Question about SE life

[grupre]

Thanks to everyone for your answers.

Rotorman, you said stuff rots. Define rots. Do you mean house timbers and supports rot and get moldy? Are most roofs there shingle or other material? I notice that in photos in AK real estate web sites, a lot of homes are wood. Why not brick like the lower 48? Wouldn't they hold up better to the elements?

What I would like to do is find a town in the SE to get a job and make a living. I'm not looking for a big house. A small single family house in good shape for a reasonable price would be nice. Brick would be a bonus.

I want to be able to be in fishing/hunting areas within a couple of miles from the house, but be close/ in town at the same time.

I want my family to be able to walk to school, work, etc. if at all possible. I'm not one for commutes.

Rotorman, what do you mean by there are no old cars? Do cars rust out from all the salt and seawater? And, barring neglect, how long does the average car last, assuming regular maintainance and cleaning?

Forgot to ask something: what is cell phone coverage like up in the SE, Juneau aside, since I assume they have good coverage.

[rotorhead]

Call it rot, call it mold, call it mildew, fungus, rust, whatever you want. When stuff gets wet and stays wet for a long time it just accelerates the process of breakdown, by whatever method. Water is the ultimate solvent, it will eventually dissolve almost everything given enough time. I've only been in SE for a short time so far, but I've been out househunting recently and have seen a lot of problems caused by the related factors of a very wet climate and a lot of "deferred maintenance".

When people build here, anything wood thats going to be exposed to the elements will typically be either pressure treated wood or cedar. Most roofs here are metal, though many businesses have composition flat roofs for some inexplicable reason. There are still a lot of all-metal archway style or "quonset hut" sheds for things like vehicle storage or industrial use. I've seen a very few cedar shake roofs and some of asphalt shingles but both of them are prone to moss growth if not regularly worked on. Letting moss get started on the roof looks quaint and rustic, but it really breaks down the roof much faster since it's setting down roots and retains water even when it's not raining.

Some other things to keep an eye out for are leakage around windows, doors, flashings, etc., and water damage from interior condensation. On older houses, there can be all kinds of interesting things found. One place I looked at had a detached garage that was built atop huge logs which were sorta halfway mortised into beams, set atop equally huge stumps. Lots of houses in the smaller communities were basically hand-built over long periods of time, added on to and remodeled, modified and changed by a shifting assortment of home handymen of widely varying skill levels. In the "old days" the whole idea of "building codes" was a foriegn concept, and when it was used at all it was more of a general guideline that a regulatory bible. There are places for sale here in Haines where the construction was so irregular or the wiring or plumbing so poorly done that the bank won't even entertain financing, you can't get a mortgage at all. There are also beautiful, solidly built miniature palaces with a stunning view and every modern amenity, albeit at a correspondingly breathtaking pricetag. There are also just regular houses, but since its such a small town there are never very many to choose from at any one time.

You won't see very many brick building anywhere in AK; even in the more tony parts of ANC there are only a few areas that seem to feature brick facades. One factor is the expense of shipping them up here, as far as I know they just don't make bricks in AK. The other is earthquakes. Alaska has more earthquakes than any other state by far, specifically including California. Masonary construction does VERY poorly in earthquakes, it's one of the reasons why the death tolls are so high when a quake hits the poorer parts of the globe where they build primarily with earthen block. Earthquakes are typically NOT covered by regular homeowners insurance, it's a separate policy like flood insurance it (though not sponsored by the feds like flood policies). I can tell you from personal experience that an earthquake rider to a homeowners policy will usually double the premium, and it'll cost even more if you have any part of your house built out of brick, block, or stucco.

As far as cars go, yes, it appears that they rust out pretty quickly here. From what I hear it's even worse in some of the other coastal communities. There is one coin-op car wash in town, but it's for sale and has been closed since I've been here. How long a car lasts depends on so many factors it's impossible to say for sure, depends on if you have a garage, how often you wash it, what the make and model is, how much you drive, how conscientious you are about maintenance, lots of things.

As far as the job things goes, just don't expect to luck into a steady, well-paying job with benefits. Those are pretty few and far between, it's a small town with a small employment base. The plum jobs have plenty of folks that are already waiting in the wings in case someone dies or retires. You'd better bring along a critical skill, a business connection, or both. Better yet, bring along your own business and make some jobs for others as well. It's not exactly a zero-sum game employment wise, and the proverbial rising tide will indeed lift all boats.

[Xa'at]

What about GCI? I've never had a problem with it- seems fast enough. Their customer service is questionable... but isn't that the way it always is with telecommunications companies?
Don't know about availability in smaller communities though...