Does Verizon work & does amazon deliver to Bethel Alaska (Anchorage: rentals, how much)

[Lmonta60]

Hi,
A family member is Considering YKHC employment and need info on a couple points....
If we have Verizon service in NY will that work in bethel? Thinking if we do unlimited plan he can stream / mirror videos or Netflix to an Apple TV?

And I wonder why the interviewer never mentioned using Amazon for groceries (amazon pantry- extra 5$ a month free shipping on groceries). It’s gotta be cheaper than the AC or taking 3 totes via air plain to Anchorage & back, right? Amazon Fresh & Amazon Pantry are pretty consistent with our groceries in upstate NY....

Also do they have housing at the hospital for contract employees who are considered “medical staff”? He was told his discipline is considered medical, like nursing. We read some older Bethel Survival Guide that state’s nurses are eligible for for YKHC housing and meal vouchers (breakfast & dinner)

If there’s housing, with the hospital, how much is it? What’s included and is it really awful? :-(. I called the post man dude, Mr Murphy (soooo nice, knowledge & awesome!) who said they are renovating them bigtime but they aren’t ready for use till maybe next year ....he also said, yes, amazon does deliver there but I’ve read lots of exceptions.

Anyone work with Kreider Rentals? They seemed very contract-employee knowledgeable on their website but I read on some forum that they aren’t very responsive. Anyone use another realty successfully? This one posted a nice 2 br home for 1700 a month but I got a sense it’s like that come-on gimmick at car dealerships to get you in the door but “you just missed that one but here are some others that you’d like....”.(at twice the price too!).

How much is the cost for plane to “pop on over” to anchorage & back for, say, shopping or entertainment....?

And lastly, what is the best way to ship an SUV over? And approx costs. There doesn’t appear to be a ferry as he was told, but maybe they meant the barge.
Finally, how good are their family doctors at the clinic? Progressive or dark ages? Lol.
Thanks in advance for any help!
Lora

[Parnassia]

And I wonder why the interviewer never mentioned using Amazon for groceries (amazon pantry- extra 5$ a month free shipping on groceries). It’s gotta be cheaper than the AC or taking 3 totes via air plain to Anchorage & back, right? Amazon Fresh & Amazon Pantry are pretty consistent with our groceries in upstate NY....

Bethel AK is not upstate NY. Amazon adds freight surcharges to many if not all AK destinations. It may not be cheaper than the local AC. There are many many sellers who won't ship to AK. Even if they do, many products don't ship to AK. I find that all the time with food (and I am not as remote as Bethel). Planning to shop while in Anchorage and hauling stuff home is routine for many bush residents. Remember, weather is going to be a factor when waiting for mail order anything. If the planes can't get in, they can't get in.

Also do they have housing at the hospital for contract employees who are considered “medical staff”? He was told his discipline is considered medical, like nursing. We read some older Bethel Survival Guide that state’s nurses are eligible for for YKHC housing and meal vouchers (breakfast & dinner)

Call/email the hospital HR department and ask. The job description may give a contact number to someone who can say specifically for this position. Get the rates, photos, rents, etc. There won't be many options for housing so be ready to take what's there.

How much is the cost for plane to “pop on over” to anchorage & back for, say, shopping or entertainment....?

Anchorage is a 1.5 hour flight each way. Jet airfare via Alaska Airlines about $420 RT. Chartering a flight would be astronomically expensive.

And lastly, what is the best way to ship an SUV over? And approx costs. There doesn’t appear to be a ferry as he was told, but maybe they meant the barge.

Barge info: Barge Service to Bethel | Alaska Marine Lines

Finally, how good are their family doctors at the clinic? Progressive or dark ages? Lol.
Thanks in advance for any help!
Lora

[AKStafford]

Originally Posted by Lmonta60

Hi,
If we have Verizon service in NY will that work in bethel?

Pretty sure that when we send our field techs to Bethel we send them with a GCI cell phone because nothing else works out there.


Amazon for groceries

I'm Amazon Prime and live in Wasilla. Typically takes 3 weeks to get anything from Amazon to here and Bethel is beyond that. So he'd better plan way ahead on his shopping.


How much is the cost for plane to “pop on over” to anchorage & back for, say, shopping or entertainment....?
A quick, simple search on www.AlaskaAir.com shows $200 to $300 round trip.


And lastly, what is the best way to ship an SUV over? And approx costs. There doesn’t appear to be a ferry as he was told, but maybe they meant the barge.

No ferry to Bethel. And the barge won't run until the ice goes out. Here's the link for Alaska Marine Lines: Barge Service to Alaska, Southeast Alaska, Central Alaska, Western Alaska, Arctic Alaska, and Hawaii | Alaska Marine Lines . You can get a quote here: Rate Estimate | Alaska Marine Lines .

