I know there are so many of us that have that secret little dream in us wondering what it would be like living in Alaska and being an outdoorsperson. Although I am near retirement from teaching in Illinois and have plans to move to Idaho (maybe even this summer) the "bug" of Alaska kind of haunts me. So, just researching a few school districts in the Mat Su Valley and bam, I get calls from recruiters that will hire me pending a Skype interview. I am certified in many areas of Special Education and although I am 54, they seem to think it would be great to bring in experience teachers.
So, what is the real story of Alaska? I know it will be real expensive to hunt there and I know the cost of living is high but A L A S K A the last frontier. Some don't think it is all that great for hunting and some say it's hunting heaven....sometimes I feel I want to prove that I am up for a challenge and do something nuts...like move to Alaska
Saw a documentary recently that claimed game/hunting wasn't as prolific/easy as people make it out to be. It said that big game was concentrated in untouched areas that needed to be accessed by plane or days of overland travel. Said if you were after deer/small game no problem but anything big not to have false illusions you could 'walk out the back door' and shoot it. The program brought up some interesting counterintuitive/ or counter-stereotype thoughts on Alaska. Sounds and looks like an awesome place for sure, but definitely do your research before you sell all earthly belongings and move, LoL.
Jerry, Alaska is anything you want it to be, as long as you don't mind working for it. Without going into a huge and lengthy retort to all you wanted to know in your post, I just tell people that you'll either love it or hate it. A lot of whether you would like it here is determined by your attitude,,,,,,,Long summer days, (a big plus for a teacher, my wife worked for the school district in special ed) but then you face winter for 5 months or so. Still lots to do but you have to have the intestinal fortitude to get out and do stuff. If you would like to discuss it give me a shout, I'm not known for candy coating things so be forewarned. I'll never leave here, tried a couple of snowbird trips and even in the midst of winter can't wait to get back. PM me and we'll chat. Bill
Also, it does not have to be "all about hunting" the scenery, the hikes, the motorcycling, the camping, and of course THE FISHING would be a big plus. I would be alright with doing a fly out hunt or boat hunt every other year....
after living in AK, fihing is not the same. Crab pots on the way out, 14 hours of halibut, check traps on the way in. Halibut and crab legs for dinner. nothing like it. then salmon season...grizzly and bou hunts in the Fall. Like said above love it or hate it! I loved it-wife hated the isolation...
you should watch alone in the wilderness it about dick prenakie great stuff
Some get off the plane and are Alaskan and some spend thirty years and never really become Alaskan.
Been here seven years in May. To my credit I have three moose, one caribou, one mountain goat, twelve or thirteen blacktail deer and as many black bear as I would ever want to shoot. All but the caribou were within 80 miles of where I live.
We have a population of around 730,000 for the entire state, but we loose and gain up to a third of that number annually, which keeps that number about the same. Basically we have a mass exodus annually, but we have a huge amount of adventure seekers to replace them. Spring, summer and fall are not only a breeze to deal with, but honestly I have never recreated harder and had more fun in my life. I was born and raised in northwest Michigan at the 45th Parallel and now live at the 60th. Other than the difference in daylight many of the same activities.
The only requirement that I had making this move is that I had to be coastal because it was the fishing and a 25 ton Masters USCG license that brought me here in the first place.
~CB
Been in the north 32 years, came on a canoe trip. The north is what you want to make it, you can live cheap and hunt cheap. people always try bring the south north. Thy normally don't last or stay long.
Hunting I believe is better in the south. this is big country, my area has 2 moose per 100 square miles. caribou go where they want to go. not where we think they should.
for me the great part of the north is there not a fence for 500 miles
Many people like the thought of living in Alaska more than actually living there. It can be a tough place to live. It can also be the greatest adventure of your life. If you're financially secure before getting there, you can give it a shot and see what happens. Just go in with your eyes wide open though. I lived in southeast for a few years when I was younger and would love to go back, just have to convince the wife!
I lived there from 85-88 while in the USAF and on a very limited budget. I was able to hunt and fish even with minimal funds. I'm sure things have changed, but listen to the persons living there now and make the move after doing your homework. Worse case scenario you can always move back to the lower 48 somewhere.
