Well, as I sit here on my couch in Anchorage, I'll push out a few observations...
Alaska is amazing but, it can also be a brutal, cold, depressing bitch at times.
Anchorage used to be great, it's where I was born and raised. I've give about anything to send it back to those years but, that could be said for anywhere I suppose. I moved away for a few years to Calif and eventually had enough, so moved back up to Anchorage. Anchorage is way better than most liberal crushed mid sized cities around the west coast. Anchorage is also still a disaster in terms of homelessness. It's expensive to live here, so make sure your house income can support that. It's not just daily costs, bills, housing etc.....you have to remember you move to Alaska to enjoy Alaska (snow machining, boating, fishing, hunting, hiking, what have you..) and that all costs. Unlike lower 48 deer hunting where you waddle out to the deer stand or drive a country back road, here it's way more involved and this usually catches outside hunters off guard. EVERYTHING costs more and some things you just have to write off. You can't order ammo online, unless you buy it by the pallet full and have it shipped up on a boat. Produce is already at the expiration date by the time it gets here. I could go on and on...
If I were you and you guys were getting serious, I'd come up for a stay in the winter and see what you think. Make sure to understand that summer is only a few weeks and fall is dependent on less rain, otherwise it goes mostly to winter in a week. We had a dusting last week and the radio dude reminded us that it's barely been five months since our last snowfall (May...) Get an air b n b and give it a month. I'd also look at living in the valley (Wasilla, Palmer, etc) which is 30-45 minutes outside of Anchorage to the north and then grab the job in Anchorage and see if the commute works for you. On some bad winter snow days, factor in doubling that commute time or just avoiding the drive for the day period. Wasilla and Palmer are growing as well but, still seem to have held onto the right way of life. School Districts aren't giving into the Lib mess yet and often fight it. It's a more conservative atmosphere still and they haven't been overrun by the purple haired hippo's advocating for child reading hour about tranny's (not the kind underneath your truck, the kind who can't figure out how to pee) like much of Anchorage's "leadership" is.
Now, as bad as I make it sound, every time we travel around the lower 48 and start thinking "hey, could we live here?", it usually takes about 48 hours and we're ready to head back north. To us, it's still worth the hassle, cost and occasional frustration.
I could go on and on, both the good and bad. It's not for everyone, it has it's hassles, it's still the best place for us.
I'd be happy to PM more if you have questions and such...gotta head in to work now. Alaska level bills to pay and all that.
) are 45 minutes to an hour, and there’s only one road, if commuting daily, that sucks and buy good tires. I also, recommend 2 trips up to see if the climate works for you, one in January, the other in June. Also, take a good look at the road map for the entire state, not a lot of options for a quick weekend get away, but good times can be had over and over again at what there is.
