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Old 10-29-2012, 04:26 PM
 
Location: Seattle, Washington
3,721 posts, read 7,788,708 times
Reputation: 2029

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This happens to me every year around this time. I start to think almost obsessively about Alaska and start researching many different areas around it for future relocation. I plan on making a number of visits to Alaska within the next 5 to 10 years (at least once in summer, and once in winter) to experience everything for myself, with plans for relocation within the next 15 to 20 years, but for now I continue to do internet research on different areas, look at pictures and climate data, and reading City Data posts.

Anyway as far as the topic goes, I know they aren't that far off of each other, but I also know that a little distance can make a big difference. For example, I live and work approximately 13 miles (as the crow flies) away from each other, and there is a huge difference between prices (cheaper where I work than where I live), climate (often sunnier and less windy where I live than where I work, although temperatures are similar), community feel (more going on in the area I live, not that nothing ever happens in the area where I work), appearance (looks generally dumpier where I work), traffic (actually depends on time of day between the two but you get the idea), work opportunity (higher in the area I work than the area I live) etc.

So, while Wasilla and Palmer are fairly close together as the crow flies, I know there is potentially a world of difference between the two in many different aspects. Opinions between the two on any of the above categories or other worth mentioning?
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Old 10-29-2012, 04:59 PM
 
Location: Deltana, AK
863 posts, read 2,064,548 times
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The center of Palmer is more pleasant by a long shot. Opportunities for unskilled work are higher in Wasilla since it has the bulk of the population and commercial activity, though I have a hunch that it's more even for professional jobs. A large percentage of the population in both commute to Anchorage. IMO, the most pleasant neighborhoods in the Mat-Su are around Palmer; along Palmer-Fishhook Road, and a ways down the Old Glenn until things get trashy in Butte... There are plenty of nice neighborhoods around Wasilla as well though, once you get away from the overcrowded commercial strips and arterial roads. The whole Valley is windy, but Palmer gets the worst of it. Even a few miles down the Old Glenn though, the winter wind is way less severe.
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Old 10-29-2012, 09:49 PM
 
Location: interior Alaska
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Mind you, I've never lived in either. but to me Palmer feels like an actual community and Wasilla feels like a suburb of Anchorage. There's some great countryside around Wasilla, though.
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Old 10-29-2012, 10:25 PM
 
Location: Seattle, Washington
3,721 posts, read 7,788,708 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Frostnip View Post
There's some great countryside around Wasilla
I recently saw some pictures of areas near Wasilla that were just breathtaking. Then again, most pictures I see from Alaska are.

So Palmer has more community events than Wasilla? Or is it more just the layout and the people that give it that feel? Or perhaps some combination or something else?

Good replies so far.
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Old 10-30-2012, 01:17 AM
 
Location: Palmer
2,519 posts, read 6,992,339 times
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My office is right in the middle of Palmer. It's the only real estate office in Palmer. I like Palmer but have to say that Palmer wouldn't be what it is without Wasilla. Wasilla is where we go to the big box stores so that we don't have to go to Anchorage.
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Old 11-04-2012, 05:22 AM
 
Location: Wasilla, Alaska
17,823 posts, read 23,340,116 times
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Palmer does have a more mid-western town feel than Wasilla. That appearance in Palmer is enhanced with the pastoral settings of nearby farms. The farms out side of Wasilla are not as apparent. There is also more traffic on the Parks Highway than on the Glenn Highway, which shapes both Wasilla and Palmer. It is virtually impossible to tell were one ends and the other begins on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway.

The "big box stores," as Marty put it, line the Parks Highway in Wasilla. Sears, Walmart, Target, Lowes, etc., plus four strip malls and two grocery stores line the Parks Highway as you head north through Wasilla, which is all most people see. Wasilla does have a Main Street, and a town center. It just tends to get overlooked because the downtown area in Wasilla occupies less space than just one of those "big box stores."

Heathen is right, Palmer can be very windy. The two windiest places where people live in the Mat-Su Valley are Palmer and the Hillside area in Anchorage. They can expect constant 80-100 mph winds at least twice per year over a period of three to five days. The Matanuska/Knik Valley acts like a funnel, channeling the winds toward Knik Inlet. By the time the winds hit the Susitna Valley they begin to disperse. Wasilla is on the western side of the Talkeetna Mountain Range, and experiences maybe half the wind speeds that Palmer experiences.

Both Palmer and Wasilla have about same number of cloudy days, and both have more sunny days than Anchorage. Both Palmer and Wasilla are a few degrees colder than Anchorage during the winter, both with slightly less snow. Both Palmer and Wasilla are a few degrees warmer than Anchorage during the summer, with slightly less rain. Both Palmer and Wasilla are approximately 45 minutes away from Anchorage.

I cannot tell you what the job situation is like in either Palmer or Wasilla, having never looked for work in either location.

Palmer is the location for the State Fair every August, but that can be both a blessing and a curse.
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