How do i find out if Alaska is for me ?

[mohighlander]

Hi,

I want to move to Alaska, i think. I am in my 20s and have a wife in her 20s, and a child. Right now i live in Missouri. I want a more remote life style, a challenging lifestyle. I want to hunt and trap and fish. I also want to raise animals and grow things, though i know it will be difficult in Alaska. My wife wont like moving to the boonies with no way out, so a road is necessary for now, at least to the property, not necessarly on the property. Electric is required for now, but after we get accustomed, we may either move further out, or get a second cabin further out.

At first i want to own the land, so no renting. We could come with only a few thousand dollars and no debt, or $30-40K in hand, and my wife still owing her student loans. She has a business major, but doesnt have a nice job yet to miss.

My plan is to come up in spring , either fly or drive, <------ RECOMENDATIONS REQUESTED ... and site see for a while. But i dont want to spend too much, luckily she likes camping.

I figure we can find out alot more about the areas and customs, and the common local prices for land and materials.

We will probably need to locate near a town for her to find a job, and satisfy her social needs.

So what do you think of my plans ? I have alot more questions to ask, but will go a little at a time, since its a ways off.

[Freeholdfarm]

Hi, first of all, is your wife with you on this? A lot of times what happens is that the man is all gung ho to live in Alaska, and his wife hates it. Either they end up leaving after a year or so, or their marriage breaks up. So you need to be of one mind on this before you actually move up there.

My strong suggestion is to pay off your debts (it's a real hindrance to be in debt -- you always have to worry about whether or not you'll be able to make the payments, and you are limited by needing to be near a job). A few thousand will only suffice to get you moved up there, so make sure you have a job before you make that jump.

If you are going to make a trip up to look around, drive if at all possible, if you can take the time for a long road trip. From where you are, it's at least a week's driving time just to get to Alaska, and with a small child along, you should allow ten days so you have time to stop and let the kiddo stretch his or her little legs. Then travel all over the place and see everything you can from the road system. If you do move up, probably initially you'll be in or near one of the cities (Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau), as I can't imagine there being much demand for your wife's education in the smaller villages. But as you get to know people, and have been there for a while, you might be able to move out a bit. Anchorage is an expensive place to live, though.

You do know that you now need a passport to go through Canada, don't you? That is, you, wife, and child each have to have your passports with you.

Growing things isn't necessarily difficult in Alaska, it's just different. Some things grow very well there (like mosquitoes, LOL!). Get some practice where you are -- gardening skills are transferable! Same with raising animals.

Are you hunting, trapping, and fishing now, where you are? If you plan to do them in Alaska, you should be doing them now and learning all you can. When you do move to Alaska, you'll have enough other new things to learn, like coping with the long, cold winters. You don't want to have to be learning all your other skills at the same time as you are learning how to deal with an unfamiliar and dangerous climate.

Have fun, enjoy your trip, and keep us posted!

Kathleen

[Jenny]

I think Kathleen gave you excellent advice. As much as I believe that Alaska is the best place to be, for many reasons (including thinking that the economy will not hold out at its present pace for long) I would not advise making a big move like this while having debt. Ideally, at least one of you will secure a job before moving here. If you are out of debt, make the move, and run into unexpected troubles, you'll be able to make it. Debt will compound any problems and will limit and even dictate your options to a great extent.

I'd say get the debt paid off as quick as you possibly can. If you're not already on a budget, make one. Then start cutting it and finding ways to pay extra on the loan each month. One family we met through the forum is planning to move up in a 5th wheel or camper of some sort. They decided to sell everything they would not be able to bring with them. There are always things you're spending money on now that you can do without. It all depends on how badly you want to be out of debt and start working toward your goals.

There are two financial ministries I'm familiar with that I think are just wonderful. One is Crown Financial Ministries www.crown.org and the other is Dave Ramsey www.daveramsey.com Both have radio shows on Christian stations. We've heard Dave Ramsey's show on other stations. Both offer great advice and have materials available for budgeting, saving, investing, getting out of debt, etc., but each has a different style.

As Kathleen said, if you plan to garden, hunt, etc, it's best if you are already doing those things where you are now, and where you know the climate. Then you can bring the skills with you and modify them to fit wherever you live. That is not to say that you WON'T make it here if you aren't already doing those things. It will just be harder and will take greater commitment and determination on your part, and for your wife. You're planning to be on the road system, so I think you could learn the skills here if you had to. You'll meet folks who will help you.

You said you don't want to rent at first. I agree with Kathleen that you should spend as much time as you can getting to know the area to find the right place. It's not always easy to sell your land/house if you decide the area is not right for you. Unless you are set up very well financially, this could make things difficult if you find yourselves stuck in a place you and your wife don't like. But, then again, you know yourself and how you tend to handle things like that. I knew one couple for a short time. He always grumbled about everything. She seemed to make herself at home and be happy instantly. Then I met someone who had known them for years and told me that my observations were correct. The wife could be content anywhere, but the husband was never happy. I think much of your success will depend on your personalities, but you can't ignore the practical things that Kathleen mentioned, either.

