In a word: casual. See the next response, but suffice it to say it's a pretty easy place to live. Kwaj, like many places, it what you make of it. If you already think you will hate it you will hate it. If you have an open mind and don't expect too much, you can have one hell of a time here.

If you had to sell me and my family on moving to Kwaj, what would you say? Tom, Delta Junction, AK

Hmmm. This is definitely a tropical paradise as you may have seen from some of the pictures on this website. The pace of life is nice and slow. Not a stop light or traffic jam in sight. It is immensely safe for the kids. My son (8) knows enough to stay out of the water and that's all I need to know to feel secure. He goes out to play with friends and disappears for hours at a time and it doesn't bother us a bit. Try that anywhere in the states! There's a lot to do both in and out of the water. But, if you like malls then this isn't the place for you. I hate malls and find it a bonus that we don't have one! The cost of living is as near to zero as you will find anywhere on earth. The only thing we pay for is fun, food and fone. The rest is money in the bank.

I suppose they are more highly regarded here than most other places. For the reason that a high percentage of our residents are law abiding and therefore, don't have many "run-ins" with the law. That being the case, there isn't that much for them to do here so I would imagine they get rather bored. Everyone once in a while you hear of someone getting pulled over for "infractions" that wouldn't even make a state-side cop turn his head. But with all the bicyclists and pedestrians they need to be a little more strict. If you like the kind of action they get on COPS, you probably won't like being a cop on Kwaj. But what do I know? I'm not a cop.

The schools here are operated by the range contractor (KRS) and conform to DOD school standards. The students here regularly score in the top 10 percent, nationwide - or so I hear. It seems like half the school is on the honor roll when it gets published in the paper every quarter. My kids enjoy their respective classes. Class size is generally very small - averaging (I would guess) about half that of most stateside schools. There isn't really a lot of trouble kids can get into here so they tend to study more, I guess.

There are always child care options here. Many people hire a Marshallese care giver to watch over their young-ins. If they are potty-trained they can be enrolled in pre-school. Or, because it's so cheap to live here, one parent can simply stay home and raise your own children (as my wife does).

Yes, on the jobs page.

Not really. There is rarely ever any violent crime - in fact, none that I have heard of in my 3 1/2 years here. There is the occasional crime spree where a few bikes get "borrowed" or some kids will break into (Ok, maybe just walk into) someones home and take some liquor. I once heard there was a chop shop for bicycles here but it didn't last long.

That depends on your situation. What people bring ranges from virtually everything to virtually nothing. Just about everything can be supplied for you so nothing is a viable option. But beware, government provided furniture isn't very comfortable! If it helps: My wife and I brought small appliances, clothes, toys, and anything we wanted to sit on. They supplied the rest. Check with your sponsor or employer to determine what kind of quarters you have and what to bring.

That also depends on your contract. I have to pay for food, fone and fun - as I like to say. Unaccompanied folks don't even have to pay for food. They get a meal card which entitles them to eat 3 times per day at the cafeteria.

Communications and mail service has improved dramatically since my first tour. Telephone is quite reliable - I can't remember that last time I couldn't get a line off. It's not too expensive but it's even cheaper if you get one of those $0.03/minute phone cards to use. Dial-up internet is free. It's slow compared to almost anything in the states but it gets the job done. I created this entire website using it so it can't be that bad. You don't want to be running a fortune 500 internet company from here but for email, online shopping and browsing, it's pretty good. We are up to 9 tv channels right now. We have channels dedicated to sports, news, movies and general programming. We also have a 24 hour weather channel, flight info channel, and a roller with community information. We get a wide selection of all the best shows from the states - delayed by about 6 months from what I can tell.

Just about anything you can do in the states you can do here - just on a smaller scale. We have 2 movie theatres, a bowling alley, a 9-hole golf course, 2 swimming pools, and, of course, any kind of in water activity. Name a land sport and we have an intramural season of it. What you can't do: Spend hours at the mall, take a long drive, or sit in traffic. Hooray!

Mail service is run by the Army and it's rather hot and cold. Some times mail seems to beat people to/from the states and other times it takes over a month for a letter to get here. On average, things get here in about 10 days. Mail rates are the same as anywhere else. Keep in mind that you cannot run a mail based business from here. It's not allowed by Army regulation.

Anyone can sponsor visitors onto Kwajalein. It takes some paperwork but it's no big deal. However, keep in mind that you are responsible for the conduct of your visitor and any bills they may run up. Individuals can only visit the island for 60 days of each calendar year. Rates to the island vary but as of this writing (June 2005) it costs about $1,100 round-trip from Hawaii.

Nope. The surf breaks on the reef and so would your head. I heard some people surf near one of the islands north of Kwaj but I don't know for sure.

Yes. There are limits to the number of pets allowed on island so at times there is a waiting list. Dogs are limited to 35 pounds or less. All pets must be spayed/neutered and have all their shots as well as some additional tests. Ask your sponsor to help you get the details from the Vet clinic.

Not ON kwaj, but the waters surrounding the island have sharks and poisonous lion fish and cone shells. I have also personally seen an Australian Sea Krate - despite what many people think. I know what I saw! Sea krates are from Australia and are purportedly one of the dealiest snakes on earth. They aren't supposed to stray this far east and I only saw it once. We also saw a scorpion once and have heard others have seen them. On land you are safe but there are all kinds of critters in the water.