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Old 10-02-2014, 06:48 PM
 
Location: Midwest
978 posts, read 2,040,819 times
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The wife and I are thinking about moving to Alaska next summer for a teaching job. For those of you who have lived in AK and another state, how do prices and cost of living compare?

My salary would increase by about $20K/year. It would also be nice not paying state taxes and having cheaper property tax. I'd also be able to get the permanent fund after some time up there.

However, I'm wondering if increased costs of gas/diesel, heating, groceries, and just about everything else would make a $20K increase in salary about the same as I make down here.

Any comments or thoughts?
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Old 10-02-2014, 06:59 PM
 
Location: Wasilla, AK
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Where in Alaska? That makes a HUGE difference. Cost of living in Anchorage vs cost of living in Quinhagak or Venetie or Kake or Egegik will be two different worlds.
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Old 10-02-2014, 07:19 PM
 
Location: Midwest
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AKStafford View Post
Where in Alaska? That makes a HUGE difference. Cost of living in Anchorage vs cost of living in Quinhagak or Venetie or Kake or Egegik will be two different worlds.
I should have added that. Based on the subject I teach, it will probably be in Anchorage (or surrounding cities), or Fairbanks. If I taught in Anchorage, I wouldn't mind a 30 minute commute to work.
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Old 10-02-2014, 09:26 PM
 
Location: Seattle
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A 30 minute commute into Anchorage isn't realistic, unless you live in Eagle River.

I moved to the Kenai Peninsula from Tennessee. Fuel is more expensive ($4.10 here now), but I drive a lot less in this little town.

Cooling in the summer is drastically cheaper, houses here don't even have A/C units. Fairbanks will be a different story, it gets warmer in the interior. Haven't been here for a winter yet, so not sure how the costs of heating will compare. Will be more expensive, just not sure how much.

We adjusted to the food prices very quickly. They're not very much different than those in Memphis, but your experience may be different. You can check the online sales ads for Costco or Fred Meyer for a quick comparison.

Housing is more expensive, probably 30% more than what I would have paid in Memphis and 50% more than what I would have paid in rural east TN where I grew up.

Entertainment (eating out, movie theater, etc.) is more expensive, by at least 20%. Chain restaurants up in Anchorage may keep the prices down up there, at least a little bit.

Lots of one-off purchases to get used to living up here (winterizing your car, etc.) if you're coming from a warmer climate like we did. And starting off, furniture etc. will be more expensive here. So just make sure you have a decent budget for moving...

My personal experience is that I'm (also) getting paid around $20k more than what I would have down south, and we are able to watch our budget closely to minimize the effects of higher Alaska prices. Once we're able to claim the dividend (annual payment), it'll help us stretch even further. My note of warning is that I haven't experienced utility bills in the dead of winter yet. Definitely look for a house with gas heat.

No annual income tax at the state level, and sales tax tends to be moderate compared to Tennessee's usual 9 - 10%. Our borough sales tax is 3%, the municipal tax is 3% also. I don't think Anchorage even has a sales tax.
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Old 10-02-2014, 09:28 PM
 
Location: North Eastern, WA
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I Pm'ed you a website address that will give you an idea for cost of living comparison. Hope you find it helpful.
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Old 10-02-2014, 10:36 PM
 
4,715 posts, read 10,465,102 times
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No sales tax in Anchorage. Mat-Su has a 3% or $15 MAX sales tax on any purchases.

Where in the midwest are you moving FROM? Chicago? That has a big part of the will it be more expensive part. Anchorage is probably one of the cheapest Alaskan cities to live in.

Having said that, it doesn't mean it is cheap either.

Gas/Diesel is more, but there are fuel programs at the overpriced grocery stores so pick one you like, stick with it so you can get money off per gal. When you do fill up make sure you can take advantage of the 35 gal. limit. (I bring extra cans with me just so I can do that). You may also find that what you bought back home to eat is too expensive up here and you might change your diet - we did. I buy more store brand stuff than name brand now. I don't drink or smoke, but if you do prepare to spend a lot more on that. Unlike jab - I drive a lot more here than I did back home. Get gasbuddy to check on fuel prices, diesel is around $3.90 a gal in Eagle River/Anchorage assuming you at least signed up for a fuel rewards program and get $.03 off per gal no matter what.

Couldn't tell you about heating - but so far my electric, heat, and water bill is around $300 a month. And there was something wrong with the boiler, so I suspect that my fuel bill will go down. And I got a notice of a 6.9% rate cut. My average electric and water bill in Florida was $600. It is important to note we have an electric car and the electric rate here is more than Florida. In addition, we were charging our car for free at work in Florida. Can't do that here in Anchorage. (no block heater plug ins at the wife's work either...) It costs probably $60 or so a month to charge the car. (10 KWH a day X 34 days (last bill) X .18 KWH = $61. I paid $205 and used 1134 KWH for Better than the $300 a month I spend on diesel for my truck though!

Rents will get you - be prepared for that. Depends on where, but Anchorage they are high for what you get.

$20k more a year but not paying state income tax I bet you will do fine here. But you gotta do your own math. Only you know what you consume and what kind of place you want to live in. If you are going to stay awhile buying may make sense. It will for us as I can get a bigger better place for a lot less than I am paying now.
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Old 10-02-2014, 11:06 PM
 
Location: Wasilla, AK
2,792 posts, read 5,569,713 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dakster View Post
Mat-Su has a 3% or $15 MAX sales tax on any purchases.
Just to clarify... The Matanuska-Susitna Borough does not have a sales tax. The City of Wasilla and the City of Palmer both have a 3% sales tax, but Wasilla's will go back to 2% once the library is paid for. The rest of the borough outside of these cities' limits has no sales tax.
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Old 10-02-2014, 11:14 PM
 
4,715 posts, read 10,465,102 times
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Thanks for the clarification AKStafford...

I have heard from people that they think Wasilla will figure out a way to keep the 3% around... But of course that is just speculation.
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Old 10-03-2014, 12:20 AM
 
96 posts, read 255,920 times
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AKStafford has a good point, asking what the cost of living is like in Alaska is like what is the weather like in the lower 48....
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Old 10-03-2014, 09:19 AM
 
Location: NP AK/SF NM
681 posts, read 1,197,501 times
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Fairbanks has no sales tax. North Pole has 4%.
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