New York to Alaska Advice (Anchorage, Palmer: house, unemployed, university)

[SuperNova12]

Hello, I am a New York State IT Specialist considering relocating to Palmeror nearby areas in Alaska. My biggest concern is the reservation of state jobsfor Alaskan residents, which I understand. However, I do not want to relocateto Alaska and wind up unemployed and having a house to pay for. Does anyonehave tips on acquiring jobs (specifically Information Technology) in that areaof Alaska from long distance? In addition, I would appreciate the best way totravel from NY to Alaska, if I did not want to fly. I have 8 weeks of vacationso I do not have to rush there. This is just the tip of the iceberg ofquestions I have, but I know people are busy so I keep them to two. Thank youin advance

[AKStafford]

To get here: sell as much as you can, stuff the rest in a U-Haul and drive up.
Since you have some vacation time, maybe use some of that to fly up and look things over before pulling the trigger.
State jobs: we are facing a massive budget shortfall in the state government. They are going to have to cut A LOT of state employees in the next few years. You'll probably need to be looking at private sector jobs.

[SuperNova12]

Thank you AKStafford, that's not want I wanted to hear about state jobs. I hope the private sector IT positions pay well. I do not want to relocate that far only to become a homeless person.

[mizzile]

I'm not the only one who will tell you to make darn sure you have a job lined up before you move here.

[SuperNova12]

Thank you for the advice, a Realtor from Alaska has provided me with an IT company contact that I am calling today. One thing I have noticed just from the phone conversations/blog messages from people living in Alaska is the willingness to provide helpful information to people considering moving there-I cannot ask for more than that (well...perhaps cold and snowy winters).

[Dakster]

I will third the visit first idea, selling everything coming up in a Uhaul advice, and the having a job lined up. Not all jobs require Alaska residency. My wife found one that wasn't. Come up with a plan on seeing those IT places. I still see some IT jobs posted, not sure what your skillset is in IT though?

It is true that ALL areas are going to be slimming down because of the price of oil and potential military reductions. Alaska is heavily subsidized by oil and when the price tanked from around $110+ a barrel to under $50 a barrel in a matter of months it really hurt the state. It has also started to affect the oil companies - which means fewer jobs and people coming here spending money at local businesses. This leads to even private companies here not involved in oil or state contracts to start holding back too. Military downsizing means that for each service member you have an average of 3 people leaving. (The service member, their spouse, and children). Kind of a tri-fecta of downsizing. The good news is that this is also a heavy tourist destination and that helps off set some of the above.

These are just the observations of someone that moved up last summer. Not looking forward to a couple of years at $50/barrel or lower oil. There will be some really painful choices for the state legislature to make.

[SuperNova12]

Dakster, you information is very insightful and helpful as all comments have been-thank you everyone. This may seem trivial to some, but I am also concerned about the lack of snow in Alaska for the past 3 years. I am a snow nut and feel there is no better outdoor scenery than Alaska’s snow covered mountains. I already live in an area of New York State that gets as cold as heck, but fails to get most snow events (it is like pancakes without syrup). Is the lack of snow short term or an ongoing, worsening situation? I am not expecting anyone to have an answer, but I am a snow hound and need lots of snow.

[BusyMeAK]

Look for the University of Alaska jobs first. They are constantly in need of somebody from IT. If you have a real property, don't sell it until a year or better two after moving. To me, the lifestyle difference between a bid city and Alaska is almost unbearable. Look closer into yourself - what are your reasons to move here?

[Music_Man]

Originally Posted by SuperNova12

Dakster, you information is very insightful and helpful as all comments have been-thank you everyone. This may seem trivial to some, but I am also concerned about the lack of snow in Alaska for the past 3 years. I am a snow nut and feel there is no better outdoor scenery than Alaska’s snow covered mountains. I already live in an area of New York State that gets as cold as heck, but fails to get most snow events (it is like pancakes without syrup). Is the lack of snow short term or an ongoing, worsening situation? I am not expecting anyone to have an answer, but I am a snow hound and need lots of snow.

All of the mountains have lots of snow it is just the lowlands that are lacking. You might have to drive a little farther to get to good snow but it is there. Alyeska resort only delayed their opening a couple of weeks this year, as long as it is below freezing they can make snow to supplement the low snow. There seemed to be enough snow for xc skiing at Kincaid park this winter. If the jetstream moves back, all will be good next year here and the lower 48 will enjoy a warmer winter.

[heathen]

Yeah, it's really just the last two winters that have seemed really strange. It's worth bearing in mind that Anchorage broke it's all time annual snow record only what, three years ago? Long term however, it is likely that the low snow conditions in southcentral will become more common, since major snow events have always tended to occur when temperatures are just below freezing. So a few degrees rise in average winter temperature means far more cold winter rain, rather than snow.

This is one reason I'm happy to be living in the interior, where snowfalls usually occur at temperatures well below freezing. This year for example, we've had snow on the ground since early October and it's at a normal depth, despite having a winter that's been warmer than normal (hard to say at the moment -- it was 35 below this morning).