Things to know before moving to Anchorage (Homer, Eagle: 2013, rent)

[Haolejohn]

Originally Posted by awestover89

My SO was (tentatively) offered a very good job in Anchorage, AK, pending background check and all those necessities. This came a little out of the blue as we didn't think his chances were too good, so we had only done the basic research to be certain that we could see ourselves living in Alaska. Now that it seems likely this will actually happen, we are going through and doing the real grunt work for research.

What are some of the general things that it's good to know about Anchorage or Alaska in general before moving up there?

We currently both own small sedans (Civic and Corolla), are those fine for Alaska living or should we trade in for a truck or something else with a bit more power?

I know that in the cities further north you need some sort of power block to plug your car's engine in, at least during the winter. Is that necessary in Anchorage as well? What about snow chains?

As far as living arrangements, what's the best option for finding pet friendly housing? We have two cats and a medium/large dog, and I know a lot of apartments, at least around Chicago, are limited on what pets they allow. Would we be able to find rentals that allow all pets, or do we need to look into buying a house? If buying, what is the market like? My biggest fear is if we wind up moving again in 4-5 years (it's a government job, not sure how often/if we will relocate offices) it will be hard to sell.

What should we expect with utilities/internet/cell phone? Can we get cable/broadband internet or is it satellite only? Will T-Mobile work, or what cell providers should we look into? Are most properties well water/septic systems or is it a public water/sewage setup?

Anything else that you might think would be good to know would also be appreciated.

I'd recommend selling one of the vehicles and buying another once you get here. If you are driving up in two vehicles, I think it'd be better to get rid of one, but that is me.

As mentioned both those cars would be ok. Contrary to popular belief, Anchorage does have paved roads and I have found that with a good set of snow tires (studded work great) your front wheel cars do fine. I'm a bush dweller, so I only go to town (Anchorage) a few times a year, but when I do, I usually rent compact cars.

You currently live in Chicago, so I doubt you will experience the high cost of living that many experience. I find Anchorage prices to be on par with most large cities as far as rent and other costs.

We had a sprint phone that worked fine, but have since went with GCI. Internet sucks, data caps suck. But it is way faster in Anchorage than other areas.

Don't worry about winter. You have time to get here and see what is going on. Block heater may not be needed, but I'd still recommend getting one. We are driving our vehicle up to SEA this summer to barge it to our new home, and I am having the heater installed down south.

I would recommend using synthetic oil, seems to work better in winter...also, get a remote starter installed.

[awestover89]

Originally Posted by Haolejohn

I'd recommend selling one of the vehicles and buying another once you get here. If you are driving up in two vehicles, I think it'd be better to get rid of one, but that is me.

As mentioned both those cars would be ok. Contrary to popular belief, Anchorage does have paved roads and I have found that with a good set of snow tires (studded work great) your front wheel cars do fine. I'm a bush dweller, so I only go to town (Anchorage) a few times a year, but when I do, I usually rent compact cars.

You currently live in Chicago, so I doubt you will experience the high cost of living that many experience. I find Anchorage prices to be on par with most large cities as far as rent and other costs.

We had a sprint phone that worked fine, but have since went with GCI. Internet sucks, data caps suck. But it is way faster in Anchorage than other areas.

Don't worry about winter. You have time to get here and see what is going on. Block heater may not be needed, but I'd still recommend getting one. We are driving our vehicle up to SEA this summer to barge it to our new home, and I am having the heater installed down south.

I would recommend using synthetic oil, seems to work better in winter...also, get a remote starter installed.

We might end up selling one car and buying a used truck, just to get a few things up (bed, desk, chair, probably) at the beginning. The tentative plan would be for my SO to move up with just the necessities when the start date arrives, and I'll stay in Chicago getting our house ready to sell, moving at some point after we have a closing date. Still working out the logistics, because there are some pieces of furniture that we really want to bring with us, and if we are going to be spending the money to move some furniture, might as well move anything we think we'll need. A UHaul is just under $3K one way, but then we run into the issues with getting the car up as well.

It will definitely require a good bit of planning, but really exciting at the same time.

[Haolejohn]

Originally Posted by awestover89

We might end up selling one car and buying a used truck, just to get a few things up (bed, desk, chair, probably) at the beginning. The tentative plan would be for my SO to move up with just the necessities when the start date arrives, and I'll stay in Chicago getting our house ready to sell, moving at some point after we have a closing date. Still working out the logistics, because there are some pieces of furniture that we really want to bring with us, and if we are going to be spending the money to move some furniture, might as well move anything we think we'll need. A UHaul is just under $3K one way, but then we run into the issues with getting the car up as well.

It will definitely require a good bit of planning, but really exciting at the same time.

We moved on ten days notice...well actually more like three weeks, but we were on vacation in Puerto Rico when offered jobs. After we returned we had ten days.

We ended up leaving our house alone for the first year, then the next summer went and put everything in storage. Rented the house out (housing market was/is crap in ATL). Great tenants so far. This summer, we will fly down and sell everything in storage.

Good luck with the move if it happens.

[petester]

You talking about us not giving a f***k?...no ...I think we've moved past that ..
Yes?

[petester]

I was born and bred in anchorage and ill say that all of Anchorage is a beautiful place.

[petester]

Anchorage has gotten pretty mainstream so you'll find all kinds of people their that have the opinion that if it doesn't directly effect me? Then I don't care.

Alaska as a whole is historic for it's personal freedom policies.

You'll meet people from all over the world.

And those cars that you are nice and light so unless you are loaded down with hundreds of pounds your car will kinda glide through the snow grooves in the neighborhood streets.

It lotsa fun driving in Anchorage during the heavy winter as long as you have a light car or a big 4x4.

[awestover89]

Just as an update we got the official notice and start date, we are leaving for Anchorage this coming Friday, going to drive through Calgary and Banff on our way up, then taking a cruise from Seward to Vancouver before he starts the new job.

[Music_Man]

It will work better if you go from Vancouver to Seward.

[VM1138]

I don't meant to hijack the thread, but how do Anchorage winters compare to, say, winters in Detroit or other parts of Michigan's lower peninsula? I've heard that oftentimes the inhabited parts of Alaska are warmer and get less snow than most of Michigan. Is this true?

[heathen]

Anchorage doesn't get quite as cold or windy as much of the upper midwest, at least at the airport and downtown areas. The amount of snow varies a lot: this past winter had very little, but three years ago buried the town. It's more consistently cold though, so the snow builds up over the course of winter, and takes a while to melt in spring. The main two things that are hard about Anchorage winters are the length and the darkness. There are no leaves on the trees from early October to mid May, and you can expect snow on the ground from near the end of October to sometime in April. In December, there is something like 5 hours of sunlight, with the sun very low on the horizon, not giving any noticeable warmth.

Writing this is making me miss winter...