Moving to Fairbanks / North Pole area (Anchorage, College: rental, job, houses)

[Pebbles 2]

So, I'm new to this but my family is thinking about a move to this area. What should we know when making this decision? I am looking for information on where the best schools are, safest areas to live, etc. I think the work address is in North Pole, but didn't know where the best areas to live are. I also notice that the crime rate looks high, but don't know how accurate the web stats are. Our child is in the gifted & talented program in her school so we really want to make sure the school will be top notch. Any ideas, suggestions? I don't want to go into this blindly as a move to Alaska is a big decision. Thanks for all of your help!!

[Pebbles 2]

Anyone? Please help!!

[Arcticthaw]

Hi Pebbles 2,
Well I live in Fairbanks. North Pole has grown expansively these last several years, I couldn't really tell you what is the good or bad areas, though because of its rural nature and how spreadout things are, there seems to be a growing Meth problem. Difficult for me to say how bad that is or not.

Fairbanks, North Pole is one school district and they do have a GT program. When my son was in one years ago I found that how good the program was depended on the teacher. Here is a link to the school district.
FNSBSD: FNSBSD Web: Home

Look at other posts about moving to the area, I think some of the questions you would like to ask may be answered there also.
give us a bit more information so we can help better, like where are you from, and maybe the kind of work the two of you are looking into. What level of lifestyle are you interested in? We have anything from the dry cabin with no water and a outhouse. to the 4 and 5000 sq foot homes with all the bells and whistles.
Below is the GIS map and property database for our area. Do a search for Badger road. The map should jump to the area, then zoom out a bit, that will give you an idea of North Pole. You can do all sort of other searches, like typin in the address for where he is going to work, then check out property in the area. To help be sure to turn on arial maps in left menu pane.

FNSB | Geographical Information System

Hope this helps.

[Pebbles 2]

I can understand the growing meth problem - i think everywhere has got that lately. We'll be moving from a small town in Montana of about 4000 people, but I grew up in a college town so I'm not worried about Fairbanks being a little bigger. I personally don't like the cold, but can deal with it.

I'm not too worried about work - job is already lined up thankfully. We're in a pretty safe town though, and have been able to live pretty well. We've been in 3500+ sq ft houses over the years, while bulding to sell the one we're in. I don't need anything fancy, but do like pleanty of room since I'm home most of the time - and will be holed up by a fireplace during the winter. My husband plans on renting though until we're sure it's somewhere we want to get tied to for at least a few years. I've noticed the rent is much higher than around here, and it looks like the electricity and stuff is too.

Still, all in all, I think my concerns are mostly for the kids and ensuring that the schools are up to par. Really, I can be anywhere as long as they're getting a great education! That's kindof why I was more concerned on which schools are top so that we can find a rental in those areas.

I just want to thank you for your help, this is a big move for us & being a planner I like to have my bases covered!!

[Arcticthaw]

Your Welcome.

Hope you love it here.

[scottishbloom]

Coming from Montana - almost the Meth capital of the USA - you'll be fine in Alaska!!

[Ken G. Brown]

There are a lot of good schools in Fairbanks. I'm prejudiced, because I teach at Woodriver Elementary, but Woodriver is one of them. Like the other schools, we have a Talented & Gifted program. There is only one school district that covers the entire borough, so that helps.

Realize that things change, too, often for the better: a couple of years ago many parents did not want to send their kids to "urban" Ryan Middle School, but now Ryan has a much better reputation because of its smaller student population, which has gone down due to both the Effie Kokrine Charter School and the Barnette Magnet School taking 7th & 8th graders. So, do you want your kids jammed into a crowded, upperclass "suburban" school, or do you want your child to attend a smaller school where teachers can get to know him/her? My kids will be going to Ryan.

My perception is that the crime rate in the Fairbanks area is much less than most areas its size, and certainly less than Anchorage.

There are great family places in Fairbanks that offer free music on the weekends, such as the College Coffeehouse and Pioneer Park. Of course, UAF is an excellent university, and that brings a lot of quality (but expensive) entertainment that wouldn't come here if this wasn't a college town.

All of the problems that exist where you live now exist in Fairbanks, but it is up to you whether you make those problems a part of your life or not. Yes, there's a meth problem, but it's not a visible problem unless that is a part of your lifestyle. North Pole probably has more meth labs and churches per person than anywhere else in the world. That doesn't make it a bad place to live, although I prefer west Fairbanks myself.

You will get use to the -40 degree weather in winter, and this past summer was one of the sunniest and most pleasant in years. Welcome!

Ken G. Brown