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Old 02-09-2011, 11:10 PM
 
Location: Texas
4 posts, read 9,739 times
Reputation: 10

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Hello all,

I currently reside in Houston, Texas and am just not happy here. I'm tired of things being so complicated and being surrounded by people but knowing no one. I also hate heat with a passion. So, I've decided to prepare for a move.

I've been reading a bit on this forum looking for a friendly small town on the outskirts of a bigger city for supplies and whatnot, as I'm not someone that could just jump into the wild. I have a pretty specific diet that would probably require a bigger store, etc. So obviously, I don't want to live in the bush but I also want a simple place and not a largely populated city.

I'm not an extremely active "outdoorsman", probably due to where I live, but I do love being out in the cold and enjoy activities such as running (I would love to get into fishing). I'm just looking for an easy-going town that keeps things simple, and where people are happy.

From what I've read, places like Palmer and Talkeetna are what I'm looking for so I was wondering if anyone had any more specific information on those two towns:

- Are there major differences between the two?
- How are the winters compared to other parts of Alaska? Rainy, etc?
- Is internet readily available? (All my work is done by laptop)
- Are these close enough to a larger city?
- What is housing like? Rentals/land/apartments?
- Am I even looking at the right towns for what I'm interested in?

Pretty much anything you can tell me about the two would be greatly appreciated, or pictures would be great as well. Feel free to suggest another place if you think I'm looking in the wrong direction.

Also, I do plan on visiting before making the move. Hopefully twice during both seasons.
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Old 02-09-2011, 11:39 PM
 
Location: AK
854 posts, read 1,968,441 times
Reputation: 759
if you just want cold but not a variety of outdoor activities, any number of places would be suitable (and have decent internet).
most everywhere in the state (besides anchorage) is pretty easy going, from what i can tell (i haven't been everywhere).
if you want really cold, try the interior (places such as fairbanks). if you want kind of cold, try the mat-su valley (places like palmer and talkeetna). if you want mild and coastal, try the kenai peninsula. all are close to amenities and could give you what you're looking for.
if you don't mind a lot of rain, try kodiak island, valdez, or somewhere in the southeast (panhandle).

since fishing can be done just about anywhere that there is water, being more specific about what outdoor activities you like would be very beneficial. it would really help narrow things down.
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Old 02-09-2011, 11:43 PM
 
Location: Palmer
2,519 posts, read 7,003,947 times
Reputation: 1395
Quote:
Originally Posted by jordankfi View Post
Hello all,

I currently reside in Houston, Texas and am just not happy here. I'm tired of things being so complicated and being surrounded by people but knowing no one. I also hate heat with a passion. So, I've decided to prepare for a move.

I've been reading a bit on this forum looking for a friendly small town on the outskirts of a bigger city for supplies and whatnot, as I'm not someone that could just jump into the wild. I have a pretty specific diet that would probably require a bigger store, etc. So obviously, I don't want to live in the bush but I also want a simple place and not a largely populated city.

I'm not an extremely active "outdoorsman", probably due to where I live, but I do love being out in the cold and enjoy activities such as running (I would love to get into fishing). I'm just looking for an easy-going town that keeps things simple, and where people are happy.

From what I've read, places like Palmer and Talkeetna are what I'm looking for so I was wondering if anyone had any more specific information on those two towns:

- Are there major differences between the two?
- How are the winters compared to other parts of Alaska? Rainy, etc?
- Is internet readily available? (All my work is done by laptop)
- Are these close enough to a larger city?
- What is housing like? Rentals/land/apartments?
- Am I even looking at the right towns for what I'm interested in?

Pretty much anything you can tell me about the two would be greatly appreciated, or pictures would be great as well. Feel free to suggest another place if you think I'm looking in the wrong direction.

Also, I do plan on visiting before making the move. Hopefully twice during both seasons.
Both nice towns but very different from one another. Palmer is only 40 minutes from Anchorage, Talkeetna is about 2 hours drive. Palmer has most of what you would need in big grocery stores etc. Talkeetna is much smaller but certainly has the basics. Talkeetna is going to have mostly cabins and such for smaller, lower priced rentals. Palmer will have houses and apartments but they will cost a bit more. Both areas should have decent internet. Palmer is close to mountains with lots of hiking/running trails. Talkeetna is more of a flat area but also more wilderness. Palmer feels like a small mid-western town picked up and smacked down in a mountain valley. Talkeetna is more of an Alaskan village turned all touristy in the summer.
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Old 02-09-2011, 11:46 PM
 
Location: Bethel, Alaska
21,368 posts, read 37,971,381 times
Reputation: 13901
Talkeetna is a small town with a large climbing problem.
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Old 02-10-2011, 10:37 AM
 
Location: Texas
4 posts, read 9,739 times
Reputation: 10
Thanks for the info! And I appreciate the links they were very helpful.

Sorry I wasn't more specific about the activities, I'm just pretty open. My main activities would be running/biking and I figured that could be done nearly anywhere depending on the time of the year so I'm not too picky with that.
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Old 02-10-2011, 03:01 PM
 
Location: Lyon, France, Whidbey Island WA
20,831 posts, read 17,009,077 times
Reputation: 11532
Talkeetna is a small town in a spectacular setting on a dead end road near 3 rivers. Palmer is a larger town with more people and more bustle.

If you want to be near services Palmer is best. If you want a real small town, with spark they don't come better than Talkeetna.
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Old 02-15-2011, 10:47 PM
 
Location: Texas
4 posts, read 9,739 times
Reputation: 10
What about the weather in both areas? Specifically in winter.

What about the snowfall?

I hear Palmer area gets a lot of wind, which I'm not a big fan of but it's not deal breaking. Does the large amount of wind have an effect on the snow? I love winter I would like a place with thick snow.

I was looking around outskirts of Palmer if that matters in regards to weather, as I don't want to be in a city that large, just close to one.
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Old 02-15-2011, 10:51 PM
 
Location: Bliss Township, Michigan
6,424 posts, read 13,185,797 times
Reputation: 6902
Palmer does get it's share of wind, but most the areas that you most likely would be playing in the snow, the wind isn't as strong and the snow is nice.
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