Young military family in search of a good apartment/condo/townhouse (Anchorage: lease, condos)

[chaffstealth]

We recently got orders to Elmendorf AFB and we will be moving to Anchorage in June 2010. We will be there for the next couple of years. We are hoping to find recommendations on decent, safe, and affordable housing.

We are in our mid-20s and have a 6-month old daughter. Here are some of our wishlists in our next rental:

2-3 bedrooms
at least 2 full baths
at least 1 car garage
washer and dryer hookups or in unit
newer community
commute time < 30 minutes (as close as possible to the base)

We are non-smokers and have no pets. Don't really care for huge backyard (less maintenance)

I don't have any clue on how much 2-3 bedrooms rent out in Anchorage but we want to keep our expenses to a minimum. Also, how much do utilities (water, sewer, heat, gas, electric, trash, snow removal) run on average?

Our last option would be to live on base housing but I want to avoid that if we can find a cheaper alternative so we can jump start our savings/retirement fund.

Any input would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[AADAD]

There are several options. Eagle River fits many of your goals with minimal crime, close to bases and with heated garages and smaller yards if any. many of the condos here are not selling and I know one on Eagle Place Loop is for lease. try this link.

www.AlaskaRealEstate.com - Advanced Property Search

If that does not work just enter your criteria.

[rppearso]

For what you are looking for look at spending a minimum of 1000$ a month, if you find something like you describe for 1000$ a month and its in a nice area you got a smokin deal. If you go to a more sketchy area or dont have a garage you can get around 600-700$. On average you will pay about 1200$ a month for something like that. You can even go out to birch wood or chugach and you might be able to find what you are looking for less than 1000$ and going towards the valley the commute time to base is not bad becasue you dont have to go into anchorage itself but the glenn hwy gets very congested.

[chaffstealth]

Thank you for the replies. Good points. I didn't even consider Eagle River and Chugiak/Birch wood and was focused on Anchorage. But wow, for more or less $1000, why not! I already know I was going to spend AT LEAST $1200 if I want something decent in Anchorage.

I am looking at google maps right now and it says about 20-25 minutes from Eagle River to base. Not bad at all. Does highway 1 get congested too often? And how bad does traffic get in the winter?

[TL551]

YOu can also get on www.craiglist.com and see what houses are available as well.

[TL551]

I meant to say www.craigslist.com It has been a long week and my mind isn't thinking with my fingers! I also checked on the Anchorage Daily News, but not all of them had pictures like craigslist.

[rarrazz]

Coming from Eagle River it's about 7-8 minutes or so to the Fort Rich exit, I'm not sure how much farther from Fort Rich to Elmendorf, haven't been on base too much.

The Glenn (yes.. highway 1) never really gets congested, but on bad mornings traffic can come to a crawl southbound, more because of people forgetting how to drive, and then the rubber-necking that follows. Same thing can happen to northbound traffic in the evenings. All depends on the weather, right now the highway is bare pavement, no excuse to be wrecking now, 100mph feels solid.

[stiffnecked]

5:30 in the evening leaving Anchorage the Glenn Highway get's majorly backed up.

[dmills]

I'd agree with the statement that you should look to pay at least $1200 or so (I think $1,000 is a little low for the criteria you set forth). Because you want two baths and a garage, you're probably looking at a condo or a duplex. Some people here have a definite preference for Eagle River/Chugiak. Those are both nice areas, but the one thing I would encourage you to do is to not get locked into a particular area before you have had a chance to check things out for your self. There are areas that are just as nice in Anchorage. The one disadvantage to Eagle River, Chugiak, and the Valley is that there is one road in and one road out. There are definite traffic problems that come with that. On the other hand, there are multiple arteries that feed into the base from all over Anchorage, so i releives some of the congestion. Depending on where you are coming from, our traffic issues here are probably moderate (at worse) compared to most metropolitan cities.

Craigsllist is a good place to look to get ideas about how much you will have to pay for what you are looking for. Just remember, that what you hear on the board here are people's subjective opinions and may or not fit your reality. I am a veteran too. When I was in, I remember getting war stories every time I moved about the crime, weather, the mission, etc. everytime I got a new assignment. It was almost never as bad (or in some cases, as good) as people made it out to be. Take whatever you hear here (including me) with a grain of salt. People mean well, but we all speak out of our own circumstances/perceptions, which may or may not match yours. Ultimately, you have to figure out what works best for you.

[AADAD]

I agree with the comments about traffic.

I leave for work at 0615 and come home at 1930 and traffic has never backed up to bad. Be aware that Eagle River actually has three exits/entrances to the Glenn Hwy. Highland is the closest to Anchorage as it avoids "brakelight hill" which is a fairly good incline to the next central Exit in Eagle River. The third exit North Eagle River encounters more backups/slowdowns.

It takes me 15 minutes to Anchorage in the winter unless the weather is real nasty. After snow I can make it in 10 minutes. I can hit the airport in 25 minutes in rough weather.

Most accidents that back up the highway IMO happen towards Palmer/Wasilla and those can be 3 or 4 hour waits.

The condos here in E.R. rent for $1200 to $1600. Take a look at the anchoragecrimemap on google and you will see why I live here. =)