Potential move to Alaska

[rruchti]

The company I work for currently has many locations which provides a lot of opportunity on places to live. They struggle to find anyone that wants to move to Alaska so I could with relative ease transfer my job. I do have options on where in Alaska and my girlfriend (soon to be fiancé) is completely on board. Locations include Wasilla, Anchorage, Soldotna and Fairbanks. My first instinct was to jump at this but I want to take some time and make sure it’s a good decision. I’m currently 25 living in Montana. Any current or former Alaskans alright if I pick your brains a bit? I will not ask for any hunting areas or honey holes but may ask general questions about logistics as well as day to day life. Thanks guys!

 

[frank church guy]

you are young, Married? if not, chase it. Don't ask. Leads only to doubt, You will find hunting places. Chase the dream and uncertainty, Better to try than to wish I would have

 

[AKBC]

I dreamed of a company move and wasted years in the lesser 48 until I finally quit my job, sold out, and drove up. I had no job lined up and a family to support. Its been awesome. Feel free to PM.

 

[isocyanate]

If she will go, then go. Soldotna all the way.

 

[Beaveralum]

If I were in your shoes I would be packed and leaving tomorrow. Worst case is you get up there and hate it and transfer back to Montana. Kick of a young marriage with an adventure!

 

[Cheechako]

Feel free to message me. I moved up from Montana when I was 21 and have lived everywhere you mentioned except Wasilla, but I’m plenty familiar.

 

[Old and gray]

Seldom meet people that have regretted moving further north or west. If your loved one is onside I’d move tomorrow

 

[Salmonchaser]

Learn to fish with the Dalli Llama streamers!

 

[Werty]

If I move back to Alaska, it will be to Soldotna.

 

[rruchti]

Just realized I don’t have the ability to send pms yet. Oops. Thank you to all that offered. You guys are definitely making me want to go even more. This will take a good bit of saving. Are moving expenses as bad as they seem? I looked at a few freight companies and it looked like around 5,000. I would surely sell off most of my stuff to reduce this. Another concern is frankly the amount of equipment most hunting would require. I’m sure I would find things to do without snow machine, boat, etc. however I am a little worried about being up there and being limited in opportunity.

 

[Bear_Hunter]

Just realized I don’t have the ability to send pms yet. Oops. Thank you to all that offered. You guys are definitely making me want to go even more. This will take a good bit of saving. Are moving expenses as bad as they seem? I looked at a few freight companies and it looked like around 5,000. I would surely sell off most of my stuff to reduce this. Another concern is frankly the amount of equipment most hunting would require. I’m sure I would find things to do without snow machine, boat, etc. however I am a little worried about being up there and being limited in opportunity.

Shoot me a pm when you're able to.

For moving, I'd load up a truck and trailer and drive up if possible. Each place has it's pros/cons, I'm familiar with all those locations. Smart to bring a lady, don't want to have to look for one here. Hunting can be done on the cheap, but it really limits your options. But you'll figure all that out after spending some time here.

 

[frank church guy]

Just realized I don’t have the ability to send pms yet. Oops. Thank you to all that offered. You guys are definitely making me want to go even more. This will take a good bit of saving. Are moving expenses as bad as they seem? I looked at a few freight companies and it looked like around 5,000. I would surely sell off most of my stuff to reduce this. Another concern is frankly the amount of equipment most hunting would require. I’m sure I would find things to do without snow machine, boat, etc. however I am a little worried about being up there and being limited in opportunity.

Opportunities will come. You are a young guy. I am 51 years old. This year will be my first time I am able to hunt moose in Alaska. If you live there you will make friends with similiar interests. Things will open for you. The first year might be hard, but you are young! Try it, you can always move back to your comfort zone. 25 years from now do you want to look back and say I wish I tried. Your girlfriend is in to it, go for it. Hell, 80 years ago 20 year old kids were storming beaches by choice.... And I guarantee they would rather have the chance you have, Go for it! Dont look back later and say I wish I did. Just talking like an old guy,

And as far as the fees....I can not look back to my twenties and say f**k I wish I didn't spend that, Blew lots more money than I can remember. But at least if you try, your spending it on it trying to improve yourself. Life has no guarantees, just missed opportunities.

