Obviously on the lower end of the rank scale. It'll be just us two and one dog(small lab). Where to go? Looking for true opinions on santa margarita, stuart mesa, and serra mesa. Is serra mesa crappy? lol. long/short lists? any advice appreciated! I'm a horse person and want to be close to Stepp Stables.

yours truly,
clueless. 

Well Serra Mesa is very close to the stables. I would really focus on where he will be working. If it's Mainside, Serra Mesa. Santa Margarita or Stuart Mesa are E4 and above, so if he literally just joined he probably won't qualify yet. Not sure what rank you're talking. Serra Mesa is E1-E3 as well as South Mesa II which is near the front gate.
Personally, when my husband only qualified for jr enlisted housing (and like you we had no kids) we lived off base. A one bedroom apartment in Serra Mesa or and apartment off base, I'd pick off base. We had a two bedroom apartment off base where as on base we would have only qualified for a one bedroom. 

That is very true about the work situation. It totally slipped my mind. Thats just me being selfish ;P. I've been looking at floorplans and just been dreaming about moving into the bigger houses i guess!!! Lol. I'm really hating the floorplan and size of Serra Mesa so South Mesa II is looking a lot better. We would like to get a 2 bdrm so family can come visit. Any opinions on South Mesa? Also, he wants to be on base. But I can see why you suggest off base! lol.

What are the odds of getting a 3 bdrm house in wire mountain II? Super expensive?

If you don't like your house are you able to move after he ranks up? How does that work? 

What are the odds of getting a 3 bdrm house in wire mountain II? Super expensive?

unless he makes e6 or you pop out a bunch of kids that's not going to happen. 

for future reference! sorry! lol. would it be possible with 1 child? 

Not for wm2. I think Stuart Mesa you can. We had a friend that had just gotten married. They had no kids and they rated a 2 bedroom house there. Btw, think he was a e3. 

Camp Pendleton Housing- Hot Sheet

Here's the link to this month Housing Availability (some housing are 1 bedrm qual for 2bdrm); No. of Pets (if allowed); Rank Qual; and Incentives (if applicable). Its pretty self-explanatory. Hope that helps :) 

Serra Mesa isnt bad for a couple who doesnt have kids. Plus you get the monthly incentive which would is great specially if your not working and he just joined. For me I would take the extra money over the space. Looking at the hotsheet you get 1000 for just moving in and than 600 back every month. You dont have to live there forever. 

Thanks for the feedback everyone. You guys are so helpful. I really appreciate it.

Wow I didn't know that you get money back every month! thats awesome. 

I lived in South Mesa 2 and it was much better than the first apartment we lived in out in town. It was bigger. Of course, then you techniclly forfeit BAH but the distance to work was shorter so we saved money when it came to our car! 

If you can get money back monthly I would definitely take it. We never got that option at other bases, this time we chose to take the third bedroom instead of the concession. And after you have lived in your house for six months you can move if he picks up. You just have to apply and they will put you on the wait list for that housing. 

my hubby and i live in south mesa 2 and it is great. we have no kids. well our dog and cat is our kids for now. we have a 2 bedroom and it is great. it really depends on where he will be working. my hubby works at edson range which is not that far from the house. but really just depends on where he works, and the availability. like others have said, keep an eye on the hot sheet. 

You can find one bedroom apts in Fallbrook for around $800 a month. With no kids I would say live off base :) 

How much does your lab weigh? Serving E1 to E3. Serra Mesa is a 1 dog only (35 lb maximum weight limit) community. Getting money back when you live in base housing is pretty awesome, but Serra Mesa is pretty small. 500-600 square feet for 2 people and a lab doesn't equate to much space.

Might I suggest Apartment Guide, For Rent, Apartments.com, Craigslist and Apartmentlist.com.

Good luck!