Yukon-Kuskokwim Area (Anchorage, Fairbanks, North Pole: live, cost, yard)

[akpls]

The species of mosquito that carries Zika does not live in Alaska.

Zika

[Lmonta60]

Originally Posted by SarisaSMouse

Hello. I am considering relocating to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Area. I will not be bringing children. As housing is at a premium, what steps should a non-Native take to procure a lease?


What does one need to do in order to procure summer employment with a reputable company in the area?


What type of ATV/four wheeler would be best for transportation? Should a boat be invested instead?


How long does Fred Meyer take to mail shipments of goods? As goods are extremely expensive in Alaska, is it cheaper to have someone mail up items from the lower 48 via Priority?


What is the best cell or satellite service?


Are mosquitos an issue in the summer?


What local villages are the best to visit? Which should be avoided?


Most importantly, what steps should a newcomer take to best respect local heritage and not offend those who are already there?


Thank you.

Hi Sarisasmouse,

I just happened on this post a few years late lol! But I wondered if you ever went to bethel ask? Did you use the Fred Meyer shopping online after all? Have you tried Amazon prime for food and any other shopping to be viable? Or have you found others that worked out.....

And cell service....how did that work out for you? I heard Verizon & sprint use GCI’s towers for free roaming. Hoped to use unlimited data on iPhone to stream to Apple TV and avoid paying 300/month for Internet!

Hope it all turned out well for you! If you do see this maybe you could share some shopping tips!
Thank you :-)
Lora

[Haolejohn]

Originally Posted by Lmonta60

Hi Sarisasmouse,

I just happened on this post a few years late lol! But I wondered if you ever went to bethel ask? Did you use the Fred Meyer shopping online after all? Have you tried Amazon prime for food and any other shopping to be viable? Or have you found others that worked out.....

And cell service....how did that work out for you? I heard Verizon & sprint use GCI’s towers for free roaming. Hoped to use unlimited data on iPhone to stream to Apple TV and avoid paying 300/month for Internet!

Hope it all turned out well for you! If you do see this maybe you could share some shopping tips!
Thank you :-)
Lora

Lora those other carriers don’t work in the bush unless they have their own tower.
And, I’m pretty sure there is no such thing as a unlimited data plan in the bush.

[Lmonta60]

Oh boy.... that will be an adjustment. But we do have unlimited data on Verizon phone, so if he can mirror his phone to the tv he might be fine. It’s stated that Verizon uses CGI towers for free roaming. If that’s true ...big IF...then he won’t need anything. Just take his iPhone & Apple TV......if it works I’ll have to let folks know it’s a way to get around the whole internet thing.

[RexLan]

He will be fine if mommy goes with him to help with the transition ... that is what I generally recommend to my patients.

[riceme]

Originally Posted by Haolejohn

Lora those other carriers don’t work in the bush unless they have their own tower.
And, I’m pretty sure there is no such thing as a unlimited data plan in the bush.

lol We don't even have unlimited data in Fairbanks, so I'm sure you're right

[Music_Man]

I have an unlimited plan in Anchorage. Their idea of highspeed is 10mb, not the normal lower 48's 25mb.

[Frostnip]

Lmonta60, I think you're massively underestimating the cost of cell data here and overestimating how fast and reliable it is.

I don't know how GCI is in Bethel but it was hot garbage (slow, unreliable, and expensive) in my neck of the woods (interior road system). AT&T was a big improvement for me but I think GCI is the only provider with towers in the bush.

I suspect even if he gets away with the unlimited data thing they'll throttle the service. There's only so much bandwidth available.

[Haolejohn]

Originally Posted by Lmonta60

Oh boy.... that will be an adjustment. But we do have unlimited data on Verizon phone, so if he can mirror his phone to the tv he might be fine. It’s stated that Verizon uses CGI towers for free roaming. If that’s true ...big IF...then he won’t need anything. Just take his iPhone & Apple TV......if it works I’ll have to let folks know it’s a way to get around the whole internet thing.

It won’t work in bethel. In anchorage yes. Not in bethel. GCI controls their towers. The only time another carrier works in the bush, is when president Obama visits. Trust me.

[Haolejohn]

Originally Posted by riceme

lol We don't even have unlimited data in Fairbanks, so I'm sure you're right

Yep. We were paying $300 for 40 gigs. Then it dropped to $150 for 40 gigs. Streaming anything longer than 5 minutes just didn’t work.