 

[wildwilderness]

Alaska does take more money to fully enjoy. If your company is struggling to fill the spot then a large pay raise is in order.

Moving is not too bad- buy an enclosed trailer and load all the stuff- will cost way more to replace it here. Then sell the trailer and pay for your gas with the profit. Have done that multiple times. Way cheaper than paying movers or cargo. Easy drive from Montana.

As to where depends on what you want- Anchorage/ Wasilla bigger city, easy air travel. Soldontna- better fishing, possibly milder temps, would drive to ANC for big stuff. Fairbanks is a tougher sell for most… closer to caribou/sheep/moose but less fishing by far

 

[Cheechako]

I’d echo what wildwilderness said about the trailer.
To start out up here get a good backpack while you are still in Montana, then get a cheap canoe off craigslist or packraft and learn how to paddle once you’re up here. Canoes and packrafts don’t really depreciate unless you wreck them and you can always resell later.
There is a lot to float and hike off the road system. It’s also not hard to meet people with access to planes or who’s buddy bailed on a trip.
Anchorage has the best skiing and mountain access, soldotna best fishing, and Fairbanks has the best access to bird hunting. I’d maybe avoid Fairbanks your first winter if you have the choice.

 

[gbflyer]

Do a Winter before you sell out where you are now. You might be good but your significant other may not. Or vice versa. You may not lose your wife in Alaska but you just may lose your turn.

 

[EastMT]

Having grown up in Montana and lived in Alaska for almost a decade, there really is no comparison. It’s the best there is available. There are some things that are a pain, but overall it’s amazing. I’ve lived in Fairbanks, Palmer, Kenai peninsula, a few of my opinions.

Soldotna is perfect if fishing is priority, has everything you need, decent sized. There is hunting here, but a little limited as there are only a few trails for moose. Goat hunting draws are reasonable odds, sheep on the Kenai are few and far between.

Anchorage is not my favorite place, a little large for my taste. Think Billings of Alaska, crime etc common in big cities. There are a few goat opportunities, sheep is really hard to draw in the area, some fishing but fairly crowded. Moose is decent drive away mostly.

Wasilla isn’t bad, but you are a long drive from the good fishing and decent drive from hunting, so not an ideal location for either.

Fairbanks is cold and dark in winter, but you are closer to the big game hunting and not so populated as anchorage/Wasilla area. There’s not the crazy rush to Seward, Kenai, etc every weekend here, little more laid back and way less traffic. Not much for goats away from the coast, much more sheep opportunities based in the interior, moose/caribou, pike/graying fishing mainly, some salmon come through but not a lot.

I enjoyed my time in all three, not really a better place, just a better place for you. 25 years is the perfect time to go, too many show up at 48 and the young legs are long gone, limiting a lot of Alaska hunts. It’s hard to pick a favorite for me, I really enjoyed and the Kenai fishing, and hunting around Fairbanks. I would def have to choose between those two. But it depends on you fiancé, her happiness in AK will be the reason you stay or go, make sure she’s compares the good and bad.

Good luck, you will have adventures people sit around dreaming of without the cajones to get it done.

 

[rruchti]

Do a Winter before you sell out where you are now. You might be good but your significant other may not. Or vice versa. You may not lose your wife in Alaska but you just may lose your turn.

That is another deciding point. I don’t think I’d have much of an opportunity to spend a winter up there without transferring my job. As far as the cold I’m sure we can handle that. From what I’ve seen the weather around Anchorage doesn’t seem to bad to me. Atleast temperature wise it seems relatively tame. The short winter days may be a different story but I am used to light at 730 and dark at 430 so hoping that won’t be too crazy of a change.

 

[william schmaltz]

I lived in ND 25 years before moving up here. The weather is Southcentral AK is much milder than where I'm from and I'm sure it would be the same for someone coming from MT. As far as the dark, you're likely used to driving to work/school in the dark and coming home in the dark for a couple months a year. If that's the case, there's not much difference if the sun is coming up at 8am or 10am. The only time I really notice the dark is on the weekends when a guy is trying to get stuff done outside. IMO the dark and the cold is a nonissue for someone moving up from a northern state.

