Moving to Kodiak...not CG (Anchorage, Homer: for sale, 2014, rental)

[Snowmon]

Hello Alaskans!
We are considering a move to Kodiak, for DH's job. I've read all the other Kodiak posts but they don't cover my questions...

One thing- AK is more expensive to live in and Kodiak has high home prices, is about 100,000.00 enough to buy a home and live in Kodiak and fly to lower 48 once a year? It's just us and our baby.

So the other thing, kids? What kind of place is it for young children? We hike and ski a ton, but with a baby, I'm not sure how much of that we can do. So wondering about activities, gym classes, library etc. for 1 year olds.

Also just curious about day to day life there...We aren't coast guard so won't be able to use those facilities.

Thanks! (sorry- typing one handed!)

[Dakster]

There was an interesting article today on Kodiak. Apparently one of the long time grocery stores is closing for good. Cited it was profitable anymore and the economy was going down. (not my words and I have no knowledge of the place or opinion)

Kodiak's struggling downtown loses iconic grocery store | State News | ADN.com

[Snowmon]

Thanks Dakster, that is a good article, doesnt seem good for Kodiak.

[lv2hoop]

Check out this website for current homes for sale out in Kodiak. .... www.AlaskaRealEstate.com

It's a nice place, but has a fairly high cost of living.

[qwertyasdf]

Originally Posted by Snowmon

So the other thing, kids? What kind of place is it for young children? We hike and ski a ton, but with a baby, I'm not sure how much of that we can do. So wondering about activities, gym classes, library etc. for 1 year olds.

I'm not from Alaska, never been there, and at 59 yrs old, I seriously doubt I'll ever make it to Alaska. I thought you had an interesting post, and thought I'd give my opinion before reading any other posts just to see how my advice compares to other posters in this thread.

With that said, I don't think I'd go hiking in the wilderness around Kodiak without a gun or something that will scare off the grizzliess. If you should come across a grizzly bear and he's not charging towards you, and you're the kind of person who doesn't believe in killing animals, I bet if you fired one, two or three or four shots into the air and shoot towards the vicinity of the bear, and as close to the bear as you can get without hitting him, I bet he would take off in a hurry and not come back for a long long time.

I have heard there's lots of grizzly's in Kodiak. Seems I recall reading that Kodiak has among the highest ratios in Alaska, both in terms of grizzlies compared to land area and in terms of grizzlies compared to people.

Whatever you do, be cautious and keep aware of your surroundings, and stay safe. Good luck.

[Snowmon]

Thanks for the good thoughts Q. I've worked, in grizzly country before, I was doing research on them for NPS actually.
Hey you never know about making it to AK, my Dad was dragged there by his girlfriend at age 67, she was turning 65 and it was on her bucket list. He had a great time of course.

[AKStafford]

Originally Posted by Dakster

There was an interesting article today on Kodiak. Apparently one of the long time grocery stores is closing for good. Cited it was profitable anymore and the economy was going down. (not my words and I have no knowledge of the place or opinion)

Kodiak's struggling downtown loses iconic grocery store | State News | ADN.com

I don't think the store downtown closing is a so much a function of a bad economy... I think Safeway, Walmart and the base store was just kicking it's butt price-wise.

I used to live on Afognak, an island to the north. We'd get into Kodiak every couple of months for groceries and stuff. I've also had some friends who lived there. It's an expensive place to be. It seems like everyone worked a couple of jobs to make it.
It seemed like a close knit town. There seemed to be three sets of people: The "Coasties", the transients (people just there for fishing jobs) and the long term residents.
It's a beautiful place. It's called the Emerald Island for a reason. You can get a lot of wet and windy weather.
While it has quite a few services, it is isolated. The ferry to Homer is 12 hours, plus a 6 hour drive to Anchorage. If you are flying, it's about an hour flight to Anchorage.

[ericathynes]

I haven't been to Kodiak in a while, but you are looking at closer to the low $200s when it comes to purchasing a home. As others mentioned it is a higher cost of living out there because everything is shipped into the island. You can definitely hike and ski, and there is a public library and Kodiak college which is part of UAA.

[starlite9]

Originally Posted by qwertyasdf

I'm not from Alaska, never been there, and at 59 yrs old, I seriously doubt I'll ever make it to Alaska. I thought you had an interesting post, and thought I'd give my opinion before reading any other posts just to see how my advice compares to other posters in this thread.

With that said, I don't think I'd go hiking in the wilderness around Kodiak without a gun or something that will scare off the grizzliess. If you should come across a grizzly bear and he's not charging towards you, and you're the kind of person who doesn't believe in killing animals, I bet if you fired one, two or three or four shots into the air and shoot towards the vicinity of the bear, and as close to the bear as you can get without hitting him, I bet he would take off in a hurry and not come back for a long long time.

I have heard there's lots of grizzly's in Kodiak. Seems I recall reading that Kodiak has among the highest ratios in Alaska, both in terms of grizzlies compared to land area and in terms of grizzlies compared to people.

Whatever you do, be cautious and keep aware of your surroundings, and stay safe. Good luck.

Well technically there isn't any Grizzle Bears on Kodiak Island, they are all Coastal Bears and are referenced as Brown Bears. Although when one is charging you, it may be a bit hard to tell the difference other than a wet feeling in your pants and Coastal/Interior brown/grizzle are pretty much the same in looks, with the Browns being bigger from the better quality foods around the Ocean.

The "Grizzle Bear Man" that got himself and girlfriend eaten was really a "Brown Bear Man", but it didn't sound as cool and he was clueless anyway.

But on Kodiak shooting your gun in the air will more than likely actually attract more bears, since they relate shooting to hunters killing deer. Many of the hunters have been driven off deer kills by really aggressive bears.

Although I'm not a great fan of the bear spray, it does work when fired into a bears face at almost point blank range. But I would much prefer to give them a wide berth unless I'm intentionally hunting them which I have no plans for in the foreseeable future!

[starlite9]

Kodiak is a neat town as are most of Alaska's Coastal Towns. But it might be a good idea to at least plan on a rental first if you're taking a job there, that way you're not committed to anything if your dreams fall apart, but if it's what you want, then you have time to look around and see where you want to settle in at.

It's not cheap, but it is a good bunch of folks there!

Good luck!