okay, I'm taking the plunge (Anchorage: renting, houses, live)

[Farmseeker]

First I'd like to thank everyone for their input on my last thread. It made the light bulbs come on!

So here's the deal. I'm ready to come to Alaska and work on a farm for a year. My stuff (what little I have) will go into storage, I've gotten prices and I'll sell my car, which won't take long because it's OLD and gets really good gas mileage. I could be outta here in a matter of days. Plane tickets to Anchorage are only $225 one way if I land in Anchorage at midnight.

I've sent some emails to some farms and am getting ready to sign up on the WWOOF site.

My ONLY issue is.....I won't have a car while I'm up there. I've had my own vehicle since 1986, except for the time I lived in India, but there were buses I could catch and I walked A LOT, which I totally LOVE. Would I be able to ride a bicycle for some of the year? Or is it like Montana where you find someone in a mile radius that's going to town and catch a ride with them?

[AADAD]

Show up. Figure it out. =)

[Farmseeker]

I know. I've been winging it my entire life. You'd think I could do this one, and I'm not even leaving the continent this time! I guess at my age I might be getting a little too cautious?

You're right. Just get my butt up there and figure it out.

[warptman]

Drive your car up.

[AADAD]

Originally Posted by warptman

Drive your car up.

As always....he's the smart kid on the block.

[warptman]

Um, it is winter here at the moment.

[bortstc37]

yeah, you might want to wait until may or june (unless a wwoof host is cool with having someone hang out and not work for a few months...in my experience, wwoof hosts have never been that generous...).

[Farmseeker]

I was under the impression that driving up through Canukistan before April was somewhat frowned upon? I have a '96 Mazda Protege with 220K miles on it and it burns oil like a B**ch. She has a new timing belt, just had a tune up and has new Michelins. I know it can take -35F because it was -35F here a few weeks ago but honestly? It might be wise to leave her here. Selling the car and flying up is the cheaper, more attractive option, really. Unless you have some compelling argument or reasoning. She'll sell quickly here because it's a relatively economically depressed area and she gets 37mpg.

Yeah, driving up just doesn't sit right with me, for some reason.

[Farmseeker]

and I have seen some wwoof hosts that are looking for cold-weather help. Greenhouses should be cranking up about now.

[bortstc37]

well, where are these hosts?
if they're in the mat-su valley, near fairbanks, or a few other places, you might be able to take the train right from the airport. there's actually a station there. take a lot at their stops and schedules:
Alaska Railroad Corporation > Home

it might be cheaper than renting a car. i wouldn't recommend hitching at this time of year.

once you get to the farm and get situated, then you'll start to figure out local transport. biking works great in a lot of places for a lot of the year (even year-round if you're willing to modify some things).