Moving To Alaska: Mistakes To Avoid | Living In Alaska

My name is Jamin Gerker. I'm your first friend in Alaska and luckily for you, I'm also an associate real estate broker in South Central Alaska. And today we're gonna be talking about some mistakes that you should be careful to avoid if you are moving to Alaska. Some of these you might not actually really think about until you've actually gone and made that mistake. So we'll go ahead and talk about that today. Before we get started though, do make sure that you like, subscribe, do all that good stuff to make sure that everyone knows that this channel really does make content that helps people. And without further ado, let's go and jump into today's video. You know, I'm gonna go and start off with this one and it is that there are a lot of perceptions of Alaska and there's a lot of people who just take it face value that Alaska is exactly the way that it's presented on YouTube channels and survival shows and a bunch of other reality TV level stuff out there that is just not very accurate. So I would say one of the biggest mistakes that people can make when they're moving to Alaska is not being willing to look behind the facade that is presented in the media about what Alaska is like. You know, Alaska, imagine like a really, like a nice Midwestern town in a really scenic area and that's really going to be what most Alaskan towns are really like. So it's not really this living off grid scenario where you're gonna like kill some, you know, moose and drag it back to your campfire every night to eat. Like it's just not this off grid experience that a lot of people are talking about. Now you can have that if that's the lifestyle that you want, but by and large, that is just not most people's reality. Like I said, picture like Midwestern town in a really nice area and a really nice picturesque scenery and that's gonna be Alaska for most people. Now, the next mistake that people make and you know, this isn't necessarily always a mistake that's your fault, but that is not coming up to Alaska to at least visit first. Now there are some people like with the military where they are just not going to have the freedom being able to come up here and look around first and that just kind of is what it is. And also if you do have the ability to at least visit up here first, you definitely should. Even if you're just trying to see, even if you're not wanting to just purchase anything up here first and you're just wanting to rent, you still wanna at least come up here and kind of get a feel for the area before you start putting down any kind of stakes. So that's kind of my recommendation at least come up here and visit first. Maybe that kind of ties in a little bit with kind of accepting everything at face value and accepting the facade reality that's presented out there just because it's presented as, you know, this Mayberry perfect environment or this super off-grid kind of utopia that isn't necessarily the reality. The next mistake that I see a lot of people make is just thinking that one part of Alaska is like every other part of Alaska. There are so many differences in the culture, the terrain, the environment, the weather, just the wildlife. There's so much difference in all parts of Alaska from one part to the other, where it's almost like being in a completely different state. Like you've got rainforest in one part, you've got absolute barren tundra on another. In another, you've got, you know, just these magnificent mountain ranges as far as the eye can see with glaciers and everything in there. You've got, you know, forests, you know, as far as you can go to, like you've got all these different, different climates and it's, you're really missing a lot if you think that Alaska is just one particular thing, okay? You can find just about any climate that you really like up here. You just, you know, you can't get into the mindset though that Alaska is just this barren wasteland or that it's all just this magnificent mountain range. Like it's a full spectrum. So just be ready for that. Another mistake that I see some people make, not as many, but some times I see people making this mistake and that is not factoring in the higher cost of living up here in Alaska. There's a lot of channels out there that really have a lot of videos where they walk around the grocery store and like, you know, have their camera and they're looking at the cost of all these different items that they find in the grocery store. Use those to give you kind of an idea for what it's like as far as the cost of living for grocery shopping. And you can obviously look online and see how much renting and cars and everything costs up here. Do keep in mind, you're usually gonna be making more in Alaska than you would doing the same job where you're currently at. Usually, depends where you're coming from, but do just kind of keep that in mind. Also, if you're looking for on the grocery front, just trying to get a sense for what the cost of living is, you can definitely go take a look at a lot of these grocery store chains have apps these days where you can kind of pull stuff up in that store and look specifically for the item in that store or that region and try to get a sense for how much they cost there. Another mistake that I see some people make is just not having much of a plan at all when they're moving up here. Just very free spirited people. And, you know, just life is a highway and everything's an adventure and let's just go. And not a whole lot of planning going into it. Usually it works out, but still, you wanna be as organized and as intentional as possible in order to make sure that it's a good experience for you as you're moving up here because you can really get turned off to an entire area just if the experience of moving there was just so chaotic and stressful. Now, on the exact opposite side of that spectrum, and this is more common, that I see is people who overanalyze and overplan their move up here to Alaska. And the best thing I can