The only place you want to live is south Anchorage. Eagle River gets no sun in the winter and the valley is too far away. If you choose to live up in the valley/Eagle River be ready for some bad traffic. There is only one highway and it goes right through town. In winter the traffic is pretty bad. I lived in California for two years and this is far worse.

However if you choose south Anchorage, be ready of sticker shock. Plan on at least $200 per square foot and about $10,000 per year for property taxes.

 

Not sure what Eagle River you are have seen, but I disagree with everything you have said. Traffic from the weigh station to town in a comparison to California? You must be smoking the same stuff management has in their crack pipe.

No sun? True, the south of the river gets a little less due to the mountain, but the other side of the river gets plenty. Some houses back off highland get much less, but you make if sound like we are living in a total eclipse.

Valley commute would not be for me, but some guys live further out than that.

Prices of homes within the Anchorage bowl are much higher than out towards the valley, that part is true.

 

When I was shopping for houses I went to Eagle River at 1200 on 21 Dec to see how much sun they got. Guess what, no sun. I flew last week with a Capt who lives up there and asked him the same question. He said his family has a party every year around the end of Jan when the sun returns. Yes, like all areas, there are better areas in Eagle River than others, but in the areas I was looking at the above is true.

As for the traffic, I wasn't refering to the highway I was refering to the drive through town. Last winter it took me 45 min to get through the lights from town to Tudor. Sorry, but California does have a better highway system than Alaska and you can get places quicker and easier there. This is important to know because in Alaska with our three roads (for the whole state) and winter, it is best to live close to your work.

 

I lived in Eagle River for four great years near Alpenglow Elementary. Had a south facing living room--plenty of sun, even in the winter and my house faced the mountain. Traffic was only "bad" during really "bad" weather and then my longest commute to Anchorage was 45 minutes. Normally, 15-20. Not much different than Collierville to the AOC. If I ever go back, it's definitely Eagle River.

 

What about Chugiak???

 

Exactly, don't sell the farm yet.

 

Why do you guys think it's not over after this one? I expect there to be some sort of FDA bid to fill HKG but why would there be anything else? They can do the FDA as a vacancy bid - every other spot should be filled as they see system form today. Of course that could change, and if it does I would expect it to change for the worse (there are ZERO indications that fuel or the economy will improve much in the next 6 months) but why exactly do you think there will be more excess bids? A vacancy HKG bid may affect 16 or so (I think that's about how many they are short in the right) but those will probably be junior and remember - according to PC we're STILL overmanned in many seats, not just the 727 SO after this bid so there's no real reason to fill secondaries.

 

Because Gasko said so last week. They want to store guys in the cheapest seats possible- 727S/0.

 

You rich FedEx pilots. Most of what I looked at was closer to $170 on the high end, and while the property taxes are brutal you must live in a b!tchin house for that bill.

I think South is a little more than ER, but it really comes down to the house. Houses I saw in ER that were less than South generally had a reason they were less. You go to Chugiak....now you can buy a lot more house (and property).

It's all personal choice, there's pluses and minuses to both, you just need to decide what's important to you and your family.

 

I would look at the Valley it has built up to the point where there is not much reason to go to ANC unless for work. Are driving to work every day?