We got sentenced to 29 Palms in 2011.
This is our story...
Ok, it really isn't that bad.
But to be completely honest, when I heard we got orders here,
I flat out told my husband I was not going with him. We were stationed
at Camp Pendleton at the time, we owned our house, I was happy.
The last thing I wanted to do was move to Twentynine Palms.
Although I grew up in Southern California, I had never been to this area.
I mean, its not like people come here for fun.
I heard nothing but horror stories about living here. One girl I knew
at the time had just moved to Pendleton from 29 and when I told her the
news, all she did was shake her head and say "Good luck."
Criminals, desert yetis, sex offenders, no shopping, The Hills Have Eyes...
I don't wanna go!!! Don't make me go!!!
Obviously my husband wasn't too keen on the idea of me staying put
while he went on to a life in the desert. He tried everything to get his orders
changed but alas, in January 2011, he checked into his unit at MCAGCC 29 Palms.
Yes, I know that acronym by heart now.
I followed him here with very, very, low expectations. My only condition was that
we lived on base. Our wait for a house was around 6 months so we rented a cute little
place out in town. I think we totally lucked out with this. "Cute little places out in town"
are pretty hard to come by, especially when you have to find one before you get here.
The internet is no help. But somehow I found the site www.rent29.com and we moved in
to the Cactus West duplex. The unit came furnished which was a huge plus since TMO still
had all our stuff. The people of Rent 29 were amazingly cool and helpful during the entire
process. They took great care of us and I would highly recommend them!
Our time in the Cactus house was short though, because a couple weeks later,
I found out I was pregnant with our 3rd baby. This bumped us to a 4 bedroom
house on base, which just happened to be readily available! Within another week
or so, we were moved in and I felt safe and secure in my base bubble.
You can see what our house looks like here.
After a few months here, I came to the realization that it really isn't as bad
as everyone makes it seem. Compared to Pendleton, this base is so laid back!
There is no "rush hour" like there is at CP. Everything you need is close by. If
I needed to, I could walk from my house to the hospital, the commissary, the
CDC, the gas station, Carl's Jr, and the YMCA. I dread driving all the way to
the PX which is probably 2 miles down the road.
I feel like MCCS and Lincoln Military Housing do a great job at keeping us
all entertained with events and freebies. I'm actually very pleased with the amount
of free/low cost fun that is offered here. I will do another post later with specifics.
I'm not gonna sugar coat it though, the city of 29 Palms, outside of base, is not
pretty. The shopping rumors are true. We have to drive 45 minutes to Wal-Mart.
I look at the bright side though, at least we're saving money. There are some pretty
creepy people who live here and crime happens, just like everywhere else. With
basic precautionary measures, you'll be fine. There are a lot of mom and pop stores
and privately owned restaurants. I will also write a post with reviews on those.
Depending on where you come from, Twentynine Palms will take some getting
used to. My advice for anyone moving out here...
1) If you need to find a place to live off base, have a friend, or someone local,
help you out. A lot of what's available is not listed online and those of us who
live here know which areas to avoid.
2) Start working on meeting people before you get here. Your friends will be
your support system. I can't even tell you how much my friends here have done
for me. There are numerous spouse support groups, playgroups and other official
groups like MOPS that you can find online to start getting to know people.
3) Whatever you're expecting of this place, its not that bad. Remember that your
time here is limited and there's nothing you can do but try to make the best of it.
If you come here with that outlook, your time will be much more enjoyable :)
You can see what our house looks like here.
After a few months here, I came to the realization that it really isn't as bad
as everyone makes it seem. Compared to Pendleton, this base is so laid back!
There is no "rush hour" like there is at CP. Everything you need is close by. If
I needed to, I could walk from my house to the hospital, the commissary, the
CDC, the gas station, Carl's Jr, and the YMCA. I dread driving all the way to
the PX which is probably 2 miles down the road.
I feel like MCCS and Lincoln Military Housing do a great job at keeping us
all entertained with events and freebies. I'm actually very pleased with the amount
of free/low cost fun that is offered here. I will do another post later with specifics.
I'm not gonna sugar coat it though, the city of 29 Palms, outside of base, is not
pretty. The shopping rumors are true. We have to drive 45 minutes to Wal-Mart.
I look at the bright side though, at least we're saving money. There are some pretty
creepy people who live here and crime happens, just like everywhere else. With
basic precautionary measures, you'll be fine. There are a lot of mom and pop stores
and privately owned restaurants. I will also write a post with reviews on those.
Depending on where you come from, Twentynine Palms will take some getting
used to. My advice for anyone moving out here...
1) If you need to find a place to live off base, have a friend, or someone local,
help you out. A lot of what's available is not listed online and those of us who
live here know which areas to avoid.
