Alaska
 

Hey guys~

Just curious to see if anyone here's from Alaska or has lived there...

might be moving there (Ketchikan or Petersburg) next summer (hubby is in the Coast Guard), and just wanted some input on whether it would be worth it to ship my car. I know the roads aren't the best there, or so I've heard. Also, how are insurance rates?

If we don't go to Alaska, we're hoping for WA or OR... never been there. Any input? We're coming from Delaware, so don't think I'll be driving the 8 up to the PNW.

I'm in Soldotna. I love driving all over in the summer, but put it up for the winter. Depending where you go the roads really aren't bad. Just like anywhere else, there's bad parts of town. My insurance is great. Full coverage runs $225/month for my 8, my wife's Pontiac Sunfire and my Chevy 4x4. In the winter I suspend ins. on my 8 and I'm down to like 148ish.

I'd like to know, too. The gf and I took a cruise up there just a couple of months back and L O V E D it. We're seriously considering moving up there sometime in the future. :) If you do move, be sure to let us know. I'd love to see pics!

I'll post some for you both.....

More...

Outdoors with my wife.....

Here's some of the views I get from my office!

Last one unless you want more.

Yes, please. :)


By the way... can you tell me a bit about the area you're in? Population, things to see and do, weather, etc.?

Sure. I'm on the Kenai Peninsula (as South Central as you can possibly be.) Summer time is awesome weather. It will get as high as 80 degrees F, and maybe down to 50-55. During the summer it will stay light out until midnight or so and get fairly dim at 2am, getting light again like 4-5ish. It's way sweet! In Fairbanks (a lot further north) it will get as high as 90+ in the summer, but drop to minus 30 or 40 in the winter. You could have a 140 degree difference at both extremes. Fairly mild here.

Most tourists are really surprised by the number of beautiful women up here. A lot more than you'd think.

The Peninsula has a population of about 51,000 people.
Alaska has a total pop of 650,000.
Anchorage (about 2 or 3 hours away has over 250,000)
I'm 5 minutes away from the Kenai River. I am friends with a guy whose father-in-law caught the world record 97 pound 4 ounces on the Kenai. (Les Anderson).

You'd better be into outdoor stuff. The best fishing in the world, hiking, biking, camping, mountaineering, canoeing, kayaking, flightseeing, and some beautiful driving scenery.
I'm more into mountain biking than anything else. A lot of my pictures were from some rides I did this summer.

We are one of the least taxed states in general. We have no state income tax. We get Permanent Fund Dividends every year (don't know if you're familiar with that). One year we each got like $1800.

Cost of living is resonable. Housing cost is far below most places; Alaska is over 570,000 square miles. Check out this link:
http://www.netstate.com/states/alma/ak_alma.htm

Don't let the "1.1 person per square mile" fact scare you. There is a crap ton of land that' just wilderness.
You'll probably want to see Mt. McKinley.

Can't think right now. Gimme some more questions.

Wow... It just keeps sounding better and better. :) The weather is something else that attracted me to the parts of Alaska we went through. From what I gathered (at least of the areas in and around the Inside Passage) your winters are actually a little more mild and warm than here in Indiana. After going through a few weeks of 90+ degree weather here every summer, 50-80 degrees would be heaven.

The girlfriend is asking "How much is real estate". I know we took a quick look at tome places online in Sitka, Juneau, and Ketchikan, but most seemed fairly pricey? Are there other places we'd be better off looking?

I'm also curious about some of the wildlife... Like, how safe is it to go out on a casual hike? And what types of insects live up there (spiders? bees?).

And thanks again SO much for all the info. :)

(and sorry for hijacking your thread, Saki!)

http://websrvr2.alaskarealestate.com/

Check the link out, location is everything, and price can go to both extremes just where I'm at. My home is in a subdivision where each house has 1 acre, private well and septic. It's 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage and a year ago we paid $140,000. 5 minutes away on the Kenai River a guy I work with has a house worth $650,000, and it's not crazy big or anything. The Kenai Peninsula is a hot spot in general. Anchorage is hard to find a place to buy, it'll be expensive too. I can drive to Anchorage in the 8 in under 2 hours and it's a fun drive, and I don't have to live there. My parent bought like 8 acres for I believe $14,000, and built a house on it, 15 minutes out of town.

