Moving from San Antonio to Anchorage - GO NORTH, TO ALASKA! (Wasilla: rent, home)

[AKStafford]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

You're welcome to it. Nonetheless, I wouldn't raise my child there. You've got your subjective personal experience to go on, and I have mine.

IF it's any of your business, I wouldn't raise on in Ketchikan, POW, or countless small communities in the state of Oregon precisely because of the meth problem those places ALL experience. It's probably impossible to completely get away from it, but some places have more than others.

I don't think that this is a conversation that I'm going to continue because I hardly said that the place is "populated with the scum of the Earth." I also don't appreciate the quasi personal attack, although that's typical of what this place has devolved into.

Have a great 4th.

You're right... I did cross the line and made my response a personal attack against you. And I apologize for that. My bad...

I guess I just get tired of everyone hopping on the "Wasilla is full of meth heads and crack dens" train...

[Dakster]

Met - I do have a question - where is the perfect place to raise kids then?

Or where would you consider raising kids? I have not found a place that doesn't have its own unique challenges.

[Metlakatla]

And I get tired of the propensity on this entire forum to pounce on any perceived wrong octave. I also think that Anchorage has too many drugs and thugs.

To the OP: you don't say whether your business is one that you do at home....but from what I've read, it isn't. If you need to have a separate place for it, my advice is to try to live as close to where you work as possible. One of the reasons why I would never raise a family in Wasilla and work in Anchorage is because a Wasilla/Palmer has a pretty high number of teenagers left unsupervised before/after school due to commuter parents. Even with good kids, bad stuff happens. Your kids might be young right now, but it won't be much longer before they are too old for a sitter but young enough to be highly vulnerable to the bad elements. Since your wife is going to be returning to work, this could mean a substantial period of time after school before a parent gets home.

It sounds like you want to live in a rural environment; there are areas of Anchorage with a very rural feeling that would be closer to where you have your business. Also -- not sure what zoning in like these days in Anchorage, but it might be possible for you to purchase property with a separate building for your business.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by Dakster

Met - I do have a question - where is the perfect place to raise kids then?

Or where would you consider raising kids? I have not found a place that doesn't have its own unique challenges.

In Alaska?


Not sure I said there was a "perfect place," but, in Alaska --

Skagway has the best schools in the state, virtually no crime, and any meth comes and goes with the summer seasonals, and even so, I don't think it's much of a problem even with them; most of them are students from Eastern Europe, others are retired U.S. citizens or college students -- not really the meth type. It's a beautiful location with a strong sense of community.

Petersburg remains one of Alaska's better communities. Talkeetna, Fairbanks, and Homer are all places I'd raise a family. Haines, definitely. Wasilla would be as good a place as most if a strong home life were part of the picture; the whole commuting thing makes that pretty tough unless one parent stays at home, and even then, someone's on the road two hours a day. Wasilla is also growing very quickly; that would bother me as a parent. There isn't any huge draw such as jobs there, so people are moving there trying to "get away" from something. Not good.

In the lower 48? Walla Walla in Washington State, Baker City in Oregon, Silverton, Oregon, Napa, California, Boise, Salt Lake City, American Fork, Utah....

the OP didn't say anything about moving to Wasilla, but he did mention wanting to live outside of Anchorage, and that's pretty much Eagle River and the Valley. Lots of people look at a map and think it's an easy commute, but it's an hour each way under the best conditions. If both parents are working...., well that's the case with a lot of households there. A lot of the homes are fairly secluded, so kids can be up to all sorts of stuff without neighbors or anyone knowing.

[AKStafford]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Petersburg remains one of Alaska's better communities. Talkeetna, Fairbanks, and Homer are all places I'd raise a family. Haines, definitely.

I second the vote for Petersburg. And I lived in Haines in the 5th grade and loved it...

[Dakster]

Met - You didn't say there was a perfect place, I was hoping you had one in mind though.

What about Juneau?

I will be checking out the other communities you mentioned as well.

Anytime, anywhere you leave 'kids' or 'young adults' with idle time alone can lead to disaster. However, I would rather have fewer 'bad' distractions.

AKStafford - How long ago did you live in Haines, 5th grade for you could have been 1972 or last year?

[ysr_racer]

Again, how can you possibly consider moving someplace you've obviously never been to?

[AKStafford]

I was there the '84/'85 school year.
I rolled through town a few years back and it didn't look like anything had changed.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by Dakster

Met - You didn't say there was a perfect place, I was hoping you had one in mind though.

What about Juneau?

I will be checking out the other communities you mentioned as well.

Anytime, anywhere you leave 'kids' or 'young adults' with idle time alone can lead to disaster. However, I would rather have fewer 'bad' distractions.

