Daily life in Fairbanks/Ft Wainwright? (College, North Pole: rent, home, neighborhood)

[AKStafford]

^^^Great input from Usonia.

[roadfamily6now]

If you live off post, I think you could get away without having a car but you will be very limited on what you can do and where you can go. Being in Fairbanks is wonderful but part of the awesomeness is the FREEDOM you have and without a car, you wont have much freedom.

I understand car can be expensive but you can buy a cheap 4wheel drive, which in turn costs little to insure, and don't drive a lot, it wont be too bad.

[roadfamily6now]

Oh and stick to shopping on base as much as you can. It will save you tons of money!!!

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by roadfamily6now

Oh and stick to shopping on base as much as you can. It will save you tons of money!!!

Things have changed in the past few years, so now one can find the best bargains off post and off base (Eielson AFB). Now we have Sam's Club, Walmart, Fred Meyer, and Safeway to buy foods and such. Fred Meyer, Sam's, and Safeway offer fuel discounts. I use the one from Fred Meyer, and some times get up to 35 gallons at over one dollar discount. The military can't match the discounts (or sales) for foods, gasoline, and the rest offered by the local stores. I retired in the '90s, and shortly after my wife shopped on post or at Eielson AFB, but not anymore.

You are right about the OP's having to shop on post if she does not have a car, because during the winter it's just too far to walk to the local stores. Also, if she is cautious with her money she should be able to save a few bucks at the commissary. Sometimes they offer specials.

[batterycrayon]

Thanks for the excellent advice guys! We're both pretty excited for what the future will bring, and the more we can look forward to, and the more prepared we can be, the better!

[stiffnecked]

Plenty of inexpensive cars in Fairbanks that would work for you guys. It would make life a lot more productive and enjoyable. Get a license, save up some money and get one. I wouldn't want to live there and not have a way to get around.

1990 Subaru Legacy- 4x4/5spd/runs great -

[gobrien]

I can't be positive but I think this car dealer advertises special financing for the military. You need a car or a friendly cab driver. It's not that the bus is useless but there are limited routes and it's too cold to wait outside in the winter (but some stores do have heated indoor waiting areas).

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[roadfamily6now]

Originally Posted by RayinAK

Things have changed in the past few years, so now one can find the best bargains off post and off base (Eielson AFB). Now we have Sam's Club, Walmart, Fred Meyer, and Safeway to buy foods and such. Fred Meyer, Sam's, and Safeway offer fuel discounts. I use the one from Fred Meyer, and some times get up to 35 gallons at over one dollar discount. The military can't match the discounts (or sales) for foods, gasoline, and the rest offered by the local stores. I retired in the '90s, and shortly after my wife shopped on post or at Eielson AFB, but not anymore.

You are right about the OP's having to shop on post if she does not have a car, because during the winter it's just too far to walk to the local stores. Also, if she is cautious with her money she should be able to save a few bucks at the commissary. Sometimes they offer specials.

that's interesting to know. We now live in Anchorage and find that 95% of the time Costco and the Commissary blow Freddies and Carrs out of the water! The only thing I buy at Freddies or Carrs is the Coconut/Almond milk cause they charge like $4 on base! I did not realize the Wainwright commissary had gotten so expensive. They were still wonderfully priced when we were there in 2002 - 2008.

Of course, I'm a bit bias too as I refuse to shop at Sams or Walmart. Too bad ya'll do have a Costco there yet.

[Nkak]

OK, registered to answer a few things etc. I've lived in Fairbanks going on 20 years now.

Transportation:

Firstly, I'm going to be another voice saying "you need a car". Without a vehicle you are very limited on where and when you can go places, and limited by weather. If you live off base, being without the freedom of transportation will lead to misery in the winter, you risk feeling the isolation, cabin fever, etc. You will also be repeatedly asking new friends for rides, and you don't want to be a drain on new friends. This would be priority number one for me moving here, even above indoor plumbing.

If you get off base housing GET A HEATED GARAGE, or at least auto/remote start on your vehicle. It's a huge quality of life thing.

For car expense, the primary difference here is having to get new winter tires every couple years minimum, which is a couple hundred dollars (tires, don't have to swap wheels too, but most people have a full set of each). You swap out winter/summer tires in the fall and spring, a lot of local shops do big business these times of years, it's not terrible expensive. Most people don't use all weather tires because they are terrible, get studded or blizzacks . AK is harsh on cars, but if you baby it and are here only a few years, you should be fine if you don't buy a lemon. Four wheel/all wheel drive is best, front wheel is second best, avoid rear wheel drive cars. Make sure to test the heater before you buy.

If it's fear of driving that's the problem, I highly recommend getting your license right away to practice. Snow usually starts to stick around mid October, plus or minus a few weeks. If you are really petrified of it, let me know and maybe i can give you and husband a bit of local drivers ed (i've got my CDL, drove for a living etc etc).

City Size- estimates vary wildly, i think it's because they use strange math, with the city vs borough vs base populations.
compared to places Ive traveled, it feels like a normal city of 50-80k, no traffic jams to speak of, only traffic is really around 8am and 5pm.

