real estate and work (Anchorage, Fairbanks: for sale, rental, homes)

[dreamer60]

don't get me wrong Alaska is a beautiful state.I'm retired now and i finally got to visit Alaska in June 2012 and loved it.i don't know if i will be able to save enough money to go back but I'm working on it now. but why is the land so high and rent so high?i have checked out some of the real estate and rental listings.and they seem very high.i checked some land listings in tok and cooper landing.and some rental's in Fairbanks and other areas. when the minimum wage is so low.and there doesn't seem to be a lot of work for someone with no degree or special training. I'm sure the heat bills have to be very high, how does the average person make enough money to live up there.

[freezengirl]

Cost to build, lack of available land for building, tax structure (AK being one of few states that doesn't have income tax so taxes homeowners quite highly). If it doesn't grow here it has to be barged in, flown in or trucked in.

[heathen]

A person could only live sustainably on minimum wage if they have room mates, and no car. From what I have seen however, there are fewer minimum wage jobs here than other places. I worked graveyards at a gas station for a few months (total s### job while I was looking for something better) and made something like $11 an hour, vs. $7-something minimum wage. Servers make minimum wage, plus tips, while some states have less than minimum wage rules for jobs where tips are expected. I was able to get by renting a small cabin for $600 a month, but it helped very much that my car was paid off.

Land tends to be expensive because relatively little of it is available for sale (most of the state is owned by the government, and doesn't have road access or power anyway). Still, land around Tok and much of the rest of the eastern interior goes for $1000 - $5000 an acre, depending on quality, roads, and power. That doesn't strike me as expensive at all. Right here in Delta, and around Glennallen are a bit more, but still quite reasonable.

And yes, anything that's been built is expensive due to construction expenses. Good news is that dry cabins are available to rent for $400 - $600 a month and comparably reasonable prices to buy. Getting chopped wood delivered is cheaper than paying for fuel oil. Natural gas heat in Anchorage, Mat-Su, and Kenai is very reasonably priced.

Long story short though: most of us live here because we want to, not because it makes perfect financial sense.

[JayPea01]

There was a story in the local Fairbanks paper a couple of weeks ago that cited a recent study that found utility prices in interior Alaska are 147% higher than the national average. These utility prices get added to the price of everything. Throw that in with the reality that there is little to no manufacturing base here, most everything is shipped from "outside" and there you have it. You have to really want to be here to be happy and comfortable.

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by heathen

A person could only live sustainably on minimum wage if they have room mates, and no car. From what I have seen however, there are fewer minimum wage jobs here than other places. I worked graveyards at a gas station for a few months (total s### job while I was looking for something better) and made something like $11 an hour, vs. $7-something minimum wage. Servers make minimum wage, plus tips, while some states have less than minimum wage rules for jobs where tips are expected. I was able to get by renting a small cabin for $600 a month, but it helped very much that my car was paid off.

Land tends to be expensive because relatively little of it is available for sale (most of the state is owned by the government, and doesn't have road access or power anyway). Still, land around Tok and much of the rest of the eastern interior goes for $1000 - $5000 an acre, depending on quality, roads, and power. That doesn't strike me as expensive at all. Right here in Delta, and around Glennallen are a bit more, but still quite reasonable.

And yes, anything that's been built is expensive due to construction expenses. Good news is that dry cabins are available to rent for $400 - $600 a month and comparably reasonable prices to buy. Getting chopped wood delivered is cheaper than paying for fuel oil. Natural gas heat in Anchorage, Mat-Su, and Kenai is very reasonably priced.
Long story short though: most of us live here because we want to, not because it makes perfect financial sense.

Very good points, Heathen. You have pretty much summed-up, so I will only add some to what you had to say.

At least the interior of Alaska and remote villages aren't the best for one to retire, because of the very high cost of living. The problem is that most of the money one can earn is spent on surviving, and very little if any can be put away. It means that unless one earns a lot of money (or has a very large pension), living from paycheck to paycheck is likely.

My wife and I do well since I retired at the age of 46, and have had a full-time permanent job ever since (approaching my second retirement already). On top of that my wife also works and helps with our expenses. But even so, our plans are for moving somewhere else where the cost of living is not so high. But our plans are not unique; most of my coworkers have similar plans, and some have already purchased homes or land in places where property has lost value recently (Nevada, Arizona, and so on).

In this area having a skill related to mechanics, carpentry and construction, electrical, plumbing, appliance technical, and so forth pays quite well after working for the State or a large company for a few years. But such work takes time for one to attain the training and certificates required by the State; therefore young people would benefit the most because they have a long life ahead, and then later in life, can retire somewhere where is cheaper to live.