gasoline price in fairbanks today, Mar. 8, 2011

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by NomadicBear

As fuel prices continue to increase, the far flung areas in the US are dying on the vine. Their land and house prices are getting hammered even more as people are desperate to get out due to exorbitant costs. Land should be just about free in a lot of the places as the cost to build and live there is extreme.

Some of my coworkers have purchased homes in AZ, and have paid a little over one-third of what the same homes cost six years ago. I am talking about homes that cost $1/2-mil or more back then. Housing prices in here has remained stable/high for several years now, but people on fixed incomes are having a hard time coping with the high cost of heating fuel, gasoline, food, etc., and are moving to the lower-48. Others are moving closer or just with the rest of their families.

[Floyd_Davidson]

Originally Posted by Dakster

At a previous assignment I was driving almost 100 a day... But if you are used to living and working within walking distance it is quite a change. (I can see how living out in the bush can make for a very long work/supply commute, and $$$ too)

There are some distinctions here that you aren't realizing.

Living in an urban or even suburban area in Alaska is perhaps similar to what you might find elsewhere. Rural and bush living is hard to equate to anything in the Lower-48.

What tigre79 and RayinAK are talking about is living on the highway system (as opposed to the bush). Driving long distances is part of that existence. But another part of it is doing those long distances even when there is ice fog so thick you can't see the car in front of you, or ice on the road, or snow on top of the ice. I'm not sure if Ray has to drive far on any of the two-lane two-way roads, or if he can quickly get on the 4 lane divided highway. Either one is an experience to deal with in the winter on an every day basis. For tigre79 the normal thing for shopping might well be driving literally hundreds of miles, and almost all of that is on two-lane two-way rural roads. Folks in Montana/Wyoming etc might come somewhat close, but they only get a hint of it compared to the full blown effect that Alaskans on the road system experience.

That is very different from the bush though. People in the bush just don't drive much. I put 3 or 4 times as much mileage on a 4-wheel ATV in half the year as I do on a truck over a whole year. And I live in a big town with lots of roads! When I lived in a small village I didn't even own a truck, and put 10 to 15 thousand miles a year on ATV/snowmachines. On the other hand, we commonly hop on an airplane and go somewhere. Perhaps for shopping only, but when it is primarily for some other reason, such as medical, shopping is still guaranteed to a major consideration. And often we take a list for a friend or two and get things they need. There just isn't anything similar in the Lower-48 to use as an example.

[Dakster]

Floyd while I cannot relate directly. I am beginning to understand.

[tigre79]

$4.44 yesterday morning here in town, $4.11 in Anchorage on my way home.

[tigre79]

Originally Posted by RayinAK

50 miles per day round trip for me because I live near Fairbanks. But great distances for some other people who work in Fairbanks and live in neighboring towns. For example, the poster above (from Valdez) has to drive around 300 miles or more, one way, to shop in Fairbanks.

Fairbanks is 365, Anchorage is right at 300. Fairbanks is an easier drive though, because the road is straighter, generally in better shape, and usually has less traffic, especially in the summer. We're usually hauling something too, like lumber, snowmachines/4-wheelers, furniture, appliances, equipment, vehicles, etc. So that adds fuel costs both because of the trailer itself and because we have to take the bigger truck.

A lot of people in the lower-48 do have long daily commutes. It's getting harder and harder to escape urban/suburban living if you don't want a very long, congested commute. Before my mom retired she was putting 30K miles on her car every year (which is about what my boyfriend puts on his truck up here). If I worked in town I'd be able to walk to work, which would be pretty sweet, but in addition to being out here in the middle of nowhere, we both work on the other side of the bay from town, so we each have a daily 22-24 mile commute. Combined with probably the highest gas prices on the road system, it adds up.

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by tigre79

Fairbanks is 365, Anchorage is right at 300. Fairbanks is an easier drive though, because the road is straighter, generally in better shape, and usually has less traffic, especially in the summer. We're usually hauling something too, like lumber, snowmachines/4-wheelers, furniture, appliances, equipment, vehicles, etc. So that adds fuel costs both because of the trailer itself and because we have to take the bigger truck.

A lot of people in the lower-48 do have long daily commutes. It's getting harder and harder to escape urban/suburban living if you don't want a very long, congested commute. Before my mom retired she was putting 30K miles on her car every year (which is about what my boyfriend puts on his truck up here). If I worked in town I'd be able to walk to work, which would be pretty sweet, but in addition to being out here in the middle of nowhere, we both work on the other side of the bay from town, so we each have a daily 22-24 mile commute. Combined with probably the highest gas prices on the road system, it adds up.

Good points and corrections about distances and other stuff.

I haven't driven the Glenn Highway for years now, but did so back in the late 70's when stationed at Elmendorf. It's a beautiful drive to Glennallen, and then South on the Richardson. Now, my favorite drive from Fairbanks to Valdez is from perhaps past Donnelly Dome, near Delta Junction on the Richardson, all the way down. The view on and around the Richardson, between Donnelly Dome and Summit Lake is quite beautiful depending on weather conditions and lighting. By mid September the foliage is gorgeous, and the early morning sunlight as well as the late afternoon often is golden in color.

[acg515]

It was like 3.73 here in Grand Forks ND last time I gassed up, so it's nice to hear that it isn't too expensive back home.