Possibly Moving to Anchorage Need Advice...

[Sweden]

Originally Posted by 4brynnenjosh

Can anyone give any advice about finding apartments in the area of Northern Lights Blvd. and Minnesota Drive? Is it a decent neighborhood? We'd be looking for a place in this area for the high school located near here.

Do you mean West High School?

If you can avoid moving into the area where they draw their student body from, I would highly advise you to. I am a former school photographer and has been to pretty much all of the school in the Anchorage and Valley area, and West was something else. It even has police stationed there at all times, and they had to help us out quite a few times during our two day Picture Day there.

As for the area itself (Northern Lights and Minnesota) I have been told by people that have lived in the area that it is not the best. It's hearsay, but given what the area looks like and what West HS is like, they might be right.
Anchorage is tricky - good neighbourhoods are mixed in with "bad" neighbourhoods just a few blocks over most of the time.
If you can, I second moving to Eagle River. Way better quality of living and better schools. If that is impossible, and you need to stay in the West HS area, try to find a place closer to Westchester Lagoon than Spenard.

[Dakster]

Sweden - What do you think of South?

[4brynnenjosh]

Sweden, we are looking at West High School. My daughter is in the International Baccalaureate program at her current high school, and we want her to be able to finish out high school in that program, and there are only two schools in Alaska that offer it - West and Palmer High School. My husband and I are both currently looking for work in Anchorage, since that is where most of the jobs are, so I think the Palmer option is out for right now, even though we'd rather be in the valley than in Anchorage. We currently live in the Phoenix, AZ area, and the high school she's currently at is pretty rough also. But she's tough, and very smart, and she only has one year left of high school. And she doesn't have any concerns about changing schools for her senior year, as she's very independent and focused on her school work. I've done a lot of research in the area looking for housing, I just wasn't sure if there were any specific areas to avoid. Thanks for your advice.

[Dakster]

If you are accustomed to the tough areas of Phoenix than there is no reason to worry at all about Anchorage. It isn't that bad things don't happen here or that there isn't a bad element. It is just on a smaller/different scale. And for the flip side, If you are looking for trouble, you will find it no matter where you go.

I have family in Phoenix, visited a bunch of times, and moved from another very large metro area to Anchorage which is where my view on this stems from.

The area around west has some very expensive housing - especially the area around Westchester Lagoon. My parents went to west to look at it as we were considering sending our son to West. (And have him try to get into the IB program as well).

The thing we did, which is the only advice I can give you, is to get here in the summer check things out and be flexible. Trust your big city instincts and you should do fine.

[rhiannon67]

Originally Posted by ericathynes

Downtown is the place if you want everything in that list. Be aware, it is expensive for what you get. Although, I'm not sure where you are coming from, so you may not get sticker shock. There are apartment style condos on I St., M St. that are probably in the high $200s and studio apartment style condos on 3rd and 6th Ave that are in the mid $100s. I was showing clients on L, N and and G Streets a couple weeks ago, but we are getting into half million range there.

New Sagaya will be your grocery store. They have phenomenal fish and meats, products in general. They also have a coffee shop. There are tons of bars, restaurants and coffee shops like Dark Horse, Kaladi Bros., Marx Bros. the list goes on. I know Humpy's has live bands, but I admittedly don't go out that much anymore, so I can't tell you all the live band venues. Foster the People will be at Moose's Tooth next week (not downtown though). The Atwood Concert Hall has music, ballet, plays, etc. Delaney Park, Valley of the Moon Park, Earthquake park (in Turnagain area) are within biking/walking distance and you also have access to Chester Creek Trail, which is a trail system that starts in the Spenard area and heads east across the city, or the Coastal Trail. http://www.trailsofanchorage.com/Map...ilwatchMap.pdf

Tons of people live downtown, and many people rent homes that have been converted into multi-family properties. I think you may not have ventured west beyond 5th and 6th Ave. But you are correct, it's like a massive, sprawling suburb because you have a little over 300,000 people living in just under 2000 sq miles. The Municipality of Anchorage consists of Chugiak all the way to Girdwood. I'm originally from the Boston area, Anchorage is a very small city, but it's the biggest city we have in Alaska!

Let me know if you need help buying a place. I'm a realtor.

We're going to keep you in mind😄
Once I'm finished with my refresher course, my family and I are moving to Anchorage at the end of This coming spring. Can't wait!

[grandma4mom5]

If you don't want to drive, there is always the bus system. Works well for where it goes. I didn't have a car for almost the whole first year of living in Anchorage. My apartment was near a stop for one bus, and almost a block to a stop for a couple of other routes. It took one bus to the grocery store, and two buses to work. 1/2 hour wait between buses, but most of the stops I used had benches. I met some good people on the bus, and some not so good. The bus drivers are to be admired. PeopleMover has an awesome website for routes and stops. I bought monthly passes, and that worked fine. If you're moving here without a job, I hope you come with enough savings to last you, the market is tough for jobs too. I've found both of my jobs from craigslist, but the State has Alexsys for both gov't and private jobs. Lots of people moving here wanting top paying jobs but reality can be something else. And in the summer, don't run on the trail next to a salmon stream.