When I went I drove up the ALCAN in November. Took me 12 days to get from Greensboro, NC to Anchorage AK. My wife was six months pregnant at the time with our first.
As the above have stated, you'll either love it or hate it. I loved it. My wife hated it. We left in 1988 and moved back to NC.
I would go for it. I was there in the Air Force in the early 90's and still dream about Alaska. The Mat Su Valley is a nice area. A 4x4 is not required to live in Alaska and if you can walk there is some wonderful hunting.
In the Anchorage area and south it is not dark all winter.
Just go!! Even if you end up leaving for the south again you will never regret seeing the north and if you don't go you will always regret not taking the chance to experience the "big alone". Bob
Alaska is a wonderful place. I spent 22 of my growing-up years there. I like the people and the lifestyle... more laid back, and people thrive in the winter there, while here in Northern Illinois most everyone just tries to escape winter.
Summer is beautiful. So is winter. My dad had a Super Cub and riverboat, and we spent lots of time going all over the place. I would LOVE to move back there.
BUT... Alaska is a hard place to live. And the hunting is tough. The sun, whose energy forms the foundation of any ecosystem, does not shine as densely up there as it does on the equator. (Take a flashlight and from about 5 inches point it at the center of a basketball and then at either end, and you'll see what I mean... the same light is spread out more over a greater area at the poles.) This is why the tropical forests are packed with animal and plant life. Up north, the pickin's are slimmer, and animals roam far and wide to find sustenance. Once I went on a chartered fly-in bear hunt out of Tok and during a week of hiking for miles, we never saw a single animal, except for a few squirrels and songbirds.
I'm planning an Alaska DIY moose hunt for this fall, but I know that our likelihood of getting a moose is not high. Hunting in Texas would be cheaper, with more action and a lot more shooting.
As long as you don't deceive yourself into thinking that it is some hunter's utopia, Alaska is a great place. It's harsh, and unforgiving, but it's wonderful.
I also 2nd the comment to watch the Dick Proenneke's "Alone in the Wilderness" movies. But remember that they show the Alaska of yesteryear, and a lot has changed since then.
Archie,
I had a buddy that got two bulls in the Fairbanks area with bow last year. One bull was a proxy for a native elder. The archery season, similar to white tail, runs prior to firearm, however you can hunt archery through the firearm season.
Just wanted to clarify from my previous post that unlike folks traveling from the lower I hunt for the family and not horns. This is the largest bull I have taken thus far. It was in an "any bull" area. Meaning if it has horns it's legal. This was 45 inch spread.
Image software says 586X362. Properties here say width of 960! Doh!
(http://i632.photobucket.com/albums/uu47/chromebuck/Moose_zps89b80cf8.jpg)
Close up
(http://i632.photobucket.com/albums/uu47/chromebuck/moose-1_zps5c51522a.jpg)
~CB
Wife teaches here in Wasilla. She'll retire this spring.
You can pretty well teach anywhere in the state with sped certificates. They are always on the search.
Quality of hunting is largely dependent on who you hook up with and how deep your wallet is.
You do know that you don't get resident status until you have lived here for one year. Our big game draws are deadlined in December. You will have to be here a year before then to apply as a res.
I've been here 17 yrs. and have no plans to leave.
Yes, hunting is a little harder but totally worth it.
I live in the Mat-Su valley and just wake up, pinch myself, to be sure its real.
Alaska was a dream of mine also.
Give me shout when you get here.
Ben
I grew up in Southeast Alaska and the hunting all depends on travel. By plane, boat, road where possible. But I know personally that many people fill their moose tags just a ways up the river or highway from where I grew up. And that we would also travel a little further south to hunt blacktail. It's a big place and it isn't cheap to travel within. Even if you have your own plane or boat you still have to pay for fuel, ect. But it's the greatest place on the Earth. Any money spent is well worth it. Any difficulty as well. Like LKH said, if you're a nonresident, it's going to be even more expensive until you get resident status. Still, I miss it every day and dream of going home.