I'm thinking of moving to Anchorage: Need Info

K

Kframe

New member
Hi all,
My wife and I are thinking of heading up to Alaska.
Currently we live in MN.
I am an RN, she works in a medical administrative office.

1.As far as Anchorage, how is the economy?
2.Cost of a 2br apt?
3.Vehicle insurance costs? (newer Saturn, newer Honda)
4.Staple costs (food, gas, electric)?
5.Any bad parts of town, where not to live?
6.Local outdoor shooting ranges/clubs?
7.What is the largest newspaper in Anchorage, so that I can check classifieds online?
8.Is it true that Alaska pays everyone about a grand per year just for living there?
9.I would also like your opinions on life in Alaska.
Thanks a lot, -Kframe
 
Spent nearly 30 years in Alaska but was never unlucky enough to have to live in Anchorage (Los Angles of the North). As one of the Ex-Governors (Jay Hammond) is said to have said: "The best thing about Anchorage is that it is only 15 minutes by air from Alaska."

The cost of living shouldn't be too, too different from living in metro areas of the mid-west. Longer winters, so more cost for heating, little if any summer costs for cooling. Groceries, clothing, car insurance, etc are comparable to metro areas in the lower 48 - maybe a bit higher, but not all that much. Alaska has no sales tax and no state income tax. Some municipalities have sales taxes, but not Anchorage. Property taxes are not all that high on a percentage basis, but real property can be valued quite a bit more highly than you'd think it was worth.

The Permanent Fund Dividend (which is available to all residents - men, women and children - of a year or more duration) is right at $2,000 this year. Check the Anchorage Daily News (the state's big - and very good) newspaper for the last Saturday edition - I think the announcement for this year's PFD was made about noon on Friday.

Depending on where in MN you live, the winters shouldn't be any worse than you're used to - maybe a bit longer. You want the long, long cold snaps, then look to the interior region of the state.

Anchorage (and to a slightly lesser extent, Fairbanks) has a very healthy medical community with excellent facilities. You and your wife should have no problems finding good jobs.

If my memory serves me, acquaintances have mentioned at least two outdoor shooting ranges in the area and I expect there may be one or more club maintained indoor ranges. Most folks just drive out and find a vacant gravel pit or good creek bank.

Alaska has an open carry status for handguns although some municipalities restrict that. It also is a shall issue state for CCW. You can carry concealed without a permit if you are engaged in an outdoor activity where you might need the protection of a firearm. "Out door activity" is not defined statutorily as far as I know - kind of like the "while traveling" provision of Texas law.

If you're into bow hunting the state parks are a blessing since hunting is allowed, but not the discharge of firearms.

Don't know about any "good" or "bad" parts of town. I have some in-laws there, so if you are really wanting to check that out I could make some inquiries.

If you think I can provide further helpful information, feel free to email or email me for a phone number and give me a call.

The reason I'm living in Texas is 1) I have elderly parents here and 2) my wife, who was born and raised in Alaska, said if we moved it was to be somewhere where there was less winter, not more. (I'd talked about going back to Fairbanks...)

Now we're living in a place where we've traded real winters and fake summers for real summers and fake winters... wonder how long it'll take her to reconsider...

P.S. The real difference in the cost of living for day to day stuff between Anchorage and a comparable metro location in the mid-west is in the cost of service items such as rest. meals. If the majority of cost for an item is in the labor, it will be a lot higher in Alaska. As I said, solid items such as clothing, furniture, etc. is somewhat higher, but not a lot. It is also the only place I've ever lived where beer is cheaper than soda pop.

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Jim Fox

[This message has been edited by JimFox (edited September 26, 2000).]
 
Oatka, Jim,
Thanks for the info!!!
I'm not worried about long or cold winters.
Here in MN, we only really have two seasons.
Winter, and Road Construction.
Winter is from Nov thru May, and the rest of the year is decorated with orange signs.

Also, it is quite usual to have -20 and -30 at night for all of Jan and Feb.
I'm used to daytime winter HIGHS of about 0 Fahrenheit.

From what I hear, Anchorage has a ton of snow, but temps are in the 20-30 range in the day, and around 0-10 at night.
Is that about right?

