Was hoping for some helpful tips to get family going on a new base. Safe places to live, phone cable services maybe shopping. 

We have been here 6 months. Places to live? I like Beck Row, Red Lodge, and Mildenhall Town. seem to be safe and have low crime, also close drive to the bases.
If you see a house you want to rent try talking the landlord down first. If it is over your cap they will sometimes negotiate. Make sure the DODDs is close by.
We use BT for phone and Internet, so far they are ok, good customer service.
We have an AFN dish. Didn't do SKY because we download any shows we care about.
Hope that helped.
Dawn 

Oh and don't rent a house in Brandon and Thetford areas. Traffic can be terrible. You get a nicer house for your money but for us the traffic isn't worth it. 

We live in mildenhall and I love being able to walk in to the town since hubby's has the car. 

Mrs. AFCartoonist and I live in Lakenheath Village, which is great considering I work at Mildenhall and she works at Feltwell. We got a nice, new (if a little small) house and couldn't have asked for better neighbors. I spend more time driving from the front gate to my office than from my house to the gate. We went with BT for phone an internet (customer service is sloooooooooow) and we do have Sky, which we love. We could only stomach AFN for a year. As for shopping, that depends on what you want. I can tell you where to get musical instruments, art supplies and radio-controlled junk, but other than that I'm useless.

Oh, and our dogs are allowed in the local pub - a huge plus. 

We live in Weeting, outside of Brandon and LOVE it. We've been here 3 years. Brandon and Thetford does have traffic, but usually Fridays and Weekends where there are holidays. My husband drives through Brandon on the way home everyday, except Fridays where he goes the back way.

We have Sky for cable, but are getting ready to cancel. We also watch our TV shows online or download. We have BT for phone and internet, and haven't had any problems as well. We use Vonage for state side calls. 

Oh and don't rent a house in Brandon and Thetford areas.


The Thetford bashing continues. I live in Thetford and love it. And the drive takes 25 minutes on the worst of days. People are so scared to sit in traffic around here. 

We live nearly an hour from the base and we love it. We feel incredibly safe where we are, but it wouldn't work if you were determined to live the "American" life. Our oldest went to Lakenheath High and it was really hard for him to be so far out.We're part of a small community and our kids go to British schools.
I wouldn't have missed this experience for the world.


Oh, and we have to come in through the Brandon/Thetford meet up. It's traffic. You just deal with it. You learn the train times and try to avoid them. 

Not scared to sit in traffic, just don't like wasting time. I think Thetford is a great town. We go there from time to time.
I know a couple of families who lived in that area and moved closer because of the drive. They have kids and wanted to utilize the base aminities. Library, youth and community center activities, chapel programs. It's nice when the drive is only 10 min.
To each their own. 

The farther I can get away from Americans, the better. 

LIKE! (I know it's not facebook) 

LIKE! (I know it's not Facebook)

Second that! 

So two people LIKE my comment?


I feel special. 

My wife and I moved onto base housing here on RAFL. We live in the Liberty Village area. We LOVE it. We have been here for 3 years. When we first got here we moved into Mildenhall Village, "Woodlands Way" to be exact. It wasn't long after we bought a new truck that it's back window got smashed out with a hatchet for ZERO apparent reason.....

After that nonsense, we moved out to Flempton, which is close to Bury St. Edmunds. We lived in a BIG, and by BIG I mean MOTHER FLIPPING HUGE, SUPER GIGANTIFIED Barn Conversion. Did I mention it was huge? At any rate we lived there for a year then the owner decided he was going to sell. Guess what it went for? Go on, guess. 356,000 POUNDS. Yep, we were rock stars for living in such an expensivo house. Lol! Eat that Mitch! ;)

As far as living "away" from Americans.....hmmmm, not sure of the logic on that one but ok. Anywho, we love living on Liberty Village. I wouldn't say we live "American"....we just live like normal people. OP, you'll come to learn there is this silent rivalry going on here. Just ignore it as much as possible. Tomay-toe, tomaw-toe.

We had Sky, we liked them but in the end we decided it wasn't worth paying for it when all it was used for was Spongebob. We used Tiscali at first for internet/Phone which was fine. We switched to BT when we moved to Flempton....they are fine. Neither are anything special. You'll probably end up missing what you used to have back in the states. I know I do.

The only time we got to Thetford is to eat at McD's once a year or so. Sometimes we go shopping up there....but not so much, everything is expensive. Traffic is crazy because of the strange traffic lights that are in the middle of the HIGHWAY. It's stop, go, stop, go, stop, go.....for ages. You'll get stuck behind 20 Lorries, 50 BMWs and a gang of mopeds with big red "L's" on them. Just be sure to dress comfortably and practice breathing. ;)

Don't mind Mitch, he's secretly European. 

As far as living "away" from Americans.....hmmmm, not sure of the logic on that one but ok.



Americans suck. And I say that as an American. Even in this country you line up 100 people and I can pick out the Americans.

Maybe I'm just getting more angry in my old age. 

Don't mind Mitch, he's secretly European.


And the more I see how our country is going the more I'm seriosly considering giving up my citizenship.

And before you get you knickers in a wad, I'm a bleeding heart Liberal. The stupid shooting that happened last weekend may be the last straw for me. 

I'd rather live in Japan myself... 

I'd rather live in Japan myself...


I'm torn on that. I lived there for 3 years and I was ready to go. I love the cultural but unless you learn the language you are kind of in a bind when you are in the boonies.

