Cheaper alternatives to Alaska? (campground, living, vs)

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by rntim

I watch people come to Sitka and watch many of them leave within a year. "I don't mind rain" they say-until they find out how much it rains. Also, it is quite expensive to live here. Some eateries have to open only part-time because they can't find people to work. My buddy next door is a commercial fisherman, in fact most of my neighbors are-they can't find deckhands. That is a good paying position but they have to work hard at it. 35 grand won't go far here. Anchorage has changed so much since we lived there-would not go back to live there. Same with Wasilla. Have a friend who is taking a position over in Ketchikan at the hospital; she got a place to live or she wouldn't have taken the job as apparently housing is hard to find. It seems to me that people "romanticize" Alaska from watching those stupid tv shows but reality is a whole different thing. "I wanna live off the grid"is another pipe dream I see often-most would not be prepared at all for that lifestyle. Alaska is God's country but God will make you pay for every bit of it!

So true. And every fall, we see a few people show up looking for work so they can earn a ticket back south.



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[happygrrrl]

Olympic Peninsula is nothing like Alaska.

[EllieKay56]

Originally Posted by ketchikanite

https://www.fredmeyer.com/weeklyad?S...DivisionId=701

And we have Pick N Save in Wisconsin which is the same as Fred Meyer and our prices are so much cheaper. Milk is always less then $2 a gallon. Gas is 3.85 (today but will probably change). I love comparing our ads. When we visit in Alaska we are always stunned at produce prices. We bring them a suitcase full of sweet corn- we get it 13 ears for $3. My husband sells produce for a living and is always sending back pictures of the high priced Alaskan produce.
And I checked Wal-Mart in Eagle River AK. Chicken breasts are $2.86 lb and I paid $1.09 lb today at Wal Mart by us. So more then double There were 5 in the package and I paid $10.90 for the package. I can see it being close to $20 or more in Alaska. Strawberries are 3.38lb and I paid 1.47lb.

[matpp]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Is the Olympic Peninsula "cheaper" than Alaska?

Housing can get pretty pricey on the north end and along the hood canal, but overall it's cheaper. Also, there are lots of folks from all over the state out fishing, hunting, digging shellfish, hiking and off roading in the summer/fall too. So although [the western half of] it's technically "remote" it certainly can feel crowded at times unless you get way off the beaten path.

[Zoisite]

Originally Posted by Sprucey Meatball

I may not be the only one in this situation but I've always wanted to live (or at least visit) Alaska but it just seems way too expensive. Montana and Idaho don't look much better and as much as I would like to go to Canada, it's currently being run by tyrants.

If you can't afford places like Montana or Idaho then you can cross Canada off your list permanently. Even if Canada would approve of you and allow you to move there to live (which I doubt would happen because money is apparently an issue for you and you need to prove you have enough money to live there) and even if you approved of Canada's government and leadership (which I doubt that could ever happen either) you still wouldn't be able to live in Canada.

Since affordability is an issue for you then Canada would be unaffordable for you. Absolutely nothing in Canada is free and the cost of living in all parts of Canada is about twice as much (or more) expensive to live there than any states in the USA lower 48. Just for example, gas is $8 a gallon.

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[Arktikos]

OP hasn't been back to post here, but he/she did put this one up yesterday elsewhere:

"I plan on eventually taking a vacation to Presque Isle, ME or International Falls, MN because I want to see the northern lights but I'm too poor to go to Alaska. Which of these two places would I have a higher chance of seeing the Northern Lights?"

So, in case Sprucey returns to read this thread I will suggest Vermont as a consideration for a new home.

They're offering $7500 for certain workers to relocate there, due to a dire shortage of young workers.
Costs there are more affordable than the Western states mentioned, they have 4 real seasons (cold winter) and are far enough north to get some northern lights.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by happygrrrl

Olympic Peninsula is nothing like Alaska.

Really? Which one of these is Alaska and which one is the Olympic Peninsula? It's not a trick, I just grabbed two radom locations from Google Maps.

[happygrrrl]

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

Really? Which one of these is Alaska and which one is the Olympic Peninsula? It's not a trick, I just grabbed two radom locations from Google Maps.

I'm not playing this game.

[Zoisite]

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

Really? Which one of these is Alaska and which one is the Olympic Peninsula? It's not a trick, I just grabbed two radom locations from Google Maps.

happygrrrl is correct that the Olympic Peninsula is nothing like Alaska. But I can tell you that the geography of the entire west coast regions from Washington all the way up the coast through BC to Alaska and beyond mostly all looks to the unfamiliar eye like those two pictures.

The things that make the two regions very different from each other is their respective climates, the temperatures, the visual clarity, colour and quality of the atmosphere and the moisture and invisible ice crystals content in it, the various shades, sharpness, brightness and depths of the green vegetation and the types and sizes of the flora and fauna, the economies, the people and their respective cultures. They aren't the same.

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[AKStafford]

Not that hard to visit. Buy a plane ticket and come visit. Pro-Tip: if visiting is too expensive, then living here is probably too expensive.