Also, I hear that summers are in the 60s to low 80s. Usually 65-75 with about 50% humidity.

Here in MN, summers are in the 70-90 range with 60-90% humidity.

So, the weather in Alaska (or Anchorage rather) is not an issue for me.

I just need to know if I will be able to pay my bills, and if I can still shoot as much as I do currently.

Furthermore, we don't have kids yet, but may have 'em in a few years.
So, in about 7-10 years we will need to look at schools.
This isn't a big factor in our decision on where to move.
Even if we move to AK, who knows if we'll be there in 7-10 years.
We'll burn that bridge when we come to it.

Oh, another thing we're looking at is the rumor that airline tickets from AK to Hawaii are in the $300-400 range, and from MN to HI they are about $1200 or so.

We honeymooned in HI awhile back, and would like to be able to go there many times again.
(Wouldn't we all!)

Thanks for the info thus far, please chime in if you have anything more to add.

:)
-Kframe
 
I'ved lived in Alaska for 15 years now (moved up fom MN), we were unlucky enough to have to live in Anchorage for a few years. Actually, we lived in Chugiak about 30 miles north and communted in. Traffic in Anchorage is a drag but nothing compared to the Twin Cities. The Department of F & G has a fine outdoor shooting range just south of town and there's another one in Chugiak. There's also an indoor range in town but I've never been there. There's plenty of shooting and hunting opportunity (only 15 minutes away by air :D). My wife is an RN and has never had trouble getting a job anywhere in Alaska. Economy is good. Eagle River is a nice town about 20 miles north of town, housing used to be cheaper there but I don't know any more. Compared to MN winters, Anchorage's are pretty mild. Feel free to email me if you want more.

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RKBA!
 
I'm a proud citizen of Anchorage and have been for several years. I love the place. It's the heart and soul of this state, whether or not the rest of the state wants to admit it ;-)

Ranges: Sadly, the indoor range has closed down, but you can still go to the rifle range south of town. I'm there every weekend. Love it. Wonderful range, friendly people.

Living: Expect to pay @ 700-900 for a good 2 BR. Do NOT move to a place called "Mountain View", even though the name sounds nice. I live in the local version of Korea Town. Others would call it bad, but I love it. Food costs about the same as Seattle. *Good* fresh fruit is hard to find, but there are some great local veges. Insurance is way too much. Damn plaintiff scum. I've dedicated my life to destroying them.

PFD: Yessiree, the PFD. Not a thousand bucks. Try closer to TWO thousand! In just a few short weeks! I'm buying *several* guns with mine. I've sprung into song and dance several times this week just thinking about it.

Gun stores: I always go to Great Northern Guns, but there are several other good ones. Gary's Bullets is a good place for custom loads.

NO TAXES! Unless you own property, that is.

Clothing: Plaid logger shirts and Carhartts are standard, even for the business set. Summers are great, with a short rainy season (this is NOT SE). Winters have been mild lately. Don't overdress for them. This isn't Fairbanks or Barrow. Or the mid-west.

Everyone and their brother's dog goes to HI on vacations. There are lots of flights.

Wildlife: Watch out for the street moose. They'll rough you up.

Local Politics: While other mayors sue the gun industry, our EXCELLENT mayor has been pushing to make it easier to own machine guns. God, I love this town!!
 
Greetings from Los Anchorage, Alaska has an outstanding home school program which we utilized fully when I moved my three daughters here. The public schools are overrun with the bangers just like in America. Fairview and Mountain View are the darkside of town, Spenard is a cross between newage hippies and Hells Angels but always a party. Bunny Boots and survival gear is required for each family member for "just in case". We have a large contingent of pistol hunters here running the gamut from T/Cs to Freedom Arms and more than several using custom Linebaughs and Reeders. Driving the Alcan is a incredable experience, bring lots of film. henry
 
Wow!
Lot's of good info!
It is much appreciated, believe me.

As for getting my guns and all our of our stuff up to Alaska....
I guess the only practical option is to rent a Uhaul or something and tow the car behind it?