We wish you all the best, and please feel free to ask questions. There are lots of folks around to jump in and help.

[arlene]

My family and I will be moving up there as well (17 months 25 days, and counting). Having already lived in Alaska, a lot of questions were more consideration than getting information - although we still come up with tons of questions :-)

Our plan is taking longer, but will hopefully mean less problems. This year we've been paying off everything we can pay off, and next year my husbands paychecks will be completely off limits. That will be our stake money.

Now, we're not going to run right out and buy land. We want to have time to look around, and pick a piece of property that will be right for us (and our checkbook). So, when we roll into town (probably Fairbanks) we plan to pick up a used mobile home. If we need to (most likely) we'll park it in a trailer park until we're ready to move onto property. Even if that part takes longer than we'd like; we'll own our home (lot rental is much cheaper than renting an apartment) and when we do get ready to start our homestead we can move the trailer onto the property while we build a house. Plus (an unthinkable thought) if we did decide we'd made a huge mistake, it'll be a lot easier to unload a mobile home.

Obviously, what works for us might not be for you, but more options is more options.

[mohighlander]

Stated more clearly we own a 100K+ house and owe less than 50K on it. My wife has about 40K in college loans. We have no other debt. We have a ford ranger 4x4 with <100K miles on it to make the drive. I also have a camper shell for it. And i may buy a trailer as well.

I dont want to sell the house here though, until we find a place up there.

I already raise animals and grow a garden and have since i was small.

I go fishing and hunting but not enough to get good at it.

I do have a 22 and a shotgun, can these be brought through Canada ?

Somebody said we need passports, really ? most sites i read said _either_ passports or birth certificates. So should we go ahead and get passports ?

On further consideration we might rent a place for a month or two until we decide. Or we may buy a very small lot to camp on. If land is hard to sell, i dont want to get too invested until we are sure.

What would a month or two of rent cost near anchorage ? I will try to search about this.

[Jenny]

I can't answer most of your questions, but here's a link to the Canadian Border Information Services. www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/eservices/bis/menu-e.html There is a phone number listed on the right that you can call for more details. You used to be able to bring long guns across the border, but I thought that was changed to only shotguns. Not sure about that. I also thought you had to have a passport now, but I know that was a big issue for Alaskans who cross the border frequently to drive to Haines then ferry to Juneau or elsewhere in the SE Before I moved up here, I called the border with several questions. They were very helpful. Don't know how it is now, but it used to be very common for vehicles to be searched at the crossing. A border agent suggested to me that I keep a very detailed list of every item in every box (numbered boxes). I did that but was not searched.

On Anchorage rent ---- When we were trying to adopt our son from overseas, the judge there said we lived too remote so we had to move away until the adoption was finalized. We considered Anchorage (but decided against it) Anyway, when we were checking on rent about 4 years ago, a 2 bedroom apartment was about $1000. There were some a little less, and many were much more. I have no idea what they go for in Eagle River or the Matanuska Susitna (Mat-Su) Valley. Probably a bit less. I think the web site for the Anchorage Daily News is www.adn.com The Valley newspaper is the Frontiersman, but I don't know if they are online. You could check the adn site for the classifieds. Lots of real estate agents online, too. You could google for land in Alaska, or Alaska Real estate agents to get a better idea of what might be available.

I still believe that debt is one of your worst enemies. I have some friends down south (lower 48) who wanted to get out of debt. Her husband took a better job in another city within their state. It required that they buy another house, so they bought a much less expensive one. Didn't want to sell their old house until they were sure they'd like the new town and the new job. Right after they bought their new house, the housing market crashed and now they are stuck paying for two houses. They'll end up ok, but it's a major problem for them right now.

I think that if people are considering a move to Alaska, there are many things you must be willing to part with. Unless it's the house you were raised in or something (and couldn't stand to have someone else living in it if you moved back to the neighborhood), I'd get rid of it before you leave. You can always buy another house if you move back south. You may or may not be able to sell it when you want to, and you may or may not be able to sell it for what it's worth. I would just be cautious.

Maybe you and your wife will find great jobs when you get here. Maybe not. I'd at least try to secure them before you move. Employers up here are used to hiring folks from the lower 48 and having to hold the job for them until they get here. Many will fly your family up for a short visit to meet and so you can see a little of the area in which you'll live. They don't want to invest in you, then have you decide you hate Alaska and miss your family down south so much that you leave in a few months.

You'll also need to consider what you will do about child care if both of you work full time. Depending on the age of your child, a big move like that, then being stuck in day care will be very hard on a child. They will see it as their whole world being turned upside down. It will take time to make friends and find folks you and your child trust to babysit. I think that would be very difficult, but if you are in debt up to your eyeballs, you'll have no choice about that or many other things.

If you decide to live in a rural location, but still on the road system so you can drive to jobs you must have to get out of debt, your commutes will probably be long. Even longer during the winter when road conditions are often poor. Makes for mighty long days. If you buy land or even a home in a rural area, you will find that you need tools and all sorts of things you didn't know you'd need and wouldn't have brought with you even if you had thought of them. If you have debt, it will severely limit what you can buy to help you build the new home and life you are planning.

