I hear it all the time, especially living near military installations. “There’s nothing to do here!” or “I’m so bored!” I’ve found that it’s usually not a lack of activities, but either laziness or not knowing where to find activities. In fact, quite the opposite is true. If you take advantage of the opportunities afforded by the military installation and the surrounding community, usually there isn’t enough time to get it all done. Here are a couple of suggestions for finding area activities that are usually free of cost or relatively inexpensive.
#1. MWR (Moral, Welfare, and Recreation)- There are so many activities that are being offered by MWR on a constant basis. These can include activities for children such as ballet, basketball, and movie nights. They also offer single soldier and adult activities such as game night at the sports center, intramural sports, movies, ball room dancing, and a host of other activities to fill your schedule. There are also family opportunities such as open swimming and skating, bowling, movies (notice a common theme here?), carnivals, field trips, and the list goes on and on. All you need to do is get on your installation’s website and search for the local MWR. Usually there is a calendar that is regularly updated with events.
#2. Community/ County Library System- This is a GREAT place to go for kids and adults, alike. It’s free, it’s fun, and there are plenty of opportunities for getting involved in the community. Most libraries publish monthly or quarterly activity books that have a range of activities for everyone involved. There are story hours, trips, continuing education classes, and specialized activities that center around the season. Usually the cost is free or nominal and everyone is welcome.
#3. Community/ County Recreation Centers- Once again, it’s not on a military installation so it’s a great opportunity to break away from the military world and there is so much going on every day. Recreation Centers also usually publish monthly/quarterly event booklets that list sporting events and classes, charity events, after school programs, social get togethers, and all types of great information on programs being offered. Rec Centers are a great way to get involved in the community and learn a little about the local area.
#4. Parks- ANY type of park is a great idea for children and adults, alike. Parks are usually free, offer tons of activities from hiking to playgrounds to sports of all interest. Most parks offer educational opportunities for learning about nature and having a great time, all rolled into one. There are fishing parks, nature trail parks, historic parks, recreation parks intended for sports and playgrounds, game parks, and the list continues. Military installations often have their own parks which can be found on the installation website and the surrounding community often has plenty of parks to visit. They are a great way to get exercise and not empty the wallet.
#5. Volunteering- Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community. Usually the issue is trying to find a good fit for your skills and limitations. There are plenty of ways around that obstacle, however, thanks to the Internet. Volunteermatch.org and idealist.org are places where you can register and search for volunteering opportunities in your area. Military branches also offer volunteering opportunities. For you own branch’s website, contact militaryonesource.com. They can fix you up with the perfect volunteering opportunity.
Getting involved is such an important part of living the military lifestyle. It helps fill the hours when service members are gone and helps families stay connected. Most of the time, activities don’t have to be expensive to be fun and are a great opportunity to learn about the places around you.
Add your own suggestions to the list above!
Over and out.
5 Comments
I enjoyed this post, and it is so true. You can find things to do no matter where you are. I signed up for cake decorating classes with a group of spouses one year. Took classes at the gym on base. I found charity events to attend, and I found a gig freelancing for the newspaper and that was a great way to meet people and then get the scoop on all the happenings in town. If you’re bored, it’s your own darn fault, you aren’t looking hard enough!!!
I think every post should have a sponsership program for the spouses. When I first became a military wife they had a 3 day, monthly program for the spouses and free child care for who ever attended the classes. It consisted of Military info, They would take you around the base, give you info about schools , important phone numbers, They would take you outside the base and also show you where the wal-mart, grocery stores , mall and other places were located at. This helped alot because I met other new spouses and I was informed about the base and my surrondings.
Amen! There is always, always, always something to do! Spouses can either make or break their time at each duty station by their attitude regarding activities. Thanks for the post!
I have found that people under the age of 30 always complain “I’m bored” and “there’s nothing to do here” no matter where they live. I’ve heard this from folks who live on the beaches of FL, CA, and HI; folks who live in ski towns in the Rocky Mountains; and folks who live on posts in the heart of downtown metropolitan areas like San Antonio, Washington DC, and even here in El Paso.
My parents always told us kids as we got near the age to leave home, “You can find whatever you’re looking for almost anywhere.” If you want to be bored, you will be. If you want to stay busy, you will. If you want to get in trouble, it’s easy to find. If you want to surround yourself with successful people who don’t get in trouble, you just have to look for them and befriend them.
Ft. Bliss is literally adjacent to downtown El Paso. El Paso is the fastest growing metro area in the US. It has a rich culture and history that is “foreign” to most Americans not from a border state. It has multiple universities, minor league and NCAA division I sports teams (all the big sports), an opera, a symphony, tons of variety in shopping and dining experiences, etc. 30 minutes away is Las Cruces…home of NMSU (so another set of all the above). And within an hour or so drive, you can be in some of the nation’s best and most scenic hiking, biking, camping, skiing, fishing, and hunting lands in every direction of the compass except due South (Juarez is off limits due to the drug wars). But I have heard it at least 100 times since we got here the end of October, “There’s nothing to do here.”
I agree with you. In reality, these folks are saying, “I’m too lazy to find anything I want to do around here.” I have a hard time feeling sorry for them.
Have you ever been to Cheyenne, WY? Entertainment here (especially at night) consists of drinking, most often. Most concerts in Denver or Fort Collins are on a weeknight or Sunday night, so hubby and I can’t go cuz he has to work early. Anyone on the streets after 10pm is suspicious to the cops and subject to being followed. And sometimes, we just don’t want to do military things. We don’t want military-run activities or to sit in the bar on base or to hang out with all the younger kids in his shop. Sometimes, there really is nothing to do.