I know there are a lot of people out there who have thought about moving to Alaska but do not know how to take the first step. In this post I will tell you how my wife and I made the move from South Florida and how it is easier than you think. Although I’m sure that depends on whether you ask me or my wife considering I flew up to start work early and she drove up with her mom!
No, but seriously. If you and your family enjoy the outdoors, don’t mind a smaller town (Ketchikan & vicinity has approx. 15,000 people), and can deal with Alaska’s geographical location, then come on up.
Here are some of the issues and questions we dealt with during our move:
1. Should we fly or drive? Well, we did both. As mentioned above, I flew up as I needed to start work and my wife drove up with her mom. The drive from Boca Raton, Florida to Anchorage Alaska was approximately 5,000 miles and took about a week. Of course we happened to live on the total opposite end of the country so the drive for you will probably be much shorter. In addition, if you plan to move to Ketchikan or somewhere in SE Alaska (highly recommended), where we ended up, you will need to take the Alaska State Ferry up from Bellingham, Washington. This will greatly reduce your driving time, as opposed to taking the Alcan Highway through Canada. If you do plan on moving to somewhere outside of SE Alaska you will need to take the Alcan Highway through British Columbia and the Yukon, Canada. The drive is amazing and is a great experience in itself. My wife has pictures of all kinds of animals seen from the side of the road. Although beware of the bugs in summer!
One other thing I should mention is that if you sell your car and fly up be prepared to pay slightly more for buying a new car. As you have probably guessed, cars are barged up from the lower 48 and for that reason demand a premium. I bought a new Jeep Compass when I arrived in Anchorage. I probably paid a little more than I would have in Florida but it was worth it since I needed to be in Alaska relatively quickly and the fact that we were able to keep my wife’s car once she drove up.
2. What about jobs? As I am writing this post, the unemployment rate in the lower 48 is approaching 10%. For comparison purposes the unemployment rate statewide in Alaska is 8.1% and as low as 7% in Ketchikan (May 2009). I can’t speak for the whole state but I do know there is a lack of qualified workers in Ketchikan and that it would not be too difficult to find a job. Of course this depends on your vocational field, but there are jobs available. Fortunately, I moved to Ketchikan for my job and my wife is a teacher so she was able to find employment as a 3rd grade teacher relatively easily.
3. How do we move our belongings? Luckily for us we were fresh out of school and did not have much in the way of furniture or other large items. Unfortunately, we did have a condo we owned with some furniture which we decided to rent out and leave for the tenant.
If you do have a lot of furniture I would suggest that you sell it and buy new stuff once you get to Alaska (unless you are fortunate enough to find an employer willing to pay for your move). We researched the idea of taking a Uhaul up the Alcan highway, but the cost was outrageous and trust me you don’t want to drive a Uhaul the entire length of that highway. Although, most of the Alcan is in tip top shape there are some areas in The Yukon that have been ravaged by frost heaves. It is a roller coaster ride. Or at least it was during our last trip through there in March, 2008.
Now if you are moving to SE Alaska you might want to look into shipping your belongings up on a barge. Ketchikan is relatively close to Seattle and I don’t believe it is prohibitively expensive. You can also rent a Uhaul and drive it right on to the state ferry. When we moved down from Anchorage we drove our Uhaul to Haines, Alaska and then took the ferry down to Ketchikan. Although, be warned that the state ferry will charge you quite a bit for taking such a large vehicle. Fortunately my employer paid for the cost but I believe it was around $1,500 (including a private room) for the ferry alone.
No, but seriously. If you and your family enjoy the outdoors, don’t mind a smaller town (Ketchikan & vicinity has approx. 15,000 people), and can deal with Alaska’s geographical location, then come on up.
Here are some of the issues and questions we dealt with during our move:
1. Should we fly or drive? Well, we did both. As mentioned above, I flew up as I needed to start work and my wife drove up with her mom. The drive from Boca Raton, Florida to Anchorage Alaska was approximately 5,000 miles and took about a week. Of course we happened to live on the total opposite end of the country so the drive for you will probably be much shorter. In addition, if you plan to move to Ketchikan or somewhere in SE Alaska (highly recommended), where we ended up, you will need to take the Alaska State Ferry up from Bellingham, Washington. This will greatly reduce your driving time, as opposed to taking the Alcan Highway through Canada. If you do plan on moving to somewhere outside of SE Alaska you will need to take the Alcan Highway through British Columbia and the Yukon, Canada. The drive is amazing and is a great experience in itself. My wife has pictures of all kinds of animals seen from the side of the road. Although beware of the bugs in summer!
