Newly Relocated- Eagle River Advice (Anchorage: new house, neighborhood, elementary school)

[1984]

You should look at the Southport community located on Southport Drive in south Anchorage Southport Homes For Sale and also the Goldenview Park neighborhood located at Bridgeview drive off Rabbit Creek Road. Goldenview Park Homes For Sale

[AK76]

Originally Posted by AK76

Do not expect anything like that in Anchorage, it does not exist. Understand that Anchorage and Alaska in general has a lifestyle all its' own, leave what you know and what you have experienced in your former life with regard to the above, behind you. Even sidewalks are a rarity.

There are events which occur on a annual basis, there are events organized by local churches, there are municipal sanctioned fireworks (fireworks are illegal in the Municipality of Anchorage), though the Elks club does put on a display in Eagle River, then at Fur Rondy there is a display, and the 4th of July the Muni puts on a display. Community club houses... no. Eagle River also has the Bear Paw Festival on an annual basis.

Again, HOAs are the devil, in particular, the HOA in Eagle Wood is pure evil.

Brain fart... Elks club should read Lions club, regarding fireworks display.

[pittsflyer]

Originally Posted by Haolejohn

Meh. HOAs are the devil until your neighbor turns their house into a rainbow colored house and their yard into a junk yard. Lol

It depends on what is writen in the HOA rules and if they have fees. When your working and the money is flowing that 120$ might be no big deal but if you want to be here after that mortgage is paid that 120$ added on to the taxes is not going to be fun to pay anymore when your trying to get ready for retirement. Even your taxes get modified in old age but that 120$ will be there till you die, no thanks.


Also when some condesending prick comes to your door to "polietly remind you" that your grass is 3 mm to long or that your trash cans belong in your garage becuase they "look bad" and its against the rules you will be wishing that you had the rainbow house next door. The whole trash can thing made my blood boil, its nasty having them in your garage and they take up a ton of valuable space, the HOA can put a lien on your house if you dont comply and the fine pile up too so think about that, I have heard about some HOA horror stories, stories much worse than a rainbow house, like 5 figure legal fees and massive head ach. Also if someone has a junk yard even with no HOA its typically against the CC&R's and the city will step in if its a true junk yard and not just an old motor home that you think is ugly.


Its one thing if its a condo and they are maintaining the exteriour of the property to include the roof and siding, garage doors etc but for a single family home you better read the HOA rules real careful and be ready to pay that fee for no reason for the rest of your life. Because they plow your drive way once in a while, I will hook up a hose to my hot water heater and be done with it, if thats not enough I will install an on demand system to melt the drive way when I need to.


I have heard from co-workers that eagle river schools are really good but if you have to commute to Anchorage the drive on the glenn is hell, it can take 45 min to get from the main drag of eagle river to mid town due to congestion. If your from LA where your used to sitting in traffic for 3 hours, breathign smog and being shot at by crazy people and changing jobs every 3 months due to tardyness and sociopathic bosses then eagle river will be a fairy tale come true lol.


Of course the big draw (in addition to the schools) is you get more property for your buck, but its not for free. I have heard of people that live in ER and work in the valley so they do a reverse commute and only half the distance and are still close to Anchorage on the weekends, that would be a pretty pimp set up. But I would imagine that actual good jobs in the valley are even further and farther between than in Anchorage.

[pittsflyer]

Originally Posted by 1984

You should look at the Southport community located on Southport Drive in south Anchorage Southport Homes For Sale and also the Goldenview Park neighborhood located at Bridgeview drive off Rabbit Creek Road. Goldenview Park Homes For Sale

Isent golden view like basicly filthy rich peoples homes, I was under the impression that a golden view home is around 3/4 of a million (espically the ones with inlet views, if you dont get a view why live there).

[pittsflyer]

Originally Posted by nicolecl

Lol. I'm realizing that I probably worded my previously post incorrectly-- I meant a pre-planned subdivision or community with one builders or builders selling homes. It's been my experience that these homes are generally closer together (for better or worse ; ), have sidewalks, community events, etc. Now, we've learned that Anchorage is a bit different in that regard. Our previous community did egg hunts, professional fireworks on the 4th, community festivals, clubhouse get-togethers, etc. I have been warned that certain HOAs within some communities here may be a bit overzealous, so Im trying to get a little more input from locals who've either had positive or negative experiences.

Wolf lake in Palmer has a community sort of like this, it is a pilot community with a private paved runway over 3,000 ft (the only one in the state I believe that is that large paved and private). They do BBQ's have bon fires and that sort of thing. But it is an airport and planes are coming and going so if your not a pilot the price point and hearing planes all the time might not work.


But there is more drama with their HOA than any I have seen before, way beyond trash cans due to the maintence of the run way which is a large expensive non trivial piece of infrastructure that requires expensive maintenance. There are some mcmansions there too so I am not sure what level of pretensiousness there is as I have only met a few people out there since I have had my plane there.

