Eagle River or Wasilla?

[Glitch]

The primary reason I ruled out Eagle River, Chugiak, and Peters Creek was because of the lack of sunlight during the winter months. Southern exposure was, and still is important during the winter. With the sun only reaching a few degrees above the horizon, and the Chugach mountain range between the sun and those communities, I did not think living there would provide enough sunlight.

I moved near Settler's Bay instead, well outside the shadow of the mountains. I have been commuting to Anchorage for the last 11 years. The amount of money I saved on my home was easily worth three brand new vehicles, and I got four times more land than I would have gotten in Anchorage or Eagle River. That makes the commute worthwhile, in my opinion.

As highlife2 mentioned above, the Eagle River to Anchorage in the morning, and Anchorage to Eagle River in the late afternoon, is where the biggest traffic bottleneck is to be found. The vast majority of the time you can maintain the speed limit all the way into Eagle River before running into any serious traffic.

I like the Knik-Goose Bay Road area, it is much quieter than Anchorage, and all the properties are on an acre or more.

If you are new to driving on snow and ice, I highly recommend a winter driving course and studded tires. A winter driving course will teach you more than how to maintain control of your vehicle, it will also teach you defensive driving techniques that will help you avoid others who have lost control of their vehicle.

[ericathynes]

They are pretty different areas to live for a variety of factors. There are perks to both areas. There are some spot-on posts above and City-Data is a good resource. As a realtor, I can't tell you what schools are best and if an area has a lot of crime due to fair housing laws. Luckily I have some tools to refer you to, and if you are looking online at homes from another state, plug the address into Google Earth.

MyNeighborhood Anchorage Alaska (you can plug addresses into this website for Eagle River crime and schools, etc. and it also includes Chugiak, Anchorage down to Girdwood)

Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District / Overview (click at the top for "select a school" for more info)
I don't know of any good crime star websites for the Valley like the one for the Muni, but here is the link to Wasilla PD - City of Wasilla, AK : Police

If you are considering Wasilla, I would also include Palmer. Both will allow you more bang for your buck, but you might not appreciate the commute into Anchorage. There are shuttle vans that go in so you can perhaps read and not drive, but that may not appeal to you either. And if you would consider Eagle River, I would also include Chugiak. But, there are some qualifying questions about what kind of amenities you are looking for, you will get highly rated schools in both areas, small town feel, city feel, well and septic vs. city water and sewer, amount of sunlight in winter, etc? You can get more acreage in Wasilla and Palmer, and almost the same house for $50-100k less.

Depending on where you are from in TN, the snow may not be that much of an issue to drive in. I currently live in Palmer and commute into Eagle River, and Anchorage often, but I can avoid peak traffic. There is only one highway in and out, and it can cause massive delays, but it's not like some of the major cities in the Lower 48. I'm originally from the Boston area, and it's not as bad here. Let us know if we can help more!

[movingoutofTN]

Thanks to everyone for the great information. We live in middle TN right now...about an hour outside of Nashville. Traffic here is a nightmare. As far as driving on snow we do have some experience(but it has been years) in that area due to being stationed in Germany while hubby was in the military. I will need to take the winter driving course to refresh myself.

Personally I want to live outside of Anchorage so the information about the surrounding areas has been a great resource.

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by movingoutofTN

Thanks to everyone for the great information. We live in middle TN right now...about an hour outside of Nashville. Traffic here is a nightmare. As far as driving on snow we do have some experience(but it has been years) in that area due to being stationed in Germany while hubby was in the military. I will need to take the winter driving course to refresh myself.

Personally I want to live outside of Anchorage so the information about the surrounding areas has been a great resource.

There are a few communities outside of Anchorage that are within commuting range. In order of distance:

• Eagle River - 15.1 miles (20 minutes)
• Chugiak - 21.3 miles (30 minutes)
• Peters Creek - 22.9 miles (30 minutes)
• Indian - 25.0 miles (35 minutes)
• Gridwood - 38.2 miles (49 minutes)
• Palmer - 42.7 miles (55 minutes)
• Wasilla - 43.4 miles (55 minutes)
• Sutton - 56.5 miles (1 hour, 11 minutes)
• Houston - 58.8 miles (1 hour, 13 minutes)
• Willow - 80 miles (1 hour, 40 minutes)

Each of these communities have their own advantages and disadvantages, and people like or dislike them for various reasons. In order to fit you with the community that you would like the most, we need to know more about what you would like to find in your community. You should also not rule out Anchorage itself if there are neighborhoods that will serve your needs, desires, and expense range, particularly if you plan on working there.

