Lajes Field. Whooo. Anyone been there? Got any info to share? Do they have an underground there as well? UGH! So much on my mind!!!!! 

Ugh, sorry. My friend is there now, she can't wait to leave. She says all the time, the island is too small, there is nothing there. (Much like here?) She thinks we live in paradise compared to there! The locals (Portuguese) are rude and hate Americans. She also has a hard time finding anything for her kids to do, because there aren't really any extra activities for kids. The medical care is nearly non-existant, she has three kids, and has had to take two of them off the island for different things, she had to go to the states to have her daughter by C-section.
If you have any certain questions, I'll ask you for her... 

Ladies Field.
Sorry, iPhone did an autocorrect for Lajes to Ladies. LOL.

Lajes Field - Azores, small islands near nothing, surrounded by a large volume of seawater. Sounds familiar.

I have known 3 people stationed there; all enjoyed it very much. For less thsn one year, and then they were ready to go someplace else, anywhere else.
But they said the islands are beautiful, the population is so low it is like small town/village living. 

For less thsn one year, and then they were ready to go someplace else, anywhere else.
But they said the islands are beautiful, the population is so low it is like small town/village living.


That's how she was! She loved it the first 10 months or so she was there, then I think she was ready to claw some eyes out. 4 years is a long tour there! 

I can see this going very well for her. 

It sounds Like a place I would like to go 

For General LO:
There is not an underground (UG) for Lajes, but I scoured a few other UGs and found this recent comment from someone who had just PCSed from Lajes.
[General, I will PM you with some info.]
--------------------------------------
"Just came from Lajes (literally...got here 27 June)...I lved it, my husband hated it.

Its small, very family/community oriented. Very country(agricultural) but you get a great feel of the island life...any direction you look, you see water...its amazing.

I'm from California...love the beach and the heat...and I loved the small community for our daughter.

My husband is from Chicago...he hates heat and the ocean, lol. He also likes to drive and really missed the option of driving far...without running into the ocean ;)

The summers are beautiful...and so are the houses...we lived right on the water and there was a "rock wall" (sea wall/concrete path) right across the street for running, biking, rollerblading, or walking along the sea side...awesome.

Geat coffee and food!
It all depends on what you are looking for...and like everything, it's what you make of it!

Let me know if you want anymore input about Lajes! Good luck! " 

Also, use google search for locating Facebook pages; I very quickly found several for Lajes and Azores.

Lajes is small community, perhaps they primarily use Facebook for public forums.
However, you can start a "b" underground, advertise it on Facebook pages and see how many people join that bUG forum. 

yea... this sounds like a bad idea if you hate it here.. because the description is much like that of okinawa.. it just sounds even smaller... 

Um, I can't see this going well. 

it just sounds even smaller...


Yeah, like an 1/4 of the size, maybe even smaller? The island measures roughly 12 miles by 20 miles, at it's biggest point.



Just found this
"Where are the Azores? One-third of the way to America: 950 miles from Lisbon, 2,200 from the eastern USA. Nowhere, really. Beaches are black sand and in short supply. Cliffs predominate, as do steep volcanic calderas - large craters formed when the remains of a volcano subside into a vent - and lush fields. The weather is highly changeable, too, and though gorgeously warm in summer (mid-20sF) the islands boast the possibility of "four seasons in a single day" pretty much any time."


Tourism is almost nonexistent on Terceira (the island where Lajes Field is located). There are no huge resort hotels, and no commercial American airlines fly to Terceira.


I agree with everyone, if you don't really like it here, you probably won't like it there :( my friend is from a small town so she's used to that, and she's just miserable. There aren't many 'hops' that go out of the Azores, because she said there are rarely any cargos there, and no commercial flights, she has to fly to a larger island in the Azores and then get a flight out of there. 

Dang....I could run the whole island. lol 

Check this out here for some general info.

Also, the medical part sounds pretty serious. You will want to be brutally honest on your medical clearance forms-it sounds rather bare-bones there and the last thing you would want is to get there and find out you have to be PCS'd out due to medical issues. 

Also, the medical part sounds pretty serious. You will want to be brutally honest on your medical clearance forms-it sounds rather bare-bones there and the last thing you would want is to get there and find out you have to be PCS'd out due to medical issues.


VERY much so. I'm not sure they have an alert system like we have here. 

I'm not sure they have an alert system like we have here.

What do you mean? Alert system? 

Maybe it's not called that? When they take critical patients out on one of the cargo planes...medical evacuation maybe? I've always just thought of it as alert. My husband gets alerted, he calls who ever is in charge of the cargo jets to take them out and then not really sure what happens after that.


They might have it there though, never asked her, just assumed because she had to fly commercial with her two. 

Oh, I see...no they have a medevac system there. In fact, it said in one of the base overviews that many things have to be handled by medevac'ing people to other places, or using the local hospital if necessary.

It flat out advised pregnant ladies 32 weeks and over to not bother coming until after delivery and seemed to caution people to think long and hard about getting pregnant there. 

Oh, I see...no they have a medevac system there.


See what I get for assuming?? :)

It flat out advised pregnant ladies 32 weeks and over to not bother coming until after delivery and seemed to caution people to think long and hard about getting pregnant there.

Pretty much, hers was a whoops, and she had to leave to have her baby. 

I was stationed there for 15 months...let me know if you have any questions. It's VERY small like everyone says...although I don't know who is saying that the locals hate Americans and are rude...it is quite the opposite. My landlords treated me like I was their daughter. No medical care besides a clinic, although they make it a point to give you a same day appt. You can get medevaced same day if you have an emergency. Services for kids are limited, but what they do have they do well. Graduating class when I was there in 2010 was 15 kids I believe. I wouldn't choose to go back, but it's not as bad as some say. 

If you ever find yourself bored here, you're pretty much screwed. Bottom line. And best not get attached the niceties of fast food, starbucks, etc...nothing like that there. Nearest McDonald's is on another island. On base there's a grill, subway, and the club as well as the Portuguese terminal. You need to remember that you're NOT on a US base there. It's Portuguese and the Americans simply are tenants there. Base housing though is nice if you choose to live on base...way nicer than here. I lived in a beautiful home off base. Lots of petty crime off base so you have to be careful. One girl I know had her house broken into twice in 2 weeks. Base Housing is accessible to all since it's not on the actual base. Every Terceiran resident on island is allowed to shop at the BX...so it's completely cleaned out all the time.