Contemplating the move: Family of 5 from NY Metro area (Anchorage: sales, apartments)

[elissabee]

Hello everyone,

I've been reading this forum with interest for the last day or two. My husband just had a first interview (by phone) for an IT job in Anchorage. It went well and while he hasn't received an offer, I am researching what it would be like to move our family of 5 plus a dog and cat to Anchorage from the NY Metro area (we are in Northern NJ, also one of the most expensive places in the US). If you nice folks could confirm or deny what I've gleaned from this site so far, I'd be most grateful.

Housing. From what I can gather, housing prices in the Anchorage area is somewhat comparable to New Jersey (=expensive). We would be selling our house here but not walking away with very much, maybe $50K tops. We won't be buying a house, more likely renting a home for a while and if we like it up there maybe buying a place after a few years. Hubby's last salary here was low six figures and the hope is that in the new position it would be in the high 80s-90s. I am employable as well, I worked in advertising and have marketable job skills. So, I suspect we have a combined earning potential of up to $125K. Do rentals exist in the better school neighborhoods for a family of our size and in our socioeconomic range?

Schools. We have three elementary school-age kids. We are used to high quality public schools here in NJ and that factor is very important to us. Am I right in thinking the most comparable schools in Anc are in Eagle River and south Anchorage? Looking at the google map I see what appears to be very pretty green suburbs at the lower right corner of the "inhabited" part of the region. Is that South Anchorage or is there another name for that area? What are the names of the very best schools? I've seen the names Birchwood ABC, Ravenwood, and Eagle River mentioned as getting high marks. Is this correct? What about middle schools and high schools?

Weather. We are used to snow and cold here in NJ, I suspect that won't be too much of an issue for us, just a bit colder and snowier for a longer period. And I know because I've been to Anchorage that the summers make it worthwhile. But the darkness thing is a concern. Is there ANY daylight in the dead of winter? And how long does the dark period last? What do people with young kids do during that time of year to keep everyone from going stir crazy?

Food. I know the cost of food is high in Alaska. I assume this means all supermarket items including packaged goods, produce and meats. Is this correct? Are there farmers markets? CSAs? If so how do those prices compare? I've also read that the seafood in Alaska can't be beat. Can the same be said of the prices for seafood? Can I assume that the price for fresh fish and shellfish is cheaper in Alaska than it is here? On the same token, how do seafood prices up there compare to prices for meat and poultry in Alaska? Could we switch to an all-fish diet and even things out?

Recreation. We are an outdoorsy family, love camping, biking, hiking, and skiing although skiing is too expensive for us to enjoy regularly here with the children. Is it true that skiing is still relatively affordable up in Alaska? Here if we wanted to go skiing for a day with the family we would spend upwards of $250 for lift tickets and rentals for the kids, plus gas, and then even more for an overnight trip. Needless to say, we've never done it. From the Alyeska website, it appears the prices are similar to Vermont. But are there other places? When is the high season for skiing in the Anchorage region? Is it all winter? Even in the dark months?

Lifestyle. Our family is Christian but completely non-religious. We are also pro-choice, tolerant of alternative lifestyles, etc. Not that we'd be out there wearing rainbows and waving peace signs, but socially we are rather liberal without being obnoxious about it. We are, however, fiscally conservative in general. How well will our views be received in a place like Anchorage? I realize that Alaska is a conservative state but are people generally considerate of differing opinions? I don't ask this to start a debate and I hope to get some constructive, honest answers to this part of my question.

Anyway, sorry this got so long. In addition to the above, if anyone has any general advice for a family of what you'd probably call New Yorkers (though we live in the suburbs, New York is our city and we do love it), I'd appreciate it. I'm totally excited by the prospect of making this move, it's the kind of thing that only comes along once in a lifetime and even if we don't stay forever, I think it would be a great experience.

[elissabee]

Ok, I guess I've got my work cut out for me, then!

[RogueMom]

Give it a little time. If you posted yesterday (Friday) in the morning at 9:37 a.m., remember that a lot of people who come on this forum were out working at that time.

I find that I get a lot of responses to my inquiries over the weekends. That is when a lot of people have more time to read the threads, gather information, and hopefully respond with helpful info.

Good luck!

[elissabee]

Originally Posted by montanamom

Give it a little time. If you posted yesterday (Friday) in the morning at 9:37 a.m., remember that a lot of people who come on this forum were out working at that time.

I find that I get a lot of responses to my inquiries over the weekends. That is when a lot of people have more time to read the threads, gather information, and hopefully respond with helpful info.

Good luck!

Thank you! I think my first lesson should I move to Alaska will be to slow down.

[Metlakatla]

No, you cannot assume that the price of seafood is cheaper in Alaska. Yes, there is daylight even in the dead of winter in Anchorage.

You might find the search feature to be helpful here. A lot of the questions you've asked have been discussed.