I don't know the laws re: traveling thru Canuckland with guns.
But, the guns would be at the front of the cargo area, so without completely unloading the truck nobody would know they are in there.
So, even if it is a no-no, what the RCMP doesn't know won't hurt 'em.

Or maybe there's a better way?

Field-Dressed, how'd you do it?
Thanks, -Kframe
 
Hmmm, this thread has grabbed my attention. How are the job prospects fot system administrators / hi-tech workers in AK? How about teachers (Once I finish my degree)?
 
I don't think the RCMP have a problem with unloading an entire U-Haul; and I'll be willing to bet that they'll let you put it all back, assuming they don't find any guns. In that case you won't have to put any of it back.

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Gun control started the Revolutionary War!..."itcta alea est"
 
Hola Maxinq,
Job prospects in AK are limited for IT and SA's here in AK. I'm working on my MCSE, and when I get it I'll prolly move to the states for a few years. I love alaska and the hunting and everything else, but unless you have a few years experience as a systems administrator, the prospects aren't that great. Anchorage is growing fast, but there're still not enough big corporations who will pay good enough to make it worth it until you've got some good experience. A couple places I've thought about moving are arizona, seattle, and boise. But most likely Boise, cuz I have family there. Anyhow, hope this helps.
 
You are required to declare all firearms at the Canada border, handgun possesion is a felony as is the pistol ammmo. Call the border station for current info, when I drove up I stopped in Seattle and shipped my "illegal" guns to Anchorage on Alaska Air. Battle rifles, anything with a pistol grip whether shotgun or rifle etc..etc. I read somewhere that the barrel length on shotguns (used to be 18 1/2) had been change to 20in? Dot the i and cross the t cus the border guys make our IRS agents look charming. They will search your vehicle. henry
 
BadMedicine - how much experience are we talking here? I have 5 years as systems admin, heavy on security work. MCSE and an Associates degree. Will that cut the mustard?
 
Don't rule out Fairbanks!! It's the closer to being the REAL Alaska. When I go to Anchorage I could swear I have stepped into the lower 48 complete with "big city" attitude (like people honking at intersections).

When we moved to AK we were dissappointed that FBX had to be our destination instead of ANC.. now I'm dreading our move to ANC next summer.

As far as bringing the guns up... I'm a regular law breaking dare-devil and even I didn't try to sneak any though PRoC. We flew back to pick them up, bringing them on the plane.
I've always joked that if the Canadian border thugs *had* stumbled across my collection of evil black guns they'd have dropped dead with cardiac arrest and I could have driven on uncontested.

Forget the U-haul idea. You could *buy* a truck for cheaper than the rental rate, then sell it up here and make money. We bought a nice enlosed trailer then sold it for a handsome profit... essentially paid for our whole move.

What kind of nursing? The bush flying service I work for is always looking for RN's for their medivac program.
See their website under "Guardian Flight" and "employment opportunities": www.frontierflying.com

Don't let anyone scare you with the old "high cost of living" line... yeah, things are a little more expensive but wages are proportionately high. Starting wages for high school kids are no less than $10.

email me if you have more specific questions... it's the last free'est place on earth!

[This message has been edited by Jordan (edited September 27, 2000).]
 
When I moved down (about a year ago) I brought all of my rifles and shotguns through Canada in locked tool boxes in the back of my pickup. (I made several trips with the pickup and a trailer moving stuff down.) The only ammo I had was a half dozen shotgun shells for my camp gun. (An Ithaca 12 gage that made several round trips with me.)

I had a list (make, model, serial number, etc) and the customs agent went over it with me very carefully. But otherwise there was no problem - be careful about barrel length and the status of certain semi autos. There is a limit of some type on the number of rounds of ammo you can have with you. It is fairly liberal (or used to be) but as I recall a case of .22s would put you way over. Anything over the limit requires a permit.

When it came time to move the handguns and ammo I loaded them into the trusty old tool boxes and took the ferry. For all practical purposes there is no way to move handguns through Canada. You can ship them, fly with them or take them with you on the ferry from Bellingham to Prince William Sound. About once a month they run the ferry across the Gulf of Alaska - but that may be summertime only. And is very expensive. Lovely trip, but pricy.

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Jim Fox
 
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