I know you guys just love it when romantics get a hard on for your state but I would really appreciate some input.

Let me tell you guys what I do know and you let me know if I'm totally nuts.

I'm ready to get put of Florida! I mean really ready.
When I was a kid my home town of Tampa was about the size Anchorage is now.
Now the area is over 15 times that!

My wife has a job offer in Anchorage so that part is taken care of.
I have a mobile welding business,I wonder how well something like that would do there?
Another thing is that I have a lot of toys.(sports cars,Harleys,ect)
I would sell most of them if it came to it but I have a Trans AM I could never part with.
Am I going to look like a total tool pulling in to town in a Trans AM

The winters will take some time to get use to,how bad is it compared to places like Montana or North Dakota.
How much of a pain in the ass is the snow and do they still salt the streets up there?

I have been all over the lower 48 enjoyed myself,I'm not the type to get home sick and run back home.
I can keep my self entertained on the beach or in the desert but I understand Alaska is unique and has it's own pros&cons.
What are some things you wish you knew before you moved there?
And if you have been in Alaska your whole life what do you wish people who move there would do differently?

Come for a visit this winter then move up next summer if you think the BOTH of you can deal with our 8 months of winter. Really our winter thing is more about how your mind deals with this. Summer ? hey, everyone loves it up here at that time of year.
Now about your toys. You can ride/drive them during our 4 months of non-winter but I'll bet if you make a go of it up here you will soon have winter toys and that helps with dealing a trump card on Mother Nature.

I moved here in June after visiting over new Years last year. I love it up here.

Things to know:

It is EXPENSIVE. Plan for that.

The drive up the ALCAN Highway is not too bad. Only a couple of spots of gravel when I came up. Frost heaves are bad after White Horse or so. Keep an eye out for them after there. One thing you WILL need to do ahead of time is plan on how to get any black rifles or pistols up here. Most anything that is interesting you cannot bring through Canada. I had to mail my rifles to myself up here and I still have a pistol at my mothers in the lower 48. Only way to get THAT up here is to have it sent to an FFl or bring it in checked bags on a flight. I would also bring the max you can of ammo through Canada. That will save you big $$ in the long run.

If you plan on visiting. Winter is a great time. Rooms and about anything else touristy is much much cheaper. Winters here are not bad. I am from Iowa/Minnesota and the temps seem to be fairly mild here around the anchorage area. Not too much snow yet either. When I was here over New Years, it was warmer here than back in Iowa. Up near Fairbanks is another story though. I think the deal here is just that winters are so much longer.

Keep in mind the Darkness / Daylight thing. I had a real hard time in June when I got here because it would not really get dark till 2:30AM or so, then got light at like 4:30. I had serious problems with working on "Projects" till I was just exausted until I got some good curtains.

I am "Valley Trash" meaning I live in the Mat-Su Valley. I kind of like it out here. Might be something to consider. Its about an hour to Anchorage from Palmer or Wasilla. things are a little cheaper out here and the people are pretty nice. Other than going to Fort Richardson I do not even like driving into Anchorage now. Rent out here where I live is about $900 for a 2 bed 1 bath with a heated Garage, with heat included. You may want to rent a place for a bit till you decide where a good area to live in would be.

The Northern Lights are awesome.

Keep an eye out for critters from Sheep to Bison on the drive up the ALCAN, they are all over.

It's Expensive  

Hope this helped.

Aviator

PS. I think a mobile welding business would do pretty good up here myself, but maybe I am wrong.

Expensive is a part of life for me,Florida isn't a cheap place either.
I'm surpised to find housing costs to be very close.
Not good but better than I expected.

I didn't think to ask about getting my shoot'n irons up there

Looks like the consus is ship to my sel but what about ammo?
It's so heavy,can't I just toss it in the U-Haul?




BTW: My wife keeps asking if there is a problem with water pipes freezing and bursting

Just do it. You will know if it was the right choice soon enough.

As for ammo, some of it may be an issue getting it through Canada.
You can route the ferry system to not take you through Canada which will fix teh gun and ammo problem, but it takes a fair amount of prior planning.

There are guys who drive T/A's year around, but usually you see them at the high school

Housing is only one of the expensive things
We still pay $3 a gal for gas
Figure double or triple shipping expenses for anything you want from the lower 48

Sometime for shits and giggles create an order at midwayusa and run your zip and 99501(Anchorage) through and see how bad we get raped on a regular basis.


What job is your wife coming up for?

Welders make good money here.  Friend of mine is 26 and makes 80k a year or so welding.

Trans Ams are cool.  Lots of people have summer cars.  Lots of Harley's too.

Winters are long.  Storms not as bad as the midwest, but the cold last a long long time.  Freezing can start in September and can continue until May...and that is here in South Central.

It was below zero last night actually.  

I lived here all my life.  

Anchorage sucks.  My life has been infinitely better since moving away from there.

Shes an accountant and was contacted by some people up there via her schools alumni association.

That sucks about the ammo and shipping.
I was hoping things whould be better with stores like wal-mart there now.

I have to ask,what so bad about Anchorage?

Lots of things , but the best part of Anchorage is being able to see Alaska right there on the horizon .
For what it is worth I came up to AK about 13 years ago from Bradenton .

It takes some time to adjust , and I don't just mean the sticker shock .
Winter can be a mofo , invest in SAD lights if you have ANY history of depression .
Yes pipes can freeze , but if you leave the water running just a little things are usually just fine .

Bring as much ammo up with you as you can .

If you fly on Alaska Air each passenger can bring 50 pounds of ammo with them


Anchorage is like any other moderate sized city in the lower 48.  Its not typically what people think of when they think of Alaska.

In 20+ years I have only had one pipe freeze.  It was a HWBB pipe in my bedroom.  I turned the heat off and opened up the window when it was in the hi 20s outside.  Needless to say, I wont ever do that again.

It is loaded with people from the lower 48.

+1

Can you be a liitle more specific [>:/]

Anchorage is just like any big city with it's good and bad points but Anchorage is nothing close to being as bad as most lower48 cities.

It is full of people who came here to experience the wonders of Alaska and escape the misery of their lives back home.....and then they all decided that they needed to change it to be more like home.  

Everything you hate about Tampa Anchorage has in spades and no one there is from there.  It is full of people from the lower 48 who look upon everyone else in the WalMart as a bunch of inbred rednecks needing culture.  It is full of people that hate you because you are not them.  It is full of people who's Alaskan dream did not come true because they were expecting someone to make the dream come true for them and no one did.

I grew up in Anchorage.  It was my home.  I was born there.  I miss it terribly.  But the place I miss is no longer there.  

You have a business and a skill and some confidence, you should be fine anywhere.

I'm guessing he will fit right in. Seriously, if you aren't looking for "Alaska" and you just want a change, then Anchorage will probably be perfect for you.  Just think night clubs, malls, designer shops, Nordstroms, walmarts.... Most of the other "cities" in Alaska are lucky to have more than one grocery store. There are a couple that have a Walmart but not much beyond that.