Anchorage - Growing? Stagnant? or Shrinking? (Fairbanks, Kodiak: how much, house, to live in)

[sodabiscuit12345]

Hello everyone

I first visited AK in 2008 and I immediately loved it.
I visited again in 2010 and re-confirmed how much I love it.

I spent several weeks in Anchorage/Wasilla working and I met several people who had just recently moved to Alaska.

Initially I thought: "wow! A lot of people are moving here!"

I then wondered if that is really the case.

For those of you who live in AK, what do you expect will happen in Anchorage (in terms of growth) in the next 7 to 10 years?
Ive looked at stats but sometimes its a lot more telling to hear from people who actually LIVE there.

thanks in advance.

[alaskabushrat]

Originally Posted by sodabiscuit12345

Hello everyone

I first visited AK in 2008 and I immediately loved it.
I visited again in 2010 and re-confirmed how much I love it.

I spent several weeks in Anchorage/Wasilla working and I met several people who had just recently moved to Alaska.

Initially I thought: "wow! A lot of people are moving here!"

I then wondered if that is really the case.

For those of you who live in AK, what do you expect will happen in Anchorage (in terms of growth) in the next 7 to 10 years?
Ive looked at stats but sometimes its a lot more telling to hear from people who actually LIVE there.

thanks in advance.

No offense but, I for one would like to see it shrink. Seems to me that the majority of the people are here for the $$$$$. MHO, I remember as a kid, my dad talking to his freiends and said, " if Alaska becomes a state,it will go right down the toilet" I think he meant outhouse, that's all we had.

[sodabiscuit12345]

Originally Posted by alaskabushrat

No offense but, I for one would like to see it shrink. Seems to me that the majority of the people are here for the $$$$$. MHO, I remember as a kid, my dad talking to his freiends and said, " if Alaska becomes a state,it will go right down the toilet" I think he meant outhouse, that's all we had.

Im not offended by your opinion. Thats ok with me.

Im guessing though by your reaction that you are expecting it to grow?

And when you say 'people are here for the $$$$$' - Isnt it fairly expensive to live in Anchorage when comparing to similar sized cities?

[roadfamily6now]

I think it's growing. We have a lot of people moving into the city from the villages and since Alaska was one of the few states that was not terribly effected by the recession, people are moving here for jobs.

[alaskabushrat]

If it wasn't for the oil and the mining, you would not see this many people here and it wouldn't be so populated. Right now, I just hope Pebble goes away.

[sodabiscuit12345]

Thanks roadfamily.

Originally Posted by alaskabushrat

If it wasn't for the oil and the mining, you would not see this many people here and it wouldn't be so populated. Right now, I just hope Pebble goes away.

Im sorry if I am very clueless about these things, but do people working for oil+mining live in Anchorage? I would think it would grow the more remote areas and not Anchorage so much.

[roadfamily6now]

Anchorage seems to be homebase for most people. The mines are usually located far from a town. Take the Pogo Mine up by Delta Junction. It's about 60 miles by air from Delta. Most workers there commute to Fairbanks then catch a flight to the mine. They stay at the mine for 3 weeks on/ 1 week off. I have a lot of friends that have husbands that work on the slope (oil). Prudoe Bay is no place to raise a family. Besides when you are making the kind of money you make on the slope, you can have one heck of a nice house here in Anchorage. I think they have a 2 weeks on/ 2 weeks off schedule.

[sodabiscuit12345]

Originally Posted by roadfamily6now

Anchorage seems to be homebase for most people. The mines are usually located far from a town. Take the Pogo Mine up by Delta Junction. It's about 60 miles by air from Delta. Most workers there commute to Fairbanks then catch a flight to the mine. They stay at the mine for 3 weeks on/ 1 week off. I have a lot of friends that have husbands that work on the slope (oil). Prudoe Bay is no place to raise a family. Besides when you are making the kind of money you make on the slope, you can have one heck of a nice house here in Anchorage. I think they have a 2 weeks on/ 2 weeks off schedule.

Yeah I actually met 2 guys in Kodiak who had similar schedules.

One was originally from Michigan the other was from Fairbanks I believe.

The guy from Michigan did not give me the impression he would stay after his contract was up.

This is what I am wondering about. It seems like with the military, the oil, the mining there is a lot of transient people in/around Anchorage.

Im just curious if this will last.

[Marty Van Diest]

I think it's still growing. Lots of info here:

Current Population Estimates

[roadfamily6now]

Originally Posted by sodabiscuit12345

Yeah I actually met 2 guys in Kodiak who had similar schedules.

One was originally from Michigan the other was from Fairbanks I believe.

The guy from Michigan did not give me the impression he would stay after his contract was up.

This is what I am wondering about. It seems like with the military, the oil, the mining there is a lot of transient people in/around Anchorage.

Im just curious if this will last.

At the rate this state is going with the gas and oil, no, it wont last.