City Information Insider

Anchorage is the biggest major northern city in the country that nobody really knows about.  This is not at all surprising since it seems at times that half the US believes Alaska is still part of Russia.  Some have even thought that Alaska was part of Canada??

I have lived here half my life so I think I have some authority about what it is about.  But, where to start???

AK Weather

Let me say this.  Moving to Anchorage or anywhere in Alaska has to be well thought out.  This is an extreme place.  Not as much as people think, and I know its beautiful up here, but its an extreme place to live.

You are going to spend 6-7 month living in winter.  And darkness.  In the middle of winter the sun barely pops his head out at 10:30 and by 4 PM its back down.  Last year in 2008 as soon as October hit the weather dropped.  We were between 5-10 degrees in Anchorage that whole month.  So you need to know what you are getting into.

Anchorage is really not a bad city.  I have to disclose that I am preferential to warmer climates so I have to make a concerted effort to make sure I point out all the good points I can about cities in colder climates.

The city is in a bowl.  The Pacific Ocean is to the west of it and to the east lies the Chugach Mountains.  This is what makes Anchorage one of the prime areas in Alaska.  Why?  Like I said earlier because it is right off the ocean it routinely gets a lot of warm air coming up from the Pacific.  They are refereed to as “chinooks,” and they can blow in during the middle of February turning the weather from 0 degrees to 40 degrees in a matter of one day.  On the other spectrum theChugach Mountains protect from most of the cold arctic winds that come in from the northeast.  So I am not saying it does not get cold in Anchorage, as I write this its 20 degrees, but I am saying that for an Alaskan city its fairly moderate.  It could be a lot worse!

If you live in the southern part of the country you really need to think about it.  If you have kids than forget about it.  They will have a difficult time adjusting!   I have lived in Anchorage since I was 14, make great money here, and I still have a hard time with it.

Population and Anchorage Economy

This city has a little under 300,000 people living in it.  Most people have no idea that there is actually a big city in Alaska but there is.  And with a big city comes all the problems of your typical big city.

Here is another economic and population breakdown of Anchorage.

Anchorage is dealing with problems relating to crime, gangs, traffic, taxes, and rising costs of living.  Now I will say this.  These problems are nothing in comparison to what one would see in your typical city in the “lower 48.”  Whatever problems Anchorage is having is small compared to another city the same size in California or Texas.

The economy in here is better than most places.  If you have a brain on your shoulders and can stand the winters you will have no problems making money.  The only people who cannot make it monetarily up here are people who are lazy or stupid.  We get paid to live here at least one month out of the year.  The Alaska Permanent Fund was $1,300 this year in October and last year it was $3,200.  So at least everyone has money one month out of the year.  The cost of living is higher than most places int the US.  Anchorage is actually 18% higher than the national average.  Having said that the wages are a lot higher as well so I have found that if you can find a good job the pros will far outweigh the cons from a dollars and cents point of view.

There is no sales taxes here.  They have been talking about making one for years and every year it gets voted down.

There is however a high property tax in Anchorage.  Most find it to be outrageous.  And the property taxes here seem to go up every year.

Anchorage is split into several areas: North, West, East, and South.

• North and East Anchorage

This is known by many to be the worst part of Anchorage.  Keep in mind that “bad” from a person living in Anchorage is going to be different than bad from a person living in Las Angelas.   I would call it the “ghetto” but there are some bad neighborhoods like Mountain View, Fairview, and Muldoon.  Drugs are a problem in those neighborhoods.  Most of East and North Anchorage is working class though and if you want to find the cheapest rents this is the area.

• West Anchorage

The Spenard area of Anchorage is known to be drug infested but most of this area, also known as Turnagain, is middle to upper class.  This is where a lot of the politicians, lawyers, doctors, and highly skilled liberal professionals live.

• South Anchorage

This is the newest and best side of town.  This is where the newer and expensive subdivisions are.  This is where the Anchorage Hillside is also located.  There are several well to do neighborhoods in Anchorage but the Hillside is the most well known and biggest.  They have incredible views here, particularly the winter sunrises and sunsets, it feels like you’re outside of Anchorage but everything is a short drive away, buts it very expensive, gets very windy (sometimes past MPH), and the roads get very slippery in the winter.

The main college in Anchorage is UAA.  This is the main college in the whole state of Alaska.  Its not a bad college and totally affordable compared with other major universities in the country.  For a resident the total tuition would be approximately $5,000 a year without books. That’s not even half of what I paid going to to the University of Houston and its no more prestigious.

My Findings About Anchorage

I was originally from Houston, Tx.  My grandfather being an army officer was a big reason for my being up here.

My  grandfather was stationed at Fort Richardson in the 70s and this was his last post before he retired.  My grandmother and grandfather hated one another but agreed that their last station is where they would retire.  Well, little did he know it would be Alaska.  So when he retired him and my grandfather got into a huge fight with my grandmother and he moved back to Louisiana where he was originally from (you can tell he really did not like the cold).  They probably would have gotten a divorce anyway but they now they both found a convenient excuse to get out of their loveless marriage.

Anyway my grandmother and uncles and aunts stayed up here.  Half of my families side live in Anchorage.  She never did, they lived in Maryland when she left home, a year before they moved up here, but in 1997 she decided that she hated the heat of Texas and wanted to move to Alaska to make more money and live in a safer area.

I begged her not to.  I loved Anchorage for a summer vacation, which we took every June or July for the past five years, but not that much!  I pleaded and begged her not to come up here but she did (as you can tell).

Fast forward to 2009.  I have a great mobile oil change business, the economy is great up here when you compare it to the rest of the states, I have learned how to ski, and I still hate it up here.  The cold weather and darkness just turns my mood south.

So know what you are getting into.  Anchorage is a great place for some and for others it will be hell.  Depends on your personality types.  I have seen both sides.