Single mom, 2 kids considering move from the South

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by Haolejohn

Living in the bush out money went a lot further than it does on the road. Amazing what town ammitities can do to a budget.

Health gets expensive if you aren’t healthy.

You are correct. If you can hunt and fish you can stretch your money, but there is nothing you can do if you have to buy groceries, milk, cooking oil, toilet paper and so on. Then you can also do a little farming during the summer, and grow chickens yearlong. I know this guy who has a remote cabin with a chicken coop at the side wall of the cabin. During the winter he vents residual heat from the wood stove into the coop to keep the chickens warm

The highest cost of living figures throughout Alaska are in the remote villages and towns. The cost of living index I posted does not show all the villages and small towns, just a few.

You can see them here, from page 28-32:
http://www.fnsb.us/cp/Community%20Re...ly/Current.pdf

[riceme]

Oh, without arguing the truth in what you wrote, I took Hj's comment to mean something different. I thought he meant that it's easy to find things that you "need" to spend money on when you live in town, and those things are not options in the bush, and so are not part of the budget. For example restaurants, movies, the kids want to go to the trampoline park ($$$ Holy mother), the hockey game, skiing, etc.

[Haolejohn]

Originally Posted by riceme

Oh, without arguing the truth in what you wrote, I took Hj's comment to mean something different. I thought he meant that it's easy to find things that you "need" to spend money on when you live in town, and those things are not options in the bush, and so are not part of the budget. For example restaurants, movies, the kids want to go to the trampoline park ($$$ Holy mother), the hockey game, skiing, etc.

Exactly!! What I meant.

[Scooby Snacks]

Originally Posted by Nattering Heights

Bug spray, for the human male type of bug.

Slightly more males live in AK than females. If you're looking for a new guy, this can be a good thing. If you aren't, this can be an annoyance. I love Alaska with all my heart, but Fairbanks is a toughie with the weather extremes being as they are. So be prepared for huge weather fluctuations. As for safety, no place is completely safe, including your own home.

[Arctic Bushmaster]

Alaskans are down to earth like the southern folk I'm a missiourian so officially it wasn't the south except when it came to the war but i like and consider alaskans to be good ole boys and girls there trolls but they just give you something to laugh at,the accents in Alaska aren't as good as the south or Midwest unless your talking to a native out of the bush they have a twang about them i like the snow is just snow don't let people scare you,i wouldn't walk around bare bottomed in neg 50 for too long but Google people in bikins in neg 50 maybe someone reading this will post a link or pic at neg ,50 people get down to bathing suits and pose in front of the university temp sign and i camped on a lake over flow at neg 38 as i got to my property to start work,where good clothes not Gucci I'd Google extreme cold military gear and learn about the different ratings there is some trendy ish clothes at least for the far north also you can Google fur coats Alaskan made they are pricey the kids should love playing in the snow buy face gear Google cold weather face gear it helps unitl you get use to the chill buy chapstick if your going to be playing in the snow i like mucklucks they aren't real good for packing heavy gear as they are kinda weak in ankle support but they come half way up your leg so u don't have to worry about snow building up in the top of your shoes or you can buy Gators they protect from the snow,,,with all this being said hope you enjoy it if you move here and watch out Alaska has a troll community that thinks all outsiders can't make it even though they only live 0.0 miles from the nearest coffee house,Alaska is full of beautiful sites the skies light up the natives have big smiles the snow is always ready for play mode and Google transfer stations in Fairbanks or ask in the local Fairbanks group on Facebook there's alot of cool repurposing you can teach your kids