How much do staples such as: food, soap, etc cost? (Anchorage: salons, apartment)

[rppearso]

I would add a multiplyer of 1.5 to 2 to everything you buy in alaska vs most places in the lower 48.

[roadfamily6now]

Originally Posted by MoonLightTraveler

I might be moving to Alaska to attend UAA and I have heard that the cost of living is VERY high, is that true? Can anyone give me some examples or send me a link to find them myself. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I've lived in Montana, WA and CA and Alaska. I can tell you that the cost of grocery staples is virtually the same in all states (as long as you are in a town in AK as opposed to a village or in the bush)

Milk $3 - $5
Cereal $4+
Eggs $3 dozen
Flour $2 10lbs
crackers $4

I am blessed that I have military commissary privileges because there is no way we could afford to feed a family of 7 with the prices they charge in town. We never live where there is no military base!

Generally produce will be higher here then in the lower 48 because of shipping and they are not as tasty either.

[rppearso]

Originally Posted by roadfamily6now

I've lived in Montana, WA and CA and Alaska. I can tell you that the cost of grocery staples is virtually the same in all states (as long as you are in a town in AK as opposed to a village or in the bush)

Milk $3 - $5
Cereal $4+
Eggs $3 dozen
Flour $2 10lbs
crackers $4

I am blessed that I have military commissary privileges because there is no way we could afford to feed a family of 7 with the prices they charge in town. We never live where there is no military base!

Generally produce will be higher here then in the lower 48 because of shipping and they are not as tasty either.

If you shop at costco its actually about the same price as base, I did not think base prices were all that.

[MoonLightTraveler]

Originally Posted by roadfamily6now

I've lived in Montana, WA and CA and Alaska.

I've lived in OR, WA, CA, and MO and if the prices in Alaska are anything like any of those states I will be able to survive.

Thanks and Here's hoping everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

[Barkingowl]

Originally Posted by rppearso

I would add a multiplyer of 1.5 to 2 to everything you buy in alaska vs most places in the lower 48.

I think that's a bit ridiculous unless you live in the bush. Prices really aren't any higher than they are in Charlotte, NC except for gas. Gas generally runs about $1 more/gallon.

[rppearso]

Originally Posted by Barkingowl

I think that's a bit ridiculous unless you live in the bush. Prices really aren't any higher than they are in Charlotte, NC except for gas. Gas generally runs about $1 more/gallon.

I had a co worker from texas and that was his conclusion, I also agree things in anchorage are very expensive especially dining out, the only exception to this is costco. I went to school in golden colorado and everything in anchorage is twice as expensive, I got used to paying 2.50$ for a 12 pack of soda and when I got back home it was close to 5$.

[RayinAK]

Prices are higher in Alaska than most other States. That's the way it is, and you can see it in national cost of living indexes. As a former military member, I have lived in a lot of places throughout the US and a few overseas, and can attest to what I have said. That's one of the reasons why the military provide military members with added cost of living expenses (COLA/HOLA). Some of the differences I can think of are as follows:

1. Military installations. A few products are sightly lower in price than the surrounding communities, but some are more expensive. Overall, however, it's cheaper to buy on post or base if you live there, or if the nearest shopping center or store is located father away from your home, but not so if you need to buy construction materials, a generator, etc. It means that by shopping on base or post you would save a little cash on vehicle wear and gasoline. But if you live closer to town than to a base or post, then you can get a better deal at Walmart, Sam's Club, Fred Mayer, and other stores in town. For example, I can buy a quart of Mobil 1 5W-30 oil at Eielson for $6.40, at NAPA in North Pole or Fairbanks for a little than $9.00, or at Walmart in Fairbanks for a little over $4.00 on sale (you must shop around to save).

2. Living in town one has a lot more options to shop around, than when living in a military installation. However, if I lived at Eielson and had to purchase a lot of items (other than groceries and others I have mentioned), then I would drive to Fairbanks because North Pole is too expensive all the way around. Now, those of you that believe that groceries and other products in the AK's cities or towns are similar to most places in the lower-48, then you don't know about North Pole. Gasoline around North Pole costs at least twenty cents more per gallon than in Fairbanks, but it's cheaper at Eielson than it is in North Pole. I buy discounted gasoline in Fairbanks, at Fred Mayer or Safeway gas stations.

3. One of the things that adds to the price of groceries and such in Alaska is fuel for your car, since it takes a lot of driving around to reach a grocery store or supermarket. Automobile expenses make a big difference in here, especially during the winter months.

