Leaving Alaska..it's not the same anymore! (Anchorage, Wasilla: houses, rent)

[northgoinsouth]

Jamracingalaska I know exactly how you feel. I have lived in the Mat-Su Valley for over thirty years. My husband and I make decent money and still are not able to afford to take vacations and have to save every dime for the winter months. The recent natural gas increase has hit everyone HARD! The job market may seem great from the outside looking in, but once you factor in the cost of living, it does not add up.

I have to travel 45 miles one-way to work everyday. The cold and dark in the wintertime eats away at what little sanity there is. The people are not kind or easy going. This state has become dog it dog. There is no more of the neighbor-helping neighbor. When I was younger, and my parents saw someone that needed a hand on the side of the road, they would always stop and help. Now with the lower 48 mentality that has gone away.

Commuting between Anchorage and the Valley is a job in itself. I hear people that come here and say that the commute is nothing compared too---, but as soon as the winter months hit and you are traveling to work in the cold and dark, spending your entire day in a building with no windows, and then driving back home in the cold and dark. These same people are the first one to whine and complain.

My husband was born and raised here, our one and only child was also born here. This was our home, but now we like so many other true Alaskans are leaving. I do not think that the grass will be greener; I also know that I will miss living here. However, when I see all of the people around me becoming addicted to meth, crack, and other drugs illegal and prescribed, I know that it is time to take my child and try to find a better place to raise him. All of the garbage that cannot afford to live in Anchorage finds its way to the Valley and now it is just as bad, if not worse than Anchorage.

The school system has turned to trash. There is not one public school in the Valley that has passed the standards test. All of the special needs children from Sutton, Butte, and outlaying areas around Palmer are bussed to Swanson Elementary to receive special needs classes. These kids are riding on a bus anywhere from 30 minutes to one hour each way, just to receive an education.

No, there is no utopia and I am not leaving to find one. The reason my family has decided to leave is simple. I owe it to my child to give him the best possible opportunities in life. That used to be staying in my hometown and letting him grow up with people that my husband and I have known most of our lives. Now after long conversations and many sleepless nights wondering what the best move would be. We have decided that the best move is to move from our home and to try to find a little piece of what we had growing up somewhere other than Alaska.

[Rance]

northgoingsouth...it's a drag to read what it's turning into in the valley. I read the trooper reports everyday...and the valley fills most of it. There are a hundred other places to choose from in this state that are nowhere near that level. Living in Sterling, when I was in school, I had a 1 hour bus ride to Kenai to get to the only highschool in the neighborhood. I actually hitchhiked to school in the AM because it was faster than the bus. No big deal. Doing or not doing drugs is gonna fall on your son's shoulders...not so much yours. Don't think running and hiding him will solve that problem. He will need to be educated on the terrible things drug use results in mentally and physically, and with proper guidance and mentoring he will hopefully make the right decision when he crosses that bridge. Moving out of state will not make his exposure to drugs any less than what he'd have here. But you might consider moving within the state.
My brother lives 7 miles out of Wasilla and has a teen in school. They don't seem to have any issues living there and believe me my brother can be a total whiner! Alot of it has to do with staying involved with his kids. They are model citizens and do well in school. Much better than mine and they grew up dang near in the woods here in Sterling. My oldest started to dabble with drinking and got into some trouble. Fortunatley he seems to have grown out of that stage now that he has a real job, and knows he has a lot to loose if ends up in jail and can't make it to work.
But I don't think I could live in your area either. I think I would find another place in state.

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by Jamracingalaska

After almost 20 years of living in my Alaska, the time has come to move on. It saddens me to see the changes here that have taken place over the years. Long gone are the sourdoughs, the bush families monthly visits to town, cheechakos today, are not the same as they were. This used to be such a unique place to live, but not anymore. The people who have moved here in the last few years have really changed what Alaska used to be. Words have even changed. Things here were never expensive, they were "spendy". nobody says that anymore. The lower 48 attitudes have arrived in Alaska and have polluted it. Years ago I would travel by dog team to so many places. That too is gone due to the fact that everyone moved in and posted no tresspassing signs and blocked off all of the trails. (more unsocial behavior)
I remember going into the store and knowing everyone, today, I dont know anyone! Things change I guess. I remember a day when "meth" didn't even exist in Alaska. Now all of the clowns from Eastern Washington have moved here and brought their own type of white ice with them.
They all learned that Alaska has one of the highest levels of welfare, so you can imagine the quality of people that has attracted as well.
Hunting for your family used to be a part of life. I don't even go anymore because the clowns have either lied about residency and gotten tier 2 permits and I didn't, or they just go poach a moose which leaves less for others.
Alaska has changed....or, is it I who have changed? I've pondered that question and I guess it goes both ways, but I've concluded that I changed because my Alaska changed. Do I sound bitter? yeah. This was my edge of the earth. My solitude, my refuge and they came and changed it. Part of life I suppose. So one Alaskan moves out and four more "cheechakos" will move in!
The reality of this thread is that this is part of my seperation from my home. It will be so difficult for me to get to the border and look back and see all of the fond memories here. The growth of my family, the northern lights on a clear night, salmon spawning in the creek. So many good memories.
Thanks for letting me vent. It is going to take a lot for me to detatch from here and this is just a part of it. Thanks for the memories.

