Anchorage - Can we live without a car? (versus, grocery)

[Crossfire600]

Originally Posted by MommaF8

I haven't driven in 26 years...granted, we just got here to AK...but I've biked, walked, or taken busses to where I needed to be whenever my husband was tdy (which has been alot...about 6+ years out of 15!!!) & neither myself or our 7 kids have suffered! They are all healthy & can walk MILES w/o tiring!
The only problem I see here in AK w/o a vehicle are the bears & moose. Honestly...groceries are easy to haul in a wagon, cart or on a sled in the winter! ((Been there, done that!)) A snowmobile ((or snowmachine as these Alaskans call 'em!)) would be a great addition during winter months when you couldn't bike! ((Though I've seen PLENTY of folks still riding their bikes in the winter too...?))

Come back and update this post in a couple of years and tell us if you would have like to have owned a vehicle.. Oh and you can see this stuff via snowmachines. God, I love this place...

Taken at Arctic Man in the Hoo Doo Mountains between Fairbanks and the Yukon.

[Jonotastic]

BEAUTIFUL pictures! Where did you take them??

[Crossfire600]

Originally Posted by Jonotastic

BEAUTIFUL pictures! Where did you take them??

I updated the posts so there is a little blurb at the top of each picture.. We have 1000's of pictures like these...

This one is my favorite. I took this from the Turnagain pass.. It is overlooking the Turnagain Arm..



Sorry, didn't mean to hijack this thread.. carry on

[Nephler]

Great shots Crossfire.
It does show some of the places you'd miss without a car.
Sure, you could live in Anchorage without a car, but I wouldn't really call it living. I need to get out and explore too much.

[JustTheTemp]

You could live in Anchorage without a car if you lived within walking distance to your place of employment and took a cab whenever you needed to get groceries -- or synched up rides with neighbors and new friends that you make. I'm sure there are plenty of people who'd be willing to do rideshare, too, given that the economy is so bad. A little gas money never hurt anyone. Network, make friends, get to know your neighbors, etc.

Anchorage has a lot of sprawl, and since downtown caters to the tourists, there's not a lot of things such as drugstores, markets, etc. The nearest grocery store could be miles away from where you live. What you have to remember is that you're going to be in an arctic climate; there were times when walking would have been a fool's errand, particularly when it's dark almost 24/7, -20 degrees out, snow's coming down in blinding sheets, and you're trying to maintain balance while you walk across the ice. Carrying groceries back in those conditions would have been almost impossible.

People Mover is okay ... but the routes are very limited.

I personally wouldn't recommend not having a car. And, as people have pointed out, the best part of living in Alaska is being able to get out and see the sights. Some of my best times there were simply riding around in the car looking at the mountains, the ocean, going to parks, etc. But if this is what you must do, I'd say to try and do the rideshare thing and find people willing to help you run your basic errands. Alternately, make sure that you live next to a People Mover stop, so that it's readily accessible.

[MommaF8]

Crossfire...I haven't driven because I have no depth perception. I quit driving "Voluntarily!" because I figured there were already too many bad drivers out there. So....I've made lemonade outta lemons so to speak. :P
While living on base (might as well call it Anchorage!) I don't need a vehicle to see Anchorage. Plenty of other modes of transportation. To include foot, bike, bus, taxi...
HOWEVER...it is my intention to get out of Anchorage as much as possible when my husband is here (truck) to see the "real" Alaska, because I've already decided "IF" we decide to retire here ((haven't been here long enough to decide / view the state)) it will NOT be in the city!
Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of good things (there is always bad in cities...you cannot expect people living THAT close together to always get along. IMPOSSIBLE!)) to see & do in Anchorage. LOTS! It's just that I am not a city person. Give me trees, mts, streams, & SOLITUDE & I'm happy!
I'd rather go visit folks or have them vist me when "I" choose, rather than have them in my face all the time!
We have a year on base (lease) til we can MOVE!!! {{{Sigh!}}} Oh well...have done it for 20 years, what's one more, right?

[JavaPhil]

Although Anchorage isn't the Interior, or even the valley, it has cold snaps that get into the -20's and with a wind chill factor it can get down further. Walking in the winter normal teens and +20's is great, but 1000 yards in those temps can court a case of facial frostbite. No kidding. I went out without a gator mask up on the slope one day. 300 yards from a Blackstart facility to the mancamp. I wound up with the most painful face and streaming eyes in 5 minutes. I was otherwise dressed for the temps, but the wind was nasty. Give me a car any day of the week in temps like that.

[JustTheTemp]

OMG, same thing happened to me. This is how stupid I was: I went running in sub-degree weather. January. No one told me that you have to wear goggles and facial protection, so I ended up with corneal frostbite. I don't even want to tell you how painful that was. I was out for only 30 minutes! That was a nice week of fresh hell, what, with having to put ointment in my eyes every 3-4 hours ...

Oh -- and running in that weather? Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! I was wondering why there weren't any other people out on the Pacific Coastal Trail other than myself. I found out fast.

[Crossfire600]

Originally Posted by MommaF8

Crossfire...I haven't driven because I have no depth perception. I quit driving "Voluntarily!" because I figured there were already too many bad drivers out there. So....I've made lemonade outta lemons so to speak. :P
While living on base (might as well call it Anchorage!) I don't need a vehicle to see Anchorage. Plenty of other modes of transportation. To include foot, bike, bus, taxi...
HOWEVER...it is my intention to get out of Anchorage as much as possible when my husband is here (truck) to see the "real" Alaska, because I've already decided "IF" we decide to retire here ((haven't been here long enough to decide / view the state)) it will NOT be in the city!
Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of good things (there is always bad in cities...you cannot expect people living THAT close together to always get along. IMPOSSIBLE!)) to see & do in Anchorage. LOTS! It's just that I am not a city person. Give me trees, mts, streams, & SOLITUDE & I'm happy!
I'd rather go visit folks or have them vist me when "I" choose, rather than have them in my face all the time!
We have a year on base (lease) til we can MOVE!!! {{{Sigh!}}} Oh well...have done it for 20 years, what's one more, right?

Well our little clan has been known to go on road trips and lunch outting's so if you get cabin fever just shoot us a PM and we can make sure you get out to see some of the sites..

[MommaF8]

Oooh Crossfire...THANK YOU!!! You're an angel! ((However, I must tell you...though you don't know it yet, but you just shot yourself in the foot! :P You'll NEVER get rid of me now! ))