How Can Anyone Afford to Live in Alaska?

[Ken]

30 examples of the price of food in Barrow, Alaska - in 2011. How can you folks afford to eat?


Photo Gallery: Arctic Food Prices - The Cost of Living in Barrow, Alaska

http://www.ktuu.com/gotoak/ktuu-phot...9.photogallery

[Rick]

The problem is all of them want to get away from society and shun each other so only one person can go to the store at a time. So much for selling on volume.

[ClayPick]

The logistics for getting fresh food to the north is hellish at best but it’s still hard to see where the price is justifiable. Processed is the biggest rip off. The Inuit communities here are starting gardening projects that are helping them defeat the environment. A few hundred pounds of caribou meat for the price of a bullet is a real good deal. Fish galore to.
My daughter took me to a restaurant at Banff Alberta where they served a wild game platter, the thing had five little puddles of food that wouldn’t feed a flea. When I seen the price I near shipped myself.

[Wildthang]

As cold as it is up there, they should pay people to live there!

[crashdive123]

As cold as it is up there, they should pay people to live there!

They do. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Permanent_Fund

[Cast-Iron]

The prices in the remote communities can be a bit of a shock. I've never been to Barrow, but I witnessed similar prices in Nome in 2007. One example that I recall was a large box of Tide detergent for some $50 and change. The residents who have established eligibility receive an annual permanent funds distribution, but many folks in the bush use subsistence hunting and fishing to offset the higher prices on the things they have to buy. If you're able to shop or resupply in Anchorage, they have Sam's Club, Costco, and many other large box retailers. Additionally, Ted Stevens airport is one of the busiest freight airports in the world. The prices in Anchorage weren't too much higher than what I was used to paying in Texas. The higher pay scales more than offset the higher cost of food. When we flew out into the bush, most of our provisions were shipped out a few days in advance of our planned arrival. What little fresh produce, dairy, or meat we wanted flew with us in coolers as "luggage".

[Sarge47]

Black Market anyone? It shouldn't be too difficult, we just load up a Semi with food bought at a discount, drive up there and sell it off for a massive profit!........

[Ken]

Black Market anyone? It shouldn't be too difficult, we just load up a Semi with food bought at a discount, drive up there and sell it off for a massive profit!........

I can just imagine the trip.....

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[Sarge47]

I can just imagine the trip.....

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Not to worry, you won't be driving!....

[Ken]

Not to worry, you won't be driving!....

Pfffffft! Couldn't even wait 'till I posted a better pic, could you?

[Nizina]

Barrow, of course, is the northern most city in Alaska and gets most of its income from oil industry spin off. The taxing power of the Borough (county by lower-48 speak) insures a high cash flow to the community. The rest of rural Alaska is not so lucky and indeed pays dearly for their remote living style. The larger communities such as Anchorage, Fairbanks, and many of the the southeast communities pay a much more reasonable price for their goods. Alaska is expensive, but not as high, on average, as what is charged in Barrow. Where I live, we get a mail plane twice a week, and of course, it doesn't hurt to have your own airplane. But then you need to factor in the price of flying in...

[Ken]

Nice to hear from you, Nizina! Care to introduce yourself?

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...-Introductions

[Sarge47]

I've also heard that the price of outhouse doors is really over the top!....

[Sourdough]

I've also heard that the price of outhouse doors is really over the top!....

And it obstructs the view.

[Sarge47]

I can just imagine the trip.....

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Yeah, we're definitely not letting you drive!...

[1stimestar]

When I first moved up here from Oklahoma, very near the TX border, I very nearly cried when on my first grocery shopping trip. I seriously wondered how in the world I was going to feed my children. Bananas from back home were .39 a lb. Alaskan bananas, in the winter, were $1.79 a lb! They are now $1.56 a lb. Here, I dug through my grocery sacks and found a receipt.

Box of Puffs tissue, 1.69.
Small store brand honey, 4.59.
Cambell's Chicken Noodle soup, .85 (yes my daughter had a cold...).
Tylenol Cold and Flu 7.19.
Box of tea, 20 bags, 3.79.
Store brand wheat bread, 1.67.
Small bag (5lbs?) of Clementine oranges, 4.99.

Anyways, prices are much better now then they were 10 years ago. This is from Fairbanks though, the second largest "city" in the state.

[Winter]

Barrow? Most people living there are making $80 an hour or so.

[Ken]

Barrow? Most people living there are making $80 an hour or so.

Maybe they need bus drivers there... Sarge, you should look into that!

[Winter]

No thanks. I don't care for up north Alaska.

[1stimestar]

I stopped by the store on my way home from work.
Gallon of whole milk, 3.49.
Bananas 2.69 a lb.
Store brand (Fred Meyer) saltine crackers 1.99.
Cans of Green beans .89.
Cans of corn, .89.
Can of Hormel chili, 1.47.
Small cans of Vienna sausages, 1.00.
Can of Hershey's baking coco 4.39.
3 lb of hamburger 14.47.
Small bag of Purina One cat food 9.69.
Acorn squash 3,00.
16 oz of strawberris, 3.50.
Store brand wheat bread 1.67.
Gallon of ice cream 4.99.

The cost of groceries has really equalized in the last 10 years here. I hate to say that I think in part is because Wal Mart came to town about 5 years ago.