In the last 7 years the cost of living in Southern California has significantly out paced the adjustments made to military pay and BAH. Across all pay grades our military families are struggling to provide a safe and reasonable standard of living for their families. Reliable and cost effective childcare for their children and many rely on WIC and other social programs to meet the MINIMUM needs of their families.
While other high cost duty stations receive COLA pay in addition to salary and BAH, our San Diego families continue fall behind month after month.
**The responses below are from a survey conducted of over 1,500 service members from varying rank and pay grade.
"We have lived in Japan twice, Hawaii and Norway and now SD. The housing here is unlike anywhere else. The cost of living is way more expensive then overseas".
Families are forced to make difficult life decisions due to their lack of monthly support.
"We have decided to delay having children because we wouldn't be able to afford a home large enough for a child/children. Currently living in 800 sf which is what we could get with our BAH".
Our service members are expected to spend extraordinary amounts of time away from our families due to training, school and deployments. But as the cost of living and housing price increases some are forced to commute over 2 hours a day to find affordable housing.
"My spouse is stationed at Miramar and we've chosen to live all the way up in Temecula because we simply can't afford to live in San Diego county. Groceries are more expensive, gas prices are higher and the overall cost of living in southern CA is astronomical compared to other areas of the country".
This week the Navy announced that an additional 15,000 military families will be coming to San Diego in the years to come and we can no longer suffer in silence. The struggles that await these families will only grow exponentially as San Diego's housing inventory grows more scarce due to the increased demand.
"As a real estate professional I have seen a significant decrease in the quantity of life of our military families in San Diego. The homes they are able to afford have become less stable, the neighborhoods less safe, and schools less qualified. It cannot continue on this trajectory."
Our San Diego military families need COLA pay. We respectfully request a full and complete audit of costs associated with Southern California living. This audit should also include an ample survey of San Diego service members and their dependants.
Updates
August 21, 2017
The petition has reached 500 signatures today. This response demonstrates the urgent need for a cost of living adjustment for our military families in San Diego.
Reached 500 supporters
August 20, 2017
Reached 100 supporters
August 20, 2017
August 18, 2017
The momentum behind this petition continues to build as we approach the one hundred signature milestone. Please consider inviting others to view our objective today to ensure our momentum remains steady.
156 Comments
Our credit has taken a hit because we can't even afford to pay all of our bills. I work full time and my husband is an E-5. There have been quite a few times that we've even had to get loans from the Relief Society just to buy groceries.
My spouse and I are lucky enough to have family help us afford to live in SD, otherwise we would have gone through all of our savings trying to afford to live here during our tour. I know families of 4+ trying to figure out how to live in a 2 bedroom because that's all they can afford.
I don't work due to high cost of childcare and the long waits for military childcare. My husband has to drive uber and Lyft to make ends meet and we live in housing. A house that is way too small for a family of 4 and we pay almost $3,000 a month for it.
With wait times of up to 4 years for navy housing families are forced to live in town. Each time BAH goes up, so does rent. This is the only way to make sure the money goes to families and not landlords.
Recent study showed that a family of 4 needed an avg income of 95k just to make bare minimum for bills in San Diego. Without COLA, most military families do not clear that especially with most families only having one income.
It’s not enough for even a full tank of gas.
How San Diego hasn’t received COLA yet is preposterous. It is one of the most expensive cities in the country. This needs to change immediately and $60 a month ain’t gonna cut it.
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In the last 7 years the cost of living in Southern California has significantly out paced the adjustments made to military pay and BAH. Across all pay grades our military families are struggling to provide a safe and reasonable standard of living for their families. Reliable and cost effective childcare for their children and many rely on WIC and other social programs to meet the MINIMUM needs of their families.
While other high cost duty stations receive COLA pay in addition to salary and BAH, our San Diego families continue fall behind month after month.
**The responses below are from a survey conducted of over 1,500 service members from varying rank and pay grade.
"We have lived in Japan twice, Hawaii and Norway and now SD. The housing here is unlike anywhere else. The cost of living is way more expensive then overseas".
Families are forced to make difficult life decisions due to their lack of monthly support.
"We have decided to delay having children because we wouldn't be able to afford a home large enough for a child/children. Currently living in 800 sf which is what we could get with our BAH".
Our service members are expected to spend extraordinary amounts of time away from our families due to training, school and deployments. But as the cost of living and housing price increases some are forced to commute over 2 hours a day to find affordable housing.
"My spouse is stationed at Miramar and we've chosen to live all the way up in Temecula because we simply can't afford to live in San Diego county. Groceries are more expensive, gas prices are higher and the overall cost of living in southern CA is astronomical compared to other areas of the country".
This week the Navy announced that an additional 15,000 military families will be coming to San Diego in the years to come and we can no longer suffer in silence. The struggles that await these families will only grow exponentially as San Diego's housing inventory grows more scarce due to the increased demand.
"As a real estate professional I have seen a significant decrease in the quantity of life of our military families in San Diego. The homes they are able to afford have become less stable, the neighborhoods less safe, and schools less qualified. It cannot continue on this trajectory."
Our San Diego military families need COLA pay. We respectfully request a full and complete audit of costs associated with Southern California living. This audit should also include an ample survey of San Diego service members and their dependants.
Updates
August 21, 2017
The petition has reached 500 signatures today. This response demonstrates the urgent need for a cost of living adjustment for our military families in San Diego.
Reached 500 supporters
August 20, 2017
Reached 100 supporters
August 20, 2017
August 18, 2017
The momentum behind this petition continues to build as we approach the one hundred signature milestone. Please consider inviting others to view our objective today to ensure our momentum remains steady.
156 Comments
The housing in San Diego is just the start, other then Avocados everything here is more expensive then anywhere we have been stationed. Getting stationed somewhere with no choice should not be a financial or quality of life punishment for any military family.
Our credit has taken a hit because we can't even afford to pay all of our bills. I work full time and my husband is an E-5. There have been quite a few times that we've even had to get loans from the Relief Society just to buy groceries.
My spouse and I are lucky enough to have family help us afford to live in SD, otherwise we would have gone through all of our savings trying to afford to live here during our tour. I know families of 4+ trying to figure out how to live in a 2 bedroom because that's all they can afford.
I don't work due to high cost of childcare and the long waits for military childcare. My husband has to drive uber and Lyft to make ends meet and we live in housing. A house that is way too small for a family of 4 and we pay almost $3,000 a month for it.
With wait times of up to 4 years for navy housing families are forced to live in town. Each time BAH goes up, so does rent. This is the only way to make sure the money goes to families and not landlords.
Recent study showed that a family of 4 needed an avg income of 95k just to make bare minimum for bills in San Diego. Without COLA, most military families do not clear that especially with most families only having one income.
It’s not enough for even a full tank of gas.
How San Diego hasn’t received COLA yet is preposterous. It is one of the most expensive cities in the country. This needs to change immediately and $60 a month ain’t gonna cut it.
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The housing in San Diego is just the start, other then Avocados everything here is more expensive then anywhere we have been stationed. Getting stationed somewhere with no choice should not be a financial or quality of life punishment for any military family.