Location advice please :) (Fairbanks, Kenai, Sterling: for sale, rent, where to buy)

[linelifednr]

Alaska is my dream. I am having a difficult time finding the best locations to do more research to purchase land. Ideally, I would like a radius around me of thirty miles or more away from any mass population, as in 500 or more. Geez, for some reason I don't like that sentence lol! Sounds pretentious but I am huge on seclusion. Closest town would have some small stores, mail, pure basic things. Would be willing to travel several hours for anything more. Cold, snow is fine though preferably not year round and abundant plant and wildlife (they do tend to go hand in hand)! Thank you guys for any insight, I am sorry if this has been asked before.

Also, I hear rumors constantly that southerners are really, really, really disliked by natives, especially in rural areas. Understandable, but does that change if you are respectful of others and not wasteful?

[jdhpa]

You may be interested in this:

List of cities in Alaska by population - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It lists Alaska cities by size, down to <100 people, there are (currently on the list at least) ~150 such cities. You can google '<city> alaska map' to see where each is, and zoom out to see if there are nearby cities >500 people.

[linelifednr]

Thanks, I tried to find a population density map but couldn't find any good ones. I will take a look.

[AKStafford]

The best way to figure this out is with a visit. Come up for a week or so, rent a car and get a feel for where things are at. Explore Talkeetna, Trapper Creek, Sutton, Glennallen, the Kenai Peninsula, Healy, etc...

[Dakster]

robyncae - The good thing is that you are looking for a place in AK where there isn't anyone around. That seems to be in abundance in that state... I'd be worried if you said you needed a large metropolitan area to live in with a million people around you.

I second the go up and visit. Whatever you think it is like is probably incorrect. I know it was for me when I went to visit. It wasn't better or worse than I thought, but it was different.

You may also be a candidate to buy some OTC land from the State, because of your specifications. But as the Alaskans on here will tell you, make sure you step foot on it first, so you know what you are getting. A lot of land is not on a road or driveable to in a regular vehicle. And not all land is suitable to build upon either. You do it, so that there are no surprises - not that the state is trying to deceive you. What we think of as "remote" or inaccessible is completely different from that definition in Alaska...

And I would be very leery of long distance sellers - and avoid ebay like the plague.

[kbeefy]

Your wish list is pretty vauge, 95% of Alaska probably fits in there somehow.

You say travel several hours for more. Preferably by car on a state maintained road? Or are you up to other modes of transportation? Everything from bush planes to dog sleds are used quite commonly.

Assuming you wish to be on or near the road system, next thing you should address is climate. Not sure where your coming from or what is normal for you...
How cold are you comfortable with? Below freezing and snow on the ground for 5 months OK? Would -20 for 3 or 4 weeks be OK? How about -40?
How long or short of a snow free summer would you like?

The Interior has amazing summers but awe inspiring winters.

South Central is much milder all around.

Do you need a job?

I was born and raised in Alaska and never had any trouble with natives out of town. The homeless ones in anchorage are mostly drunk bums, but in the native villages I have always been amazed by their kindness and hospitality.

On the Kenai Peninsula -

Cooper Landing
Moose Pass
Sterling
Anchor River
Nikiski
Ninilchik

In the Valley -

Sutton
Houston
Willow
Talkeetna
Trapper Creek

Interior -

Eureka
Glenallen
(probably not technical interior but they're winters are!)
Delta
Tok
Cantwell
Heally
Salcha
Cheena
Circle

I think that covers most of the road system that are small towns (100-500?) but still have at least one store open year round. I'm partial to Cooper Landing because thats where I grew up and it's in the mountains with tons of recreation opportunities.

[rachaelstolte71]

So I was wondering what kind of decision you have made. My husband and I are considering doing the same thing.

[RayinAK]

The OP has to realize that most of the Alaska landmass belongs to the Federal Government, then to Alaska Natives, and finally the State and private sector. It means that you just won't be able to easily choose where to buy the property you desire. You would first have to check with the local realtors, banks, and so on. There is land for sale near towns and cities, but a lot of the remote lands don't have road access.

In the towns land is usually sold in the form or parcels or "lots," the developed ones are around 1.25 acres. But I have seen 20-acre undeveloped lots over by Murphy Road, one where the seller was asking around $52,000 (with a very small cabin on it). In high-ground lots around Fairbanks, it's most times not possible to have water wells (water level is too deep). There should also be some land that's far away from town along the Steese and Elliott Highways, and some of the local realtors should know).

[mizzile]

Originally Posted by robyncae

Alaska is my dream. I am having a difficult time finding the best locations to do more research to purchase land. Ideally, I would like a radius around me of thirty miles or more away from any mass population, as in 500 or more. Geez, for some reason I don't like that sentence lol! Sounds pretentious but I am huge on seclusion. Closest town would have some small stores, mail, pure basic things. Would be willing to travel several hours for anything more. Cold, snow is fine though preferably not year round and abundant plant and wildlife (they do tend to go hand in hand)! Thank you guys for any insight, I am sorry if this has been asked before.

Also, I hear rumors constantly that southerners are really, really, really disliked by natives, especially in rural areas. Understandable, but does that change if you are respectful of others and not wasteful?

You have no idea what you're getting into. "Seclusion" is cute in the lower 48. It's a seriously big deal up here.

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by mizzile

You have no idea what you're getting into. "Seclusion" is cute in the lower 48. It's a seriously big deal up here.

It is difficult for people who have not visited Alaska to realize how large Alaska is, and the lack of road access to most of it.