Moving to ak to live off grid lifestyle (Anchorage, North Pole: coupons, home)

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by bortstc37

I agree, but anyone can do it if they are willing to learn (and to work their butts off). While these folks might seem a little clueless right now, they certainly don't sound like city critters and might do just fine if they get the right info and some encouragement.

I agree, if they were serious about learning. However, someone who is serious about learning would not be telling everyone how skilled they are before they even visit Alaska.

I once thought I was a pretty experienced backpacker, hiker, hunter, and fisherman. Then I moved to Alaska and learned quickly that I did not know as much as I thought I did. What I had learned in the lower-48 simply did not apply in Alaska.

If they are determined, then no matter what anyone says it will not deter them. If they are only half-ass considering the idea, then maybe our jeers will dissuade them making a serious and costly mistake.

[bortstc37]

If you have to cut wood on a much more regular basis, that's a lot more burnt calories, which means you need a lot more food to fuel yourself... when you factor in 5-6 months of winter, that runs into a lot more food, fuel, and games of solitaire.

When I did the off-grid cabin thing, I played a lot of solitaire and listened to the radio until the batteries ran out.

[bortstc37]

Originally Posted by Glitch

If they are determined, then no matter what anyone says it will not deter them. If they are only half-ass considering the idea, then maybe our jeers will dissuade them making a serious and costly mistake.

Excellent point, but I think that honesty about the difficulty of it all can also be a great deterrent.

[kay4ford]

I don't know everything, I asked for advice
What else I can learn from people who live there?
If Alaskans want to take away peoples like me pioneer spirirt you will
as for me I had everyone trying to tell me Ak is dark 6 months outta year, assume prices for everything are more when they are about the same or less in your bigger cities and all kinds of bad things about Ak when they have never done any research and just assume I didn't let my loved ones discourage us and won't let any stranger tell me being a pioneer can't be done anymore
I have tried to to learn what I can and we are willing to learn more and work hard
People are to scared to try new things that involve working hard, mostly because people try to tell them its wrong When we get there is everything gonna be perfect hell no life aint like that and if we have to live in town for a while then we will but we will eventually buy a piece of propery and live without the things most people take for granted everyday. You don't have to have electricity, its not to hard to make homemade foods that taste good. If you work hard a garden can produce lots food. I read everything everyone says and I thank the people for the good advise and i read the bad it will not discourage me and hopefully future pioneers dont get discouraged either

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by Dakster

I guess I don't understand, because I am not an Alaskan... But what is the difference between living "remote" in a cold climate in the lower 48 and Alaska?

I can only relate some of the difficulties and differences, the rest has to be experienced.

Difference #1 - Forests in Alaska are four times less dense that forests in the lower-48.

Difference #2 - Depending upon your location in Alaska, winters are much longer and commonly colder than the lower-48. Obviously this is a generalization. Duluth, MN, for example, has much colder winters than Sitka or Ketchikan, AK.

If you take Differences #1 & #2 into consideration, it means you will need between 9 and 12 cords (about 50% more than you need in the lower-48) to make it through a typical Alaskan winter, and you will have to cover four times more area than you would in the lower-48 in order to obtain that wood.

Originally Posted by Dakster

If they have been doing it "down" here, they will surely be able to "do it" in Alaska... Alaska isn't the Moon or Mars...

Here is another difference between Alaska and the lower-48. In the lower-48 you have urban and rural folk. In Alaska you have urban, rural, and bush folk. If you live anywhere on the road system, then you are not bush folk.

Also, prices vary considerably depending upon your location. The cheapest prices are in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau (the major population centers). The further you get from these population centers the higher the prices, and if you are completely off the road system the prices soar.

People should stick to the environment they understand best, at least until they learn how things work in an environment that is alien to them. Even then it should be done in stages. A city critter moving into the bush is asking for trouble. However, a city critter moving to a more rural area on the road system is more easily accomplished.

Originally Posted by Dakster

While deep down I would love to live "remote" and/or in a cabin, the reality is that I know I am not prepared to do so. At least not yet.

Like everything, it has its advantages and disadvantages. A cabin in the bush may be peaceful and serene, but you cannot simply drive to the nearest 7-11 for some soda and popcorn.

Forget about services like a fire or police department or ambulance serves. You are on your own, whatever happens. Even on the road system it could take hours before Troopers or an ambulance responds. I think that is one of the reasons why Alaskans tend to be more friendly than your typical lower-48er. Their lives could very well depend upon the generosity of their closest neighbors.

[kay4ford]

Originally Posted by Glitch

I can only relate some of the difficulties and differences, the rest has to be experienced.

Difference #1 - Forests in Alaska are four times less dense that forests in the lower-48.

Difference #2 - Depending upon your location in Alaska, winters are much longer and commonly colder than the lower-48. Obviously this is a generalization. Duluth, MN, for example, has much colder winters than Sitka or Ketchikan, AK.

If you take Differences #1 & #2 into consideration, it means you will need between 9 and 12 cords (about 50% more than you need in the lower-48) to make it through a typical Alaskan winter, and you will have to cover four times more area than you would in the lower-48 in order to obtain that wood.



Here is another difference between Alaska and the lower-48. In the lower-48 you have urban and rural folk. In Alaska you have urban, rural, and bush folk. If you live anywhere on the road system, then you are not bush folk.

Also, prices vary considerably depending upon your location. The cheapest prices are in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau (the major population centers). The further you get from these population centers the higher the prices, and if you are completely off the road system the prices soar.