advise for these folks is just try not to get analysis paralysis. Do the best that you possibly can and just buckle up for an adventure and know that there is no way you are going to be able to account for every little thing. There's gonna be some stuff you're just gonna have to take care of on the fly and that's just part of the adventure. So jump in there and make it happen. Now, let's go and take a break real quick here. Just wanted to remind you folks real quick that if you are moving to Alaska and you would like a copy of my relocation guide, then do feel free to go to my website, go down into the description section down below, hit the website, register and put relocation guide in the comment section so I know what to send you. Also, just need to make this PSA. I do in fact make my income off of helping people buy and sell homes. So if you are looking at moving to Alaska and are looking at purchasing a property, don't let the fact that I have a lot of content on YouTube and podcasting and everything else make you think that I'm too busy to help you. I am very strategic in my time and how I go about making sure that I can produce this stuff at a high level and still be more than ready to help people that are looking to buy or sell. So just wanted to make that PSA real quick. We'll leave that alone. Let's continue with the video. One mistake that I do see people make, and this is more so during the winter time, but one mistake that I do see people make is just getting up here and assuming, okay, the adventure is going to come to me now. Like I can just sit back, relax, and by proximity I'm going to get exposure to like all the adventures and everything that everyone's talking about. I got bad news for you. You can have an incredibly sedentary lifestyle up here in Alaska, even though the wilderness and all the adventure in the world is right out your back doorstep. And you may never see it because it's out your back doorstep, but you're still in the living room just watching movies and eating popcorn all night. So just know that when you're up here in Alaska, you want that active lifestyle where you're exposed to the adventure and everything else that most people really want when they're coming up here to Alaska, you're still going to have to go get it, okay? It's not going to just come to you, so go find it. All right, this next one is really for people that are a little bit more introverted. And this is not plugging into any kind of a community up here. You don't have to be a super social butterfly, but if you're especially up here by yourself, it is going to be imperative. You find a community that you can really plug into and connect with and just find the tribe that you're looking for to make sure that you're not isolated and alone. Because there are a lot of people who get up here and they get isolated, especially during the winter time. They get isolated and it starts to really grind on them. They say, well, I don't really need a whole lot of people. Like, I'm going to call, yeah, I'm going to call that. Like, no, that's not true. You do need people. We can all agree, it might not be comfortable for you to go talk with people, but you do need them. And also, if you allow yourself to become isolated, you're going to absolutely hate it up here. I don't care how peopled out you think you are with the lower 48 and big cities and everything. At some level, you do need that community and you need to be intentional about plugging into it. Okay, I'm going to step off my soapbox now. Some people, believe it or not, underestimate the impact that winter is going to have on them. And what I mean by that is everyone's ready for the cold. Everyone's seen the video where it's like negative 70 and they're ready to go and they've got their huge parkas or whatever and they've got the merino wool and they're ready to stay warm. But what a lot of people aren't ready for is the darkness and the impact that this can have on some people. Because keep in mind, exposure to the sun gives you a lot of physiological benefits that really help you psychologically. And if you don't have exposure to the sun, especially during the winter time where you get maybe, I think it was like four, six hours of sunlight here in South Central Alaska around the winter solstice, then that can really start to beat you down more so than the cold can. Because you can go inside and get warm. You don't necessarily have that natural exposure to the sunlight. So just something to keep in mind. It's not really the cold that gets you. It's the lack of sunlight that can. Now, some people, doesn't impact them. They're just little creatures of the darkness and it just doesn't matter to them. Other people, it's going to impact them. And like I've said a number of times before, you're just not gonna know till you get up here and you experience it. Last but not least, if you are looking at seriously moving up here to Alaska, then you really need to start taking a look at the crime maps. Now, I say, take a look at the crime maps and that's all fine and good. And also, I would take it a step further. You wanna look at the crime maps for where you currently live to give you a good baseline idea for what it is that you're looking at. As you might look at the crime maps in one area in Alaska and be like, oh my gosh, how does anyone live there? And then you take a look at the crime maps for where you currently live. And it's like, oh shoot, why am I living here now? So that's what's gonna give you kind of a baseline understanding for what to expect in these areas. Obviously, nowhere is gonna be perfect. There's gonna be crime everywhere. It's just making sure you are comfortable with the kind of crime and how much crime there is in the specific area it is that you're looking at. But this has been my videos talking about the mistakes to avoid when you're moving to Alaska. I sure hope it's been useful. If it has, again, give this video a like, subscribe, comment, share it to all your friends, and we'll see you next time.