Life in the Military #1 - base housing vs. civilian housing

Living off-base is a new experience for me. I've never lived in "civilian housing" all my life. Living on a base made me feel both more fearful and more safe simultaneously. I was always conscious of US safety, and threats that the base encountered. Going on and off post, I daily saw the sign at the entrance checkpoint signaling the threat level of that particular day. Usually it was "Alpha", which is the lowest threat level. But I vividly remember the days when it progressed to Bravo and Charlie. Those days I did everything with a rather timid spirit, going outside and looking up at the sky frequently. Living on a base also made me feel somewhat safe. I knew that it was better than any gated community. Heck, we had men with some of the most deadly weapons right across the street, and at every checkpoint entrance in the entire base! Army men and women were everywhere, and I think just about every neighbor had a gun rack in their house. Needless to say, it's somewhat relaxing. I don't recall ever locking our doors at night either.

But for the last..almost-year, I've been living in real civilian housing for the first time. Things have changed a bit. We lock our doors and car now. We don't go walking the dog late at night. You can't hear the neighbors through the walls. ;)
Yet sadly, we also hardly know our neighbors here - whereas on base, everyone knew each other. We lived right next to each other, we knew everyones kids and last names and job and where all they'd been the last ten years. We were all connected through our common denominator, and enjoyed it.

* oh, and I haven't moved nearly as much as the average 'military brat'. I've been pretty lucky in that regard. 5 state moves and 9 houses. The average for someone my age would be at least somewhere from 8-12.