I want to come back but have questions (company, land)

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by RayinAK

Glitch:

What fuels are used in the "valley" area? Heating fuel, or natural gas? The reason why I asked is because heating fuel in the interior, and near Anchorage I imagine, costs around $4.00 per gallon. The fuel company topped my 500-gal. tank a couple of days ago, and 300 gallons cost me $1,200. I am up to $800.00 per month ($9,600 per year, electric and fuel) for a 5-star home of 1,700-Sq. foot living space. It also has a 2-car heated garage on the first level. My neighbor is already at $200.00 more per month than me on a similar home. It means that the PDF does not put a dent on the cost of utilities around Fairbanks, although it helps a little on property tax.

I am in the process of removing the fireplace and installing a modern wood stove to offset some of the heating and electrical cost, as well as replacing the boiler's blower with a more efficient one. The initial cost will be high at around $4,000 (if I do it myself), so any benefit felt will be in the long run.

My home is heated by natural gas, and so are all the homes in my sub-division. Natural Gas has gone up considerably in the last 3 years, but I'm still not paying anywhere near $800 per month. Closer to around $150/month to heat 2,240 square feet. My home is only 5 years old, and it has a 5-star energy rating.

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by Glitch

My home is heated by natural gas, and so are all the homes in my sub-division. Natural Gas has gone up considerably in the last 3 years, but I'm still not paying anywhere near $800 per month. Closer to around $150/month to heat 2,240 square feet. My home is only 5 years old, and it has a 5-star energy rating.

That's a huge difference in heating cost. I pay around $140.00 per month on electricity, so this bill plus the one of heating fuel bring the total to $800.00 per month. There are no natural gas pipelines in most of Fairbanks and vicinity, so most homes are heated by heating oil and wood.

[arctichomesteader]

Property taxes vary. Mat-Su, it's high, Fairbanks-North Star borough has high taxes too, the unorganized borough/ in unincorporated areas has none (my land has no property taxes but it's far from any jobs too). IIRC the Denali Borough (Unless it's changed) has no property taxes on homes. You'll need to get out a map of the areas with and without taxes (areas with low taxes too obviously). You may want to check out the state DNR's land offerings, they have some good deals, some not so good deals, but you may find something you like. I did.

One thing to consider is that the simpler you live in areas without high taxes the less money you need, making high paying jobs less important. Chickens and goats and sheep can be done in AK, but feed may get very expensive unless you can feed them off your land. Get larger chickens, I've heard they do better than the rather skinny laying ones used commercially, in the cold. Alternative energy: change your lifestyle. Reduce consumption. Instead of using a dryer hang your clothes up to dry. Use appliances that are extremely efficient if you must have them. You'd need a combination of wind and solar in much of AK due to the lack of enough sunlight during the winter. Find a location that allows for both (has enough wind that is). Can be done, but it can get expensive. Get a wood stove too, and buy land near public lands open to firewood cutting/collecting, to save on heating.

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by arctichomesteader

Property taxes vary. Mat-Su, it's high, Fairbanks-North Star borough has high taxes too, the unorganized borough/ in unincorporated areas has none (my land has no property taxes but it's far from any jobs too). IIRC the Denali Borough (Unless it's changed) has no property taxes on homes. You'll need to get out a map of the areas with and without taxes (areas with low taxes too obviously). You may want to check out the state DNR's land offerings, they have some good deals, some not so good deals, but you may find something you like. I did.

One thing to consider is that the simpler you live in areas without high taxes the less money you need, making high paying jobs less important. Chickens and goats and sheep can be done in AK, but feed may get very expensive unless you can feed them off your land. Get larger chickens, I've heard they do better than the rather skinny laying ones used commercially, in the cold. Alternative energy: change your lifestyle. Reduce consumption. Instead of using a dryer hang your clothes up to dry. Use appliances that are extremely efficient if you must have them. You'd need a combination of wind and solar in much of AK due to the lack of enough sunlight during the winter. Find a location that allows for both (has enough wind that is). Can be done, but it can get expensive. Get a wood stove too, and buy land near public lands open to firewood cutting/collecting, to save on heating.

You have made excellent points. One can do most of the things you have mentioned, specially in the tempered areas of Alaska. The winters are so long in the interior that some are difficult to accomplish. For example, one could dry some of the clothes indoors around December-March, and outdoors the rest of the time, except when raining and such. To raise chickens, turkeys, etc. must be done in heated enclosures during the winter, which adds to the utilities bill. Solar is possible in the summer months and a little at the beginning and ending of winter, since it's dark for a great portion of the winter. Wood stoves are popular these days in the interior, and so outdoors wood-burning heating units. But switching from the standard heating-modes used at the present takes quite a lot of cash.

