Move to Anchorage from Atlanta what does it cost to live there?

[AKStafford]

Can you come up for a visit?
And I too would suggest the MatSu Valley (Wasilla, Palmer, Houston, Talkeetna, Sutton, Willow) or the Kenai Peninsula (Seward, Kenai, Soldotna, Ninilchik, etc..., Maybe even Homer.)

[GnomadAK]

Originally Posted by hoodoowytch

Ooookay...thanks for the advice. If we want gang-issues and crap like that we'd have moved to Atlanta, GA or Lexington, KY, or some place like that. Checked out Homer...a bit too close to the coast line for our comfort...gorgeous as it is...but Talkeetna is looking nice. Not sure if you meant Valdez would be a good area or a bad one. We just want a little cabin and a place we can grow our own garden. Food, water, shelter and herb. Aiming for off the grid and making our own electricity too. Talkeetna doesn't have a lot of people...so that is an even bigger bonus. This place called Willow...what is it like? Looks like a neat little shop there too.

The trouble you'll have in Talkeetna and Willow is that the winters are harsh, like -40º harsh, short growing seasons, and legendary insects, so it will be more work to be self sufficient. Homer is more temperate. Willow, like a lot of "towns" in Alaska, is more a concept than a town. The main drag is a block wide and half a mile long and then it's off into the woods. A lot of dog mushers, some pot growers, and trappers and such.

[TerraDown]

Originally Posted by pnwguy2

just remember that Alaska is a different world. The daylight hours are severe, both summer and winter. The income is high, but so are rents and housing. Some people thrive with this. Will you?

What do you mean by 'severe?'
Thanks

[AKStafford]

Originally Posted by TerraDown

What do you mean by 'severe?'
Thanks

In the summer we have almost 24 hours of daylight. By winter we are down to just a few hours of daylight.

[piyf]

As I said before, just do it. If you fail it doesn't matter. You're young and have more than enough time to get your feet back up and start over. Chase your dreams no matter how far fetched they seem. Don't look back and think what if. The worst that happens when you look back is laugh at how crazy you were and will have more stories to tell of your journey.

[pnwguy2]

Originally Posted by AKStafford

In the summer we have almost 24 hours of daylight. By winter we are down to just a few hours of daylight.

Yes, what he/she said. By severe, I mean the same thing. It can be bothersome to some both winter and summer, for the obvious reasons.

The best definition I ever heard of Anchorage was this: "It is like someone plopped down Santa Ana, CA in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness". Of course the demographics are different, but the city doesn't look that much different than any other in the country. (OK, perhaps add on beautiful mountain and water views, and unlike Santa Ana, you can be in the wilderness within 10 minutes).