Moving to Juneau from Kansas With Babies...HELP! (Anchorage, Hope: apartment complexes, lease)

[AlaskaMyLove]

Hi All! My husband and I live in Kansas with our 2 babies (3 months & 19 months). It has been our dream to move to AK, and my husband just got a job in Juneau! I've spent a few summers in various places in AK (Anchorage area, Copper River Basin, Western AK) but never Juneau. We will be moving in July so I've been lurking in these threads to find out as much info as possible, but I'm really overwhelmed and would love to receive some feedback from the locals, especially those who have recently made the move to Juneau.

We're mid-twenties and don't own many things we're attached to (live in a 2 bedroom townhome with most furniture 2nd hand from craigslist). We don't feel like making the drive up the Alcan with babies & a uhaul full of stuff. We're thinking of selling EVERYTHING except for some clothes, books, toys, linens, a few small appliances, and some sentimentals, and flying to Juneau instead. We would like to own 1 car and rent a 2-3 bedroom within walking distance to my husband's office.

Here are some questions:
1. Does it sound more economical to sell our stuff and buy used items when we get to Juneau OR to ship our belongings up there? What is the cheapest method of shipping boxes of smaller items? If we decide to ship our furniture up, about how much would it cost for a barge container?

2. Does Juneau have a good network for easily buying quality used items like a car, furniture, baby stuff, outdoor gear, clothes, etc. ?

3. My husband is working near Glacier Hwy & Berners Ave. Is there residential housing near there? If so, is it nice/safe/family friendly? Any specific apt complexes that you could recommend? We'll be signing a lease site-unseen and I would like a clean, bright, mold-free, newer 2-3 bdrm if possible.

4. What are some common activities to do with toddlers in Juneau? Any info on the homeschooling scene?

5. Should I purchase a gun to bring along on walks/hikes?

6. What are the best stores to purchase the cheapest organic food? Any info on food co-ops or CSA shares? Is it worth it to pay for a membership and buy in bulk from Costco?

ANY and ALL info will be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!!! We're so excited!

[Rance]

Do a search within the AK forum and you'll find a handfull of Juneau threads. Xa'at is one of the regulars here from Juneau...so she might be able to enlighten you with her knowledge. I don't think she has any babies tho!

[DreamWeavin]

I'll answer as many of your questions as I can through a private message.

[Xa'at]

Nope, no babies! Love 'em, but not at that point in my life yet. Mmm'kay, I'll break down your post and try to answer your questions as best I can...

1. Does it sound more economical to sell our stuff and buy used items when we get to Juneau OR to ship our belongings up there? What is the cheapest method of shipping boxes of smaller items? If we decide to ship our furniture up, about how much would it cost for a barge container?

Well, I suppose that would depend. If you're willing to part with your stuff it is probably cheaper in the long run to buy it all again, but right now prices are especially high on a lot of stuff because of the energy crisis. I don't know the price for a barge container, but if you get in contact with Lynden transport I believe that they do that. Postal service is probably best way of shipping smaller boxes.



2. Does Juneau have a good network for easily buying quality used items like a car, furniture, baby stuff, outdoor gear, clothes, etc. ?
Yar. We have a second hand clothing store that is GOD's gift to man, they have all sorts of cool stuff. There is a second hand store out in lemon crk i believe that caters exclusively to children/babies. Outdoor gear, maybe not so much.


3. My husband is working near Glacier Hwy & Berners Ave. Is there residential housing near there? If so, is it nice/safe/family friendly? Any specific apt complexes that you could recommend? We'll be signing a lease site-unseen and I would like a clean, bright, mold-free, newer 2-3 bdrm if possible.
Well, I gotta tell you as far as apartment complexes go the prospects are fairly grim. I'm looking for a place myself and it's been very frustrating. However, the good news is that your husband will be working in the Valley, which is where the most affordable housing is. Out the back loop, especially in the area around the glacier there are some nice suburby-type areas that, while not my eclectic-single-gal cup of tea is probably just what you guys are looking for. Mold free... hah-hah. Now, you do know that Juneau is in the middle of a rainforest, right?



4. What are some common activities to do with toddlers in Juneau? Any info on the homeschooling scene?
As I said, I don't have kids and it's been a while since I was one myself so I may not be of much help, but I'll go out on a limb here and say people pretty much do the same things with their toddlers here as they do in Kansas or wherever you said you're from.
Check this out:
HomeBRIDGE

5. Should I purchase a gun to bring along on walks/hikes?
NO! Buy bear spray if you're worried about bears, otherwise, please don't arm yourself when you're walking around. A lot of people will recommend that you keep a firearm in your house, and if you want to do that more power to you. I don't personally think this is necessary, but whatev.

