If you live on the "road system" in Alaska its really no more expensive than living in the lower 48 any more.
Where I live in Kodiak, things are pretty expensive but then so are wages, etc. It all evens out somehow.
And the weather is NOT that bad. Anchorage/Kenai is probably something like southern Minnesota. Winter temps can be anywhere from -20 to +40.
Kodiak is real mild and usually at sea level its not even cold enough to snow. I've been here eleven years and the coldest I've ever seen it was -8 during a cold snap a couple years back.
You don't get the real arctic weather until you cross the mountains into the interior and get away from the ocean. Its not unusual for there to be an 80 degree temperature difference between my home in Kodiak and Fairbanks during the winter.
Its a beautiful place, really.
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Keith
The Bears and Bear Maulings Page:
members.xoom.com/keithrogan