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Jamracingalaska, I felt kind of stung when you mentioned "cheechakos", or in otherwords, people like me who aren't native to Alaska. To be honest, I have considered Alaska as a place to live. Living in the metro Atlanta area for over 11 years I have considered other places to live, Alaska being one of them. I know that you miss the Alaska of your youth, but I also felt a sense of false vision when you mentioned "cheechako", or outisider and to me that meant anyone from the lower 48 not welcomed, which is ironic because I began to admire Alaska for its value on individualism because for the most part the metro Atlanta area tends to be a groupthink kind of place.
To be honest, the lower 48(well many parts of it, are not that much better, or even worse than Alaska.) I am actually trying to leave where I live at because of its "groupthink" traditionalism in a social sense.
I know what it means when an area changes. I lived in a part of Marietta,GA that seemed okay as a child. When I went back for a visit it was not a pretty site and I left, never to return for a visit. That area changed for the worst. I also don't want to feel closed offfrom other areas I am considering. I know about the cold. That will actually make Alaska a good place for me because I love snow. I can put up with things costing more because what do I expect? It is Alaska.

[Rainy]

Jamracingalaska, I felt kind of stung when you mentioned "cheechakos", or in otherwords, people like me who aren't native to Alaska.

jamracingalaska isn't native to it either.

Attitudes like that are somewhat common here, as they were 20 years ago, when jamracinalaska apparently moved to Alaska. I recall one woman last winter doing her best to try to make me feel like an "outsider" because after all, she had lived in the community that I was spending the winter in for 11 years. I didn't bother telling her that my son had been born there--21 years earlier. You get all kinds up here and some do latch on to that " cheechako" thing, but hardly any of the ones who do were actually born here...funny.

The things this person claims to miss can still be found in abundance here.

The people who have moved here in the last few years have really changed what Alaska used to be.

That's usually something said by the people who have moved here before the people who have moved here.

[rough alaskan girl]

Yes Alaska has changed and I will be leaving soon too, the winters here are something I would like to leave behind. I will miss my hometown but it's time to spread my wings. My family brought in the wood for the old houses for Juneau, the old bridge from Juneau to Douglas had my hand prints in it, the new has them now, the organ in the State Office Building my great, great grandfather tuned along with my great grandfather, my dad pumped concrete into many businesses around town not to mention many of the houses too. The Barge company that brought in most of the food and materials to build Juneau was my families company, but Juneau is getting to big and busy for me and I think it's time to start my history somewhere else, other's have taken over my beloved town and it's time to move on. Let others experience what I have and let them take their turn in enjoying what I have for so many years. Enjoy newcomers I'm off to warmer weather and sunnyer times.

[NorthFace&Timbs]

Wow I can't believe there is anything bad to say about Alaska. Well in my experience everywhere I lived and worked someone whose "been there" always had something negative to say. I will gladly take my chances in Alaska. And funny it most likely will be Anchorage to start. This is me and husbands dream to move to Alaska. I don't even care about the high cost of things. Try being born and raised in Brooklyn NY. And things cost just as much there. And they have no excuse. I will definatly take my chances with Anchorage Alaska. If I can walk to the corner without being shot, that is enough for me. I will see you when I get there. I will be a damn proud "cheechako" or whatever. Because I can't take the Northeast "lower 48" anymore. I live in New Jersey now and I hate it to the core and I own a house. A tiny ass 3 bedroom 1 bath ranch house, no basement, no attic nothing but a big yard for $184,000 and I'm about to put it on the market. And that was the cheapest in my area with out me going to the "ghetto". Alaska will be my home and I plan to die there and raise my kids. (Not in that order, LOL) I'm sick of the materialistic lifestyle here, that sadly I had to break myself out of. I love the winter and the snow, hell it can get pretty cold in New York and New Jersey. I don't even want to come out of my house in the summertime. I also, love nighttime, I always worked at night, I prefer it. I've always been nocturnal since I was a child. It seems like the perfect place for me, and with me having traveled to alot of places in the Air Force, I thought that place didn't exist. I had to work outside in the cold on the flightline. (I'm an aircraft mechanic "crew chief" in the Air Force) Well I'll stop now, but JamracingAlaska and anyone else who wishes to leave Alaska , I will GLADLY take your place and I will in two years tops. I also know what you all are saying about California, my sister lives in Sacramento and she's been in Cali for 12 years and she's miserable, only thing keeping her there is her job. I stayed there two months when she first moved there and I came back to N.Y. by bus so fast, I couldn't stand it. My family thinks I lost my mind considering Alaska. Whatever. I would love to get up in the morning and see that view with my hot chocolate in hand. And if I ever see the northern lights I might as well die right there. Good Luck Jamracing. I hope you find what your looking for.

[Rance]

Well you should have been here this last Saturday night. Awesome northern lights down here on the kenai peninsula. Had lots of red color.

[NorthFace&Timbs]

Really Rance you got any pictures ? I've seen pics on the internet and they were gorgeous, I didn't even know about the the "A-B" (can't spell it right now, LOL) until I took meteorology at Embry Riddle, and I was so fascinated. When I learned you could see it from Alaska that made my obsession with Alaska grow even more.

[Rance]

You can see them and you can hear them. You can yell and make them dance. I kid you not. Done it many times up north of Fairbanks. I did'nt get any pictures. It was about 1:00 AM and I just happened to get up and look out the window. Stood there for an hour!

[salvor111]

the universe is in a constant flux of change. as an bonified EX-Alaskan.I have watched alaska leave her golden age,and enter into the so called new age!
so when one door closed to you due to change, seek another avenue.
so I am thinking that I might move back and start a waterworld[without the drama] we are designing mini-barges for a traveling sea [flea market.]. no! I dont smoke funny stuff! we have built most of the equipment, and the s/vsalvor111 should be in the water in 5 months. anybody know about living like a gypsy on a boat/southeast ak?. are there any raft-up boating communities like in Thailand/west Burma?