Surrounding anchorage towns commute (Fairbanks, Wasilla: rental car, rental, mortgage)

[Benny-stix]

This is my first post on here, and from what I've read, this is a very informative site from people with first hand experiences.

I am a 23 year old male. Currently and have always lived in Houston, TX. I am planning a move to south central alaska within the next two years. (I know a long ways away, but better to do too much research than not enough) being from houston, I deal with pretty horrid traffic and with the city being spread out over 750+ sq. miles, let's just say I do my fair share of daily driving for work. I currently have a 4x4 SUV so I am not too worried about my car driving through those conditions. But I am more curious about the amount of time it takes, (not necessarily the mileage) to get to anchorage (where my work will be) from the surrounding towns. Even though I have lived in the city my whole life. I have never been very interested in the city activities. ie nightlife/bars/clubs. I have always been more interested in activities. All sorts of different things. So I would like to get out of anchorage and reside in either Girdwood (I plan on doing a lot of snowboarding) eagle river, or Palmer. (I know Palmer is a little ways away)

I usually do about 75 miles of driving per day, which comes out to about two hours of driving time. Mostly freeways. So I am wondering the commute time from these towns to anchorage in the summer as well as the winter. I don't have much experience driving in the snow, but I have done just about everything else there is to do in the snow. So for a houston guy, I am pretty familiar with the snow.

Thanks for the help. And I can't wait to join you guys up my wonderland.

Ps. A snow machine is the first thing I'm buying when I finally make the move.

[Metlakatla]

Hi Beeny-stix,

live where you work and get out of town on weekends and during other time off. The daily commute can drag you down -- Eagle River is doable, and people do commute from the valley, but I don't see the point of wasting two hours a day behind the wheel. Girdwood is great, but that's a treacherous drive and it's an expensive community.

There are places in Anchorage that don't feel like a city at all. I'd suggest starting there and then going to wherever your job takes you. Who knows, you may end up getting a job in Palmer or Girdwood. You might consider Fairbanks as well.

[Alaskan Mutt]

I tend to agree with Metlakatla. Depending where you are commuting from under normal conditions you are looking at 30 to 90 minutes each way. The problem is pretty much anywhere you commute from there is only one route you can take. If there is an accident (there will be many during the winter) your commute time will increase, often by a couple hours or more.

[DagnyT63]

Originally Posted by Benny-stix

This is my first post on here, and from what I've read, this is a very informative site from people with first hand experiences.

I am a 23 year old male. Currently and have always lived in Houston, TX. I am planning a move to south central alaska within the next two years. (I know a long ways away, but better to do too much research than not enough) being from houston, I deal with pretty horrid traffic and with the city being spread out over 750+ sq. miles, let's just say I do my fair share of daily driving for work. I currently have a 4x4 SUV so I am not too worried about my car driving through those conditions. But I am more curious about the amount of time it takes, (not necessarily the mileage) to get to anchorage (where my work will be) from the surrounding towns. Even though I have lived in the city my whole life. I have never been very interested in the city activities. ie nightlife/bars/clubs. I have always been more interested in activities. All sorts of different things. So I would like to get out of anchorage and reside in either Girdwood (I plan on doing a lot of snowboarding) eagle river, or Palmer. (I know Palmer is a little ways away)

I usually do about 75 miles of driving per day, which comes out to about two hours of driving time. Mostly freeways. So I am wondering the commute time from these towns to anchorage in the summer as well as the winter. I don't have much experience driving in the snow, but I have done just about everything else there is to do in the snow. So for a houston guy, I am pretty familiar with the snow.

Thanks for the help. And I can't wait to join you guys up my wonderland.

Ps. A snow machine is the first thing I'm buying when I finally make the move.

A friend of mine in Wasilla says it is a 45min commute to Anchorage. Google maps disagrees with her, and puts it at more like an hour, I think. But if you use the "directions" function on google maps, it will give you a good idea of drive times.

I can totally understand disliking a commute. I've lived in a place where I was 45 miles to town, with only one route before and it can get old (as it did for hubby) or it can be the only two hours a day where you can sit, listen to music and relax. (as it did for me). I have friends all over the lower 48 that commute at least an hour, most 2 and they really don't go very far, they are just sitting in traffic. I think if you can drive in Houston, you can drive anywhere. That place is nuts. ;-)

[Metlakatla]

I'm sorry, but commuting in Alaska, particularly during the winter, isn't really a relaxing deal where you listen to music. You can listen to music, but you're also driving in the dark much of the time, and road conditions can be a little treacherous. There's a reason why not many people commute to and from Girdwood, for instance....

[Dakster]

Just moved here.. 3 months ago I would not have understood Met's post 4 months ago, nearly as well as I do today. And she is on the money.

