DH is Coast Guard. We are slated to transfer next June. Our last two transfers we've rented houses. We currently pay probably too much then we should for the house we have (we wanted a house with a fenced backyard for our dog) Our next move we most likely wont be staying the entire 3-4 years since DH will be moving up in rank while we are there, so we'll probably get moved again early.
I've been thinking about possibly renting a nice luxury apartment next time to take advantage of amentites for DD (pool, playground, etc). The only negative would be having to take the dog out to go to the bathroom frequently. I also think that renting a luxury apartment would be cheaper then a house (and it wouldn't be for a full 4 years most likely).
WWYD?
Re: Renting a house vs Luxury apartment?
I wouldn't make a choice until I considered all the neighborhoods. For example, there are several great single family home neighborhoods near us that offer amenities such as pools, play ground and club houses.
Last time I lived in an apartment, my two older kids were 4 and 6. I absolutely insisted on a first floor apartment that did not open to the parking lot. Reason number one is because I didn't want to worry about their heavy steps causing issues with the people below us. Number two was because I wanted them to be able to have an area they could run around in with out us having to go to the play ground every time they wanted to play out side. We had a sliding door that opened onto a patio and then an open grassy area for them to play. Had we been on the front side of the building, we would have had the patio, three feet of grass, the sidewalk and the parking lot. There was no way I would risk being that close to the parking lot and road.
I've also found that a luxury apartment isn't cheaper than a house. Apartment? Sure. Luxury apartment? No. I think you just need to examine the area you are looking into and decide from there.