We who have lived on base after base have many shared experiences. You know you live on a military base when…

• Your kids are blessed with immediate friends because every other house on your street has kids their age who attend the same school.
• You don’t have kids, but the neighborhood children still play in your front yard.
• Your neighbor informs you that they are moving out and you later find out that you know the new family moving in before they get there.

• All the pictures on your wall are crooked from artillery explosions.
• Housing actually removes hundreds of dollars of beautiful plants from your front yard upon move out to keep the neighborhood looking ‘uniform’.
• You know exactly what your neighbor means when she says, “My Marine has gone TDY to UAE for 12 weeks until we PCS this spring.”
• You run into former co-workers and acquaintances you last saw two duty stations ago at the Commissary.
• You’re among the frequent neighborhood offenders if you have a tire swing out front, kid’s equipment, or flags hanging besides the American or service specific flags.
• Your neighbors bring your trash and recycling cans in, because they know your servicemember is deployed.
• You quit buying nice furniture because it will get destroyed next time you PCS.
• You can find a resale page or garage sale every weekend.
• You still feel broke, even though your BAH covers your home.
• You give yourself a pat down before you drive back on base to make sure your military ID is ready for the gate guard.
• Children, adults, and cars immediately stop when ‘Colors’ are played.
• You make the lifelong friends with the most diverse group of people ever imagined