Is moving to anchorage a good idea for a young family of five (Metlakatla: neighborhood, calculator)

[roadfamily6now]

The wages seem to be almost the same here as in other places. A normal "unskilled" job offeres between $8 and $11 an hour.
Construction does pay a bit more there then in other states but a lot of the work is seasonal, especially for roofing! As an example, a dry wall/paint worker has not been able to find a job in the past 5 months. The only work he has gotten was a 3 week temp job that was given to him by his Brother In Law. Still no jobs prospects in site for him. (of course how fast you land a job will also depend heavily upon your willingness to actually go out and get one)

Based on the information you provided, I'd say that Anchorage is not the place for you to move to at this time. Is there somewhere closer that also appeals to you?

[roadfamily6now]

Originally Posted by AKStafford

If things don't work out, it can be expensive to get back out of here.
Good luck in whatever you do.

We cannot emphasize this enough. What happens if you cannot find a job, or make enough money to support your family? Do you have a back up plan? If you have no/little money you can get on assistance but they do not allow you to build up any kind of savings so it's very hard to get off assistance once you are on it. Low income housing has a 6 - 18 month wait list, depending on your area of need.

While Anchorage as a whole is a great city for most people it's not the right city for everyone.

[LittleJazzyP]

Originally Posted by Mckenna5

My work expierence is from being in management in a convience store my last hourly wage was $13 an hour and my husband is a skilled roofer pay was based on the job I would put our combined income to be about $30,000

With three kids? Don't do it. I make that slightly more than that, and it's not easy, even as a single person with no dependents. I am also trying to pay off some debts I racked up when I was unable to work (caring for elderly parents), but still, that is NOT enough money up here for a family of 5. And don't count on getting income-based housing; there's a waiting list of people who are already here.

[Frostnip]

Families that live decently on that amount of money up here are the kind of people who can basically build, fix, grow and scavenge anything and everything themselves, and who have good family and friends support networks. Even then it's rough to be without a safety net for emergencies.

There are much easier places to live, with more jobs, lower cost of living, and more public resources.

[LittleJazzyP]

Originally Posted by gobrien

I made way more than 30K per year and had a very hard time surviving. The cheapest rent you probably would find would probably be 800-850 per month for a 2 bedroom. I don't know what daycare is but even if you got daycare assistance you'd have to pay 15% of your income. Low income apartments have very long waiting lists. I really do not recommend moving to Anchorage. Hourly rate of pay for entry level jobs don't even come close to paying the bills.

$800-850 would be very cheap, indeed, for a two-bedroom these days. I've been apartment hunting, and that's more in line with what you pay for a one-bedroom, or even a studio, if it's a posh building.

I've been reading about this a bit. The cost of homes has gone down, but rents have gone up as more and more people are trying to downsize. Fewer vacancies, too.

[Dreams2Plans]

Originally Posted by Mckenna5

My work expierence is from being in management in a convience store my last hourly wage was $13 an hour and my husband is a skilled roofer pay was based on the job I would put our combined income to be about $30,000

It is not a lot of money, however, I do want to tell you a few things the others might not know:
- you should be able to get either Medicaid for you all or (more likely) Denali KidCare free insurance for kids;
- You do appear to be eligible for Foodstamps (up to $946/mo worth for a family of 5);
- Free lunch & breakfast program for kids at school - your older ones might benefit soon. Otherwise, the cost of lunch is prety high ($3.40)
- I am pretty sure there should be some daycare assistance available but I do not know about that one as of now;
- There is also housing assistance with Alaska Housing (not sure how easy/difficult to get and how long of a wait time - you may give them a call 330-6100). P.S.: looks like they have stopped accepting applications for vouchers but separate public housing prog may still work
- Alaska Housing also offers 1% interest reduction rate for low-income first-time homebuyers here;
- PFDs for you all might be a nice addition to budget ($1174 this year x 5 = $5870) but it also has to be counted in for your income for any social programs and will take up to 1.5-2 years to get the first ones.

- And Heating Assistance offers a once-a-year check to your heating company as a partial reimbursement for the heating costs.
I will add if I remember anything else.

