New Alaska Journey

[ChurchmanR]

I'm very interested in any opportunities that are available in Alaska for property caretaking, specifically Kenai peninsula area or Kodiak Island area.
I am a College Football coach in Texas, that is well educated and a jack of all trades. looking to start a new journey in Alaska. Thanks in advance. Feel free to contact me at anytime.


Robert Churchman

409-692-3748 cell.
rchurchman@etbu.edu

[elkhound]

might help to subscribe to newspapers in the areas you are interested in and after reading a bit put a classified ad in.


i use to live in alaska....one word of advice i have is....have a huge reserve of cash for emergencies.everything is high priced.i paid $4/gallon for gas in petersburg in 94.....2 grocery carts full was $1500 ..... a pizza,1 pitcher of beer and a pepsi was $109 back then at only pizza place in town.


good luck in your search and may you find much adventure...i sure did.

[kasilofhome]

Well you missed a call.

[Astrid]

Have you thought about getting a job at one of the schools as a PE teacher?

[kasilofhome]

Married
Single
Family

Skills for employment

You will be required to run a chainsaw.
Fair warning.....there is only one main road......it goes thru the mnts .....best plan on a pantry even a car accident can shut it down.

So, no college football team here.

Gas 2.99

Plan on 1500 dollars a month for housing......that is normal housing not fancy but running water, ele, and no true roughing it.

Or

Land prices are going up in many areas. Believe it or not Kasilof can be a good start to try it out. Come in the summer and there are jobs, work hard and live cheap by renting a cabin ....or lodge apt from Sept thru April but scramble for housing May thru September.



It is a great place ....most people visit they do not stay on to be lifers. They seem to do a stint for a few years and leave.

Kenai proper is turning into a Hugh HOA.....an all American city......all pretty pretty conform to a planned community.

Soldotna is going that way too.

Homer......well it is a little drinking town with a fishing problem. A true not in my back yard but we want cheap energy Greenpeace membership required.

Drugs are here and we are seeing major crimes growing esp in the fall and Winter months.

Roads are bad. I know too many folks who have died on the sterling high way. Remember bears do play with their food.

[kasilofhome]

Recent consolidation of local high schools resulted in decreased in coaches. Sohi football team is quite good but staffing is in place.

Should the gas line go in and oil flow perhaps student enrollment would increase as it is the area demo show average age of residents on the rise as more and more persons retire here are become snowbirds to Arizona in the winter.

Many lodge owners have been burnt by people unable to do the job..I know one lodge where the guy left and never quit just left and abandoned the place. These lodges are high end properties and such jobs are hard to get without being family,current worker proven to work or a local.

People do get homesick....it is a problem getting lodge workers to work a full season. Weather varies a lot. Some years it seems never to stop raining unless it is snowing and minus forty. And others it is just heaven.

What got you interested in this area? It is best to visit and try the place out...see if it fits you before you sink money into a major move.

You can stream radio ksrm. The local newspaper is a joke radio is important here as the front page is worth reading the rest of the paper provides with who got arrested, what happened in court, school lunch menu and job openings for anchorage bests not forget the million ways to serve salmon.

In a month you have met most everyone if you stop by trustworty hard ware at least once.

I really like living here....as for Kodiak I couldn't tell you anything of value....just all hear say so I am worthless for that area.

[Astrid]

I'd agree with Kasilof. We don't live in Kenai, but no matter where you want to go in AK you want to make sure you know what you are getting into. We bought our place in SE Alaska a number of years ago but we don't live there because there are no jobs for us. We found jobs in a small village near Bethel. Native villages aren't the most wonderful places to be, but the money can be good. We were familiar with Alaska. My husband had worked at a number of lodges in the past and we'd been around. Without that, I don't think we would be as successful. As Kasilof mentioned the roads can be bad. My daughter lives in Valdez and they had an avalanche last year that closed off the road for weeks. The store there ran out of food. But most people have pantries so they didn't feel it much.