Something else: building-materials' cost has increased by a tremendous amount lately. For example, to use copper piping for heating and domestic water is extremely expensive at the moment. Copper has quadrupled in cost for the past few months, so a 3/4" 10' pipe that cost around $12.00 a year ago, now costs around $30.00. In fact, building contractors and home builders are switching from copper to plastic water and heating ducts. I personally would not drink water from a plastic pipe, but that's what lots of builders are now using because it costs less than 1/3rd (or so) from what copper would cost. I would think that a because of the insulation materials, and the high cost of other materials needed to build a home in the interior a $500K house in here is worth around $200K (or less house) in Plattsburgh, NY. Keep in mind that I have said this because everything must be shipped to Alaska from the lower-48, or some of the material from Canada. However, the US Dollar's value is lower than that of the Canadian's.

I was talking to my banker today about refinancing at the lowest interest possible, and she told me that she has no idea about what will happen within a year with all the houses on the market in the interior (Fairbanks and vicinity). The economy is still strong, but she has no doubts that what is holding it afloat is governments' jobs and the private sector (the stores around town, mining companies, and oil pipeline property tax). But the high property taxes, coupled to high utility bills are straining home owners, specially retired and fixed-income residents.

[arctichomesteader]

I've chatted with people who've raised chickens and such in the bush, without electricity/heated structures. It can be done, but selection of the individual animals (ones that will be able to tolerate the cold) is important. Some chicken breeds are just too skinny.

Building costs are sky high. I'm very fortunate in that I'll have enough trees to build a log cabin on my property (I have a patch of larger spruce on my land but there's permafrost in areas too and those have smaller trees), but even with just buying a little--plywood for the floors, some insulation, rolled roofing to put under a sod roof, a little lumber to frame window and door openings (already have windows), it isn't going to be cheap, even for a little 20 by 20 or so cabin. I couldn't imagine trying to build a stick framed house with the prices at what they are. It's kind of painful knowing what I have invested in the stove and chimney parts I'll be using. To spend that much money on something that's just pressed out of sheet metal (the chimney that is) and stuffed with a tiny bit of insulation, well, that's annoying. But, I wouldn't waste my money on installing anything else right now, I'll have dirt cheap heating using my own wood, and wood from govt. land as needed. It will eventually pay for itself.

I'm with you on pipes, I wouldn't use plastic. Then again, I'm not putting running water in my home, unless the stream running through my land counts as running water, so it's a moot point with me.

[RayinAK]

Keep in mind that "bush" Alaska can also be in a "temperate climate" when compared to the interior of Alaska. For example, in the "bush" of Alaska's interior, temperatures of -70 degrees are very possible in the middle of the winter. We have had 2-week duration of -65 around Fairbanks in past winters, although it has not been as bad recently. The temperatures around Toke dropped to -68 degrees a few weeks ago. The coldest temperatures recorded in the interior has been around -78. You have to bring horses indoors when the temperature drops to around -28 degrees, and chickens would be toast....well, ice cubes if left in the cold.

The coldest temperature = -80 (scroll down to "Temperatures"):
CLIMATE OF ALASKA

[arctichomesteader]

I should of mentioned it was the Interior, and one had raised chickens near Tok about 40 years ago. The southern parts of the state are different obviously, but it's the Interior that I was most interested in info. on anyways when I chatted with some people...apparently, it's a matter of having a decent coop (don't want the wind blowing through cracks or anything like that) and the right sized birds, and of course, the water will freeze so warm water and checking periodically would be needed...obviously, electricity makes things a lot simpler but that's not always an option...

[RayinAK]

A friend of mine raises chickens and turkeys in his backyard in Fairbanks, but the he has to use a couple of heat lamps pointed away from the birds and isolated by a wire mesh so they don't burn, and only when cold. He covers the enclosure with a canvas tarp, leaving a very small opening to get fresh air in. Today it's around 40 degrees, so it's bird heaven I would think that if no electricity is available, one can always make the coop a part of the cabin as follows: built it so one wall is the cabin's wall, with a crack or two to allow warm air from the cabin to reach the coop, but not to scape from it. Once it's warm enough, they can go back to another coop in the backyard. One thing for certain, this would make for a wonderfully smelly cabin I am certain that folks in the bush know what to do in such instances.

[aquariusmom]

Your husband should check the ALEXSYS site, there are other options than Anchorage, most towns have school systems for example, and they usually have a technologies director in place (an IT guy or gal in other words) I believe you can search ALEXSYS by field rather than location so give it a gander.

[MissingAll4Seasons]

Thank Aquarius - I'll check the site.

Anyone know if hubby being a resident alien (he's from England, unconditional green card) is going to be problem? I can imagine that might knock him out of some of the government/miliatry contracts... but what about oil and local goverment stuff?