Anyway, all of the above is good to know if, for some reasons, you HAVE to be here. Otherwise, you might want to consider some of the cheaper states which also have similar wages (TX, OK, GA, etc.) Or, make sure at least one of you secures a job before moving here

[Dreams2Plans]

Here is a cost of living comparison calculator (for around the country): Cost of Living comparison calculator

And a GREAT map for the wage one needs to earn in order to afford rent for average two-bedroom apartment (around the country): http://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/oor/2012-OOR-Housing-Wage-Map_0.pdf (broken link) and some other interesting maps: Out of Reach 2012: National Low Income Housing Coalition

[gobrien]

Originally Posted by HappyNewMe

It is not a lot of money, however, I do want to tell you a few things the others might not know:
- you should be able to get either Medicaid for you all or (more likely) Denali KidCare free insurance for kids;
- You do appear to be eligible for Foodstamps (up to $946/mo worth for a family of 5);
- Free lunch & breakfast program for kids at school - your older ones might benefit soon. Otherwise, the cost of lunch is prety high ($3.40)
- I am pretty sure there should be some daycare assistance available but I do not know about that one as of now;
- There is also housing assistance with Alaska Housing (not sure how easy/difficult to get and how long of a wait time - you may give them a call 330-6100). P.S.: looks like they have stopped accepting applications for vouchers but separate public housing prog may still work
- Alaska Housing also offers 1% interest reduction rate for low-income first-time homebuyers here;
- PFDs for you all might be a nice addition to budget ($1174 this year x 5 = $5870) but it also has to be counted in for your income for any social programs and will take up to 1.5-2 years to get the first ones.

- And Heating Assistance offers a once-a-year check to your heating company as a partial reimbursement for the heating costs.
I will add if I remember anything else.

Anyway, all of the above is good to know if, for some reasons, you HAVE to be here. Otherwise, you might want to consider some of the cheaper states which also have similar wages (TX, OK, GA, etc.) Or, make sure at least one of you secures a job before moving here

These program budgets are being slashed and housing assistance takes years to get. Daycare assistance still makes you pay a fairly high percentage of your income. They will earn too much money to get medicaid for themselves but the kids will probably qualify. The city is literally full of people who need help though, and there is not enough funding to help everybody. Anchorage can be a really unpleasant place to be struggling. There are states with a good job market out there with a much lower cost of living. Where do you live currently?

[roadfamily6now]

We are a family of 6 (only 1 more then the OP) and my DH makes $65K a year. We are struggling. We have had to take a 35% pay-cut in the past 4 years JUST to keep a job! The Construction business is not secure or stable. It's currently running over max capacity with TOO MANY contractors and not enough work to go around. Companies are low balling the competition just to have work for their employees. Not very many companies are making much of profit at this time. They are all just trying to keep their head above water.

i don't encourage anyone to move into a high cost of living community at this time. In fact we are moving out in hopes of finding a lower-cost of living somewhere warmer!

[LittleJazzyP]

Originally Posted by HappyNewMe

It is not a lot of money, however, I do want to tell you a few things the others might not know:
- you should be able to get either Medicaid for you all or (more likely) Denali KidCare free insurance for kids;
- You do appear to be eligible for Foodstamps (up to $946/mo worth for a family of 5);
- Free lunch & breakfast program for kids at school - your older ones might benefit soon. Otherwise, the cost of lunch is prety high ($3.40)
- I am pretty sure there should be some daycare assistance available but I do not know about that one as of now;
- There is also housing assistance with Alaska Housing (not sure how easy/difficult to get and how long of a wait time - you may give them a call 330-6100). P.S.: looks like they have stopped accepting applications for vouchers but separate public housing prog may still work
- Alaska Housing also offers 1% interest reduction rate for low-income first-time homebuyers here;
- PFDs for you all might be a nice addition to budget ($1174 this year x 5 = $5870) but it also has to be counted in for your income for any social programs and will take up to 1.5-2 years to get the first ones.

- And Heating Assistance offers a once-a-year check to your heating company as a partial reimbursement for the heating costs.
I will add if I remember anything else.

Anyway, all of the above is good to know if, for some reasons, you HAVE to be here. Otherwise, you might want to consider some of the cheaper states which also have similar wages (TX, OK, GA, etc.) Or, make sure at least one of you secures a job before moving here

Chances are they already qualify for these programs, or very similar ones, in their current location, with the exception, of course, of the PFD.

I admire your diligence in gathering these details, but I would still not suggest that anyone move to Alaska because the entitlement programs are better. They are not. And heating assistance, really? One month out of the year? I know someone personally who has applied for it, and I guess it helped for that month, but what about the others that require heat?

This is not a good place to be poor, or even close to poor. I can't say it any more plainly than that.