Given a home in Central,AK planning on moving there (Fairbanks: for sale, coupons)

[megensmom]

Our dream adventure is getting closer. You can feel the excitement starting to come from our kids and heck from us as well. We are starting to wrap up loose ends and get into some serious packing and planning.
68 Days and counting

[Arcticthaw]

When it is time to leave, give each of the kids a couple of disposable cameras with their names on them. Then each can photo thieir experience of the trip north.

Two cameras may not be enough but you have the idea.

[megensmom]

What a wonderful idea and 1 I wouldn't have thought about for sure. Their point of interest maybe totally different than ours. Thanks so much.

I was thinking you were going to say give them all a couple of sleeping pills,lol. I am figuring that after trip I won't want to get into a car for a LOOONG time

[nope]

One year when I drove the Highway with a five year old I went to the thrift store/dollar store/garage sales/whatever and bought high interest trinkets and toys and individually wrapped them. Every time we got back INTO the car(hey, it's fun to get back into it!) she got to pick a wrapped present and play with the toy until the next time we stopped! She was my only passenger(we drove two vehicles) and she still remembers driving me nuts from the back seat--pinching at me with one of those tourist trap gun trigger-moveable beaked bald eagle stick toys from the tourist shops! It was fun for her.

[karibear]

Originally Posted by Arcticthaw

Don't worry about the drive in April, but do pack that easy to get to kit. My mom hauled 4 or 5 of us kids up and down the Alaska highway back in the 60s in an Rambler station wagon. Not a big deal. Keep the car maintained and warm clothes a couple extra flares and your good to go. Stop and take lots of pictures. Get the kids to count cars, animals, pretty much anything to get them to look out the window.

Have fun

It's changed a lot over the years. I went down in '73, '80, and 2000. The first 2 trips were on gravel with the Canadians watering the highway constantly to keep the dust down. There were also a lot of equipment pull-offs and turn-arounds where anyone could park and sleep in their campers [or on car seats]. Now the highway is paved and there is no place to just stop by the side of the road, it's all either motels or campgrounds. I don't blame them, there's been a lot spent on improving the highway, and it has been improved beyond just the paving - a lot of curves have been straightened out, too. My ex-in laws lived in Buffalo and spent a lot of time going back and forth across to Maple Leaf Village, and they swore the best exchange rates came from using credit cards. They said the banks got better rates than JQP just walking in and trading American $$ for Canadian $$. I heard that from some Canadians on my last trip down, too.

And the highway isn't the only thing that's changed. When my kids were small, there used to be a sort of park/camp area on the old Seward Highgway just south of Anchorage, a big V-shaped lot that backed up against the guard rail above the train tracks. We always used to camp there whenever we came to the city, but it's gone now, too.

[MaggieZ]

Just want to say, Megensmom, I've been reading the posts, you're so lucky, it'll all work out for you. You are doing all the research plus you have people helping and you have a good head on your shoulders. I do wish I was in your shoes though; I don't know if I'd be able to wait so long to get there...
But I bet time's flying for you guys.
I hope to be able to keep reading your posts to see how things are for you all..

[AK59]

Originally Posted by megensmom

Our dream adventure is getting closer. You can feel the excitement starting to come from our kids and heck from us as well. We are starting to wrap up loose ends and get into some serious packing and planning.
68 Days and counting

Just a note on moving to Central. We go up every summer to visit friends. There are some of the nicest people there, and a few mean ones like everywhere else. It gets very cold in the winter as you've researched I am sure and if you are not used to it, it can get you down especially as you will be more isolated there than in say Fairbanks. It is heaven in the summer if you have a less buggy one. There are community activities throughout the year like 4th of July bbq, etc. We had considered living there but after living on the Kenai Peninsula for 3 years are going back to SE Alaska this Spring-now that is the place to go! PS Work is hard to get there-jobs would be far between with lots of competition from others who need the $. Remember that lots of jobs have AK residence preference also which takes a year to get. Good luck-it'll be an adventure for your family.

[megensmom]

Actually we have done lots of research and also have spoken to a variety of people that live there. From what we have found is most people only desire to work a couple of months to bring some money in and then they are happy to sit back for a while. There are NO jobs directly in the community so travel will be a must and my husband has leads already on some work due to the fact he is already experienced in the mining field and he also has other skills in construction as well. I haven't heard anyone talk about jobs being given preference to AK residents especially not in the mining areas. My husband has a lead with DOT already which may or may not pan out. We are going up there with somewhere around $10,000 sitting in the bank,plus my husband gets a couple thousand every 3 months so if at first he can't find the most excellent of employment we will have a little to fall back on. Plus we have already set money aside for our big items like generator,power inverter w/small battery bank,stove and we have paid the deposits and such for our phone and some money to have water delivered. So I am not really worried. I think he should be able to find a job pretty easily though.

[megensmom]

Oh by the way if you don't mind me asking who are your friends we might already know them. I am sure my Father in law does since he lived there 10+yrs.

[DannyL]

megansmom, I also want to congratulate you on a well planned out relocation. I think you will fit in just fine.
remember, down there they say "good fences make good neighbors", up here we say "good people make good neighbors".
I think you guys will do just fine...be safe on your journey.