2) Start working on meeting people before you get here. Your friends will be
your support system. I can't even tell you how much my friends here have done
for me. There are numerous spouse support groups, playgroups and other official
groups like MOPS that you can find online to start getting to know people.
3) Whatever you're expecting of this place, its not that bad. Remember that your
time here is limited and there's nothing you can do but try to make the best of it.
If you come here with that outlook, your time will be much more enjoyable :)
Thanks for all that information! I have kind of a random question... Would you advise against willingly pcsing there? Our family is in Anaheim which is only 2 hours away but after reading all the horrible reviews I'm not quite sure it's worth it. Especially since we got offered some pretty awesome Places. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad I could help! I wouldn't necessarily advise against moving here willingly, my husband and I actually enjoy it and will probably opt to stay if the choice ever came up. But at the same time, I think it definitely depends on the person. You'd really have to come here with an open mind and ready to adapt. It helps if you're a social person and willing to meet new people, join local groups, even becoming involved with your unit. I think the support system you create here is what makes this experience bearable. I also think this base does a great job at providing free/low cost fun for it's families so we are never bored! :) Compared to other bases, this one is pretty slow paced. The evenings are quiet. The sunsets are beautiful. You run into your doctor at the commissary. Very "small town". Our family is in San Diego and while my husband was deployed I gave birth to our 3rd baby and 4 weeks later ended up having emergency surgery with another 2 week hospital stay. I was extremely grateful we were stationed close enough to family that I could have their help during this time. I don't know what I would have done if we were stationed on the East Coast when that happened. I would certainly weigh your pros and cons about each option you have, but its not all bad here! :)
DeleteKelly, I was just searching along through Google and your blog popped up. Thanks for the nice props for Rent29, that's always appreciated!!
ReplyDeleteYou couldn't be more right about making what you want out of life, or in this case 29 Palms. We sought to live her - the desert, community, proximity to JTNP and other areas just a few hours away made it an ideal place. The desert is an amazing with so much to do and contrary to popular notions, fantastic weather the bulk of the year. Community events whether on base, in 29, Joshua Tree or even Yucca are only growing. It's crazy.
Anyways, I'd love to link or share your comments to our website if that's okay (considering full revamp....) Or for anyone else who's reading this in anticipation of coming to MCAGCC needing temporary housing or just want to get information about living in 29 Palms please stop by our Facebook page and/or take advantage of the 29 Palms Chamber & Visitor Center - they too are a huge resource!
Kelly, if you don't want me hijacking your post, just yank it but I would love to share. Let me know and thanks! ~Susan www.Rent29.com
Kelly, I just moved to 29 and live in abode flatts.. We just got a puppy, do you have any input on the vet in base vs the animal hospital out in town?
DeleteI was in the Marines in 71-79 and was at 29 Palms and loved it THEN. I retired and decided to return and live in 29 Palms. The only thing I would say unless you are into drugs, tattoos, massage parlors, nail and hair salons, beer stores and out of control behavior lots of car and home stereos and lets not forget the New Marines all see themselves as heroes and do no respect others. The Base has the largest group of hell rousers and noise makers ever imagined. There is no noise ordnance in the town and no police force per say they have contract with the Sheriff dept of an occasional officer in the town. The largest demand and response of sheriff is evections in the town and there is over 400 empty homes and about 28% of those are for sale and rent. There must be a dump place from the prison system of California because of the riff raff that move into this town. If you are not military and can live with in the base parameter you are at risk of many degrees of violence and robberies and assaults. I move here last December and am selling and leaving and losing close to 50 thousand dollars because of a poor choice and I made many attempts through the CITY of 29 Palms and their logic is "People move here so they can live life their way" City offices only operates M-Th (4 day weeks) 3 day weekend every week and that also tells low life’s, 3 days of party every week. I am leaving and will call 29 Palms the only living lands fill in California. Just take a drive and see most every yard and empty lot littered with trash and it is never cleaned. I walked every day for months and picked up every sort of discarded trash you can imagine and I would pull mattresses and couches and large items just dumped in lots to the curb and then at one city council meeting I was told "city employees are hired to pick up trash" by one council member. If at all possible avoid 29 Palms and go to the JT National Park by way of City of Joshua Tree entrance. There are no jobs unless you work on the base or Burger Kind, Mc Donald’s, Subway, AMPM, 7-11, Stater Bros, very limited food locations and no night activity unless you want to go to the Casino and lose money and get a transplanted lady of the night working the marines in the area.
ReplyDeleteOh one more thing 3 and 4 wheeler ATV and motorcycle dirt bikes as well as street motorcycles with no mufflers and the Sheriff said the First Amendment protects these disrespectful people so they can make all the noise they want and as long as they are driving and not at home making this deafening noise at all hours and they party as many as 40 cars at a house and block street and all places in the road and the Code enforcement person said" What would you want them to do" Yah so move to Twentynine Palms Ca, and party party, Party!
ReplyDelete