I am currently living in Boise, ID and have the chance to move up to Fairbanks with my job. I really want to do it (have good friends up there), but need to weigh all of my options first. Does anyone have any experience from that region that they wouldn't mind sharing?

-- Chris Stogdill (cstogdill@rmci.net), April 18, 2001

Answers

I live about 2 hours from Fairbanks in the town of Delta Junction. Delta is a farming and Army town of about 3000. There are lots of homesteaders around here living under all sorts of conditions. Personally, I love it up here and enjoy the freedom of living amongst like-minded individuals.

Fairbanks is a bit different though. First of all, its more of a commercial hub and less of an agricultural one (Delta and Palmer are the two ag areas in the state), though there are homesteaders in the area. It's a mid-sized city with decent shopping, lots of recreational opportunities, a great university, and, surprisingly, a really good feed store! Most homesteaders live in the outlying areas away from the city. Real estate immediately around Fairbanks is fairly high because, as I understand it, there is little land available for building due to the presence of permafrost and wetlands in many locations. In addition, I suspect prices are elevated due to a hangover from the pipeline boom. You could look a little ways out but you might be driving a ways depending on where you work. In addition, the road system in Alaska is limited and much land is simply nonaccessible except by snowmachine, 4-wheeler, or boat. (In fact, I know some folks that boat to their house in the summer and snowmachine up the river in Winter).

People do keep animals up here, though housing is a necessity in winter for obvious reasons. In Delta, for example, people keep everything from Percheron horses to bison to chickens to reindeer. The gardening season is VERY short (60-90 days) but very productive due to the 20+hours of daylight (go to the AK state fair website for pictures of 70 pound cabbages for evidence). Many plants that you might want to grow (fruit trees, corn, eggplant, etc) either don't grow or have to be babied due to the short season and odd light cycles (many plants don't know fall is coming because the days are still long).

Hunting for moose is popular in the interior and supplements many people's diet. In addition, most people fish -- although fishing in the interior is not so great, especially when compared to the coastal areas. Gathering berries is a popular summer pasttime too.

I find the long winter to be bearable though Spring fever set in two months ago and we still have snow on the ground (and have had it since October!). The short days (4 hours) in December are more of a nuisance to me than anything. The biggest drawback for me is that the window for planting and gardening falls in the same window as traveling, hiking, and enjoying the outdoors as well as outdoor home building and repair! There simply isn't enough time in the summer to do everything and you have to plan carefully. On the other hand, winter is a good time to catch up on reading and all those things you otherwise put off. Cross-country skiing, mushing, ice-fishing, and similar winter activities help to get people outdoors when they need it most.

Oh, don't forget all the tourist that invade Alaska in May, June, July and August. Prices double...!

Feel free to email me with specific questions.

Mike

-- Michael Nuckols (nuckolsm@wildak.net), April 18, 2001.

Chris -

Don't have any info on Fairbanks - I live up in ID City... Just wanted to say:

Seems like I'm losing another 'neighbor'!!! We'll miss you! Oh well... You'll love AK!!

-- Sue Diederich (willow666@rocketmail.com), April 19, 2001.

Hello, Since I saw so few responses to your query, I thought I'd give you one. I live about an hour from Fairbanks, towards Delta Junction. It's beautiful country, taxes are relatively low, 2nd amendment is fairly well protected, prices are getting very close to lower 48. Every time I go down there I seem to be less irritated by what I pay for say mayonnaise, or milk. We do have high sin taxes though, so if your used to paying $10 for a case of beer, better stay there! It is harsh country and some people cannot tolerate the extreme cold. Kids still have to wait for the school bus when it is -50, and school is rarely delayed, never canceled because of snow. There are many homeschoolers here. Wages tend to be good, especially if you are skilled. They seem to corellate with the higher prices. The climate makes it a challenge to keep any kind of livestock. I have sheep and they aren't too bad. Hay prices last year soared due to extremely poor weather. Glad I have my thrifty little shetlands! I have friends who slaughtered animals instead of paying increased hay prices. Not an option for a horse, so you'd just have to buck up and pay. As far as Fairbanks itself goes, it's a dirty little city, with any amenity you could want, but as a homesteader, I sure wouldn't want to live there. The good thing is, it's little, you don't have to get too far out of town to live with hand pumped well water and an outhouse. Code is loose around this state. You can build just about anything outside of city limits and nobody can say anything about it. I'd advise a trip up here before you make a final decision. The Interior is a unique place and definitely not for everyone. Alaska attracts a diverse group of people, some are here to get away from something bad, some are here to get away to something good. I almost moved to Idaho instead of coming here! I don't regret it all. Good Luck, Jill

-- JillSchreiber (schreiber@alaska.com), April 25, 2001.

I also am looking for information about moving to rural parts of Alaska. I can't seem to fine out much on the net. Also I was to know if because of the location on the globe is satellite tv & data (internet) available if I have electricity?

FYI- I emailed Chris in Feb 2002 and the mail bouced back, so I guess he has moved. I wish him luck! -Gilinda

-- Gilinda Rogers (Me@gilinda.com), February 02, 2002.