Eagle River , AK Review
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1/17/2008
We have lived here for 4 years, and we love the location with is just 12-15 minutes from Anchorage, Elmendorf AFB and Ft. Richardson Post. I feel we are in a much better location than Anchorage because we are on the other side of the mountains, so we are on the rock, not the glacial silt as Anchorage is built upon. We can zip in for bulk shopping in Anchorage and then zip home to our much smaller, safer city with all the things we need on a daily basis. We have beautiful views on all four sides. (Three sides are mountains and the 4th you can see the inlet with stunning sunsets and then mountains way off in the distance past it.)
We have lots of trees and larger home property lots here also. (Anchorage is getting over saturated and new housing is S. Anchorage so the commute is crazy to get to N. Anchorage or the military installations.) I have only noticed hoodlum crime here. (spray paint on stuff 3 locations.) It seems as though neighbors really watch out for each other.
Everyone who likes living here is an outdoors enthusiast, or doesn't mind the cool or coldness here. You never really get hot summer temps here so it is very rare to see 80's or warmer. It would only be for a day or 2 if so, with a cool breeze. If you like your kids to play outside often, then you will want to like the mildly warm, cool or cold weather if they are at the age that you need to be out there with them! Layering is the key to comfort here! There are lots of activities inside and out for kids.
Darkness is an issue for most since we get 4 hours of 'day' in December. (S.A.D. is prevalent here.) It slowly switches back to almost 4 hours of 'night' in the summer though. Kinda normal to see someone out gardening etc. at 11pm...! It also lightly rains often in the summer and then more in the fall, so when it is a sunny 'summer' day, a lot of the time it is kinda wet out too.
There is a very diverse culture here, and people seem friendly for the most part. It is very expensive to live here but the pay is better than the lower 48 because just about everything including food has to be shipped up here and with the cost of fuel, you pay for it. The dividend helps compensate for some of the expense if you are going to move here to stay.
The beauty is unbeatable, but you just can't be a hot heat summer person to live here and enjoy it all, you really gotta love the snow sports and cool to mildly warm weather outdoors activities. If that is you then this is your paradise!!!
M & D | Anchorage, AK