Looking to move to Anchorage? DON'T. (Houston: 2014, legal, vacations)

[Dakster]

Here is my latest thought. I can use part of a room in the house to grow produce. So that takes care of the heat part, use Fluorescent full spectrum lighting for the sun part in the 10 months of not being able to grow things outside here. It should not take all that much power. I am not trying to grow enough Food to feed even the neighborhood, just enough to help out in the produce taste department for the home use.

Even a hydroponic setup could be interesting, although I think the soon to be legal cannabis industry is going to cause some of the supplies I would need to shoot up in price.

[Metlakatla]

^^^That's what some people do. You should go up to Chena Hot Springs and take a look at their operation...they heat their greenhouse with geothermal, though; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to afford it. Cherry tomatoes do well in hydroponics. There's some guy somewhere who grows them in his bathroom.

It'll be interesting to see what the legal canna thing does. My opinion is is that things won't change all that much. Anyone who wants to grow is already doing so.

[Rance]

Dakster...there are now LED grow lights that produce very little excessive heat and use a fraction of power compared to the old sodium/halide bulbs. They come in an assortment of sizes too. I'll shoot you a link later for a website I've narrowed down to be the best for your buck in my opinion.

[Dakster]

Originally Posted by Rance

Dakster...there are now LED grow lights that produce very little excessive heat and use a fraction of power compared to the old sodium/halide bulbs. They come in an assortment of sizes too. I'll shoot you a link later for a website I've narrowed down to be the best for your buck in my opinion.

Thanks!!!

[JasonAnc]

Originally Posted by Rance

Dakster...there are now LED grow lights that produce very little excessive heat and use a fraction of power compared to the old sodium/halide bulbs. They come in an assortment of sizes too. I'll shoot you a link later for a website I've narrowed down to be the best for your buck in my opinion.

The freight policy is a driving force in any such buying decision being sent to AK.

[Rance]

Originally Posted by JasonAnc

The freight policy is a driving force in any such buying decision being sent to AK.

Yes I know. I've lived here all my life.

[Dakster]

Regarding freight or the impossibility of getting things shipped here. I have to take a trip back to the L48... So am starting to prepare a list of things that I want to get that are cheaper to have shipped to me down there. In the summer I will have to take a trip down and back with the remainder of my stuff. For growing things, I can't really get started on that until I buy my own place. So that is next summer at the earliest as well.

I hope that I can sell my current house before the market retraces and then buy a place up here when the market retraces. I have noticed that homes in both places I need to sell and buy a house the prices are starting to adjust a little....

[JasonAnc]

^USPS Standard Post and Media Mail are the cheapest options I've found thus far for shipping those kinds of things to AK. Sending anything there quickly is cost prohibitive in my view.

I expect that when it's the cheapest option, I'll utilize free shipping on purchases to the lower 48, and then have someone reship to me in AK via USPS.



Before the airlines raised their add-on baggage fees recently, it was worth it to ship some things via your airline, but it no longer appears to be the case. It seems that it's now only worth sending things on your flight that have to come with you. (or count as any free bags your flight may include)

Originally Posted by Rance

Yes I know. I've lived here all my life.

Just mentioning because some sites seem to get shady with the AK freight (make it hard to find without actually going through the checkout process). As a noob myself, I figure other noobs might not pick up on that right off the bat.

It makes price shopping a little trickier than I'm used to.

[Dakster]

I agree that USPS at the actual post office (not a mailbox center) is the cheapest. However, as the saying goes you can have any two of the following, Good, Fast, and Cheap. We sent some medical supplies that were left back in the lower 48 up parcel post, 4 weeks later we got them. Granted it was $32 vs $156 for UPS/Fedex Ground...

I've learned to deal without and I noticed that, that policy causes an increase in bank account balance.

[Rance]

Flat rate boxes come in handy too. If you can get it in the box, despite the weight, it ships fairly cheap.