Help. Looking for nice areas.

[Dakster]

Here is the home page for Anchorage PD... Police

Interactive Crime Map: Crime Maps

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You probably want ER (Eagle River) then too... ALTHOUGH, it doesn't really fit your big city life requirement - anywhere in ER...

Granted schools are out, but I don't think it is possible to live much more than 10 minutes away from the Wal-Mart in Eagle River - no matter where you live in Eagle River. Having said that we decided against houses "up the mountains" which are possible further away and in my opinion more dangerous to drive to and from in the winter... At least until we get used to winter driving. And I don't know how to clarify these, but there are some houses up Hiland drive in the Chugach Mountains that have a Eagle River address - and those could be further away as well. However, part way up Hiland road there are houses for rent and they are close to the Army Base (Ft. Richardson). There are REALLY, REALLY nice houses with high rents off Yellowstone Drive as well. We looked at one gorgeous house for $3k/month and an Army family lived there and the husband was getting transferred out to Ft. Bragg. He told me the location was great, because he was very close to work/base. But we are not looking for a $3k/month rental payment.

Here is the bad part about ER for you - there are going to be more jobs in Anchorage Proper than Eagle River... What are your skillsets? Seeing as how we used about every job search aide tool and talking to people I might be able to point you in a good direction there as well.

[Shamommy1]

What about hillside and south side and also Muldoon areas?

[Alaskan Mutt]

Originally Posted by Shamommy1

What about hillside and south side and also Muldoon areas?

Are you looking to rent or buy?

The hillside is quite pricy. A 4x4 or awd vehicle is recommended for getting up and down the hillside. The wind can really blow with gusts over 100mph a few times a year.

The south side is not bad. Most of the places are nice.

The south end of the Muldoon area (Northern Lights to Tudor) is quite nice. Mostly houses with a few apartment complexes mixed in. North of Northern Lights it becomes mostly multi family units and apartment complexes. Many are run down and overall not the greatest part of town.

[Shamommy1]

Originally Posted by Dakster

Here is the home page for Anchorage PD... Police

Interactive Crime Map: Crime Maps

--

You probably want ER (Eagle River) then too... ALTHOUGH, it doesn't really fit your big city life requirement - anywhere in ER...

Granted schools are out, but I don't think it is possible to live much more than 10 minutes away from the Wal-Mart in Eagle River - no matter where you live in Eagle River. Having said that we decided against houses "up the mountains" which are possible further away and in my opinion more dangerous to drive to and from in the winter... At least until we get used to winter driving. And I don't know how to clarify these, but there are some houses up Hiland drive in the Chugach Mountains that have a Eagle River address - and those could be further away as well. However, part way up Hiland road there are houses for rent and they are close to the Army Base (Ft. Richardson). There are REALLY, REALLY nice houses with high rents off Yellowstone Drive as well. We looked at one gorgeous house for $3k/month and an Army family lived there and the husband was getting transferred out to Ft. Bragg. He told me the location was great, because he was very close to work/base. But we are not looking for a $3k/month rental payment.

Here is the bad part about ER for you - there are going to be more jobs in Anchorage Proper than Eagle River... What are your skillsets? Seeing as how we used about every job search aide tool and talking to people I might be able to point you in a good direction there as well.

Thanks so much! I'm looking for jobs like admin/data entry work opportunities.
I've been told about hillside and the driving so we will probably stay towards eagle river. That's where we really want to go!!

[Shamommy1]

Originally Posted by Alaskan Mutt

Are you looking to rent or buy?

The hillside is quite pricy. A 4x4 or awd vehicle is recommended for getting up and down the hillside. The wind can really blow with gusts over 100mph a few times a year.

The south side is not bad. Most of the places are nice.

The south end of the Muldoon area (Northern Lights to Tudor) is quite nice. Mostly houses with a few apartment complexes mixed in. North of Northern Lights it becomes mostly multi family units and apartment complexes. Many are run down and overall not the greatest part of town.

We are looking to rent for right now. But we are trying to figure out if it's easier/cheaper to rent or buy!!!

[Dakster]

Originally Posted by Shamommy1

We are looking to rent for right now. But we are trying to figure out if it's easier/cheaper to rent or buy!!!

That is our thought process as well. What I like about renting is that it is easier to just pick up and go somewhere else... So we are also using renting as way to decide WHERE we want to buy after being there for a period of time. Rather than just driving around for a week...

Let me know how your math works out - but so far my math tells me it will be cheaper to buy - at least while interest rates are low. And while nothing is guaranteed, buying should be better financially in the long run, because after 15 years of making mortgage payments, even if the market never moves up at all, you still have equity.

Everyone I talked to seems to recommend STEEL, STUDDED, winter tires regardless of where you live. Especially if your winter driving experience is about nill - like ours.