Do you recommend staying off or on post at Fort Drum?

DO NOT LIVE IN WATERTOWN! I bought a house in Antwerp and lived on the river about 20 mins North on highway 11. Philadelphia is good, Gouverneur is cheap but about 40mins to post in the summer and an hour in the winter. LeRay, Calcium, Philly, Black River are your best bets.

It's been 30 years since I was stationed at Ft. Drum so I probably don't have a good picture of the current housing situation. But I will say that your experience with the weather in Ohio will not be your experience in Ft. Drum. There will be a lot, and I mean a lot, more snow than you are used to.

https://www.syracuse.com/weather/2015/03/snowiest_place_in_america_tug_hill_lake_ontario_upstate_new_york.html

Edit to add: The reason I bring this up is it would impact my on-base / off-base thinking when it comes to making formation.

I think it depends on how close you want to live. There are apartment complexes around post in Evans Mills and Calcium including Woodcreek, Eagle Ridge, Woodcliff, the Heights. A little further you have Watertown which has several places to rent from.

Fort Drum is an experience. Living on post has both advantages and disadvantages. The rental availability is scarce but their some.

If you are thinking of renting then I would opt for post housing. I lived of post for a while, the pickings at the time were slim and the winter heating bills killed my budget, eventually moved to post housing. Lost my BAH, but didn't have to worry about utility bills.

On post if you are not going to the aviation unit. If you are going to the aviation unit it on post, as close to the road leading from main post to the airfield or if off post, close to the airfield.

Things to consider is the snow which if you are not at the gate (either main post or the airfield) by 0550, you might be late to formation. If you are stationed on main post and live on base, you can actually leave a 0605 and make it on time to formation.

But living on our off isn’t too bad either. Just watch where they try to stick you on post. The E-4 and below housing is pretty shitty.

I’m also from Ohio and I promise the winters are far more worse here. 3 years ago I thought I would be fine in the winter too.

I live right off post and I overpay for rent and the housing we live in is not worth it. I guess if you could find a good deal, living off post is great, but good luck with the BAH you receive and the price of living. I would say both living on or off post will have its pros and cons.

Was there in the late 90's, I lived in Watertown for 6 months then moved on post...I'd go with on post housing due to WX/distance/heating bill/snow removal etc...