Senior Housing and LIfe in Homer (Anchorage, Ketchikan: apartments, for rent, houses)

[Arktikos]

Originally Posted by Frostnip

Homer is a chill town but IMO the vibe is much more "lazy fisherman" than "crunchy hippy.".

I think she's fishing for a friendly Homerite (Homerian?) to hook her up. A local connection is essential for this scheme to work.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by Frostnip

OP, I know you're retired, but I'm not sure HOW retired. If you're wanting to do the Alaska thing there's a lot of summer work here that includes room and board, and I imagine at least some of the employers would be happy to get an applicant who wasn't yet another dumb kid. Might be able to sock away some extra money summers, then snowbird somewhere cheaper on that and your SS income. Not sure how realistic that is for you, but just a thought.

Good idea. There's actually a section on CoolWorks specifically for retired people who want to work seasonally.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by boulder2015

I hear ya and honestly i think people are being MUCH nicer to her than if it was someone younger with such a bad idea. Also nobody wants to see this turn into a "help! I moved to homer and now im stuck here" thread. Also, note this womans poor prioritization of wanting something nice and scenic as opposed to SURVIVABLE. Hon, you cant afford scenic or cool or hip. Maybe look into someplace like berea kentucky? Cheap lots of hippies.

I don't think you got what I meant. The comments about coca leaves and her little poodle were mean spirited and had nothing to do with potentially becoming homeless in Homer. They were just superfluous snark that doesn't sit well when directed at a senior lady. We need to save that sort of thing for the Into the Wild wannabes.

[War Beagle]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

I don't think you got what I meant. The comments about coca leaves and her little poodle were mean spirited and had nothing to do with potentially becoming homeless in Homer. They were just superfluous snark that doesn't sit well when directed at a senior lady. We need to save that sort of thing for the Into the Wild wannabes.

Oh spare us.

My original post was probably going to get modded. I'll just say that Met chastising us for being mean is a wee bit hypocritical.

[Aery11]

Metlakatla - I am a senior lady too. I didn't mean to be 'mean' when I asked about the coca leaves (that was more of a joke than anything) - but she did indicate that she is probably in a place where those are used a lot and also that she is looking for a place where there was what sounded like a 'hippie' type of culture.


Additionally, it only took me one fast search to find out that Whole Foods has NO stores in Alaska at all and I would doubt they would locate a store in a town of 5k people (also very easy and fast to find out), as I said at the very end of the road in the most harshly cold state in the nation - even if there is a bit of a coastal influence there. Just doesn't make any kind of logical business sense for a large corporation - and most connected with the real world should be able to sense that.


Informed questions are fine - but, she could have done 'some' research before making herself look incredibly lazy. Apparently she can read and has some sort of internet access otherwise how did she post here. If she had done any research, I wonder where she got the idea that Whole Foods might be in Homer. It just doesn't quite make sense to me - but, again, I didn't intend to be cruel at all. My post still stands though as far as saying - as everyone else has - that Homer is probably NOT an ideal choice for relocation for her.


All she had to do was ask more general questions about what life is like in Homer and she would not have gotten any flippant remarks I am sure. She could even have built up to the desire for a 'dope friendly' culture or avoided that completely - and still gotten the information she may need to make a decision if she should investigate further. She chose not to do that .. she chose to let us have it all at once. Her choice, for whatever her reasons are - but it was very strange in my mind. Sorry.


I can hear that she is scared and lost where she is. We all make mistakes and I know from bitter experience that if you make those late in life they are often much more difficult to fix/recover from. Believe me .. I have compassion .. have been there, done that .. but is going to Alaska her real issue? Is this the right forum for her to start in? Maybe she needs more advice about how to fix whatever is her problem - which may include moving but I am not sure yet that that is the best way to address whatever is going on. If you make more mistakes by moving to a place that seems very extreme .. will one ever really fix what the core issue is? I would rather discourage her in any way .. slow her down a bit .. than see her take off on a suicide mission (and no I don't mean she would commit suicide but on a -40F winter's day in an expensive dive rental unit with little food in the house and no real 'friends' she may feel like it). Something else is going on here.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by War Beagle

Oh spare us.

My original post was probably going to get modded. I'll just say that Met chastising us for being mean is a wee bit hypocritical.

Me chastising you for being mean in general would be hypocritical. After all, lots of posters in this forum rather warrant a harsh reality check, especially the know-it-alls who want to come up and "live off the land." But being mean to little old ladies is just bad form, especially when little dogs are involved.

[boulder2015]

Yeah being mean to old people is not my bag. But this reeks of years of "hippie dreaming" and "live what you feel" coming home to roost. Terrible idea to chase the "AK dream" at an advanced age and no money....

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by Aery11

All she had to do was ask more general questions about what life is like in Homer and she would not have gotten any flippant remarks I am sure. She could even have built up to the desire for a 'dope friendly' culture or avoided that completely - and still gotten the information she may need to make a decision if she should investigate further. She chose not to do that .. she chose to let us have it all at once. Her choice, for whatever her reasons are - but it was very strange in my mind. Sorry.

I agree that Homer is far from an ideal location for her and don't recall telling her anything differently. I'm guessing she got the impression of Homer as an alternative paradise from other Third World ex pats. It has that sort of general reputation. Could be that internet access is pretty limited in her part of the Third World so she put all her questions in one post instead of cultivating an ongoing dialogue.

and no I don't mean she would commit suicide but on a -40F winter's day in an expensive dive rental unit with little food in the house and no real 'friends' she may feel like it

It only took one fast search to find out that -40 has never happened in Homer.

I think she was just here asking questions and wasn't about to hop on a jet for Homer. Like someone said earlier, she was probably seeking a personal connection as in someone who rents rooms in their home, which probably isn't going to happen on this forum.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by boulder2015

Yeah being mean to old people is not my bag. But this reeks of years of "hippie dreaming" and "live what you feel" coming home to roost. Terrible idea to chase the "AK dream" at an advanced age and no money....

I think that all this person knows about Homer is the hype, which in my opinion, is pretty intense. When I travel, people ask about Homer all the time, even though I'm not from there. People seem to think it's some sort of counterculture haven. At least she came here to ask about it instead of believing the hype. I'm surprised their aren't more of these types of posts here.

OP - you might check out Talent, Oregon, as well.

[Music_Man]

Wasn't Homer a jumping off place for the "Moonies" years back?