Calling all Alaska Residents!!!

[flassen]

The main issue i have with Alaska, is thst it is mostly government land. Trying to find a property that is more the 5 acres is difficult. I like Fairbanks, Anchorage is a cluster. I have spent a lot of time on the Kenai peninsula. The are still some properties near Kasilof that are fairly reasonable in price. Many properties are not listed. Expect a lot of daylight in the summer, it only gets to dusk then back to light for another 22 hours. Also get ready for the inverse in the winter. Many, many hours of dark. A lot of people cannot tolerate that. I have lived more years in Canada, but I don't like the current politics in B.C. Canada.

 

[comfisherman]

We have the same phenomenon as a lot of places. Where land and housing is cheaper there are no jobs. The periphery areas that used to be a decent bang for the buck have been inundated by folks who were made remote during the pandemic. I'll use some friends as an example, they bought a beautiful house with a view on the hill during early 2021. It had sold in 18 for about 400k. They payed well over double for that, but we're moving from the bay area so it seemed fine for a gorgeous house on the hill with a view. The job requires in person for a certain amount of the year and moved to Austin. So they air bb the house enough to pay the sub 3% mortgage and the house sits the other 9 months a year. That doesn't have to happen very many times before the housing becomes scarce and expensive and prices out most year round locals.

Buddy moved into a neighborhood 7 years ago, he flat out couldn't afford to now. Joke is a nurse moved out and a Dr moves in.... cost of living has crept up so fast it's hard on young folks and new comers.


Still get a chance to move around the state in the winter with work, tone has changed so much since I was college age. Wish it was change for the better.....

 

[HRM Johnny]

Wow. This has been an interesting read. Not what I would have expected.

 

[Trappernewt]

One of the things that makes this forum so great is all the people willing to take the time to answer questions and help other members. I learned so much from reading this and over the weekend I'm gonna take the time to reach out to a few of you via PM. One of the main things I didn't think about (though I should have) was accessing the outdoor opportunities. I didn't necessarily have a plan to buy a tract of land. More so just buy a couple acres and a house with decent access to a lot of hunting and fishing opportunities.

The amount of daylight/darkness is not something I really had serious thought over as well. And I definitely have put more time into considering that as a more serious issue.

 

[ctaylorak]

I moved here 19 years ago, mainly for the Hunting. Learned real quick, it can't compare to WY, MT, unless you are fairly wealthy. Different hunts and parts of the state require different equipment. To truly be able to hunt every animal everywhere in AK, you need a plane, boat, tracked atv. When I lived in WY, every night after work, I could hunt deer or elk for 3 to 4 hours not including drive time. That's not possibly here. The few places you can drive to hunt anre either over run with people or a secret honey-hole of lifetime resident. Which they won't share and I don't blame them ( the over run areas). Fishing is a lot better, but has some negatives dip netting and combat fishing.
I have about same standard of living as my brother in WY who makes half of what I do.
You will feel like it's 9 months of winter and 3 month of Spring/Fall weather. No real summer weather.
No matter how much you think you are prepared for the daylight and dark. It will take its toll. If any of your family isn't a 100% on board. It will really take its toll on their mental health.
Crime is higher, a lot of unemployed, addicts, ,mentally ill, and criminals. I think they flock here because it's the last frontier and they think they will be messed with by the cops less, then where they came from. Which means AK had more per capita than other places of all of the above people.
That's what's basically different living here, from other places I've lived in the lower 48.

 

[LDHunter]

Back in the mid 80's I was intent on moving to AK but life happened and I ended up in Woodland Park Colorado which was really good because that was before the California rich people started escaping the craziness. Back then Colorado was basically Texas's playground and the political climate was very good. Now I can't imagine living there again nor could I afford it.

From what this thread reveals, it's happening not only to Alaska but almost everywhere that hunting and fishing and a good outdoor life is/was available in the western US. It's too bad but it is what it is and we have to either adapt or just become bitter old people.

I doubt it will get much better in the near future. Monetization of hunting and fishing is a reality that has all but ruined it for all but the rich or nearly so and even for them the feeling of the wild and wooly west has faded.

I hate to sound like a downer but in reality I'm still embracing the outdoor life that I can still experience here. I share a 9,000 acre deer lease and live just a few hundred yards from a great 14mile long fishing lake and I'm surrounded by a 550,000 acre national forest. It ain't Alaska or even Colorado but it's easy, cheap and accessible 24/7/365 and all of it just a few minutes from my house.

 

[Ol' Red]

This thread is making me feel good about moving from Alaska to Wyoming in 1995. I knew that things changed up there, but not as much as I am reading here. My older brother's ashes are spread in the bay in Dutch Harbor, so at least he is not rolling over in his grave. Anywhere the population increases things change fast and usually not for the good. I am glad that Wyoming is overpopulated and has no room for more people. Except Jackson Hole of course.