[rppearso]

Originally Posted by RayinAK

Prices are higher in Alaska than most other States. That's the way it is, and you can see it in national cost of living indexes. As a former military member, I have lived in a lot of places throughout the US and a few overseas, and can attest to what I have said. That's one of the reasons why the military provide military members with added cost of living expenses (COLA/HOLA). Some of the differences I can think of are as follows:

1. Military installations. A few products are sightly lower in price than the surrounding communities, but some are more expensive. Overall, however, it's cheaper to buy on post or base if you live there, or if the nearest shopping center or store is located father away from your home, but not so if you need to buy construction materials, a generator, etc. It means that by shopping on base or post you would save a little cash on vehicle wear and gasoline. But if you live closer to town than to a base or post, then you can get a better deal at Walmart, Sam's Club, Fred Mayer, and other stores in town. For example, I can buy a quart of Mobil 1 5W-30 oil at Eielson for $6.40, at NAPA in North Pole or Fairbanks for a little than $9.00, or at Walmart in Fairbanks for a little over $4.00 on sale (you must shop around to save).

2. Living in town one has a lot more options to shop around, than when living in a military installation. However, if I lived at Eielson and had to purchase a lot of items (other than groceries and others I have mentioned), then I would drive to Fairbanks because North Pole is too expensive all the way around. Now, those of you that believe that groceries and other products in the AK's cities or towns are similar to most places in the lower-48, then you don't know about North Pole. Gasoline around North Pole costs at least twenty cents more per gallon than in Fairbanks, but it's cheaper at Eielson than it is in North Pole. I buy discounted gasoline in Fairbanks, at Fred Mayer or Safeway gas stations.

3. One of the things that adds to the price of groceries and such in Alaska is fuel for your car, since it takes a lot of driving around to reach a grocery store or supermarket. Automobile expenses make a big difference in here, especially during the winter months.

Im surprised fairbanks has not disintigrated as a town, the refinery is all but shut down and the university is slowly moving its engineering programs to anchorage. I would not be surprised if the military bases out there become remote stations. I have never understood why fairbanks exists in the first place (other than the military bases), it must have built up from the pipeline days as a staging area and then some genious decided to build a school there lol, the refinery made sense at the time becuase they could take a mid cut of the oil and put the rest back in the line so it ran basicly like a topping unit and not really a refinery but now they have to pay for the whole barrel so im actually flabergasted that they are even still open. Other than that there are a few staging outfits for the various mines but thats mom and pop stuff. If they dont put a bullet gas line in I will be stunned if fairbanks can remain a town.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by Barkingowl

I think that's a bit ridiculous unless you live in the bush. Prices really aren't any higher than they are in Charlotte, NC except for gas. Gas generally runs about $1 more/gallon.

That may be specific to Anchorage and the valley, but really, prices can be quite a bit higher in non bush areas of the state than in the -48. By the same token, in the more populated areas, gas isn't about a buck more expensive but actually far less. It was only about thirty cents a gallon more expensive on the island last summer than here in Oregon, and about the same in Anchorage.

Drugstore.com is a good resource for people living in the more outlying areas. You can get shampoo, soap, cosmetics, pretty much anything in that category for lower 48 prices, and if your order is 50 bucks or more, you get free shipping.

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by rppearso

Im surprised fairbanks has not disintigrated as a town, the refinery is all but shut down and the university is slowly moving its engineering programs to anchorage. I would not be surprised if the military bases out there become remote stations. I have never understood why fairbanks exists in the first place (other than the military bases), it must have built up from the pipeline days as a staging area and then some genious decided to build a school there lol, the refinery made sense at the time becuase they could take a mid cut of the oil and put the rest back in the line so it ran basicly like a topping unit and not really a refinery but now they have to pay for the whole barrel so im actually flabergasted that they are even still open. Other than that there are a few staging outfits for the various mines but thats mom and pop stuff. If they dont put a bullet gas line in I will be stunned if fairbanks can remain a town.

I am not even going to talk about the gold mining operations around Fairbanks, simply because I can tell that you have no idea of what you are talking about.

In reality UAF is growing even more than before, and none of the engineering departments are moving to Anchorage (I know..I work at UAF). A problem that we now have in Fairbanks is that it has grown quite a lot in the last few years. We even have traffic jambs during the rush hours, something that didn't happen five years ago. UAF has the largest international research center of the Northern Hemisphere (IARC), and the Physics Department is huge compared to the one in Anchorage. Have you ever heard of Poker Flats? That's where the University conducts space rocket launches. UAA is just a speck on the map compared to UAF. The problem with the AAC is that it has not room to expand, while UAF has a huge chunk of land where it sits next to Fairbanks, Poker Flats, and all around Fairbanks and vicinity, including near Summit Lake, Delta Junction, etc. Some of the remote engineering field training takes place in some of these locations.

The refinery is not in Fairbanks, but North Pole. Fort Wainwright is the largest I have ever seen it, new housing all around, and a brand new hospital that includes a VA hospital wing. Eielson AFB is where NATO conducts training exercises each year ( have you heard of Red Flag?), and like Fort Wainwright it's all new housing and buildings.