You asked about the gun/booze reputation, I'd say yes it's sort of true compared to lower 48 cities, but misunderstood slightly. You don't see much of it in daily life. There's a huge ex-military population here, also the city is like 65% conservative politically, so when people talk about it here, it's more about gun rights, and hunting, not crime related. People are responsible about it generally, aside from the bush living nut from time to time.

Battery?- power/net reliability is fine, if they go out, it comes back on within a few minutes to and hour. Only people i know with outside power live out of town, and they have generators.

As for things to do, you have to be very proactive to find it, there are short sports seasons (to watch or play, football or hockey amateur), small local theater or music groups. There seems to be a pretty big country music/cowboy culture group here, so if you're into that you might find stuff, i dunno, because I'm not. There are a lot of local bars/clubs, but i'm not into that either so can offer no advise there. Honestly though, most people i know stay home and watch movies/internet, or hang out with friends.

Restaurants and dinners and shops...there are a good number, most mid range/family style or fast food (taco bell, McDonalds, pizza hutt, carl's jr, wendy's, subway, quiznos, kfc, burger king on base), though there are a couple expensive options. For shopping, you'll mostly be limited to the big box chains, fred meyer, safeway,or wallmart, though there are small local touristy shops if you're into that. Again, everything is spread out far enough to be a pain or too far to walk, but a short drive.

You asked "What kind of personality does the city have? Is it young, busy, quiet, slow, outdoorsy, cooped-up, etc?"
The answer is all of the above. It can be a strange city. How people view it is based almost entirely on how they live in it.


There is a farmers market of sorts in the summer, and a farm outside of town that sells a lot.


You asked if it was urban, and I'd say if you live on base or in town, yes it is. If you want the reindeer or moose sausage or offbeat stuff you have to seek it out

Crime- most of the crime i see is just vandalism, or assaults around clubs/bars, just like everywhere. You can drive around at night safely, though there a few blocks here and there I'd avoid at night, but even then, if you aren't seeking trouble you are very unlikely to be involved in anything.

One bit of caution though, i know two woman personally who were sexually assaulted on Ft. Wainwright over the years. So while i don't think the odds of it happening here are greater than any other base or heavy male population, i don't know for certain, and i wouldn't use walking as my primary transport due to this. Car = safety here, basically.

Our crime statistics are out of whack mostly due to alcoholism issues in small villiages in the state, or when the some of the villagers come into town and lay around drunk during the summer. It's like spring break for them i guess :P

Base housing - no help here really, though i do know they have used to have decent family and officer housing, maybe they still do. I see a lot of military living both on and off base.

Military Stuff - you asked "I take it Wainwright has been around for a long time, but I still have to ask: how is the attitude toward soldiers and their families?"

Honestly i can't imagine a more well integrated base city culture. Driving onto the base is like driving into another part of town or neighborhood, aside from the security gate which is a pain for civilians. About 1/3 to half the people i see are military, or family of military, or former military.

The only military conflict I've noticed has been with the teen or 18-21 crowd and dating/bar issues, young guys don't like the male heavy population, some girls don't like trying to be someones fling etc. That might just be an age thing though. The general population seems very pro military.

[narnmacon]

I've been reading this site for the past two years. lol. But we have been here almost a year, so I can answer some of your military spouse questions- as a fellow soldier's wife. Granted, these are MY experiences.
You absolutely NEED a vehicle- one with 4 wheel drive. Granted, lots of people have cars and such with only 2 wheel drive, but they slip and slide and have a hard time "getting going" and frequently, stopping. You'll drive like a turtle here in the winter, so even if you go off the road, you'll be fine, and most likely will hit a snow bank. Winter tires are a must. I highly recommend studded tires. Ice will accumulate on the road....then it stays there until Spring (I have no idea precisely what month- I got here June 1 and there was no ice; it's now March 3 and there's a lot). I can promise you, you will NOT want to walk or stand outside for any length of time in the winter, especially when it's -40. I had not driven on ice in years when we got here, so I did practice in an empty parking lot, doing donuts to make sure I could handle it. We bought a suburban, less than 10yrs old, in great condition, 4x4, for less than $5000. Also, you will not want to leave the the area between the airport in Fairbanks all the way to North Pole in the winter because road conditions suck.

City? Ha! No, I'm a small town girl, and this brings isolation to a whole new level. If you want something not available here, Amazon will be your friend. I recommend the $70 subscription to Amazon Prime and the $9.99 subscription to Netflix- that covers shopping and entertainment. We don't drink/smoke so we pretty much stick to ourselves, but have found date night to be rather boring when a lot of restaurants close at 5 on weekends (some at 9). There is a nice coffee house I like and a cup of coffee is pretty cheap (and it's really good). No Applebees or any other place you'd recognize that's not fast food or pizza. One of my favorite places is the Food Factory- good food for a fair price. Shopping is limited to Sam's, Safeway, Fred Meyer's, Wal-Mart, a small Sear's, Lowe's, Home Depot, and small mom and pop type places. There is a small "mall" with a couple of shops inside- a shoe store, an accessory place, and a couple of other clothing, etc stores.

Crime isn't bad, BUT you hear more about it because this is a small town. Everything makes the news, from ice beginning to form in the river to a moose pooping on the highway (