AKStafford - How long ago did you live in Haines, 5th grade for you could have been 1972 or last year?

I thought you were looking for a retirement property rather than a place to raise a family.

Juneau would be all right, I suppose, but it's expensive and finding property can be tough. I wouldn't advise it for the OP because of the hordes of *******s running amok there. Before anyone moves to the Tongass, though, they've got to seriously consider whether they can handle the gloom. Skagway and Haines don't get nearly the cloud cover and precipitation that the rest of the panhandle does.

[Gonorth9]

Ok... lots to respond to, clear up, and admit I didn't consider.

First and most glaring (and embarrassing) is NO... I have not been there before. The wife and I have had the 'dream' of Alaska for years now and have been seriously considering it for the past year. We've been researching quite a bit but I admit no amount of books, videos, second hand experience, and message boards can come close to personal experience so we ARE planning a week long visit later this summer. That visit will happen only if all of our other kinks get worked out and THAT visit will be the deciding factor.

We've only discussed this kind of drastic move with very few of our family and friends and believe me we get 'that's crazy' most often. We realize they may be right so if we do like our visit and all of our other issues get ironed out then we will be moving there with the understanding that neither one of us are quitters and neither one of us want to do the 'walk of shame' after only 6months-5years. We're realizing that this move will be a PERMANENT move and not a whim - it's too expensive to be a whim. You're absolutely right, AKStafford!

We aren't running away from anything but I do understand that comment.

My business: I am nervous about revealing too much about my business because there is currently no one providing the service I provide in entire state. Down in the lower 48 (and Hawaii) there are dozens and dozens. Here in San Antonio, I compete with about 10 other companies. I've been in business for 13 successful years now and in the industry for 20 so I know what I'm doing. I'm sure we all know about the mobile Paintless Dent Repair guys - I'm not that but I'd say that would be a close enough of a comparison for our purposes.

Why is there nobody there doing what I do? That's the big question and the most obvious answer is either the weather (I believe to be the reason) or there simply is no auto industry to speak of there (hard time believing 280k+ people don't need cars/trucks). My business services the Automobile Industry/Owner so I would be wanting access to Car Dealerships, Paint and Body Shops, Aftermarket Accessory Providers, and of course anyone who owns a vehicle that cares about it's appearance (NO - I'm not a car detailer). Whether my business will work up here or not of course is one of the biggest questions. I am confident that I can do my work in the inclement weather and there's no doubt I can sell my services to enough customers to stay busy. I am concerned about being able to actually get around to the different clients on a day to day basis due to snow/ice.

Let's say it's January (or whenever the coldest part of winter is - it's Feb here) and I have to call on my customer (let's say M-B of Anchorage on East 6th). Would the roads be accessible and even if only 6th is open, would the dealership be piled to the rooftops of the cars with snow? If so - for how long? A couple days at a time or weeks? I imagine even car dealerships and body shops have to sell and repair in the winter.

As far as where to live... I had no idea that some thought Wasilla to be that bad. We will be bringing 15yo and 9yo girls and a 5yo boy (our oldest son will stay here for college). My wife is a stay-at-home mom and we plan to keep it that way for as long as we have children at home if possible. We're considering her working for 6months-1year to start out while I rebuilt our business. She is an RN so if things are tight she can always get a job but the goals are to keep her home like she has been for the past 5 years. We are a tight knit family with strong Christian values instilled daily but I personally know that drugs and the wrong crowd can destroy even the most moral of families so we are concerned about the drug problem.

I was considering Palmer because of its cheaper home prices and because it's in the middle of Wasilla's and Anchorage's auto market . I am concerned about commute time, however. I do not want to spend an hour minimum in commute each day. Ideally, I'd like 30-45 average commute to Anchorage but be able to still own 3-10acres far enough out to feel in the wilderness. Our plan is to rent for the first two-three years until our oldest daughter goes to college that way we can downsize the house we buy to 3bdrm and know the area well enough to find our 'perfect' spot. Eagle River Seems like a good option - Thanks Metlakatla for the advice! I'll look there, too.

Oh, and what do I mean by the filthy decline of the culture? Turn on the TV, Radio, or Internet and look at the over-sexualized and apostate culture we have today. Yes... I realize there is the exact same TV, Radio, and Internet there in Alaska but there is no question that the people in Alaska tend to be more conservative, respectful of the founding of this great nation, friendly, moral, and have a more independent and 'don't tread on me' mentality. Of course, there are idiots and buttheads everywhere - even in Alaska - but at least in Alaska they are spread out more! ;-) Here, you can't walk down the street without bumping into twenty of them!
If you don't know what I'm talking about - don't worry about it - you wouldn't understand. :-)

Y'all are awesome for all your responses! I owe you all a good Texas Barbecue!