Might be moving to Anchorage (Wasilla, Eagle: military, quiet, train)

[Rance]

It's a big place. You don't have to limit yourself to Anchorage by any means. superstition I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. In your 20+ years here surely you have some good to say about the place? Maybe not but surely there is something good to remember.

[rotorhead]

Compared to some of the other boards out there, the Alaska BB is pretty welcoming. People are generally not unfriendly, but...folks on this forum get pretty tired of seeing the same questions over and over and over again... the primary one being some variation of "I'm thinking of moving to Anchorage, could someone please tell me everything I need to know".

Please check the archives, there's literally a jillion threads on pretty much exactly the same subject. If you've got a particular question, ask away. Somebody'll be glad to tell you exactly where to go to buy a left-handed hydraulic pickle fork or whatever. If it's an overarching generality that the folks here have seen ten times a week forever, don't expect a lot of ethusiasm in the responses.

I've floated the idea of a "FAQ" thread, is anyone willing to bite now?

And NO, I'm NOT volunteering to be the instigator/moderator for that one! I'd be willing to throw in a well considered thread or two, but thats a lot of volunteer time investment for one guy who's STILL trying to figure out where all the silvers went this season.

[mal_flisk]

I agree about the FAQ, and am not averse to answering the questions as facts change over time. But sometimes I just wish I had all of the "FAQ"'s at my fingertips as I don't know the answers to a lot of questions.

[DannyL]

First off, it should be a requirement for any poster here to have their location (state) displayed. I'm sick and tired of people who are really residents of New Mexico, Arizona, Calif, etc telling me how to live. Unless you've lived here, make suggestions. But leave the absolutes to us.
Second, as far as "moving to Anywhere, Alaska", all I say to people now is that moving up here is the ultimate leap of faith in yourself.

(sorry for any sore toes out there, I've gotta sour stomach this morning...too much cheap beer last night.......lol)

[superstition]

Originally Posted by Rance

It's a big place. You don't have to limit yourself to Anchorage by any means. superstition I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. In your 20+ years here surely you have some good to say about the place? Maybe not but surely there is something good to remember.

There are a ton of good things about Alaska... they just don't happen to be found in Anchorage, in my experience. It concerns me to hear people talk about moving to Anchorage looking forward to certain things as if it's comparable to a similar sized lower-48 city.

Move for the fishing, hiking, wildlife, scenery, whatever. Move to the peninsula, the valley, the interior... it's all beautiful. Just don't move to Anchorage because it sounds like a happening city. It's dirty, dull and not as safe as many outsiders seem to expect.

[mal_flisk]

But I like Anchorage. After Chicago, San Diego, Sacramento, Seattle etc, etc, etc, Anchorage is quiet and calm. It's not the back of beyond, but it's defininitely not any of the above, or LA, Detroit, Atlanta etc. Yep, there's crime. No doubt about that. The 15-20 murders in Anchorage every year are front page news. The Alaska section has more of the lesser crimes. It can be awfully drunk out on 4th Ave during the PFD season. There's meth labs in the valley and huffing in the bush. There's murders of taxi drivers in Bethel and 20 people are missing in the Nome area. Crime is all over. Unless I'm living in in the bush, with 50 miles of scrub and tundra between me and the road, crime is a fact of life. Everyone is affected (victims directly, others by higher taxes for LE officers and prison costs).

[skyfire43221]

Sorry-- I don't know how to post a new thread which I should possibly do!

So you all know, I was born in Myrtle Beach, moved to Ohio when I was around six and just recently moved back to coastal South Carolina in order to go to graduate school.

Why, then, am I on the Alaska forum?

I am thinking about applying to the U of Alaska clinical psychology doctoral program and was considering relocating to Anchorage. It seems that some people really like it while others really don't with no in between! I was thinking Anchorage because I'd really like to have a vehicle and also because it seems to be a bigger city in Alaska which might be more what I'm used to.

I have talked to some realtors in Alaska and they tried to give me some helpful information but it just really didn't give the whole picture. I really just would love to be somewhere that's kind of isolated and beautiful and I've heard that Alaskans are quite nice! Can you guys maybe either post on here or direct me to a post that talks about the temperatures to expect? What the job markets are like? Or where there's a lot of "transplants?" What's the culture like-- different than the lower 48 it seems, from what I've read on this post and on others! Where would be better areas to live, i.e., what makes Anchorage such a crap place besides the drunks on the streets? (lol, from another post, I don't know anything about that)

thanks so much!

[aquariusmom]

LOL Oceans4, you are obviously in WESTERN PA!! I am from the Poconos and it was the tourists that ran my parents out after they retired.... local property tax rates sky rocketed with all the Jerzyites and their "summuh homes". There are parts of PA with a very real tourist problem and deep seated tourist mistrust.

[cobolt]

Back to the FAQ issue. I think it's unnecessary if people would simply research the archives. You can get a general idea of an area but doing some research and then doing the footwork. My first indoctrination into Alaska was actually visiting and staying for prolonged periods of time. Then I got interested in other areas and I read all the archives. I know---I'm probably the exception, but I can see how the "I've been thinking about moving to Alaska. I like the outdoors. Where should I move?" is as frustrating and fruitless as as asking me if I know Joe Blow from Chicago because I grew up there.

Relocation should never be taken lightly or done sight unseen---moreso if you're talking about moving to a state that is so far removed geographically and that fact is what makes it original and endearing. Reading is good to get the idea. Visiting is better to get the lay of the land and the feel. It's great that we have this resource like the internet to pool from, but the point, click, decision made attitude is not good. Just MHO.

Come up to visit Alaska, city, towns, etc and take it from there. And enjoy it!!! You'll either love it or not. As many others have said---winter IS the test.

[hicks-k]

I agree about the Weidner properties, they are bad! My boyfriend and I lived at one of the nicer weidner's properties, in the middle of the winter one of the sprinkler system pipes froze and burst and put 2 families out of a home for a short while, I don't know what happened with the family on the floor above ours, but the family that was on our floor didn't get the apartment cleaned out or anything, they just let it dry out (major lawsuit if mold ever pops up)

Keep an eye on craigslist, maybe even put a wanted ad on there for what you are looking for. Since you have a small child, I would recommend staying away from Muldoon Rd area, Fairview and Mt. View (those are the three main areas to avoid, IMO) Some people don't care for the eastside of town, but most of it is not that bad although the buildings/houses may be a bit older. If you go for midtown or southside, you may be paying more but it may be worth it in the long run. Also where you decide to live may be decided on where your husbands office is located. If you will be new to the area, I think it would be better to live on the side of town he works at. Traffic isn't bad compared to the states, but there aren't a lot of different routes to take so it can still take 30 minutes to go from one part of town to another.

If you don't mind living away from Anchorage, Eagle River is not too far of a drive (although it might be a long drive in the winter if the roads are bad) and it's mainly residential. I don't know statistics or anything cause I've never lived there, but it seems like there is less crime and more family oriented communities that most parts of Anchorage.

Hope this helps you out a little more. Send me a message if you have more questions and remember to check out craigslist.com Oh, the paper has some pretty good listings as well... adn.com