very general and difficult to answer based upon the information you provided.
Let says I asked you the same question about where you lived.......:D

I am sure there are others that will answer this as well, if you could provide more info it would help. What you are looking for? A house, or aparment? Kids no kids? Pets or no pets? These also factor into the cost of utilities and everything else as well. Thanks.:D

[luvshack409]

Thanks for the replies so far... here is a bit more info... family of 4, no pets and not really sure whether we will look for an apartment or house as of yet. I've taken a look at the houses listed with Central housing and they seem nice but I'm quite sure that the larger houses would be more expensive to cool. I've also looked at some of the apartments that I've been able to find links for and many of them do not list prices... husband is an E-7 so I'm not sure how price friendly apartments are.

Basically any info on off base housing costs would be appreciated. We are still trying to sell our home here and not sure how long that will take with the current market and I'm having a hard time planning for things when I have no idea what I'm stepping into. We've been overseas before, did 4 years in England but that was seven years ago and I've forgotten most of the details associated with an overseas move.

[DoctorP]

Basically any info on off base housing costs would be appreciated. We are still trying to sell our home here and not sure how long that will take with the current market and I'm having a hard time planning for things when I have no idea what I'm stepping into. We've been overseas before, did 4 years in England but that was seven years ago and I've forgotten most of the details associated with an overseas move.

Your rent will be set based on your rank...give me a little time and I'll tell you what your rent ceiling is...gotta drop son off at the bus.

There are a lot of empty homes right now, many of them brand new! Seems the market has been flooded by a few companies and you should be able to have your pick of homes. Don't like what one company shows you? Go somewhere else.

*edited to add*

As of April your rental ceiling is $2,164.28, and Utility allowance is $662.94.

This site is very handy for you to keep bookmarked. It will answer a lot of questions you will have. http://perdiem.hqda.pentagon.mil/perdiem/allooha.html

[luvshack409]

Your rent will be set based on your rank...give me a little time and I'll tell you what your rent ceiling is...gotta drop son off at the bus.

There are a lot of empty homes right now, many of them brand new! Seems the market has been flooded by a few companies and you should be able to have your pick of homes. Don't like what one company shows you? Go somewhere else.

I'll be back on in a bit with more info...but Muku will probably beat me to it! :rolleyes::D

I think our rent ceiling is 210,000 yen...based on what I've seen most houses that seem to be a decent size and near Kadena are closer to 300,000 yen... but then again that is only with that one agency. From what I've read on here though it sounds like they will go down to what your rent cap is????

Then living off base adds to the issue of taking my son back and forth to school... I don't know how I feel about him being bused all over the island when he is only 6... so I guess distance from his school will be an issue as well.

I've forgotten how much work it is to PCS. I appreciate all the info... what is it they say about knowledge is power??? :)

[DoctorP]

Using that same site (but not knowing your husbands years of service) your COLA for this payday would be around $544.67. That too might help you plan. Use the link at the top of the page that says O-COLA...locality code for Okinawa on all searches is JA027.

[DoctorP]

I think our rent ceiling is 210,000 yen...based on what I've seen most houses that seem to be a decent size and near Kadena are closer to 300,000 yen... but then again that is only with that one agency. From what I've read on here though it sounds like they will go down to what your rent cap is????

Then living off base adds to the issue of taking my son back and forth to school... I don't know how I feel about him being bused all over the island when he is only 6... so I guess distance from his school will be an issue as well.

I've forgotten how much work it is to PCS. I appreciate all the info... what is it they say about knowledge is power??? :)

Most agencies will adjust the rent based on your rank...but some try to hold out for the higher (officers) rents. Your husband being an E-7 though and $2,100 shouldn't be a problem finding something.

As for schools, if you stay near a base, bus rides won't be long. Check with the DODDS transportation office before you rent if that is an issue. McT, Kadena, Foster, and Kinser all have elementary schools, so if you stay near one of those bases, you shouldn't have issues with long rides to school.

Either way, there will be others coming on here with more and possibly better information for you. Keep checking back in.

[luvshack409]

Using that same site (but not knowing your husbands years of service) your COLA for this payday would be around $544.67. That too might help you plan. Use the link at the top of the page that says O-COLA...locality code for Okinawa on all searches is JA027.

I noticed that COLA was really high the last few months... much higher than the $300-$350 a pay period from a year ago. I guess that is from the weak dollar but I wonder how long until it goes back down? There is a big difference between $550 and $350 a pay period.

I had another question about off base housing and I'm just going to throw it in here since we are talking about housing. Can you plug American appliances into Japanese plugs or do you have to have an adapter??? When I was in England they would give you two adapters and they weighed about 20 lbs and everytime you wanted to plug in your hair dryer you would have to lug it across the house from the toaster or whatever other random thing you had used last.

[Tony Stacks]

It all depends.

[DoctorP]

I had another question about off base housing and I'm just going to throw it in here since we are talking about housing. Can you plug American appliances into Japanese plugs or do you have to have an adapter??? When I was in England they would give you two adapters and they weighed about 20 lbs and everytime you wanted to plug in your hair dryer you would have to lug it across the house from the toaster or whatever other random thing you had used last.

You are talking about a transformer. It changes the voltage from 100V to 115VAC for you to use your appliances.

You would need it for a TV, VCR, DVD, refridgerator, microwave...but really not for a hair dryer, clock, or other small things. There are other threads here that discuss them. Do a search for the word "transformer".

[P_chan]

Be sure to check what voltage your appliaces can take. I know my computer, as well as my plasma, will accept anything in the range of 100VAC to 240VAC 50 or 60Hz.

[TheLastDon]

Be sure to check what voltage your appliaces can take. I know my computer, as well as my plasma, will accept anything in the range of 100VAC to 240VAC 50 or 60Hz.

Yep, P_chan is right a lot of the newer appliances(TVs, DVD players, PS3, Computers) are auto voltage.

But stuff like refrigerators and microwaves are not.

[Old guy]

Wow, i'm gonna move up north and rent out my house to you people.