If you are from either coast, East or West, my best advice is simple : don't. You cannot do it. You cannot and will not work here. In our brief time here it has become crystal clear people from the coasts can't cut it here. People from Midwestern states, well... we fit right in. We already lived in Alaska we just didn't realize it.
Substitute fish for cows and Dillingham really could be just about any rural community in Iowa. So if you think I am wrong about you not being able to cut it, then move to remote Iowa town of about 3K people, with third-world levels of Internet access. If you can hack it for a year without going bat guano insane, then come on up! If not, well... you're welcome for saving you a ton of grief.
Ok, now on to more practical matters. Looking to rent? Then you had better start looking in February. If you wait until August to start looking you are going to So Outta Luck it won't be funny. Just don't expect any four-star hotels to stay in, either. People don't move here for the aesthetic beauty of the town; they move here because they have a job to do (guilty!) or they want to partake of some of the best hunting and fishing on the planet (will be guilty next year!). Apartments and rentals open and close with astonishing speed. Think way ahead is the order of the day, unless you know someone in the community with a lot of pull.
Renting not your style? Ok, then expect any decent house to sell starting at $200,000 and going up from there. If you are in the city limits of Dillingham, expect to pay 1.3% of the total value of your home per year in property taxes. Just remember, the actual city limits go out about 10 miles beyond the city limits. Once you cross that magical line, there are no property taxes. None. I am sure there has to be a county government of some sort, but it's not readily apparent. Land is scarce, too. With all the Preserves, Sanctuaries, State and Federal parks and lands surrounding Dillingham... good luck finding a spot of land big enough to construct on.
If none of the above has scared you off, then just wait until you buy groceries for the first time. A good rule of thumb is most items will be double and some triple what you are paying in the Midwest. Ironically, some items like corn (sometimes) sell for what we were paying back in Iowa. I am still not kidding about it being fresher. Everything we have purchased for produce is at the very pinnacle of freshness and much tastier, juicer, and better quality than anything we ever bought in Iowa. I still maintain people in the Midwest are the dumping ground for end-of-freshness produce.
Then there is the practically non-existent internet. They are running behind schedule to get the fiber laid in the town, so the practical reality is a 128K/sec. connection will run you about $70/month. Oh, did I mention the download limits? On that connection you get 2 GB per month and then you hit overage charges. Yeah, so no Netflix streaming here. One, the connection isn't fast enough and two, a one hour HD program would blow through your monthly data limit.
That's pretty much the extent of the downside to reality. If you can tolerate or even thrive under those conditions, then you can hack it here. The internet thing is really starting to get on my nerves, but only because I know of places out in the boonies of Mexico that are getting 1.5Mb/sec. DSL right now. I fail to see how Dillingham should be more remote than Mexico.
So, yes. The outdoors is the crown jewel of this area. If you love to camp, hike, fish, hunt or just be an Idiot Out Wandering Around, this is the perfect place to live. The bears in this area aren't all that aggressive, but if you surprise one, well the fur is going to fly. I am hearing the greater actual danger is moose, especially when you are talking a cow and her youngin's. If you stray too far from civilization, it's best to have a weapon or bear spray on you, however.
How you get to the really great hunting and fishing spots is sometimes by car, sometimes by plane. If you want to get around Dillingham you will need to ship in your car by barge. About the cheapest that will happen is $3K, and that's if you have something small like a Focus or a Civic. If you have a duelie pickup... well, $6K isn't exactly outrageous or unheard of. The other thing to keep in mind is that it could take a while to get here. On the order of a couple of months while the shipping companies try to fill up the barge coming here. Keep in mind the spring is when there are great many barge runs, and they taper off as winter approaches. Plan ahead, as always.
That's what we have learned so far. I am very sure there is much more we do not know, but will learn soon. As always, we will keep you posted.
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