[Iakovos Bond]

Elissabee, we are making similar moves - we are moving up to S. Anchorage in August. You will find these forums useful by doing keyword searches. I have personally found this particular forum to be a little elitist. While many of the posters are helpful and kind, there is definitely an Elitist Alaskan (is that an oxymoron - it should be) attitude from some - especially if you are moving to Anchorage, which they do not consider to even be Alaska.

Thankfully, there are some helpful persons who post regularly on this forum, and they make it worthwhile. But there are overall much fewer posters because of the smaller population, so it will take longer to get your specific questions answered. As someone suggested above, I would do some searches and see what kind of information you can glean from that.

Good luck!

[AKStafford]

I'll take a shot at answering some of your questions...

First, have you considered living in Eagle River & the Valley (Palmer or Wasilla) and the husband commuting to Anchorage? It's about an hour drive and there's quite a few who do it. You can usually get a little more house for a little less money and some people feel the school system is better.

Recreation: Outdoors is what Alaska is all about! There's countless hiking & biking trails and places to camp. I don't ski, but I do know in addition to Alyeska there's the Hilltop Ski area right in Anchorage. From what I understand it's cheaper. For more info on recreation stuff, you might visit the TripAdvisor forums: Alaska Forum, Travel Discussion for Alaska - TripAdvisor

Food costs: Yes we are more expensive than some parts of the country. My parents live in Portland and I say we are about 10% to 15% more expensive. And we don't get some of the killer sales they do. But we have a variety of shopping options, including Safeway, Costco, Sam's Club, Walmart, & Fred Meyer. There's some farmer markets, but those products wind up being more expensive than the grocery stores (it seems...). But there's 700,000 of us living in Alaska. Somehow we've figured out how to survive...

Lifestyle: I don't think Alaska is any more or less different than anywhere else. Some people are jerks, some aren't. Anchorage is a very diverse community. In the Anchorage school system there are almost ninety different languages other than english spoken as the first language by the students. So you have people from all over the world that have settled here.

On the winter solstice South Central Alaska has about 4 hours of the sun being up. So yes, a good chunk of the day is dark. But the snow on the ground reflects what light there is, so it's not so bad. If you want to sit in the house & be depressed, you can. But most of us get out and ski, or hike or join a gym or get involved in community groups and do just fine. And the upside is summer. At the summer solstice with 21 hours of daylight. So it evens out.

Again, there's 700,000 of us living in Alaska. Sure some hate it and whine about it at every opportunity. But most of us love it and take advantage of living in the most beautiful place in the world.

[Chilkoot]

Originally Posted by elissabee

Food. I know the cost of food is high in Alaska. I assume this means all supermarket items including packaged goods, produce and meats. Is this correct? Are there farmers markets? CSAs? If so how do those prices compare? I've also read that the seafood in Alaska can't be beat. Can the same be said of the prices for seafood? Can I assume that the price for fresh fish and shellfish is cheaper in Alaska than it is here? On the same token, how do seafood prices up there compare to prices for meat and poultry in Alaska? Could we switch to an all-fish diet and even things out?

Although these photos are a couple years old now it will give you some idea of prices. They have gone up a tad due to fuel prices.
https://picasaweb.google.com/AlaskaT...eGroceryPrices

There are some savings to be had on seafood in season although most of the mainline grocery stores get their seafood through Seattle, even though some of it originated in Alaska.

[bongo]

Yes- there are rental houses & apartments in the better school neighborhoods.

Ravenwood is an excellent school. So is Birchwood ABC, although it is a more traditional educational format. Rabbit Creek, Bear Valley, etc. all good schools.


5 1/2 hrs of light on a clear day in the dead of winter. I'm a teacher & my students ice skate, sled, ski during recess & PE. They bundle up in snow pants, boots, heavy jacket, hats & gloves and go out to play down to 10F below zero. They make snow forts, throw snow balls & make giant snowmen.


We learned to salmon fish & fill our freezer for the whole winter. There are lots of little farmers markets in the summer. In the winter one could pay $2 for a red pepper at Carrs or Fred Meyers, less in a 6 pack from Costco. We all shop in bulk at Costco or Sams.


We have a volunteer-run ski area, Arctic Valley Ski Area, where volunteers can ski for free for working. It's only open on weekends and is just minutes north of Anchorage. My husband skis/volunteers there every weekend. We back country ski all over too. Alyeska down south in Girdwood has an excellent ski mountain with views to die for. We also have learned to skate ski. There are groomed, wooded ski trails for skate skiing that traverse the entire city. They also cut track for track skiing. In the summer those trails become bike trails (although winter biking with fat tires has become very popular). We ice skate on groomed, hot-mopped Westchester Lagoon with an awesome view. We backpack & hike all over the Chugach which is Anchorage bowl's backyard playground- world class trails. Lots of trails up peaks for views. We snowshoe there in the winter.


Alternative lifestyles are very tolerated in Anchorage. We are liberal, pro-choice as are many of our friends. We are tolerant of all views & find most other Alaskans are too.

[bongo]

There is also Hilltop Ski right up on the hillside in Anchorage where the kids all go. There are groomed, lit trails up there for skate & cross-country too. The lit trails are a plus in the winter so folks can ski after work.