I find that the reception and maintenance staffs are courteous and attentive. For example, when we moved in, we found that the closet light in the kids closet was out. We reported it on Sat pm, and it was fixed by Monday am.
Some of the pros of this Oakwood are
- shuttles that leave pretty regularly to the metro and FSI
- lots of activities such as Sunday brunch, kids crafts time, movie nights, etc
- pool and playground, which we hope to be able to use soon
- gathering rooms that State employees can rent at no charge. For example, we rented a room to watch post videos on a Sunday afternoon.
- really spacious closets in both bedrooms- the best feature of the apartment, for me. We can store our suitcases, plastic storage containers, linens which will become our UAB when we leave for post, etc.
- thick walls! My kids are terribly loud, and I *think* that the walls do a great job of containing the noise. Our neighbors insist they can't hear us, and we have a baby living directly below us, who I have never heard. I'm really grateful for this fact.
The only con to me is the shuttle thing- most of the other Oakwoods are closer to a metro station. You can walk to East Falls Church, but it's about 10-15 min and not something I enjoy (my husband does it regularly).
A tip for parents, especially: request an apartment on a floor with laundry facilities. They are located on every other floor and we are provided with free laundry cards. There are about 5 washers and 3 big dryers on my floor and it is actually easier to do my laundry here because I can do it all at once! At home, it used to take me all day. I do feel like I'm in college again, though.
One final thought: your perspective on Oakwood totally depends on where you're coming from. People who just returned from overseas, where they had luxury apartments or enormous houses, find this place pretty small. Personally, I like not having to run up and down the stairs- a 2BR is the perfect size for me. I'm not sure if my husband and kids agree, though. And we were definitely not living in luxury before, so this suits us just fine.
Here are a few pictures of the kids room, the only room I can keep relatively clean. As you can see, we brought a lot of things to help it feel like home. I really think that is one reason we settled into this new home rather easily. It will be more challenging to do this when we move to post, but I'll find a way.
I'm really glad we brought L's crib. She was very happy to see it and I'm glad we had something to contain her since she's going through a difficult bedtime phase. M has graduated to a big boy bed, and this reminds me that his toddler bed is still in my parents' basement. Sorry!
The closet has shelves and hanging rods on both sides- it's awesome. And ours, which I can't currently show you, is practically twice the size. We came from a very closet-limited home, so we are psyched. And yes, that is a small flat screen TV at the top of the closet. There are TVs in every room. We don't plan for the kids to watch TV in bed just yet, though.
And last but not least, I wanted to share my holiday card wall. It was really bothering me this year that I couldn't put my cards up, so it was one of the first things I did in the new home. Friends and family, we say hi to you every day! (if you don't see your card here, please know that I've added a lot since I took this picture!)
At some point, I might get around to cleaning up the apartment enough to share more pictures, but I'm not promising anything. In the meantime, hope this was helpful to future FSOs as well as our family and friends.
9 comments:
Looks very homey.
In terms of moving overseas, we send ourselves boxes of stuff in advance of arriving at post so we have a few special things while we wait for our UAB and HHE like bedding (temp stuff is AWFUL), scented candle, clorox wipes (sometimes the bathrooms and kitchen aren't super clean), calendar, toys, games, non-perishable food, matches, clothespins, ziploc bags, favorite snack foods, books and books and books etc. Also, you will not need as much clothing as you think. So, use your entire luggage allowance of 8 suitcases and err on the side of stuff over clothes.
Such nice sunlight coming in the kid's room! Looks spacious, clean, comfy & homey (although that's your touch not Oakwood's). I could deal with feeling a little "dormy" once in awhile during laundry days. =) Thanks for posting this. We've never lived in an Oakwood and I've always been curious about them.
NKL
PS~ BTW, we used the exact same crib for our two boys. Ahhh, sweet little memories.
This is a GREAT post. People (myself included) have so many questions about Oakwood housing and it helps to get info from someone who really lives there.
We are in an Oakwood in Ballston and love it. Perspective does make a difference though - we just came from cinder block housing in Jerusalem and it feels like a castle to us!
Have fun in A-100, I can't wait to hear where you get posted!
Thanks for the post. I enjoy hearing about it.
Definitely wasn't my cup of tea, but I understand how families with children could really enjoy it.
That, and all of the renovations you are enjoying were happening AS we lived there. **grumble grumble**
Thanks for the update. D,M and L all seem to adjust....within some limits. At least you do not have to stay in an extended stay hotel!
thanks, folks, glad it's helpful/interesting.
Aaron, if it makes you feel any better, I'm pretty sure we don't have one of the renovated units!
If it gets too boring in Oakwood, you might want to order some removable wall decals/stickers for the kids' room. We have them at post (would recommend including in your luggage when you go) and it was very helpful to cheer up boring white walls. They are pretty cheap, lots of variety on Amazon and I think you can find them at Target, Babies R Us, etc.
I think the different Oakwoods each has pluses and minuses (just like posts!). I'm in Ballston Square. Although I love the fact it's close to the Metro, it has a terrible shuttle schedule, so we get to FSI either at 7:35 or 8:35. Unfortunately we generally need to be at FSI at 7:30 or 8:30. In general, I found the Ballston shuttle to be pretty much useless. I guess no place is perfect!
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