FWIW, I came from South Florida. The roads here are just way different than the ones you are used to. You are thinking straight and flat roads with little chance of hitting an animal bigger than the vehicle you are in. You are thinking roads where you only deal with fairly predictable weather conditions. On good days your commute into Anchorage will be easy and you will wonder what all the fuss is about. There really is no "traffic" here, especially on the highways assuming there are no issues. We have had the pleasure of being on the Glenn when there was an accident and that will bring you back to memories of Houston rush hour traffic, only if you are on the spot where it is the only road and it is closed, you don't get to go home for hours and you probably can't turn around either.

We live in Eagle River and the wife has a commute to the Base. I wouldn't want to HAVE to go to downtown Anchorage everyday from here and I am about the half-way point from the Valley. As it is, all of my Doctor's appointment are in Anchorage and the last two weeks I have driven to Anchorage 4-5 times a week. And if I think this now, imagine what I will think once winter gets here.

Let me tell you about my drive past Girdwood last weekend. And this leaving from my parents place in mid-town. It started out overcast and in the upper 50's - maybe even 60F at one point, we hit the Seward Highway, and once we past the "City" it quickly went to rain and fog. Fog here, you feel like you can get out and cut a chunk of it out of the sky. Then the wind picked up and this was probably just past Girdwood, all of a sudden the "ice" temp. alarm went off in the rental car we had... Temps were now in the 30s. The drive in a couple of weeks, that temp drop could have come with snow and icey roads.

On the way back, we sorta imagined like we were leaving for work from Girdwood... I wouldn't want that commute. But then again, we moved to make our lives easier not more complicated. To have more free time, not the same of less. Is it doable. Absolutely. Plenty of people I deal with in all parts of Anchorage live in the valley or beyond and have done so for a long time. They buy new cars every few years too, because by then they have over 100k miles on them.

Here is what we did, take it or leave it. We picked an area that had a short commute to work and rented. Your work location may be different than ours so you target area will be too. And during our first winter, we will check other areas out. Even thought the commute is short enough, my wife already doesn't like that one road in/out thing. So.... I can see us mocing out of ER when the time comes to buy. Anyways, this way we can make an informed decision on potential places that we might buy a house in.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

[DagnyT63]

Originally Posted by Dakster

The roads here are just way different than the ones you are used to. You are thinking straight and flat roads with little chance of hitting an animal bigger than the vehicle you are in. You are thinking roads where you only deal with fairly predictable weather conditions.

Actually, no, those aren't the roads I'm thinking of nor the ones I'm used to.

I've just noticed that there seems to be quite the contingency of residents in Wasilla and Palmer who commute to Anchorage so it must not be impossible.

I'll take ice & snow in the dark dodging animals over 2 hours on I-5 (to go 5 miles) any day. *shrug*

[Metlakatla]

No one said it was impossible, and no one said that people don't do it. What I am saying, however, is these commutes aren't quite what they look like from the vantage point of Google Map. And I'd think you'd be extremely hard pressed to find anyone who regularly commutes to and from Girdwood even during the summer months, and that's one of things that the OP was asking about.

Lots of newcomers bought in Wasilla/Palmer because houses prices were cheaper (not sure if they still are these days) and decided to put up with the commute for lower mortgage payments. That's their decision, but the OP is a young guy who probably won't be purchasing a home right away. My advice remains that he live close to where he works, whether that's Anchorage, Wasilla, or wherever. Another consideration is is that Anchorage really isn't as citified as its population might indicate. If the idea is to enjoy spending time in the outdoors while off work, a long commute will be at cross-purposes with that.

I think Dakster got it right; Eagle River is a good compromise for a lot of people, but it sounds like even that short of a drive might be a hassle. Like he said, most people move to Alaska to get away from lower 48 conditions such as long commutes.

[Metlakatla]

Another excellent reason for keeping commutes down:

Some 700 to 800 moose are bludgeoned to death by motor vehicles each year in Alaska.

How can Alaskans avoid disastrous moose-vehicle collisions? | Alaska Dispatch

[Benny-stix]

Thanks guys for the info!! I am planning a trip for this spring (end of March) to get a better feel for the city and learn more about the actual lifestyle in alaska first hand. I'm sure almost everywhere in anchorage is a lot less of a city than im used to. I currently live on the 34th floor in the medical center area where the skyline there is larger than in Dallas Austin or San Antonio. And that's not even the downtown skyline which is huge. People think Texas and think farms and cowboys. But houston is about as "big city" as it gets without going up to the north east. I do like the scenery of the skyscrapers. But I am done with the concrete scrapers and ready for the natural ones. Also, tired of driving for an hour without changing more than 5 feet in sea level. Houston has to be the flattest city in the country.

Is it tough to get acclimated to the winter driving? I would like to call myself a pretty good driver. Never had an accident or a traffic violation. Not much of a speeder. Would rather cruise than hurry. (I'm the cruise control king, but not too sure how much I'll get to or want to use it out there) the one thing I keep hearing about that worries me the most is the ice fog. We get pretty darn vicious fog from the gulf when it comes, but obviously it's never freezing down here. The fog is a lot lot more difficult than heavy rain in my book. But with the fog lights on my car, and slower driving. I have never had any problems. This ice fog I have been hearing about, that might be another story.