Moving from San Antonio to Anchorage - GO NORTH, TO ALASKA! (Fairbanks: house prices, buy)

[Dakster]

Gonorth9 - Good luck in your adventure. I'm sure you will figure it all out once you get there. I visited and I still have unanswered questions about different areas and how to live in the Arctic. One of the reasons I hang around the forum. I have the logistics to get there all figured out though. But I over plan and over-prepare.

Met - I can't have both?

[Frostnip]

Originally Posted by Gonorth9

We are sick and tired of the heat, crowds of people everywhere (EVERYONE from CA and the north east seems to be moving here!)

That's funny. The Anchorage area seems to be in a similar situation, except with everyone from Texas.

[AKStafford]

Originally Posted by Gonorth9

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.

Don't let that stop you... A lot of us got that when we made the move.

Originally Posted by Gonorth9

anyone who owns a vehicle that cares about it's appearance

While there are definitely those who care about the appearance of their vehicle, especially in the summer, a lot of us realize it's Alaska, it's winter (or spring) and this is just the way my car is going to look...
But, if you have a corner on the market, hopefully you'll find enough of those who care to make a go of it...

Originally Posted by Gonorth9

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.

The other 300,000 of us get around just fine. Within 24 hours of a big dump of snow almost all major roads are plowed. And in South Central, we only get a few bid dumps a year.
You might want to consider doing two visits, or doing your visit just in the winter to get an idea of what it's like.

Originally Posted by Gonorth9

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.

Most of the Wasilla haters will concede that Palmer is nice. And I like Palmer. We looked there when we were buying our home, but most of our life is centered in Wasilla so that's where we bought. Peter's Creek, Chugiak or Eagle River would work too. Your best bet is to start watching the MLS site for Alaska: www.AlaskaRealEstate.com . You might also want to start a conversation with a Realtor. Marty Van Diest is a regular contributor here on these forums. Our Realtor is Dody Kettler and we loved working with her.
A local Realtor can help you identify which neighborhoods are "bad" or "good."

[JasonAndJulie]

GoNorth we live between Houston and San Antonio. I plan to follow your journey if you plan to continue documenting it

If you ever want to get together with another family like yours, let us know and we'll meet you at the zoo or sea world.

[Gonorth9]

Originally Posted by AKStafford

Most of the Wasilla haters will concede that Palmer is nice. And I like Palmer. We looked there when we were buying our home, but most of our life is centered in Wasilla so that's where we bought. Peter's Creek, Chugiak or Eagle River would work too. Your best bet is to start watching the MLS site for Alaska: www.AlaskaRealEstate.com . You might also want to start a conversation with a Realtor. Marty Van Diest is a regular contributor here on these forums. Our Realtor is Dody Kettler and we loved working with her.
A local Realtor can help you identify which neighborhoods are "bad" or "good."

Would a home in the Palmer area make sense if I'm looking for good schools, feeling of being somewhat in a small town or country, and don't want to spend an hour commuting each and every morning. I want to include Wasilla in my market but not sure if I should move farther from Anchorage since it will be my market 75%+ of the time. Wikipedia sure makes Palmer sound nice to me - population of 6k!

[Gonorth9]

Originally Posted by JasonAndJulie

GoNorth we live between Houston and San Antonio. I plan to follow your journey if you plan to continue documenting it

If you ever want to get together with another family like yours, let us know and we'll meet you at the zoo or sea world.

Awesome offer guys! I'll keep you posted with our journey.

[Metlakatla]

Palmer is nice, but it will be even more of a commute than Wasilla.

[AKStafford]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Palmer is nice, but it will be even more of a commute than Wasilla.

Actually with both Palmer and Wasilla it depends on where you live. I'm three miles down Knik-Goosebay. I've got friends that live in the Ranch subdivision. Their commute would be almost 15 minutes less than mine. Same with Palmer. If you live on the south side, you'll have a shorter commute....

[Metlakatla]

Well, hopefully the OP can find a place that suits him and his family. Personally, I wouldn't do that commute from anywhere in the valley if I had a young family, and I don't understand why anyone does. I guess they save money on housing costs and think it's worth it. And as I said earlier, a lot of newcomers look at a map and think it's going to be an easier and shorter commute than it actually is.

[Gonorth9]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Well, hopefully the OP can find a place that suits him and his family. Personally, I wouldn't do that commute from anywhere in the valley if I had a young family, and I don't understand why anyone does. I guess they save money on housing costs and think it's worth it. And as I said earlier, a lot of newcomers look at a map and think it's going to be an easier and shorter commute than it actually is.

I am starting to believe it would be best for us to rent in Eagle River or actually in Anchorage for the first year. I started out against the idea because one of the big motivators we have for moving there is to get OUT of the city. Here in San Antonio, I live in a little rural town called Helotes. When I moved here in 1995 the population of San Antonio metropolitan area (which includes several small communities like ours) was 1.4 million. Today, the San Antonio border has almost engulfed our town and the population today is 2.2 million! That's over 40,000 people moving here each year.

I get it, frostnip. It does stink when so many non-like minded people move into your area. That's why it's so great to live in (once) "free" country where you can choose where to live. If bringing strong Christian values, work ethic, and a business to your area is unwelcomed then I have nothing to suggest other than I know of good home in San Antonio that you could buy cheap next June.