Hiking is no big deal. Most people pack a handgun, shotgun, or just bear spray. I've never run into a bear on the trail. The people 30 seconds ahead of us walked around a corner to see one in the trail, and it ran off just as we caught up. Bears generally won't mess with you as long as they don't feel threatened. They'll run off if they hear you. Moose are much less of a big deal. They'll wander through the yard periodically. Just clap your hands and they'll run off. Kind of like deer. If you get stupid about it, they'll stomp the crap out of you, but again very rare. Most animals are nocturnal. They'll really come out at night, but won't see that many in daytime, unless you're trying.

Insects are a non-issue. Bees yes. Not killer or anything. Can't remember the last time I was stung. Spiders same deal, not killers, but once in a GREAT while a brown recluse will get shipped up in a crate from down south and get out and bite someone, but one thing I don't have to worry about is bugs. Mosquitos can be miserable if you live on a pond or lake.
When biking I never have a bug problem because you're always moving. In the winter you may have to squash a spider in the house, but bugs are virtually nonexistant in the winter.

I've never been to Ketchikan or Petersburg, so I don't know about the road situation there. Petersburg should have some good snowmachining, so you could always sell your 8 and get a Ski-Doo. :D:

hey man I'll be there in june getting stationed in anchorage again can't wait i love it there but we'll have to get everyone together during the summer

Yeah, we'll have to get together and chase the cops around!

Will you be stationed at Elmendorf AFB?

I live in Fairbanks, AK
Up here, we need to winterize our cars or they won't start at -40
I know I can't install the normal engine block heater.
What can i do?
Thanks!

I park mine in the garage in the winter and drive my truck so I don't have to worry about it. Have you driven your 8 in the winter yet? You may want to talk to your dealer about getting one as I haven't looked into it. Also you may try running a search of this forum; I know there is some mention of them here.

What color is your 8?

It's black - it came up from Anchorage

Why didn't you buy from Mazda in Fairbanks?

its an '05 - used
Affordable used cars brought it up from anchorage (i dont know why)
a new one would have been over my price range

If anyone else is in Fairbanks, Aurora Motors just got in a red RX-8 6sp manual.
She sure is pretty - the red has little bits of gold in the paint
I just went to see it to compare it to my 05

Hi gr8 saki,

Where did you end up, or have you moved yet? I'm in WA, so I'd be happy to give you info.

Linda

:hahano: I forgot all about this thread...


We ended up NOT getting stationed in Alaska, which was our first 2 picks... we were both extremely bummed out!
We got our 4th pick... Port Angeles, WA... which is on the Olympic Peninsula nestled at the base of the Olympic Mountains, and judging from the Alaska pics I've seen posted here, its just as gorgeous... without Mt. McKinley, of course! We absolutely love it here though- tons of outdoor activities to do (we rarely watch tv anymore) and the people are so friendly here (unlike the northeast coast).
We will be here until at least the summer of '08, but we are looking at taking a ferry/cruise up to Alaska next summer...
And for our next transfer, Alaska will be at the top of our list again... :hahano: and if we actually get it, i think i'll leave my 8 here in storage.

I used to live my youth years in Ketchikan from 86-90. Good times and memories of childhood life. It's like that small community kinda deal where you are safe and relaxed (or so I thought).

The winters are extreme as I would suspect the north mainland AK is. Lots of nice outdoor things to do as mentioned. I loved the fishing for salmon off the popular coast spots. Summers would get into the 90's.

And if you ever feel like your stuck, take teh ferry over to Prince Rupert in BC (there are other things to do there too). Then it's a straight shot down south back into the continental 48.

Oh yeah my father was stationed in the Coast Guard too during that time. That's how I know this place and got stuck ova there.