Hey gang!  My son is putting Maxwell down on his dream sheet.  Anyone have any input on the area?  He loves to hunt and fish, how is the area for that?  Cost of living?
Thanks!

I "retired" from Maxwell about a year and a half ago. It's a "college" base (Air University), and officer-heavy as far as rank structure. The base itself isn't too bad; they are in the middle of a minor mission change. The Air Force Reserve (AFR) unit there is transitioning from C-130s fixed wing aircraft to MH-139 rotary wing aircraft, and the first helicopters have already arrived. More projects to accommodate them are coming. Unfortunately, Maxwell is situated on the sketchy side of "Monthuggery", so if he is going to live off base, Prattville or Millbrook (to the north) would be good locations to live. COL for the area isn't too bad, when compared to other states. Sales tax averages around 10% for the area.

There's a Bass Pro in Prattville, and they can probably give good info on hunting / fishing opportunities.

What will your son be doing?

Need more details, but Maxwell is in the crappy part of town so he won't want to live right outside the gate.  Montgomery is fairly compact and the urban sprawl isn't terrible so it's not a long drive to get out of town.  
Plenty of outdoorsy stuff to do and lots of great weekend trips can be made in all directions.  
Alabama is low cost of living in general.

Thanks fellas!  He is in BMT now and will be doing fuel and water maintenance.

Montgomery is a dangerous dump.

There is no way to drive around and avoid it either.

Prattville would be the place to live for Maxwell.

I can't imagine he wouldn't get Maxwell, no one wants to come to Montgomery,lol

Dream lists are places like Eglin, Hurlburt, Hickam , Mildenhall.

There was an internal push awhile back to close Maxwell because most senior AF officers have passed through Maxwell for PME and found it to be just that bad.

The best part of Montgomery is that you can take I-65 to drive right through it on your way to the beach.

My friends that work in the 'gump all live outside of the city limits in the countyside.  

As other's have said, Maxwell is in the hood.  They have prettied up Maxwell Boulevard, but one street over is the hood.  Lipstick on a pig.

Tell your son not to live in Montgomery.  Montgomery has a leftist mayor, and a sleezy District Attorney and crime has gone way up.  In 2016, a white MPD officer was charged with the murder of a black man and convicted.  Since then, any MPD officer worth a darn has gone to other agencies or the State Trooper.  The Chief of Police - the mayor's cousin - resigned recently because he was trying to get a subordinate to have sex with him.  The remaining cops have pulled back, to make sure they aren't the next ones charged with the crime of doing their jobs.  We really try not to go to Montgomery that often.

I would also not recommend Prattville.  I've lived in this area since 1978, and in Prattville itself since 1987 and the city has changed - not for the better.  They have a tax and spend city council and mayor.  Traffic can also be bad because, with one exception, we have the same road network we did in 1978.  If my house wasn't so close to being paid off, I'd move to Wetumpka or rural Elmore or Autauga County.  Prattville and Millbrook also has a lot of shoplifting and other property crime from Montgomery thugs going north.



None of the officers want to come to Maxwell.  Enlisted are stuck coming.

The AF has tried to make things better.  For example, in the past, if you lived on Maxwell, your kids had to go to the Montgomery school system.  They've now worked out agreements with other schools systems so your kids aren't stuck in the schools in the hood.  

It would not surprise me if the AF decided to close Maxwell in the future.  It would devastate this area if they did.

In regards to base closings, all you have to do is look at Selma and Anniston to see what has happened. Anniston has fared better, because the NG still uses part of the fort, but Selma has been spiraling downward since the late 1970s. Its population now is less than half of what it was when Craig AFB was still open over there.

I lived in Millbrook for 27+ years, and 90% of the crime there was "baskwash" from Monthuggery, and most of the rest was members of about 4 "vibrant" families, who interestingly enough, were related / intermarried.

IMHO, Prattville now is what Montgomery was 40-50 years ago, as far as retail, law enforcement, residential. But unless they take heed, "Pratt Vegas" could go the same route, especially if the schools go to hell.

Good luck.

I live in Sandtuck, with a Wetumpka mailing address

We can sit on the porch and watch deer and turkeys.

No crime,  but plenty of gunfire.

As someone who is PCSing there tomorrow, this is true.

Granted it probably has more to do with not wanting to do another 1 year move if I’m being honest.