[highlife2]

Originally Posted by Glitch

There are a few communities outside of Anchorage that are within commuting range. In order of distance:

• Eagle River - 15.1 miles (20 minutes)
• Chugiak - 21.3 miles (30 minutes)
• Peters Creek - 22.9 miles (30 minutes)
• Indian - 25.0 miles (35 minutes)
• Gridwood - 38.2 miles (49 minutes)
• Palmer - 42.7 miles (55 minutes)
• Wasilla - 43.4 miles (55 minutes)
• Sutton - 56.5 miles (1 hour, 11 minutes)
• Houston - 58.8 miles (1 hour, 13 minutes)
• Willow - 80 miles (1 hour, 40 minutes)

Each of these communities have their own advantages and disadvantages, and people like or dislike them for various reasons. In order to fit you with the community that you would like the most, we need to know more about what you would like to find in your community. You should also not rule out Anchorage itself if there are neighborhoods that will serve your needs, desires, and expense range, particularly if you plan on working there.

Keep in mind those are ideal times if there is absolutely nothing going on that day on the highway and it frequently takes longer than that to commute. I have seen huge delays ranging from poorly planned road construction, rubber necking from a minor accident and just bad roads in the winter time. On average count on at least the equivalent of one week out of every month taking much longer than the times above.

If I could make it to eagle river from mid town in 20 min EVERY time (other than maybe one day a month) I would have no issues with commuting. 20 min is either ideal traffic flow or the exit ramp of Muldoon.

[AK76]

Originally Posted by Glitch

There are a few communities outside of Anchorage that are within commuting range. In order of distance:

• Eagle River - 15.1 miles (20 minutes)
• Chugiak - 21.3 miles (30 minutes)
• Peters Creek - 22.9 miles (30 minutes)
• Indian - 25.0 miles (35 minutes)
• Gridwood - 38.2 miles (49 minutes)
• Palmer - 42.7 miles (55 minutes)
• Wasilla - 43.4 miles (55 minutes)
• Sutton - 56.5 miles (1 hour, 11 minutes)
• Houston - 58.8 miles (1 hour, 13 minutes)
• Willow - 80 miles (1 hour, 40 minutes)

Each of these communities have their own advantages and disadvantages, and people like or dislike them for various reasons. In order to fit you with the community that you would like the most, we need to know more about what you would like to find in your community. You should also not rule out Anchorage itself if there are neighborhoods that will serve your needs, desires, and expense range, particularly if you plan on working there.

Originally Posted by highlife2

Keep in mind those are ideal times if there is absolutely nothing going on that day on the highway and it frequently takes longer than that to commute. I have seen huge delays ranging from poorly planned road construction, rubber necking from a minor accident and just bad roads in the winter time. On average count on at least the equivalent of one week out of every month taking much longer than the times above.

If I could make it to eagle river from mid town in 20 min EVERY time (other than maybe one day a month) I would have no issues with commuting. 20 min is either ideal traffic flow or the exit ramp of Muldoon.

I live in Eagle River, have done so for the past 19 years. As highlife states, those are ideal times and that is correct, as is the reasoning. My guess is Glitch is using Google Maps for time and mileage estimation, regardless of the method, I would NEVER count on those numbers unless one is making the drive during a weekday during non-peak hours. For my 19 years of commuting to mid-town Anchorage to my job, 21 miles, the average elapsed time was 45 minutes, the longest time was 3 hours due to an accident. Accidents/delays/rubbernecking et al, not infrequently jam up the lanes enough that I could not get out of Eagle River and onto the HWY on first attempt and would simply turn around and wait at home for 30 minutes before getting back on the road for the commute. I would not change it for any place in Anchorage, the peace and quiet, the scenery, the pace and people in Eagle River make life much more enjoyable than anything Anchorage has to offer.