Hi there!
Im the Anna Jodi mentioned in the post above.
My DH has been in the Army for 6yrs and my father has been in for 30yrs so Im an old hand at military life
We're currently in Albury Wodonga, my DH used to be infantry (3RAR) but he trade transfered to do the fitter armament course and we are uplifting and heading to Townsville on July 18th. Super excited, Ive heard nothing but fabulous things about Townsville! Ive also lived in Sydney, Singleton and Puckapunyal. I was born in Brisbane when my parents were at Canungra but I dont remember living there.
Defence homes are generally really nice esp in the cities. Alot of places have shortages at the moment, Townsville and Brissy being two of them. We had a SR picked out in Townsville but because our move got pushed back 3 weeks we had to give it back. It was a lovely 4 bedroom home in a great location. But we'e assured similar if not better houses will be available for us next month.
As far as I know they are eliminating all base housing by next year. We currently live across the road from one of the bases down here in a little patch of defence homes and theyre demolishing them in the next 2yrs.
As for DHA, all I can say is you win some you lose some. Different DHA's give you different results. Moving has always been an issue for us, we've had some shocking breakages and packing problems. Just best to be aware and stand your ground against them if they give you cr@p.
As for friendliness and neighbours, it depends on the town/area your in. Here in A/W, they arent fond of the military. Not that I see many civilians as I attended military-run playgroups etc. I live in a military only patch of housing across from base and Id be lucky to see/speak to/know 5 neighbours out of 45 houses! Certainly not as friendly as it used to be. Some wives/partners, esp the new ones in my experience, can be real catty. Ive had some bad problems here with rumours etc all because I just dont want to be friends with women who gossip and complain constantly. Some of my husbands workmates also dont like me befriending their partners because Im a "bad influence" aka I have a brain and independence and they dont want their partners do be the same. Unfortunately as a military spouse its a rough trot sometimes and we sacrifice alot. If your partner deploys or goes on exercise we have to be able to stand on our own two feet esp with kids in tow and make alot of decisions independently/control finances etc Personally my Dh likes that he doesnt have to worry about me falling apart if he goes away for any length of time and he knows Ive got it all under control so he can focus on his job, because its very stressful for them alot of the time. To each their own though. Elsewhere you live amongst civilians and like anybody, whether your neighbours meet you or not depends on the person themselves. I usually like to go over and say Hi, let them know we have 2 kids and a dog so if there is every any issue with noise please let us know etc etc etc My husband and I are very friend-oriented, we like to have bbq's and get everyone to come round/bring their kids. I also attend military spouse groups like coffe clubs etc. I know Townsville has 2 such groups that are apparently great fun! Plus you'll know all of us gals so your bound to know atleast 1 person in each posting locality!
If you do come to Townsville Id be happy to befriend you and I know there are a few others ladies on here, military and civilian, who are lovely and willing to meet people new to the city
) but he discharged and then reenlisted. He's happy to be a tradie now, not as much chance of deployment, he'd rather be watching our boys grow up instead of seeing pictures for 10mths at a time, which is why he quit the infantry.
Oh and we will be TTC Dec 08 / Jan 09 so if your here our #3 will be the same age 
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