Ebonies asks
My husband and I are PCSing to Fort Lee in December and would like to know what do the two bedrooms on ba
Crystal B. says: We live on post @ Lee right now & love it. Fort Lee is a very small community has a great spouses club plenty of activities & housing is nice. The surrounding community is okay but not the greatest. Of course there's tons to see & do within driving distance too!
Amber W. says: There is far more to do around the Ft. Lee area if you are the city life type.
Lela B. says: Whatever you do do not go to Fort Lee VA. It is a hell hole. There is mostly AIT there.
We lived on post at Fort Lee and liked our home despite the fact the craftsmanship was terrible and we moved in to a dirty unit and got a hassle from the housing office about it. Overall I say the on-post housing seems the best option than to rent anything off post as the rent off post (for an apartment in a good area) is higher than the BAH (when you include utilities). I would recommend you get on the wait list for on-post housing as soon as you have your orders. I think the wait list goes by quick and if you change your mind and decide to live off post you can just call the housing office and tell them that you are not interested anymore.
To be honest the best and nicest area that has EVERYTHING is Short Pump and it is about 45 minutes away from Fort Lee. It's the best area for shopping - Whole Food REI very nice mall with all the shops you can think off many restaurants fast food businesses etc. I traveled there a lot although it was a long drive. I felt safe and found everything I needed.
Chester is nice too. It has the basics - Target Kmart Kroger Walmart restaurants etc. Nothing fancy though. It seems safe.
Petersburg is terrible but the down-town is beautiful! There are lots of restaurants and antique shops. You must visit the down-town at least one time; it seems safe the police station is near by. I'm a photographer and this was my favorite place for photoshoots. My friends lived in a historical home in Petersburg and enjoyed walking down-town everyday.
Prince George is very small but is right near the gate (A Gate; back side of Fort Lee by the golf course). Prince George seems safe - there are lots of homes; you just have to find them :) I'm not sure if this town has any shopping options but it's close to post and Colonial Heights.
Colonial Heights is next to post but it takes about 15 minutes to get to the main part of it where the shopping and restaurants are. Once again it has the basics like Chester. The mall there has nothing that interested me and I never went there; I didn't feel safe in there either.
We don't have any children so I cannot tell you anything about schools.
The clinic on post is small but I never had any troubles getting appointments - usually in the next few days (but it may depend on what you need to be seen for). I only saw cilvilian doctors there and was EXTREMELY pleased with their work which is unusual for me on Army post.
Fort Lee is very small and we were just not impressed with the post overall. The security at the gates is TERRIBLE. The guards can care less about who is coming through the gates and we wrote several complaints about that. They will let anyone on post literally.
The ACS at Fort Lee provides great service. There is a small ACS office in the solider's inprocessing building and I would go there for any questions. The main ACS is near by but I've loved the ladies in working in the the small office.
There is not much to do on post but they have lots of sidewalks and I rode my bike all around post. The Petersburg National Battlefield (which you can access from Fort Lee or off-post) is a wondeful place for walks running or bike riding). There are so many deer walking around; it's beautiful. The annual pass is $15 or $5 per visit via car.
There is an outdoor pool on post that is open during the summer time. I never visited but it always seemed crowded. There is a charge to access the pool but MWR provides great rates (daily or monthly) for soldiers depending on their rank.
The PX is extremely small and I never went there either. The commissary is also very small but is hardly ever crowded.
Overall we did not enjoy Fort Lee. We love the outdoors and there was just nothing for us to do within a reasonable drive. Williamsburg is a must to visit - a very safe and historical town with lots of shopping and restaurants (one hour away). Virginia Beach is about 2 hours away (but watch out for traffic). Washington D.C. is about 2 hours away too (on a good day without traffic). Maymont Park is definitely worth visiting and it's in Richmond.