I've got some replies above in RED.

Maybe he should fly out there for a visit before deciding to go.
Here's a couple of YouTube videos that might help:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQpxNFbDV4w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iklCrbaGQeA

[Lmonta60]

Thank you very much Parnassia and AKstafford for taking the time to respond. So he was officially offered the job today. Overwhelming lol. He’s thinking about driving to Anchorage then flying himself & car to Bethel from there - 4-5k Miles.
We just watched the videos you sent on YouTube. 35 bucks for tide lol! We’re getting the gist of the big picture though- costs are connected to whether it has long enough shelf life to barge, making it a little cheaper than perishable stuff that has to be flown. And heavier items, too, drive up price on some things so.....it’s coming together. We can work it all around between what he can buy local, what I can ship flat rate & what amazon will do. Between those 3 variables PLUS “grab & go” at the hospital we can maximize best combination.

Verizon & Sprint supposedly will roam or free on the GCI towers but I will find out for sure. I thought he could avoid paying 2-300 a month for high speed internet which I hear isn’t like our unlimited high speed here. We stream at least 2 TVs at the same time plus multiple iPads, WiFi enabled cell phones & laptops are always running....crazy. We had “high speed” DSL before and 2 streaming TVs buffered so much we couldn’t handle it lol. I think that’s what they ave in bethel. I was gonna borrow an Apple TV just to see if he could mirror Netflix, YouTube etc from his iPhone right onto the Apple TV. That would be a good trick if I can pull it off! Then he wouldn’t need cable/internet/WiFi. It’s like 200- 315 a month with GCI depending on the speeds which wouldn’t kill him since they do pay well lol. But meh, for me this is a challenge and it would be cool to share it with others if it DOES work.

Thank you again ;-D

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by Lmonta60

He’s thinking about driving to Anchorage then flying himself & car to Bethel from there -

So which airline or cargo company is going to take the car to Bethel?

[stiffnecked]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

So which airline or cargo company is going to take the car to Bethel?

Northern Air Cargo or Everts Air. Not cheap. It's been a while but a friend had his Toyota pickup flown to Barrow and it cost $4500.


Everts Air Cargo

Scheduled | NAC

[Northrick]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

So which airline or cargo company is going to take the car to Bethel?

You can fly cars around the state. Expect to pay a buck a pound or more though.

[Northrick]

Originally Posted by Lmonta60

Verizon & Sprint supposedly will roam or free on the GCI towers but I will find out for sure. I thought he could avoid paying 2-300 a month for high speed internet which I hear isn’t like our unlimited high speed here. We stream at least 2 TVs at the same time plus multiple iPads, WiFi enabled cell phones & laptops are always running....crazy. We had “high speed” DSL before and 2 streaming TVs buffered so much we couldn’t handle it lol. I think that’s what they ave in bethel. I was gonna borrow an Apple TV just to see if he could mirror Netflix, YouTube etc from his iPhone right onto the Apple TV. That would be a good trick if I can pull it off! Then he wouldn’t need cable/internet/WiFi. It’s like 200- 315 a month with GCI depending on the speeds which wouldn’t kill him since they do pay well lol. But meh, for me this is a challenge and it would be cool to share it with others if it DOES work.

Thank you again ;-D

WiFi and cell service in bush Alaska sucks. No getting around it. Instead of worrying about how he is going to watch 2 Netflix movies at the same time he is surfing the web, he'd be better off focusing on activities that the area has to offer. Isn't that the real reason to move somewhere so different? Why go there if you are intent on trying to make it like where you are at now?

[Haolejohn]

When we lived close the bethel it took 10 days to 2 weeks for amazon prime to arrive. Sometimes it would take a week. Usually 10 days. We didn’t do the pantry thing. When we lived in Dillingham, we started getting a lot of our groceries from target. With the red card we got free shipping and a 5% discount.

Tell your family member not to ship a vehicle until they know they will like it. It’s going to cost roughly $4500 or more to fly a vehicle into bethel.

Internet sucks out there. Streaming will suck. Ain’t no unlimited plans out there. Even though those plans are offered in anchorage and on the road.

I think a flight is about $400 RT and I’d look at Ravn with their rewards program over Alaska air. Though Alaska allows three free bags.

Fred Meyers offers a bush order program for food as well. Meat costs
More to ship, but we did fresh veggies and box goods through them all the time.

[Haolejohn]

Originally Posted by AKStafford

I've got some replies above in RED.

Maybe he should fly out there for a visit before deciding to go.
Here's a couple of YouTube videos that might help:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQpxNFbDV4w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iklCrbaGQeA

3 weeks? We are getting stuff in 4 days. I’ve had a few packages arrive in 3 days. Had one arrive in a month(though it was a vendor). Basically it’s still a crap show though.