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Let me start by saying that I've read through all of the threads here on City-Data and I've done lots of research online. I've read a good percentage of the Living in Juneau blog but I'm still not quite clear on the true cost of living there.
I have a job opportunity up in Juneau and really need to know if I can financially make it (Not terrible pay but no where near 3 figures either). I have 3 kids and my wife is a homemaker so I will be the sole income provider for our family. I'm currently living in a very expensive part of the country where the rent for a typical 2 bedroom condo runs about $1200-$1400 and a 3 bedroom home would rent from $1700-$2300. Never have to worry about heat bills here but during a good percentage of the year the electric bill is high due to the A/C running constantly.
I'm not really worried about the isolation, or bad weather as I have lived in the snow belt with winter temps in the low teens often (lowest I experienced was -27 wind chill). My ONLY concern is regarding the cost of living. It's hard to get a good sense of what things really cost in Juneau since I'm having a really hard time finding listings for rentals. I've spent time on Craigslist and the Juneau Empire classified and there really isn't much to choose from.
So I guess my question is how much different is the cost of living in Juneau compared to let's say Florida, Arizona, Southern California etc...???
I've been to all of the cost of living calculators but they all seem so outdated not taking into account the current economy. What I'm really looking for is info from people who are living in Juneau or AK in general.
Sound like your rent costs and Alaska's are comparable. How many kids do you have? Food tends to be fairly expensive but it is hard to say how much it is without knowing how many mouths you have to feed. How much do you spend on groceries where you live per month?
I moved from Juneau to the Seattle metro area in 2004 and didn't see a huge difference in the cost of living. That's just one comparison.
Sometimes it's hard to get certain things in Juneau because of the lack of road transportation (everything has to come by ferry or air), so that can drive costs up considerably for some things.
All that said, I don't think it's ridiculously expensive on the scale of NYC, for example. YMMV.
Home prices sound about the same here as where you are there. The biggest problem with housing is finding it - very limited supply of homes here, and if you have a dog the number goes down even more. But they are out there and it just takes some looking.
Milk is about $3.29 a gallon, I can find whole wheat bread on sale at Fred Meyers for $2.50. Pound of sandwich ham is about $3.50. Fresh fruit can be hard to find sometimes but it's out there - and there is usually something on sale somewhere. I just bought one of those Christmas boxes of tangerines for $4.50. Gas is $3.39 a gallon.
Right now I pay about $80/month for electricity and about half that in the summer. I'm paying (can't remember for sure because I set it up on monthly withdrawl) about $110 for internet, cable and land line phone.
There are lots of free and cheap things to do in Juneau. There are ways to cut grocery bills (hunting, fishing, being at the store in the morning when they discount a bunch of stuff). Housing does not sound out of line with what you are paying now. Gas is a little more expensive but there are only so many roads to drive in Juneau.
Your real-estate prices are pretty close to what's here. Like said before, it's availability that's the problem.
Also besides sticker shock, it's going to be "condition shock". You may find yourself paying 1200.00 a month for what you may think is worth 400.00.
Things are a bit more expensive,... housing,food and energy are the worst. But you get used to it. Gasoline isn't the cheapest...but where the hell are you going to go? There's only 42 miles of paved road in JNU.
Now about this hunting-fishing thing......
Don't lie to get a license. Wait and get residency, they will find out and come and find you (the state police). And it's not cheap when they do, plus loss of privilages for a few years. Not joking here on this one.
Check on some of the local Realtor sites. They sometimes have rental listings. Watch out on Craigslist as I've seen some scams. If it looks cheap for renting, it's probably a scam.
Home prices sound about the same here as where you are there. The biggest problem with housing is finding it - very limited supply of homes here, and if you have a dog the number goes down even more. But they are out there and it just takes some looking.
Milk is about $3.29 a gallon, I can find whole wheat bread on sale at Fred Meyers for $2.50. Pound of sandwich ham is about $3.50. Fresh fruit can be hard to find sometimes but it's out there - and there is usually something on sale somewhere. I just bought one of those Christmas boxes of tangerines for $4.50. Gas is $3.39 a gallon.
Right now I pay about $80/month for electricity and about half that in the summer. I'm paying (can't remember for sure because I set it up on monthly withdrawl) about $110 for internet, cable and land line phone.
There are lots of free and cheap things to do in Juneau. There are ways to cut grocery bills (hunting, fishing, being at the store in the morning when they discount a bunch of stuff). Housing does not sound out of line with what you are paying now. Gas is a little more expensive but there are only so many roads to drive in Juneau.
This is the type of info I was hoping for. Thanks so much. My wife and I have really enjoyed your blog. We began reading it as soon as Juneau became a possibility. I'm really hopeful that I'll get the job as Juneau seems perfect for us.
How about moving? Would you recommend selling most of what we own and re-buying in AK? Loading up a rental truck and unloading into a shipping container I heard was common? I've also heard about possibly sending crates via plane? Keep in mind if I get the position there would be 5 of us moving up including my 3 kids.
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