Alaska is a wonderful place to live, and I really am not trying to be negative. I think it's great when folks plan a move up here, and that most people can overcome many of the challenges of living here, but debt complicates things. If I were living down south and wanted to get to Alaska yesterday, I think I'd sell or give away everything I owned, pay off all the debt, maybe pay cash for a small camper, then head north. If you are out of debt and have enough cash, you can get buy until you find a job. But one of you getting a job before you move would still be best. Without debt, you'll only need one job, so the other can stay home with your children and make sure they are raised the way you want them raised instead of trusting some stranger to do it for you.

I just read your posts again. I think that you and your wife need to decide on the things that are really important in your life. Prioritize. You are not individual single folks anymore. You are a family. What is it you really want? Does what each of want fit with the other and with what both of you want for your child? What's the point of moving to Alaska? What are your goals --- short term and long term? Sounds like you want to live within reasonable distance to jobs and have electricity and all, and be able to socialize for your wife. But, sounds like you'd like to get a second place out a ways so you can have a trapline, have animals and such. It will be difficult to do all that if you're working all the time to pay your debts. There are advantages to both worlds, but it's hard, if not impossible, to find a way to blend them. You have to find the balance, and that means doing without in some areas in order to get what you want in other areas. Chuck and I are always making difficult decisions about things. On thing is more money vs the peace and solitude we have here. We have chosen this lifestyle over money. But, once we had debt (college loans, car loans and credit cards, etc. Been there, done that!). We could not do what we wanted in life until we were out of debt. There are many, many things I'd like to have, but I'm just not willing to give up this wonderful lifestyle on our homestead in the bush in order to have "stuff". It's your call, but I'm just giving my opinion ---- Yes, I know I'm very opinionated .

Best wishes,

Jenny

[Jenny]

One more thing. When looking for a job, be careful. The pay will likely be much higher than anything you'd expect down south. But the cost of living is MUCH higher in Alaska, too. Some jobs up here really do pay very well compared to the cost of living (vs. comparable jobs down south), but others do not. Try to get a site visit before you make a commitment, and make sure you go to the grocery store, lumber yard, etc. Check on the costs for electricity and fuel and other things you think you will be paying for. I once almost accepted what I thought was a GREAT job with GREAT pay. Thankfully, the hospital (I'm a nurse) insisted on flying me out before making a commitment. They showed me places I may consider living and let me find out how much it would cost. They told me all about the expenses and even took me to the grocery store. When I came home and figured it all out, I found that it would have been a real struggle to make ends meet, much less pay off my debt early. It was a good job that would have looked good on my resume early in my career, and would have been a fun place to live for awhile, but that debt load made it impossible.

[Terri]

Because everybody is different, I have no advice to offer. But, I CAN share with you what worked for us, and why.

When we moved to the state of Kansas, we signed a 1 year lease. That meant that we could check out the areas to see what we both liked. It was a great thing to do on weekends. We took our time and we consedered the angles.

We DID finally find out place, but we had 2 months left on the lease. However, the landlords told us they would let us off early IF they could find new tenants sooner than that. They did, so we were free and clear to move. By then we had a little cash saved up as well (we came out on a shoestring).

Now, DH is a city boy and he LIKES it that way! While I really hate them. But, we were able to find a parcel that had what was MOST important to us both. There was enough land for my projects, and it was only 1 mile from a major artery so the drive to town was easy, even in the winter. He had only a few blocks to go before the roads were plowed.

Meanwhile, I have a greenhouse (I made it), chickens, trees, and such. A bit back we bought a little property further out, for the future, as this area is becoming too developed.

What part of Missouri are you in? We are in Eastern Kansas.

[mohighlander]

Thanks for all your replies. I am from southeast MO.

I think that we have about decided to make a trip to alaska first. Not for sure about the details yet. Then we could look around.

I am sure i would enjoy the wilderness, sometimes i dont leave my property for months (well i used to not before i met my wife). But she thinks she needs electricity and running water, and nothing i can say is going to change her mind. So we will either have to live close enough for both, or improvise both where we land.

We watched 'the edge' the other night, im not sure if it helped or hurt my cause ;-)

[Jerngen]

mohighlander said:

We watched 'the edge' the other night, im not sure if it helped or hurt my cause ;-)

Hmmm...... now I have to go google "the edge" to see what it's about

Just looked it up. Don't think I've seen it.

[blueberry]

Some great advice here...I hope that mine can help, too.

Don't try to do it all at once. Consider a " working vacation" where you and your wife and child come up for the summer, rent a little place, and get summer jobs. I'd recommend someplace like Palmer--it's close enough to some beautiful and more remote places to offer the chance for a lot of weekend/days off exploration, and you can learn a lot about growing things here from the extension service located there.

I think that the mistake a lot of people make is trying to do it all at once, and with that much in debt...you're right to think you need to be in an area where work is available.

I'd really suggest some exploration before committing to a piece of property. When the right place comes along, you will probably know it, and you're both young enough to give yourselves the time you need to find it.

Best of luck to you.