The big things that I don't like are being away from family and lifelong friends and things I REALLY miss are taking a limit of birds before/after work, the waterfowl hunting doesn't even belong in the same sentence, and I miss leaving work a little early and sitting in a tree stand a few times a month in the fall when the weather is perfect. Every time a person wants to go hunting up here its a damn production. Generally speaking, living anywhere that has a decent job market is going to put you in a place where you need to dedicate at least a whole day to do any sort of hunting. So depending on what you like to do, the hunting could be considered better or worse than where you're from. You don't need any toys. Its amazing what a pair of boots and a small brain can get you in this state. Instead of owning all the boats, ATVs, trailers, etc; I spend that money paying others to haul me into an area or on renting if needed. Since I wouldn't use any of them things recreationally, it always pencils out better for me to rent or pay a transporter (for now).

We live in the valley and ideally would like to move down to Soldotna area eventually. That's just personal preference. I really enjoy fishing and I fly out for moose/caribou/deer anyways. Down there you have bear hunting that's as good as it gets and what's a few more hours to travel for hunting sheep once a year? I would live basically anywhere but Anchorage. I know my wife would struggle in Fairbanks so I won't even attempt that!

As others suggested, buy a trailer and move everything up that way. You will not lose money on it. I'd even consider buying a diesel pickup to haul everything up with and sell the whole setup when I got here. For all the negatives I listed, there are plenty of positives. Those positives obviously outweigh the negative for me and I'm glad we took a chance and came up in our mid twenties!

 

[gbflyer]

That is another deciding point. I don’t think I’d have much of an opportunity to spend a winter up there without transferring my job. As far as the cold I’m sure we can handle that. From what I’ve seen the weather around Anchorage doesn’t seem to bad to me. Atleast temperature wise it seems relatively tame. The short winter days may be a different story but I am used to light at 730 and dark at 430 so hoping that won’t be too crazy of a change.

No disrespect, a lot of “I’s” there. Remember you’re bringing a fiancé. Partnership deal. Please don’t think I’m trying to dissuade you, I am not. We see this same scenario time and time again. The number of people that make it is probably 50/50 regardless of all the glowing recommendations to pull the pin on the lower 48 that you’ll read here. I’ve been in Alaska for something like 26-27 years full time. I made that move you’re talking about. It worked out. But I surrounded myself with family. Someone mentioned above how difficult it is to walk away from friends and relationships that take a lifetime to build. It’s damn tough starting over.

Good luck my friend. I wish you and your fiancé the best.

 

[rruchti]

Having grown up in Montana and lived in Alaska for almost a decade, there really is no comparison. It’s the best there is available. There are some things that are a pain, but overall it’s amazing. I’ve lived in Fairbanks, Palmer, Kenai peninsula, a few of my opinions.

Soldotna is perfect if fishing is priority, has everything you need, decent sized. There is hunting here, but a little limited as there are only a few trails for moose. Goat hunting draws are reasonable odds, sheep on the Kenai are few and far between.

Anchorage is not my favorite place, a little large for my taste. Think Billings of Alaska, crime etc common in big cities. There are a few goat opportunities, sheep is really hard to draw in the area, some fishing but fairly crowded. Moose is decent drive away mostly.

Wasilla isn’t bad, but you are a long drive from the good fishing and decent drive from hunting, so not an ideal location for either.

Fairbanks is cold and dark in winter, but you are closer to the big game hunting and not so populated as anchorage/Wasilla area. There’s not the crazy rush to Seward, Kenai, etc every weekend here, little more laid back and way less traffic. Not much for goats away from the coast, much more sheep opportunities based in the interior, moose/caribou, pike/graying fishing mainly, some salmon come through but not a lot.

I enjoyed my time in all three, not really a better place, just a better place for you. 25 years is the perfect time to go, too many show up at 48 and the young legs are long gone, limiting a lot of Alaska hunts. It’s hard to pick a favorite for me, I really enjoyed and the Kenai fishing, and hunting around Fairbanks. I would def have to choose between those two. But it depends on you fiancé, her happiness in AK will be the reason you stay or go, make sure she’s compares the good and bad.

Good luck, you will have adventures people sit around dreaming of without the cajones to get it done.

Thank you for the breakdown. Super helpful!