Time Zones? (Anchorage, Fairbanks, Kenai: lease, cost of living, art)

[Cath]

Hi Everyone,
My husband and I are thinking of moving up to the Fairbanks area or south
and I just read the thread that spoke of Barrow and I was wondering if the 12
hour switch over is only there or in other areas. I for one, like to live in a normal day. Also, many have written on the cost of living, could we have some examples - how much do you pay for bread, milk, meat, and vegs? How diffucult is it to have your own live stock?
Thanks Bunches!
Cath

[AkDragonfly]

Hi Cath,
Think of it this way, the further north you go the longer the days or nights last. In the summer there are 24 hours of daylight about this time of year in Barrow. Fairbanks has a little less, but not much. I live on the Kenai (peninsula) in south central Alaska. Right now it never really gets completely dark at night, more like dusk from about 1:30 or so to about 4:00 a.m. As an example at 11:00 p.m. your mind tells you it's about 7:00 p.m. If you want normal then Alaska isn't for you, in many ways. People up here have their own way of life which is much more easy going then anyplace I've ever been in the lower 48.

You asked about prices... This really depends on where you live and where you shop. Milk is about $4.50 +/- a gallon, a loaf of regular store brand bread would be about $1.19 - $1.49, if you like the grain breads then figure $2.50 up. Meat... depends on what cut, but for example hamburger is around $3.00 per pound. Tomatoes are expensive and so are most good veggies, this also depends on the time of year you're shopping. Prices around the larger cities are less... for example Anchorage is the largest city at around 260,000 people give or take a few. In Anchorage there are a couple Sam's Clubs and Costco stores as well as places like Wal-Mart, etc... where things are more discounted.

My suggestion is if you've never been here and want to move up sight unseen, move someplace near a larger town like Anchorage. I live about 130 miles south of Anchorage and that is the nearest large town. Remember Alaska is 2.5 times larger than TX or 1/5 the size of the whole US. If you saw 1000 acres a day it would take you 800 years to see the whole state. We only have 9 highways and pretty much everything is shipped in, although there is a nice area north of Anchorage where they grow those large cabbages you see on TV all the time. If you want livestock I'd say the Mat-Su Valley (Palmer or Wasilla). That is a fast growing area and maybe a bit closer to normal than many areas in the state.

I hope some of this helps, please feel free to contact me if you have any more questions.

Nancy

[Cath]

Thankyou very much Nancy, My husband and I found your response very informative. The prices don't seem to far off from the big cities here. And living in the southern regions, the relaxed atmosphere would be normal for us.
thanks again, we will be taking in a visit first to make sure it would be in harmony with us.
Peace, love, all that jazz ~~~Cath