I've made up my mind. . .

[episodic]

I want to move to Alaska. I've wanted to my whole life. I visited when I was in my early 20's and loved it.

If you were going to move from the Southern US on a McDonald's budget what would your thoughts be. I was thinking it'd actually be cheaper to sell everything and buy new stuff when I got there.

I'm not looking to do this overnight - but at the end of say 6 years (when my kid is out of high school).

I'd want to move to the Southern part of Alaska - the Anchorage area.



Thoughts - comments - expenses - etc?

 

[episodic]

What no alaskans respond in less than 10 minutes. I'm disappointed in the geographical limitedness of the forum at this time of night . . .

I demand an Alaskan now!

 

[Sheepathon]

Salmon fishing?

 

[Excelsior]

Talk to ShotgunSteven. He lives in North Pole, right near Fairbanks. I know it isn't close to Anchorage..but hey..it is Alaska.

Edit: And yeah..I would definitely sell most of my stuff before moving so far. It just isn't worth it to try to transport it all.

Edit2: And what do you mean by "Mcdonalds budget"?

 

[EagleKeeper]

Shotgun Steve and Matyrx are the two known members of the Artic club.

 

[Cawchy87]

i bought a fan controller from someone in alaska. check my heat for name

 

[everman]

It's nice to visit in the summer, but I wouldn't be too crazy about their winters.

 

[Zee]

dude, daylight like 20 hours a day would make me want to go shoot someone. it is not natural

 

[Subterranean Homesick Alien]

When I moved here with my wife and son we hauled what we could in a U-haul trailer behind my car. Wasn't too bad, I did have to give up a lot of my books though. It will certainly keep the moving cost down if you don't bring big heavy furniture, just personal stuff in boxes perhaps.

We didn't have a lot of money at the time and made it here from NY with a couple of thousand. It also helped to keep cost down by moving in early October before the heavy snows hit and after the high summer rates for hotels had come back down. Plan on a two week trip driving up from the south. It's one hell of a drive!

Also, why wait? Just do it man! I'd never been to AK before I came, other than living vicariously through travel books in the library, but when I got here I felt something inside sort of like my heart sighing with relief that I was finally home. It was a true homecoming experience. Best thing I ever did despite the huge risks I was taking. We've been here nearly four years and my wife and son are still thanking me.

I'm not in the Anchorage area, but it's just like any other modern city in the lower 48. Reminds me a lot of Buffalo, NY. If I'd listened to all the nay-sayers trying to convince me that I shouldn't attempt this crazy idea, I would have never gotten here. A lot of misconceptions abound when it comes to Alaska.

But on the other hand, it's getting awfully crowded here for my tastes. So please stay away.

 

[Shawn]

lol, I hate cold weather. I'd never move north of florida, let alone all the way up to alaska. but if you like it go for it.

 

[Chaotic42]

You say that you live in the South... What's the coldest temperature that you've been in?

I'm a deep-southerner and moving to Indiana just about killed me. -15F isn't just annoyingly cold, it's dangerously cold.

That and the culture will obviously be pretty different.

 

[revnja]

Cost of living here is a tad higher, but most jobs pay well. I'm in Valdez, BTW. About 300 miles out of Anchorage. Anchorage is a decent-sized city, if you're used to that thing. Valdez is much less densely populated, and we have a population of about 4500. If you have any other questions about here, lemme know. I've lived here for about 17 years, and it's an awesome place to live. If you're into any outdoors activites, it's really excellent. Fishing, camping, hiking, and that's not including the winter sports. Personally, I'm a snowboarder and I'm about 25 minutes from Thompson Pass, which is one of the best spots in the state for snowboarding. Here in Valdez, the climate is a tad more moderate, it doesn't get as cold, as oh, say Fairbanks. It's still been known to get damned cold here at times, but we're a bit warmer than the Fairbanks/interior area.

 

[episodic]

I'd love to move now but here are some complications unfortuantly until my kid is 18. . .

 

[walla]

well if you like cold and wierd hours of sunlights, go for it

 

[IGBT]

..I'd like to do that too. Sell out and get a few acres somewhere and set up a prefab home and a couple of double wides..is there a Costco up there?? I got to be able to go to Costco.

 

[Otaking]

Any asians in Alaska? I don't want to be shunned like when I was in the remote areas of Texas.

Honestly, a Mother and her daughter passed me, and the daughter tugged on her mom's dress and said, "Look, mommy, an asian!"

I'm also the only asian in my neighborhood, so many people know me as "the asian guy that lives in the corner house". That's what someone said to me when I walked to the convenience store around here.

 

[Excelsior]

Originally posted by: IGBT
..I'd like to do that too. Sell out and get a few acres somewhere and set up a prefab home and a couple of double wides..is there a Costco up there?? I got to be able to go to Costco.

Word.

And apparently there are two costcos in Anchorage, and one in Juneau.

 

[Turkish]

Originally posted by: Otaking
Any asians in Alaska? I don't want to be shunned like when I was in the remote areas of Texas.

Honestly, a Mother and her daughter passed me, and the daughter tugged on her mom's dress and said, "Look, mommy, an asian!"

I'm also the only asian in my neighborhood, so many people know me as "the asian guy that lives in the corner house". That's what someone said to me when I walked to the convenience store around here.

texas shouldn't be that bad... you should check out northwest kansas or something... people were saying those exact things when they see a black man... crazy...

 

[blustori]

I've heard that vegetables or any greens cost a lot up there.

 

[Excelsior]

Originally posted by: The Boss

Originally posted by: Otaking
Any asians in Alaska? I don't want to be shunned like when I was in the remote areas of Texas.

Honestly, a Mother and her daughter passed me, and the daughter tugged on her mom's dress and said, "Look, mommy, an asian!"

I'm also the only asian in my neighborhood, so many people know me as "the asian guy that lives in the corner house". That's what someone said to me when I walked to the convenience store around here.

texas shouldn't be that bad... you should check out northwest kansas or something... people were saying those exact things when they see a black man... crazy...

Try Idaho or Montana.

 

[sonz70]

Kinsen who does alot of FS lives up that way

 

[revnja]

Originally posted by: blustori
I've heard that vegetables or any greens cost a lot up there.

Any kind of food costs a bit more. As I said, cost of living is a bit higher than a lot of places in the US. As for diversity, you'd have to be in a large place like Anchorage to find that. And yes, we have Costco!

 

[Subterranean Homesick Alien]

Here are some pictures I just took today to wet your appetite. My son and I hiked up the Harding Ice Field trail next to Exit Glaicer in Keni Fijords National Park where we live. The Harding Ice Field is miles and miles of ice left over from the ice age, the largest ice field in North America. The elevation is 3400 feet. My son is nine years old and it was his first time hiking this far up. He did it as if he'd been doing it all his life. Needless to say I'm proud of my son today!

HardingIceField01
HardingIceField02
HardingIceField03

That last one is looking out over the glaicer valley from where we started our hike. You can see the top of the glacier in the lower right hand corner.

 

[sharkeeper]

COL Calc

Yes very nice indeed. The extended hours of daylight (in the summer) takes a while to get used to. When I'm at St. Petersburg (roughly 60N 30E) there is over 21 hours of daylight and it feels weird to stroll around on deck at 0300 and see light.

Now extended dark would not be a problem for me. The cold is ok as I used to heat with wood back in the 80's (10 cords /year self felled and split! yeehaaw!)

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

If you ever get horny and lonely, let me know. My ex-fvckingslutwhorebitch-girlfriend lives in Alaska. I'll give you her address.