Where is the best place in Alaska to live? (Anchorage: best city, rental)

[Rance]

Southcentral rocks! Word!

[ThenewHMR]

KasieS: Some people individuals like Haines, Alaska. This town will never let one down. it's very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very GOOD.....

http://hainesak.com

[jmbranson]

Well we thought that we would be flying to Bethel Mid-April now we are coming around the 2nd of April, just 2 weeks away. I am so ready to be back in Alaska

[Balisa]

Hello,

I am thinking of moving there. How much daylight do you get there in winter?
What are the pros/cons? Is there a lot of violent crime?

[NOTAM]

I am willing to bet that I will be proving you wrong. When I finally someday move to Fairbanks, I will find a landlord who will be very happy to rent to me and my little lapdogs. I will tell you why.
I have moved to areas that have been notoriously non-pet friendly and have even gone to see places that I wanted to rent that were "no pets allowed" and was able to get the landlord to change their minds. I have even convinced landlords online to rent to me,, emailing pics of my dogs and telling them about who I am and what I do for a living and telling them about me, moving across country, renting houses without even seeing them in person!
It all has to do with WHO YOU ARE and WHAT YOU BRING TO THE TABLE and RISKS vS BENEFITS in the business transaction.
In my case, the landlord gets a middle aged college graduate medical professional with over 20 years experience in their career and a stable secure job where I cant lose my job unless I committed some major crime and went to prison, my paychecks come through guaranteed like clockwork, i have no rugrats-no kids, I have excellent references spanning many years, I even have DOG references from MANY previous landlords, describing how quiet, clean, well kept my senior dogs are (they are like little humans, and spoiled rotten). I am friendly, kind, respectful, quiet, neat, dont do drugs or smoke or drink, dont party, go to church. And the occupation that I am in happens to be one that is held in public trust the most over most any other occupation. Oh, and when I do move, I will be able to afford the rent and if they want a few thousand for pet deposit or whatever just to ease their mind, because my salary will be pretty high.
Basically, what I am trying to say, is that the benefits of having me as a tenant WAY outweigh the risk of my little harmless nondestructive lazy lapdogs. They meet me and they would rather rent to me than a college student or a family with a bunch of kids who might tear the place up.
I have looked at Craigslist weekly for the past year and I am surprised to see how many actually say yes to dogs. Keep in mind I dont do apartments. I only consider homes with land or at least a small fenced yard.
Even though I have never lived there, I am 100% confident that I will have NO problem finding a suitable place for me and my furbabies.

Originally Posted by RayinAK

I was responding to a poster who mentioned North Pole and Fairbanks area. My response to this poster was that at least in the interior of Alaska $2,000 won't go very far if one has children and pets for the following reasons:

a. Landlords don't want to rent to people with pets. The ones who do ask anywhere from $75.00 to $150.00 a month per pet in addition to the rent. In the Hotel North Pole, and only when they allow a pet in one of their rooms, the cost is $50.00 per day per pet. The average 2-bedroom apartment costs somewhere around $1,200 per month, plus utilities, usually electricity in apartment complexes.

b. If the OP wants to buy a house, she will need a lot more than $2,000 a month, not only to pay for the loan, but to pay for heating fuel and electricity, both of which are extremely expensive.

c. Living in the interior, specially outside of Fairbanks, requires a lot of driving to work, so the OP will need a very reliable automobile. Gasoline in North Pole costs $4.27 per gallon (regular unleaded), and diesel fuel around $4.61 per gallon.

d. Heating fuel at the moment costs a lot more than $4.00 per gallon. But lest say that it's around $3.62 and the OP needs to fill her 500-gallon tank two times during the winter (just the winter). This would cost $3,620 worth five-six months of fuel. Electricity would cost around $1,200 for the same amount of winter time, as long as she can be very conservative in relation to electricity use (CFL's and LED lighting, for example).

She may have skills she can use, but she has to get in front of a lot of people on the unemployment line who already live here and have the same skills she has. What is she going to do from the moment she arrives to Fairbanks and the time she gets a job?

But see, I don't know much about Fairbanks and vicinity. I have only lived here around 30 years, and see people struggling to survive. A lot of people on fixed incomes can't survive in this area and are leaving Alaska. Just listen to some of the local radio stations, for example, KFAR (660AM) at 3:00 PM.

[Frostnip]

Well, in the sizable cities there isn't exactly a shortage of well-paid middle-aged government workers with good jobs - Alaska is chock-full of public servants and contractors and military people and whatnot - and everyone's dogs are perfectly behaved when they're looking for a new landlord, at least to hear them tell it. Finding someone who is willing to be schmoozed isn't impossible...I just wouldn't count on it as a given, in this housing market. Landlords of decent places can afford to be fairly picky.

[ysr_racer]

So, did the OP ever move up?

[NOTAM]

Frostnip, but i dont need more than one bedroom. Most folks have kids. And i dont mind, actually i prefer living in places like two rivers and im not high maintenance with needs like many are.

[RedJacket]

Originally Posted by NOTAM

I am friendly, kind, respectful, quiet, neat, dont do drugs or smoke or drink, dont party,

The only time I might be able to say the same about myself is if I were put in a Nursing Home. I know, pretty pathetic.

[Frostnip]

Originally Posted by NOTAM

Frostnip, but i dont need more than one bedroom. Most folks have kids. And i dont mind, actually i prefer living in places like two rivers and im not high maintenance with needs like many are.

Didn't you just say you were only considering houses with yards? Unless you're talking rural cabins, they tend to have multiple bedrooms.

I'm not sure how being a church-goer or a college grad plays into how well you'd keep a house, ether...