How realistic is a move to Alaska right now? (Anchorage: how much, buying)

[losttechnician]

There is a possibility of a job in the Anchorage area for me.

I am not shopping for a place to live in this post, or looking for financial advice, or how soon can I get an in-state fishing license. My google-fu is not great, but I can stumble around for that kind of stuff if the opportunity gets that far, and if it actually does, I will drop back in here with those kind of questions then.

I am not broke, fairly comfortable even, with the possibility of a job that is cool to me. The fact that it is in Alaska is just an added bonus.

What I am looking for is the logistical tale of how a move could physically happen.

I can ship my "stuff" up there, what little I really want to keep. I can even wait a few months for it to arrive.

I can easily live on a car load of stuff for a while, while picking up some new (to me) sticks of furniture etc.

Cars though... I know cars are in short supply up there, they are here too, but I can buy an appropriate car somewhere down here likely easier than I can up there. I don't believe my current car is appropriate for daily driving up there. The ferry can't get one there until late September according to their website yesterday, and I would assume that 3 month lead time may hold through the remainder of the season.

So driving it would probably be. Can an American realistically expect to drive a car moving to Alaska, and pass through Canada, in the current covid crisis?

[Sockeye66]

There was some loosening of restrictions just announced today but still tight.

Leisure travel is still a no but if you have an AK residence you should be able to. Just don't wander off the path and sight-see.

[jdhpa]

Originally Posted by losttechnician

There is a possibility of a job in the Anchorage area for me.

I am not shopping for a place to live in this post, or looking for financial advice, or how soon can I get an in-state fishing license. My google-fu is not great, but I can stumble around for that kind of stuff if the opportunity gets that far, and if it actually does, I will drop back in here with those kind of questions then.

I am not broke, fairly comfortable even, with the possibility of a job that is cool to me. The fact that it is in Alaska is just an added bonus.

What I am looking for is the logistical tale of how a move could physically happen.

I can ship my "stuff" up there, what little I really want to keep. I can even wait a few months for it to arrive.

I can easily live on a car load of stuff for a while, while picking up some new (to me) sticks of furniture etc.

Cars though... I know cars are in short supply up there, they are here too, but I can buy an appropriate car somewhere down here likely easier than I can up there. I don't believe my current car is appropriate for daily driving up there. The ferry can't get one there until late September according to their website yesterday, and I would assume that 3 month lead time may hold through the remainder of the season.

So driving it would probably be. Can an American realistically expect to drive a car moving to Alaska, and pass through Canada, in the current covid crisis?

Recent thread on this:

https://www.city-data.com/forum/alas...uarantine.html


Good luck on your job / move.

[OurNextAdventure]

I moved back to Alaska first of March this year. Sold some stuff, brought most of it. Total cost to get here is gonna depend on how much stuff you have. I spent around 16k to get here. Would have been a bit cheaper had I rented a U haul and moved myself, but I didn't want to do that again.

Coming through Canada took half a day. But I had crossed all my T's and dotted all my i's and made it through Coutts.

[losttechnician]

Thanks to all for the replies, especially the thread link from jdhpa. I had read that thread back then, but forgotten about the travel link in the thread.

Normal times would be an easy call, fly up, ship the small amount of keeper stuff, and buy transportation up there. This is hardly normal times with the car drought.

I will continue on with the job process and find more answers in the near future.

Thank you again for all the help!

[EllieKay56]

I follow a Facebook board on people wanting to move to Alaska. It sounds like at the border if you have a letter with a job offer and confirmation of a place to live there are no real issues.

[Arktikos]

Originally Posted by losttechnician

..
Cars though... I know cars are in short supply up there, they are here too, but I can buy an appropriate car somewhere down here likely easier than I can up there...

Sure, you'd have a better choice down there. It's not like there are no new or used cars to be had in Alaska though. Since you have minimal possessions, I suggest to fly up and buy a vehicle here.

[Northrick]

You can also drive to Seattle and have your car shipped to Anchorage by boat. Fly up and then pick it up when it gets here.

[AKStafford]

You can drive to Seattle & ship your car from there: https://www.totemaritime.com/alaska/...les-rvs-boats/

[riceme]

Originally Posted by Arktikos

Sure, you'd have a better choice down there. It's not like there are no new or used cars to be had in Alaska though. Since you have minimal possessions, I suggest to fly up and buy a vehicle here.

Not too sure about Anchorage, but there is a shortage of vehicles to purchase in Fairbanks.

My cousin ordered a new Subaru and waited about six weeks for it to deliver. It wasn't anything special, there were just none here to buy. There was just an article in the News Miner in the past couple of days about how Affordable usually has >500 used cars on the lot and right now they have <200 and they're doing everything they can to find more inventory.

Even if it was a normal year I would suggest buying a vehicle in the states to bring up. I am a little persnickity about my vehicles (meaning that mostly I just don't want to buy some slope truck that's been beat to hell) and it took me two years to find my current pickup.