Want OUT of AK! (Kenai, Wasilla: housing, income, jobs)

[insearchof]

Ok, so I did something most people would never do, it was daring...
6 yrs ago, I moved my self and 2 children (single mom) from my home state of CA, i'd never visited ak and moved here pretty much site unsceen
all of my research was done via computer, I had made a friend on an aol site whose hubby was in the Air Force and they were stationed at Elmendorf, oh she bragged about how RICH the state was, tax free etc....
well, after a 2 yr time living in both Wasilla (3 mo's), then Eagle River, I moved to the Kenai Peninsula, was able to buy my very first home as i'm on a fixed income. well, I am MISERABLE here, not only has it been near impossible to make friends but the schools are terrible and i'm sick & tired of their approach to 'history' as being all exclusively ak native
shopping here consits of driving 3 hours thru a twisty windy treacherous (in winter) road just to get to a walmart

My mind is made up, I want outta here! I refuse to go back to CA, very little relatives there and we are not in the least close, in fact, I have no close friends or family anywhere... but I feel my children deserve to have more opportunities, they are not looking at becoming fisherman or drilling for oil
i've proved I can handle winter only, I want it as a season vs a 9 month sentance. I'm dreaming of the east coast, I don't handle extreme heat and/or humidity well at all because of a medical condition.

So, where would a single, responsible, clean, decent, commited to her family, single mom
move OUT of here to?

[Out of Alaska]

I sympathize. A lot.
Why don't you check out the latest lists of cities for "great places to live" from Money Mag. or those with the lowest cost of living? Some of those places might catch your eye, and the climate is wonderful w/o the intensity here Michigan has wonderful schools... esp. the deal in Kalamazoo where tuition is largely paid. Michigan, Minnesotta, Wisconsin might be nice to look into. Good luck.

[imbobbbb]

well i dont know if 'daring'is the word i'd use.if short winters and close shopping with cheap housing are high priorities alaska doesnt sound to me like it would have been the place i would have picked.the southeast is hot and humid and the northeast is humid and cold much of the year but there are plenty of walmarts.if you couldnt make friends in alaska or california i dont if you will have any better luck anywhere else in the country.you need to figure out what is important to you in an area,research it and GO there before you move there.some people love alaska and some love mississipi swampland.you need to figure where you can afford,what kind of climate you want,and how populated you want the area around you to be.its not enough to decide where you dont want to be you need to figure out where you do want to be and just asking others opinions isnt the best way to do that,thats how you ended up where you are now

[mogrl]

Hi, Kansas City,mo is a great area! I recently moved to chicago and hate it cant wait to get back to KC much cheaper to live there, but the summers are hot. Really depends on what you do or a living though. There are a lot of medical jobs avail there as well as factory.

[jim1967]

Wow, I'll move into your house up there, and you can move into mine in Houston, TX. LOL

My dream has always been to live up there!

[Pathwalker]

If you don't handle heat well, you need to say away from the southwest U.S. No Texas, no New Mexico, no Arizona, no California, no Nevada, no Utah, and no southern U.S.

You likewise said you don't handle humidity well, so that pretty much excludes everyplace east of Kansas, which means the entire eastern U.S. is out.

If I were you, I'd check out places like Portland, Seattle, Boise, Billings, Denver.....places that are still in the western U.S., but far enough north that they get 4 seasons, and don't have the humidity.

[insearchof]

Originally Posted by imbobbbb

well i dont know if 'daring'is the word i'd use.if short winters and close shopping with cheap housing are high priorities alaska doesnt sound to me like it would have been the place i would have picked.the southeast is hot and humid and the northeast is humid and cold much of the year but there are plenty of walmarts.if you couldnt make friends in alaska or california i dont if you will have any better luck anywhere else in the country.you need to figure out what is important to you in an area,research it and GO there before you move there.some people love alaska and some love mississipi swampland.you need to figure where you can afford,what kind of climate you want,and how populated you want the area around you to be.its not enough to decide where you dont want to be you need to figure out where you do want to be and just asking others opinions isnt the best way to do that,thats how you ended up where you are now

I didn't say that I hadn't made friends in Cali, gee, 39 yrs there was plenty
and you are wrong about my asking for opinions... not all of my 6 yrs here have been less than favorable its just that AFTER 6 yrs it doesn't feel right. cheap housing? yep! that would be right HERE in Ak, dirt cheap, because thats what you get, dirt and LOTS of it

[rotorhead]

Seattle, of course. Doesn't everyone who leaves Alaska move to Seattle?

[Rance]

Maybe you just need to get out more? Living where you do...you need to road trip a little maybe. Get out and see the country. Or have you done that? I love where I live...but I'm not home much. Always out somewhere in the woods, or at the lake, or road tripping to another town. Just to get away. Makes coming home alot nicer than being stuck there 24/7. Just a thought.

[TiffInWA]

I don't know your financial situation, but you mentioned "fixed income". If you're looking at the PNW, keep in mind $220,000 will buy you a trailer. Not a fancy-schmancy modular home, a trailer. And that's in the West Sound. Go to East Sound to Seattle and the suburbs and you're looking at $240,000 for a trailer. New construction generally starts at $349,000. Like I said, may be what you're used to, but just sayin'...

Try this website, a friend of mine gave me: Find Your Spot

Oh, and it rains here. A lot. Count on October through June.