6. What are the best stores to purchase the cheapest organic food? Any info on food co-ops or CSA shares? Is it worth it to pay for a membership and buy in bulk from Costco?
Well, I shop primarily at Freddies, they have an okay selection of organic stuff. There is also Full Circle Farms (Full Circle Farm - Certified Organic Produce - Welcome) which ships stuff to you from W. WA. If you're all organic, that's probably your best bet, in addition to Rainbow Foods, which is our local natural foods place (http://www.rainbow-foods.org)

ANY and ALL info will be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!!! We're so excited!

You should be. Check out my flickr profile for pics if you so desire:
Flickr: Xa'at's Photostream

If you have any questions, feel free to post 'em here or send me a pm. I'm a native Juneauite (born and raised, baby!) and I'll do my best to answer your question. I think you'll love my community!

[DreamWeavin]

[b]Xa'at, as usual you are very helpful and nice to a newcomer with questions. I tried to add to your rep and the system told me to spread some love around a bit
Hope you're enjoying yourself and having fun!![
Did you see my post about the close encounter of a bear kind that I had near the glacier?? That bear is either quite tame, very curious or was hungry and decided I didn't look very tasty./B]

[Xa'at]

Originally Posted by DreamWeavin

[b]Xa'at, as usual you are very helpful and nice to a newcomer with questions. I tried to add to your rep and the system told me to spread some love around a bit
Hope you're enjoying yourself and having fun!![
Did you see my post about the close encounter of a bear kind that I had near the glacier?? That bear is either quite tame, very curious or was hungry and decided I didn't look very tasty./B]

Aww, no I didn't read that. Was it a blackie or a brownie? Those bears by the glacier are very tame, unfortunately.

[DreamWeavin]

hmmm......it was cinnamon in color so I don't know what that means.Hubby saw and photographed a black mother bear and her 2 cubs today near the glacier. He said she made some sort of growling sound to let him know to not get too near (hopefully he wasn't gonna)

Originally Posted by Xa'at

Aww, no I didn't read that. Was it a blackie or a brownie? Those bears by the glacier are very tame, unfortunately.

[rotorhead]

Juneau has all the big-box stores...Costco, Walmart, Fred Meyers (freddies), and the usual assortment of fast-food and driveup places that you'd expect from down south. They have a couple of indoor play places for kids; something like a my-gym out on Douglass island, and a place in one of the malls. The swimming pool next to the high school is indoors and very well heated (practically a jacuzzi compared to ours). They also have lots of cruise ship tourists in summer and lots of avalanche danger zones in winter. And boats, lots and lots of boats.

Here's a short and woefully incomplete list of what they conspicuously DON'T have: decent Japanese food/sushi, sunlight, space to build inexpensive houses, sunshine, roads to the outside world, any viable way to build a road to the outside world, regular glimpses of that burning light in the sky that we call the "sun", a multitude of airline choices, inexpensive yet nice hotels, extended periods of rain-less weather.

I may have missed a thing or two, but I'm sure someone will let me know it in detail.

[DreamWeavin]

really? I mean about the fast food drive throughs? The only one I've seen is McDonalds. I miss Popeyes Chicken!!
Is the swimming pool open to the public? Could someone tell me how to find information about that? I love pool swimming.

Originally Posted by rotorhead

Juneau has all the big-box stores...Costco, Walmart, Fred Meyers (freddies), and the usual assortment of fast-food and driveup places that you'd expect from down south. They have a couple of indoor play places for kids; something like a my-gym out on Douglass island, and a place in one of the malls. The swimming pool next to the high school is indoors and very well heated (practically a jacuzzi compared to ours). They also have lots of cruise ship tourists in summer and lots of avalanche danger zones in winter. And boats, lots and lots of boats.

Here's a short and woefully incomplete list of what they conspicuously DON'T have: decent Japanese food/sushi, sunlight, space to build inexpensive houses, sunshine, roads to the outside world, any viable way to build a road to the outside world, regular glimpses of that burning light in the sky that we call the "sun", a multitude of airline choices, inexpensive yet nice hotels, extended periods of rain-less weather.

I may have missed a thing or two, but I'm sure someone will let me know it in detail.

[Marty Van Diest]

Originally Posted by DreamWeavin

hmmm......it was cinnamon in color so I don't know what that means.Hubby saw and photographed a black mother bear and her 2 cubs today near the glacier. He said she made some sort of growling sound to let him know to not get too near (hopefully he wasn't gonna)

If he was close enough to hear it growl, he was getting pretty close.