Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Possible job in Anchorage

I was forwarded a job opportunity in Anchorage on tuesday. I applied not really thinking I would hear back. Well, today I got an email saying they wanted to do a phone interview. Now I'm trying to decide whether I want to move to Anchorage.

I currently have a job that is very similar to the one in Anchorage.

I have a few questions.

I looked up on a cost of living calculator that I would have to make $69k a year in AK to match my current salary (about $50k).

Does that seem right, is it really that much more expensive?

What kind of hunting can I expect? Is there any big game hunting that I could do yearly without having to charter a plane or boat?

How expensive is it to fly to the lower 48 on average? Say Seattle for instance?

Thanks.

Anchorage?...is that south of the park? Anchrorage is a 2 hour drive from Alaska...ps:I'm sure some real help will be right along.

Anchorage is the only city in AK that they publish a CPI number for. Compare that to where you're from in UT for a start.

$600-650 R/T from Seattle to Los Anchorage.

We need some Utards up here!!!

Cost of living starts to add up if you want to travel a lot in America. I think the day to day costs are similar to say.... Seattle, which is likely more expensive than Utah. Housing is expensive in both places. You don't pay state sales tax in AK, but you will have some serious property tax if you buy a house in Anchorage. Your numbers don't seem out of line, but I've never lived in Utah.

Use that number to your advantage if/when negotiating your pay.

It will cost you some money to get here. Mention that as well, cause you won't get if you don't ask.

You can hunt moose, sheep, two different color of bears, goats, caribou from the road system without drawing a tag...for now. Hunting is hunting, not necessarily killing. You will likely have company unless you work your butt off. Your odds will go up when you fly, and "from the road system" may be 800 miles from home. A two day drive on either end of the hunt cuts into hunting time, and your fuel costs will add up.

Wow that seems high on tickets. We skipped last fall, but the one before was about 550 RT from Austin TX to ANC

When I was flying in and out it was cheaper to fly to Minneapolis. But that was a few years ago.

If you decide to move here it gets expensive if you spend all your money and leave time flying home for the family, yours and the wife. A lot of family's don't realize that. I would factor that in to your salary.

Your COL calculation seems right on.

Airfare has been going up and stands to jump again after the latest merger if we can believe the news reports.

After moving from the Upper Michigan the prices of groceries, car insurance, rent/real estate among others were noticeably higher.

If your job opportunity is connected to the Anchorage Municipal government - forget it.

Remember cost of living calculators might not factor in what it really costs to enjoy an area. $70k wouldn't be too bad for a single guy, but for a family you'd just be getting by, not able to afford to enjoy the state. As someone once said, it's expensive because its worth it. Also salaries in many fields are pretty good, so if you get a good offer, you might want to take ad a tags of the opportunity

Cost of living is definitely higher, especially housing. A $150K house in SLC will cost you twice that here in Anchorage. However, no state income tax and no sales tax in Anchorage helps offset the hight COL.

If you're young and in shape, there's plenty of walk-in hunting to be had. If you're fat and old like me, then you will need to spend some money to fly-in.

If you're a fisherman, there's world class fishing within a couple of hours of Anchorage that you can drive to.

I heard that place will be closed this summer.

What merger rumors have you heard?

I've only visited AK, but did move North from the Midwest a few years ago. Yes, I get nailed on the rising cost of gas ($6 a gallon), housing (houses start at 400k), food, etc etc but I don't regret experiencing the North for a second.

I'm young, single and loving it. Your life situation will likely dictate if it makes sense to cast off and explore the small amount of northern wilderness this world has left. It won't last forever.

And "home", however you define it, will be there if you ever want to move back.

I think he is talking about the American/US Airways merger.

I do know that Delta is gonna be adding on ANC/SEA flights and ANC/LAX flights. With compitition, maybe prices will go down. Probably not but im hoping.

Thanks Joel. That's what I figured.

About half the state population lives within an hour drive of Anchorage. This upsets people a great deal when they first move up here and come to the realization that the post cards lied.

You can join the masses and subsistence hunt for caribou in Unit 13 every year for the cost of gas, and a bullet or two. No ATV or airplane needed. Just patience with the crowds. You won't need a tag for grizzly in that unit, but you will need OTC tags for sheep, black bear and moose. Finding a legal bull moose could cost you a lot of time. A legal sheep will cost you a lot of boot leather.

And with $5 and a bow safety cert or muzzle loader safety cert along with some luck of the draw you can bowhunt moose in Anchorage. Better be lucky though.

You can spot and stalk black bears from the road system easy enough. Getting to them is another issue.

At $69K per year you will be looking to live in a two bedroom apartment with a room mate, or live in your truck, unless you have a 50% down payment and find a decent house to buy. There are a few stripped forclosures showing up for sale that need more than a little work, but their price can be dropped way below market value if you push hard enough.

That is startling. Quite a far cry from when I lived up there, but they say the times are a changin'.
I mean we are talking 5750 a month (Before deductions, health insurance, retirement etc.)
I'm confident I could live on near 70k a year up there like a king. Maybe not quite home ownership right away, but rollin' in style.

Also, you'll hunt/fish as a non-res for a year.

Living in AK can be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be. That's my opinion. If you are cheap, and your family likes fish/wild game, you chop your own firewood, you don't need fancy clothes/cars, etc.. you can live like a king on not much. But, if your family wants the good life, then you'll pay for it..

That's within a couple of bucks of how much I was making when I moved up 16 years ago. With a family of four I was anything but living large, though we were able to buy a house. House prices have doubled in the past 16 years.

Mortgage and utilities will be a minimum of $2k/month (assuming $300k house 20% down), and renting a 1/2 decent house will be $2k plus utilities.

Avoid foreclosures. The only ones that stay on the market any amount of time will cost you more than a house in decent shape once you've fixed the foreclousure. There are plenty of savvy investors waiting to buy any decent foreclosure the second it hits the market. And to top it all off you'll be spending your spare time and money for a few years fixing it up, which is also why you should avoid any older house no matter how "updated" it is.