People should stick to the environment they understand best, at least until they learn how things work in an environment that is alien to them. Even then it should be done in stages. A city critter moving into the bush is asking for trouble. However, a city critter moving to a more rural area on the road system is more easily accomplished.



Like everything, it has its advantages and disadvantages. A cabin in the bush may be peaceful and serene, but you cannot simply drive to the nearest 7-11 for some soda and popcorn.

Forget about services like a fire or police department or ambulance serves. You are on your own, whatever happens. Even on the road system it could take hours before Troopers or an ambulance responds. I think that is one of the reasons why Alaskans tend to be more friendly than your typical lower-48er. Their lives could very well depend upon the generosity of their closest neighbors.

Thankyou this is advice I like to read. We are not the kinda people who care about sode or popcorn. I am used to shopping a few times a year vs a few times a month. We homemake everything we can and really are looking for the peaceful workful life that Alaska offers

[SityData]

Great advice - presumptive at best!

I moved from Boston (city) into a very remote village in the upper arctic.

Population in 81 was 420 people; I stayed and made this place my home for many decades.

The cost to heat my house in the dead of winter is only $60 for 9 weeks.

Then I need to order another drum of what we call stove oil; (diesel).

Other homes have much higher monthly costs as high as 300 or more.

There are no trees up here at all - none - yet we can find wood on the beaches to heat homes all year long if we want or need to.

I've lived in an area that is as remote as can be. I wouldn't trade that lifestyle for anything anywhere else in the world.

[bongo]

Originally Posted by kay4ford

We are moving to ak this summer sold everything and right now in Bellingham wa
We are from Colorado where we lived off the grid with generator solar power wood stove
any advice on best way to do this

Sounds like an adventure! We've lived off & on in our off-grid cabin in New Mexico. It's been challenging, but then I'm not a young whippersnapper anymore.

I've also lived high mountain in Colorado on ranches. But Alaska in my humble opinion has been a whole other story from NM or Colorado. I've mainly experienced the wilderness of Alaska backpacking, where I humbly learned one false move can mean tragedy. The weather changes so quickly & violently. And not that great solar gain of NM or Colorado.

I have only been 13 years in Alaska but have found that all commodities are much more expensive in Alaska than in the Rockies. I'm back in the lower '48 Rockies now & am constantly amazed at the lower prices.

So what is your plan, kay4ford? I'd be interested to hear it. What route up will you take? Where will you head to once you reach Alaska?

[warptman]

Originally Posted by SityData

Great advice - presumptive at best!

I moved from Boston (city) into a very remote village in the upper arctic.

Population in 81 was 420 people; I stayed and made this place my home for many decades.

The cost to heat my house in the dead of winter is only $60 for 9 weeks.

Then I need to order another drum of what we call stove oil; (diesel).

Other homes have much higher monthly costs as high as 300 or more.

There are no trees up here at all - none - yet we can find wood on the beaches to heat homes all year long if we want or need to.

I've lived in an area that is as remote as can be. I wouldn't trade that lifestyle for anything anywhere else in the world.

You live in Anchorage, plenty trees there.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by kay4ford

I don't know everything, I asked for advice
What else I can learn from people who live there?
If Alaskans want to take away peoples like me pioneer spirirt you will
as for me I had everyone trying to tell me Ak is dark 6 months outta year, assume prices for everything are more when they are about the same or less in your bigger cities and all kinds of bad things about Ak when they have never done any research and just assume I didn't let my loved ones discourage us and won't let any stranger tell me being a pioneer can't be done anymore
I have tried to to learn what I can and we are willing to learn more and work hard
People are to scared to try new things that involve working hard, mostly because people try to tell them its wrong When we get there is everything gonna be perfect hell no life aint like that and if we have to live in town for a while then we will but we will eventually buy a piece of propery and live without the things most people take for granted everyday. You don't have to have electricity, its not to hard to make homemade foods that taste good. If you work hard a garden can produce lots food. I read everything everyone says and I thank the people for the good advise and i read the bad it will not discourage me and hopefully future pioneers dont get discouraged either

Oh please. No one has tried to "dampen your pioneer spirit" here.

won't let any stranger tell me being a pioneer can't be done anymore

So you won't let people who actually have experience living in Alaska offer you advice unless it's specifically what you want to hear?

You might want to consider the possibility that just maybe some of us have seen too many others come up from the lower 48 with dreams of "living off the land", and that we know what we're talking about when we offer advice to those with the same aspirations.

Let's take firewood. Be prepared to spend every spare waking moment cutting firewood in order to even begin to get you through the winter. Glitch is right--the forests in Alaska are much sparser than those of the -48.

Let's take canning and putting up homemade foods. The growing season in Alaska is extremely short and many things can't be grown at all. You most likely will not be able to grow enough in your garden to get you through the winter, so you'll have to learn to forage. In most parts of Alaska, it's more time and cost effective to depend on wild foods than it is to try to cultivate a big garden if you're trying to depend solely on your own efforts for survival.

"Living off the land" is more than a full-time job in its own right. It is not possible to have an outside job and be a weekend gardener/hunter/fisher and expect to be able to supply yourself with all of your needs from the proceeds of your gardening and hunting/fishing efforts. Again, those who want to "live off the land" will need to spend literally every minute during the short summer months preparing for the winter. Every. minute.

I'm not trying to dissuade you. By all means, be my guest and move up to live off the land, but please try to understand that those who may seem "negative" about your aspirations probably have good reasons for being so.