$5000 dollars, how far will it go? (Anchorage: apartment, rent, condo)

[the_pines]

I have a family of five. I could basically live anywhere, my heart is my home. But more and more im really tired of pushy people and people pushing their ideas on others in this country. I'm not with the whole globalist thing and I would prefer a simple life over luxuries. I do not trust this government anymore at all. It is heading towards chipping people and treating them as livestock cash cows. I'm not sure I could make it in Alaska. But I have entertained the thought many times.

I'm not a hunter or a fisherman, so I wouldn't be depleting many resources. For work I would be willing to take whatever is available. I have a hardy fear of bears and wolves and such so I wouldn't want to work alone in the forest. My wife is a nursing assistant but she has also worked in retail.

I was wondering if I could find a house or apartment big enough to fit all of us. Or if I could buy an acre ***** and build a little log home and if I might find the help of someone in town or something of that nature. I'm not sure about utilities. I could make do without phone and electric but that wouldn't be idea. The problem is I just don't want to pay the high costs for utilities anymore.

I never traveled much. From Ohio originally and now situated in Florida. It isn't bad or good. Its the same as anywhere else to me. High prices, cliched society, people label everything, everyone is so caught up in some fake worldy life. I only have my prayers and not much else. I would like to work hard, come home, spend time with my family, eat dinner together, and study the bible. You cant homestead in the lower 48 anymore without being wealthy first. I'm not sure what im looking for. But I know its not living to pay heaps of bills and be some robot for society.

[Arcticthaw]

Well we can't homestead in Alaska anymore either. I htink the trip to Canada will eat us lots of your resources, and they do require a certain amount of cash in hand along with other financial backing before they will let you pass through. They want to be sure you wont be stranded there.

There is nothing wrong with a healthy fear of Bears, that is what keeps people alive in the woods! Having been on two wounded bear hunts (wounded by others) I can attest to a very high adrenaline level!

The lifestyle you describe even with electricity is a hard one. Heating fuel is high here. oil is around 2.40 a gallon and a cord of wood is 200 or so, and you cut and split. The farther north you travel the more heat you will need.

You haven't mentioned your skills other than manual labor, I would suggest you look into a trade or skill before comming north. Day labor normally doesn't feed and clothe the family well because of our high cost of living.

[the_pines]

Thanks. That seems to backup the data I see online about Alaska's cost of living. There's no way out of here.

[Arcticthaw]

Yea...... it's the shipping! Everything and everyone!

[DannyL]

If you ARRIVE with 5000, that might be do-able. Probably last 2 maybe 3 months max. Yes, the cost of living is high, but it is all relative. Luxeries are high, living is not.
Personally, I would rather live in a piece of crap trailer in Alaska than in a condo in Calif.
But that is just me.
And yes, having a skill is a plus, but your work ethic is more important. Showing up for work on time ready to go in the dead of winter in Jan counts for a lot. I mean it.
Good luck on your decision.

[megensmom]

What if you already have a home that is paid for( which is our situation) how would you fair with $5000? The home needs a propane fridge,has water tank system,and will need phone,etc. It is off the grid right now but there is a good chance that will be changing soon.

[Xa'at]

I dusted off my calculator, cranked up the Coldplay, and applied my knack for estimates to this little math problem of yours.

Assuming:
You are driving from Tampa Bay, FL to Anchorage, AK (approx 4,735 mi) in a car that gets 20 miles/gallon, with an average fuel price of $3.00 per gallon. You will spend $10 dollars per person in food daily for the trip, which I will assume takes about 10 days if you do it right. You stay in campgrounds every night, for $25 a night. You haul your belongings in a U-Haul trailer, who have quoted me $1,372 for a one-way Tampa-Anchorage next summer.

My calculator is showing just shy of $3,000, just for the trip, and I'm calculating bare minimum here. Now, you also have to think about rent for a couple of months (don't know what that would cost for a large family... maybe 1000 a month in Anc?) plus groceries, incidentals... Plus, you should always have some extra money just in case something you don't expect happens...

What I'm getting at... aw heck, I don't even know what I'm getting at. It's up to you to decide how frugal you can be.

[the_pines]

No we would fly out. Every time we move we ditch our belongings. Except the computer, clothes, and whatever girls stuff they need. We aren't settled in to life anywhere. We just rent and use hand me down stuff. We would still have 4k when we arrived out there.

[Rance]

You could do like my Dad did. He came here and lived/worked for a couple years before ever moving the rest of us up. Of course things were slightly different back in 1967. But it still might be an option for ya.

[earls]

The current cost to fly from Miami to Anchorage is between $500 and $650 per person so I figure you will spend nearly $3000 in transportation leaving $2000 to live on until you find a job. You don't mention your job skills but if you look at the Alaska job available link below you will see what is available.
The first link allows you to lookup jobs in specific areas and the second (The main page) has everything like training, posting your resume etc..

http://alexsys.labor.state.ak.us/sai...sion=jobsearch
ALEXsys - The Alaska Labor Exchange System - Home Page

You might want to think about going alone until you find a job and then send for the family. You will need to look in the paper to find a apartment. You will probably never get totally free from utilities.