Moose Pass/ Kenai Peninsula (lease, area)

[Tressa]

Ok here she is, we have property in beautiful Moose Pass Alaska, we have several family members and friends there also, what would you like to know.

We have a beautiful piece of property on Lower Trail Lake so peaceful. There is some homes up for sale in Moose Pass but no bare land that I know of.

I really don't think there is a pretty place on earth than Moose Pass, Alaska

[Tressa]

But then I'm a bit one sided on Moose Pass

[Rance]

It is nice!

[snkalaska]

I live in Kenai and have good friends in Seward. Moose Pass is scenic but not much work there and kids are bussed to school in Seward. After living in Kodiak for 18 yrs I didn't want to live in the rain on the Seward/Moose Pass side of the Peninsula and chose Kenai. Sterling is basically the same area. Most employment is in the Kenai/Soldotna town center.
If you get away from town you'll have on site well and septic. Might want to see if you have good water before buying your property. Bad water will have to be treated and if there's high arsenic levels, may require something like reverse osmosis.
Location wise, Seward and Anchor Point offer access to ocean fishing for halibut, ling cod, and salmon. Sterling is good for river fishing for salmon and trout. Hunting is not great anywhere on the Peninsula due to hunting pressure but if you're an avid hunter there is moose and black bear to be had.

[Tressa]

Hmm I beleive you may have been a little mis informed. Mile 12 hill holds the weather in Seward, Moose Pass rarely receives the same weather seen in Seward. I agree there is no real work in Moose Pass just the way I like it as we are retired. They do have an elmentary school there in Moose Pass as my husband and brother in law attened. Once you hit 9th grade thou you will have to be bused into Seward, it is a long trip but I have several friends that grew up in the area even some from Cooper's Landing has to be bused into Seward. They chose to settle down in Moose Pass and take the drive into Seward for work. Not much difference than living in area's around Kenai, Sterling, Soldotna and finding work close by, most still have to travel. Nice thing about Moose Pass in the summer times we are not bombarded by tourist, the Kenai/Soldotna area turns into a HORRIBLE traffic jam during the fishing season.

The only thing that I really don't care that much about Moose Pass is we have a lot of hippy's granted I was once one myself, but I did grow out of it, but they are very pleasant

[trapperken2000]

Thanks so much for all the good input!
Work is not much of an issue for us. The wife is a middle school science teacher and I am self employed. We have 1 child left at home and she is excited about the move also. She will be a senior in HS in the fall. She understands she might have a long bus ride for school too. (I keep joking with her, she might have to take a float plane ride to and from school!)
We are not looking for vacant land. A small house or larger cabin would be nice. 2 bed room is good. Looking for 5 ac. or so. Maybe a nice outbuilding/shop. Fixer/uper is ok too.
We all LOVE fishing! Wildlife watching, fossil hunting, gold prospecting, ect...
We are flying up June 30th to check out the area. We are going to spend 1 month there seeing the sights, checking out towns, and maybe, buying a home. I would really love to get this all done and maybe get moved up there before the end of Aug.!
We would love to hear more about all the towns around the Kenai!
The good, the bad, and the ugly!
Thanks again everyone,
Ken & Danette

[rotorhead]

When I used to fly into Seward, there were quite a few days when we'd get ALMOST all the way into town before we'd get stopped at that hill. The cloud base seems to pile up against the rising terrain and that's that. When it gets worse we'd land at Quartz Creek instead. There were lots of times when the weather would be down at Seward but the Kenai/Soldotna area would be clear. Not so many the other way around. For my money there's few prettier places in the Kenai than the Fox River valley at the end of Katchemak bay, but access is problematical. Homer is pretty nice, but getting pretty big these days. Still lots of affordable land along the Ninilchik/Anchor Point curve, but definately check it out yourself first.

The first rule of real estate along the kenai is ALWAYS put your boots on the dirt FIRST before you write a check. Best is to do it in spring or fall when things are soaked and muddy so you can see how the road holds up. Remember, politicians lie with numbers but realtors do it with photos, on the internet. You'd be AMAZED at just what you can crop out of the shot with the right camera angle. Betcha right about now there's tons of pre-forest-fire shots out there for land that's nothing but scorched earth these days in the Caribou hills area.

Search for past threads on this subject for some hair-raising examples.

[Tressa]

Yeah we use to fly in and out of Seward ourselves too, amazing to see the runway under water at times. But I still stan behind my comment of mile 12 hill, once you get past that the weather more times than not becomes much nicer.

I like Moose Pass and wouldn't live in Seward again myself, it's the end of the road same as Homer.

Moose Pass is quiet, no body bothers you and best yet is that it's not counting on tourist for survival. I can fish right off our deck (our planned one anyways). Our biggest challenge is keeping people off our property we are located at the best fishing hole in the area.

[hellion43]

I too believe that Moose Pass is one of the beautiful places on this earth. That is why my wife and I have lived here for almost 20 years. It truly is a great place to live and to raise a family.
Tressa is correct that our weather is different than Sewards... some of the time. Moose Pass gets much more snow than Seward and it is usually colder too. Seward will tend to get more rain and winds and the winds are why I would not live in Seward. But we do get much the same weather as Seward.
Finding a place to call your own is the greatest hurdle to setteling down here. There are only a handfull of properties for sale right now and bare land is next to impossible to come by. If you go to alaskarealestate.com you can look over the current listings not only in Moose Pass but the other areas you are interested in too. The Sterling area and that side of the peninsula have much more affordable property available that the eastern side.
My son takes the bus to Seward High School and uses the time to do homework (right) or listen to his Ipod (more likely). The bus ride is not as bad as it sounds and at least there is great scenery along the way. The kids are always spotting moose, eagles, bear, and sometimes a hippy (hahaha). Actually, there are not alot of hippies that live here as opposed to anywhere else. I have never thought of Moose Pass as having alot, or even many, hippies.
As far as work, people who want to work will find work. You will probably find it in Seward or Cooper Landing but it is out there. You mention that you are self-employed...in what? There are alot of self-employed people around here as I am. You will fit right in.
Tim

[warptman]

Lose the caps, lady.