Headed to Alaska in December, need help! (Eagle: rentals, house)

[BrittyBea36]

Originally Posted by Alaskan Mutt

If he is working nights traffic will not be a problem. Are you looking to rent an apt or a home? You might want to look around some of the subdivisions around the hospital. As the crow flies I use to live about a half of mile from the hospital. There are some real nice neighborhoods in the area. A block or two off of Northern Lights from the Seward Highway to Muldoon Rd there are a lot of real nice homes.

Thanks for the info! We are looking to rent a home. We're a bit too loud for apartments. lol Especially with our dog. A month or so back I found tons of homes for rent in our price range but apparently they're no longer available because all I can find are apts. I actually called about a rental home tonight in Anchorage and the guy ended up being the husband of a real estate agent who can hopefully help us find a home to rent. *knock on wood* I didn't think it'd be this hard! I don't want to end up in a hotel for weeks until we find something!

[warptman]

http://www.explorenorth.com/library/...t-akwinter.htm

[roadfamily6now]

there are some really ugly parts of Anchorage intermixed with the nice parts. Don't be fooled in to thinking that "South" Anchorage is wonderful and "East" is bad until you are here for yourself and can check things out in person.

[mizzile]

+1 to the above, and don't forget that the "nice" parts get worse pretty steadily. If you want to live in a nice part of Anchorage that's going to stay that way for more than 10 years, better have a LOT of money.

South Anchorage is rapidly becoming the New Ghetto.

[AADAD]

Eagle River is about 20-30 minutes to Prov. The Glenn Hiway is usually fine. Eagle River rents have gone up and you can count on >$1750.00/month. Quiet and friendly. If you like the night life Anchorage is better and a way easier time getting to work.

Ice in the area is the thing. A FWD small car is fine with good winter tires but any serious travel or must be at work on time is going to require 4WD or AWD. Remember there is no sales tax on the vehicle.

Driving up in December you should be familiar with winter driving and what not to do. Maybe have hubby drive the AWD up and you fly.

Store the belongings. Everything you will need is here.

[BrittyBea36]

It's been a few days since I've looked on here but yep...my hubby got the job and we're moving to Alaska in December! Just not sure of the exact date. And I forgot to answer one of the 1st questions that was asked...Yes, we plan on living in Alaska for a very long time, not just a year or 2. We're still trying to figure out what all we want to bring. We're donating all of our kids summer clothes and some kitchen appliances that we don't use. I guess it really depends on how much a relocation assistance the hospital gives us.

I'M SO EXCITED!!

[Dakster]

Congrats!

[wamer27]

Congrats! I hope you enjoy the outdoors! Alaska is the most beautiful place in the country, but it's seclusion wore on me bad not being from there. I only lasted a year, yet I was at Alyeska and Turnagian Pass weekly and hiking, four wheeling in my wrangler... Family and friends rarely visited and traveling to another big city is long and expensive, you'll notice that if you drive there. I lived on Hillside in a nice part of town with a big yard with great views of the ocean and city, was great at night! Hope your experience works out better then mine.

[bongo]

We enjoyed living in the neighborhood of College Gate, right up against university & city trails/parks and near the hospital. College Gate Elementary has a good reputation. We found the neighborhood safe & friendly.

Congrats & best of luck with rentals. Renting is, in my humble opinion, the best way to go at first. It took us a few years to find the right neighborhood/area in which to buy.

Value Village at 2 locations in town is a great place to get second-hand snow pants & warm layers for growing kids.

We had so many visitors during the summer!

[BrittyBea36]

Originally Posted by bongo

We enjoyed living in the neighborhood of College Gate, right up against university & city trails/parks and near the hospital. College Gate Elementary has a good reputation. We found the neighborhood safe & friendly.

Congrats & best of luck with rentals. Renting is, in my humble opinion, the best way to go at first. It took us a few years to find the right neighborhood/area in which to buy.

Value Village at 2 locations in town is a great place to get second-hand snow pants & warm layers for growing kids.

We had so many visitors during the summer!

Thanks for tip about Value Village. We have started going around to different stores down here just for some coats and boots and can't seem to find what we're looking for except at REI but I'm not paying those prices (we never buy at retail price). My husband and daughter have some stuff that can get them by until we buy more items in AK but my son and I are out of luck. We'll have to find something to make due. I don't really want to spend a ton of money on a jacket and boots that my kids will grow out of by the end of the season so Value Village sounds awesome!

Yes, we're renting because we don't know the area well enough and we're not in the situation to buy at the moment. We'd like to be in Eagle River but like someone else said, the rent is high! We haven't found a place in Anchorage that we like but we'll have to figure something out soon.