One other thing I should mention is that if you sell your car and fly up be prepared to pay slightly more for buying a new car. As you have probably guessed, cars are barged up from the lower 48 and for that reason demand a premium. I bought a new Jeep Compass when I arrived in Anchorage. I probably paid a little more than I would have in Florida but it was worth it since I needed to be in Alaska relatively quickly and the fact that we were able to keep my wife’s car once she drove up.
2. What about jobs? As I am writing this post, the unemployment rate in the lower 48 is approaching 10%. For comparison purposes the unemployment rate statewide in Alaska is 8.1% and as low as 7% in Ketchikan (May 2009). I can’t speak for the whole state but I do know there is a lack of qualified workers in Ketchikan and that it would not be too difficult to find a job. Of course this depends on your vocational field, but there are jobs available. Fortunately, I moved to Ketchikan for my job and my wife is a teacher so she was able to find employment as a 3rd grade teacher relatively easily.
3. How do we move our belongings? Luckily for us we were fresh out of school and did not have much in the way of furniture or other large items. Unfortunately, we did have a condo we owned with some furniture which we decided to rent out and leave for the tenant.
If you do have a lot of furniture I would suggest that you sell it and buy new stuff once you get to Alaska (unless you are fortunate enough to find an employer willing to pay for your move). We researched the idea of taking a Uhaul up the Alcan highway, but the cost was outrageous and trust me you don’t want to drive a Uhaul the entire length of that highway. Although, most of the Alcan is in tip top shape there are some areas in The Yukon that have been ravaged by frost heaves. It is a roller coaster ride. Or at least it was during our last trip through there in March, 2008.
Now if you are moving to SE Alaska you might want to look into shipping your belongings up on a barge. Ketchikan is relatively close to Seattle and I don’t believe it is prohibitively expensive. You can also rent a Uhaul and drive it right on to the state ferry. When we moved down from Anchorage we drove our Uhaul to Haines, Alaska and then took the ferry down to Ketchikan. Although, be warned that the state ferry will charge you quite a bit for taking such a large vehicle. Fortunately my employer paid for the cost but I believe it was around $1,500 (including a private room) for the ferry alone.
4. Will we miss the amenities found in a larger city, i.e., Ft. Lauderdale? I can confidently say that there are not many things that I did in South Florida that I can’t do here in Ketchikan. Of course if you are into big nightclubs and the glitzy lifestyle you will not find that here, but otherwise there are plenty of options to stay busy. We have a handful of wonderful restaurants, a movie theater, public transportation, recreation center with racquet ball, basketball, gym, etc., community swimming pool, numerous bars, three real grocery stores, and plenty of shops. Although I must admit that I purchase my work dress clothes down south or over the internet. There are several local options but I am picky when it comes to my work clothes.
5. Since we are from FL will we be able to handle the weather? To be honest I was expecting the weather to be worse and much colder. In Ketchikan winter temperatures usually stay in the 25 – 40 degree range with the occasional snow/rain shower (ok maybe more than occasional). This past winter we got dumped on with a couple feet of snow but I am told this is extremely rare for this part of the state. The usual is that it will snow and then the snow will be washed away by rain within a few following days.
Of course if you plan to venture into the rest of the state you can expect much colder temperatures in the winter and much less precipitation. For instance, when we lived in Anchorage we frequently saw the temperature dip below 0. The coldest temperature I ever felt in Anchorage was -22 degrees, but it gets much colder than that in the interior of the state. Apparently Fairbanks witnesses the occasional -40 degree temps.
For us the main issue ended up being the darkness in the winter. It is not as bad as a lot of people would think, but it does get dark by 3:30 pm during the middle of December. When you couple this with the amount of precipitation we receive in Ketchikan it can be quite a psychological experience. However, I should mention that once December is over daylight hours start increasing by almost 5 minutes per day. Before you know it is light out until 9 or 10 o’clock and then you can catch up on all of the light lost!
6. Do we have the guts to actually do it? This was almost our killer. Sometimes I think back and still can’t believe we actually picked up our stuff and made the move. Yes it was stressful, and a HUGE change from what we were used to, but I am still glad we took the plunge. Living in Alaska is almost like taking a step back in time. I don’t think a day does by where I don’t still stop to look at something that amazes me. You only live once and I like to think that I will take advantage of every opportunity I can…or at least every opportunity that my wife approves!
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