[nicolecl]

I wanted to thank everyone for the advice on communities in Anchorage and Eagle River. I know I use these forums frequently for moves, so I’m posting a follow up to my original one. We ended up in Heritage Estates in Eagle River. There is no HOA here, but there is a number of community events (Trick or Treat in the Heat children’s fundraiser, community garage sales, ice-cream socials for kids, etc.). There are sidewalks on the main streets. I had told the kids it would probably take time to get to know the neighborhood children and was proven wrong the first day when our new house was filled with kids from the street. Neighbors came by from not only our street but nearby ones—everyone was very welcoming. We are really happy with where we ended up. The commute into downtown Anchorage has been nothing to complain about—20-30 minutes each way (so far—but we’ve been in areas such as D.C. so there is definitely a comparison factor). We enjoy sitting next to mountains (watching the sheep) and seeing all of the nature around us. The Eagle River Nature Center is 10 miles from here and trails, a waterfall, and several lakes for fishing are nearby (that we’ve found in our short time here). We are in the Ravenwood Elementary school zone which was featured recently on the news here for the new STEM program they’ve created. I don’t have a lot of information on the school as we just moved in and summer has begun, but have heard nothing but positive comments from the parents I’ve met.

[nicolecl]

Originally Posted by pittsflyer

Wolf lake in Palmer has a community sort of like this, it is a pilot community with a private paved runway over 3,000 ft (the only one in the state I believe that is that large paved and private). They do BBQ's have bon fires and that sort of thing. But it is an airport and planes are coming and going so if your not a pilot the price point and hearing planes all the time might not work.


But there is more drama with their HOA than any I have seen before, way beyond trash cans due to the maintence of the run way which is a large expensive non trivial piece of infrastructure that requires expensive maintenance. There are some mcmansions there too so I am not sure what level of pretensiousness there is as I have only met a few people out there since I have had my plane there.

We've met a lot of people who enjoy the peace and quiet of Palmer and Wasilla. Just weren't sure the commute was something we were willing to take on right now. Sounds like an interesting concept, but I can imagine there would be issues to work out with the runway. Watched the float planes take off from Mirror Lake this weekend and thought about how beautiful it probably looked from up there.

[pittsflyer]

Originally Posted by nicolecl

We've met a lot of people who enjoy the peace and quiet of Palmer and Wasilla. Just weren't sure the commute was something we were willing to take on right now. Sounds like an interesting concept, but I can imagine there would be issues to work out with the runway. Watched the float planes take off from Mirror Lake this weekend and thought about how beautiful it probably looked from up there.

Run way and hangar issues are so significant in south central alaska that moving has crossed my mind. I have talked to alot of pilots online from all over and no where has the avalibility issues like we have up here with regards to run way access and hangar space.


If you want to be a pilot up here and own a plane I would strongly encourage people to just buy a hangar at a muni airport first after your first like 3 hrs of flight time pull all your money into the hangar and get the plane and licence later you will save yourself serious head achs. Oh and get your A&P licence right after you buy the hangar, you are not legally allowed to work on your own personal property without an A&P.


You will thank me later

[Schmooky]

I've been in Eagle River a decade - honestly I haven't been impressed with the subdivision neighborhoods and Eaglewood is snobby. Powder Ridge, across from Fred Meyer, is better in that regard.

There are lots of community activities here, especially through the library and local clubs. I'd start with the community calendar posted there for integrating into everything from spinning classes to chess club to nature walks

[Schmooky]

Originally Posted by nicolecl

I wanted to thank everyone for the advice on communities in Anchorage and Eagle River. I know I use these forums frequently for moves, so I’m posting a follow up to my original one. We ended up in Heritage Estates in Eagle River. There is no HOA here, but there is a number of community events (Trick or Treat in the Heat children’s fundraiser, community garage sales, ice-cream socials for kids, etc.). There are sidewalks on the main streets. I had told the kids it would probably take time to get to know the neighborhood children and was proven wrong the first day when our new house was filled with kids from the street. Neighbors came by from not only our street but nearby ones—everyone was very welcoming. We are really happy with where we ended up. The commute into downtown Anchorage has been nothing to complain about—20-30 minutes each way (so far—but we’ve been in areas such as D.C. so there is definitely a comparison factor). We enjoy sitting next to mountains (watching the sheep) and seeing all of the nature around us. The Eagle River Nature Center is 10 miles from here and trails, a waterfall, and several lakes for fishing are nearby (that we’ve found in our short time here). We are in the Ravenwood Elementary school zone which was featured recently on the news here for the new STEM program they’ve created. I don’t have a lot of information on the school as we just moved in and summer has begun, but have heard nothing but positive comments from the parents I’ve met.

I have plenty of friends in that area and they all love it. In glad it was a good fit for you! The schools are good to great and I haven't heard my mommy friends complain, either.