Yes I know that the countries in Europe have different languages and I don't speak them. But European languages use roman letters. The Japanese have 3 different alphabets. And to be really fluent you need to know them. Kanji alone has between 2,000 - 3,000 symbols that you should know. 

The stupid shooting that happened last weekend may be the last straw for me.

Lol, It's a conspiracy man!


Hmmm....that raises a question, I'm not sure what I consider myself. Liberal? Conservative? I don't know. I love the Constitution. I swore an oath to defend it. I know the UN and the EU are pretty dangerous. So, I wouldn't be willing to give up my Citizenship. I'm one of those "Love it or leave it" types. But, on the same hand I'm one of those "To each his own" type people. I'm a registered Democrat, but I would have voted for Ron Paul if his name would have been on my ballot. It was a shame having to pick the lesser of two evils. But, that is another topic altogether. I'm an American. Big whoop. Proud of it, but I'm not trying to flaunt it. I wouldn't rather be from another nation, but don't think we are any better. In the end it is simply tribalism. My tribe has the US Flag, does that flag define me? Not really. But I do care for it's people, I do care for the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. I don't care for the current Government. NWO will happen soon and I'd rather be at home, terrain I'm familiar with when it all hits the fan. Lol, didn't mean to get YOUR knickers in a wad Mitch....I forgot you're an old guy that is set in his ways. ;) 

I managed pretty well... I learned a bit of the language and started reading a bit of kanji - just enough to get around and shop.

Yokota was the best - 5 minute walk to the train station and boom! Instant freedom to go anywhere. Nothing like here... 

As far as living "away" from Americans.....hmmmm, not sure of the logic on that one but ok. Anywho, we love living on Liberty Village. I wouldn't say we live "American"....we just live like normal people. OP, you'll come to learn there is this silent rivalry going on here. Just ignore it as much as possible. Tomay-toe, tomaw-toe.

HUH????


Because I prefer to experience the country I am in in the fullest possible way I can, that makes it a rivalry? I don't give a flying flip if someone chooses to live in Lord's Walk, Mildenhall or in the BX parking lot, I am saying that I enjoy living where I do-- NOTHING confrontational at all about that.
I was trying to dispel the attitude that there's anything wrong with living in Thetford or anywhere else. We got all of the "warnings" when we got here too and I'm glad I didn't listen to any of them. 

We live in the town of Mildenhall and love it. We are a 10 minute walk to the High Street (down town) area. That means, we can walk to restaurants and grocery stores. We are also a 5 minute drive to RAF Mildenhall, but there is very little air traffic noise in our area. Our home is in a newer neighborhood with a huge park/playground for the kids. The homes are much smaller here than what we were used to in the States, but the location is worth it for my family. I love being able to walk into town and to know that we are a short drive to work, commissary, & BX (especially when the weather is not great) The other great advantage for my family is that being so close allows my husband to come home for lunch :-)

As for shopping, we mainly go to Cambridge and shop in the BeeHive Centre. It has larger chain stores that are as close to American retail as I have seen locally. We also shop in NewMarket and Bury St Edmunds for a more British experience. If you have children, the store NEXT is very popular. The store Debenhams is some what like a small Macys, Dillards, JC Penney combo. Of course London offers all kinds of places to shop, but it is quite a trek. 

You are correct in saying this is a whole different thread. I've been locking horns with some people on Facebook over the Constitution.

I feel that the Constitution is a "living" document. It was written in a different time. Their 2nd Ammendment thoughts were different from what we would think in this day and age.

I think the Constitution should be reviewed on occasion. I'm not saying throw it out by any means. And possible changes be made.

I'm using IE at work which has no built in spell check so if you see any words misspelled, cry me a river. 

We got all of the "warnings" when we got here too and I'm glad I didn't listen to any of them.


I thank you for not drinking the koolaid when you first got here too.

Everybody and I mean everybody said, "Don't live in Thetford!! The crime is terrible!!! "They steal laptops and cd's from the backseat of your car!!"

Well guess what? You are the retard that left it in there and out for the taking. So serves you right. 

As for shopping, we mainly go to Cambridge

Yes, Cambridge for shopping is GREAT! Just be sure to go well before 6PM or else everything will be closed! OP, you gotta try Nando's!!!!! MMMM MM! 

I didn't think Nando's was all that great, really. The chicken was overdone on several occasions we went there.
We complained once and was met with indifference. 

And I should go back and clarify that I'm not saying change the Constitution. I misspoke. I think it should be interperted to modern day in some parts. 

We got all of the "warnings" when we got here too and I'm glad I didn't listen to any of them.


I thank you for not drinking the koolaid when you first got here too.

Everybody and I mean everybody said, "Don't live in Thetford!! The crime is terrible!!! "They steal laptops and cd's from the backseat of your car!!"

Well guess what? You are the retard that left it in there and out for the taking. So serves you right.



LMFAO!!! thats awesome, we lived in Thetford for 2 yrs before our landlords decided to sell. We were told "oh no dont live there!! you'll lose all your stuff cause crime is so bad and traffic is endless!" Whatever, you said it best, you lose something in your car, then dont be a retard and leave it there. Yeah our car was broken into by some kids, um hello, we empty our cars at night so they got bubkiss, besides in whos little world do cars NOT get broken into? back in my home state ours were stolen left and right and burned on the mexico border lol. As for traffic, where is there NOT traffic here?? 

And people say that the traffic is bad here need to live in Washington DC, Atlanta etc.... I've lived all over the world and this isn't traffic. 

Yes, Atlanta has some horrendous traffic. Lets just say that Thetford isn't the best place to live if you happen to be running late. Lol