Unless you are in a major population center such as Anchorage, Fairbanks or Juneau, you will likely run into issues due to weather. (We haven't gotten mail for weeks because float planes couldn't fly in because of cloud coverage. We've been on weather holds because of low cloud ceilings) And when I say "population" we're only talking of about 30K for Fairbanks or Juneau and about 300K for Anchorage. The rest of the state is comprised of small or smaller towns and villages. We love it here and wouldn't trade it for anything, but jumping in without any understanding of what you are getting into is not the best thing. Learning the ropes takes thinking very far ahead and without experience it's hard to even know what to think of. Also, winter is a hard time to look for jobs, but there are lodges scattered around the state that need help. It might be a good idea for you to work in a lodge for the summer just to get your feet wet if you have any skills they are interested in. Most often they will hire locals to do the grunt work like housekeeping and serving but if you are a guide or boat captain that might help. Our college aged daughter works at our local lodge every summer and makes enough money to pay for half of her college expenses. There are jobs, but it takes flexibility and persistance to find one that is for you and it takes preparation and determination to stay here long term.

[texican]

Shouldn't there be zero housing costs, if one is 'caretaking'?

I had several offers of caretaking (in the winter months) when I worked summers up in Alaska... helped that the people actually knew me. Doubtful they'd've offered the same to absolute strangers....

[kasilofhome]

Those free housing caretaker jobs now are rare to go to strangers....too many screw ups, drugs and walk a ways .....carrying or sell owner assets.

Now, if you get one you normally pay for your fuel or rent with payment AFTER the season.

It is who trust you.

[Zimobog]

I live near Wasilla. I recommend moving here to Wasilla, getting the lay of land, and then heading out. Willow/Huston/Wasilla are great places to "jump off" from while exploring Alaska.

Alaska is changing quickly and it ain't all good. Reading the responses of my fellow Alaskans here I can tell you they are shooting straight. Anyone of us could probably talk you out of moving here just as soon as tell you good things.

Transitioning to Wasilla from lower 48 life ain't too hard and will be less of a shock to the senses. I'd avoid Kenai unless you're a) made out of money b) a commercial fisher or c) oil or natural gas worker. My 2cents.

[Astrid]

To add to Zimobog, I would recommend not moving up without a job. Alaska is expensive. A person's savings can get drained quickly. Most supplies purchased at local stores are pricey. Other options are mailing stuff from Anchorage or barging up from Seattle depending on where you live.

[AmericanStand]

Prices in the Anchorage area are as close to outside prices as they get in Alaska and the best thing about Anchorage is its just a short flight to Alaska from there!
All kidding aside that old joke is true and valuable.
Get a job in Anchorage and commute to the Alaska on weekends, First DRIVE to the rest of the state, Homer ,Seward, Valdez and with a bit of stretch Tok Delta Fairbanks Etc.
Then Ride the train. Seward, Whittier, Fairbanks
Then take the ferry. Valdez, Cordova ,Kodiak, Seldovia ,Seward, Homer
By then your getting ready for the good stuff.
If ya live downtown You can catch flights out to anywhere !
Now if you are willing to fill in the spaces between all these with jetskis, snowmachines (they are not mobiles up there) canoes and small planes by the time you pass on you will know where ya wanna LIVE!

[Astrid]

All that travelling is going to be spendy. Flying from Valdez to Anchorage is about $300. So is flying to Bethel. Then there's getting farther than that in a small plane which can be more than $100 per person each way. It's not cheap. Driving can only be done to the towns relatively close to Anchorage. Valdez is a 6 hour drive.

[Mrs.Swirtz]

You can try putting an ad on Craigslist and see what happens.

[elkhound]

i had a monthly flight bill of $27,000....yea you read it right.....this was in 94.

[kasilofhome]

Which is why so many people get their own plane.....and why we have so many plain crashes. Ted Stevens first wife died in a plane crash. The first plane crash Ted Stevens walked a way from the second did him in.

As to anchorage be close as you can get to lower 48 prices remember it is also true that anchorage prices tend to shock people who visit.

[AmericanStand]

Astrid , a flight to Bethel IS expensive. Most travel to remote Alaska is. But As our resident expert on the subject can you recommend a better or cheaper way to get out to the small remote villages?

Have you seen many jetskis on the Kuskokwim ?

[Astrid]

No jetskis on the Kuskokwim. The river is cold and fast. How would you get the jetski out here? Shipping it on a plane would cost you more than $1000. Plus I think you would get some very odd looks.

In the winter you can snowmobile and drive a 4 wheeler on the river, but it is not without risk. A couple weeks ago 3 people broke through the ice and were killed. Only 1 body was recovered. In the last few years the river hasn't been freezing properly.

[Rustaholic]

Am I the only one noticing the OP is a one post ghost here?

[Astrid]

I'm thinking he wasn't getting the answers he was looking for.