The Dark Side of Living in Eagle River Alaska
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ต.ค. 2024
- No town is Mayberry, and today we're going to be talking about why Eagle River, Alaska, certainly isn't! We hold no punches so make sure to watch until the end and post in the comment section what you believe some of the dark sides of Eagle River are!
Jamin Goecker
(For Relocation Guide): jgoecker.kw.com
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Keller Williams Realty Alaska Group
My opinions on places ive lived in, worked in, and visited in Alaska over the past 2 years:
Anchorage: Certain parts are great, others are not. The more urban you get, the more druggies and alcoholics there are. I dont want to hate on Anchorage though, its a very useful city and allows me to unwind a bit after working in the more rural parts of AK. Lived and worked here for about 9 months.
Eagle River: Where I currently live. Wonderful place, has mostly everything you need, and is only about a 20 minute drive from Anchorage, Wasilla, and Palmer, the ladder being a bit further. Only issue I have with Eagle River is the main road has a very slow speed limit (35mph) while it feels like it should be 40 or 45. Still, its a lovely place thats a perfect middleground between city and country, as both arent far away. Plenty of jobs too. If you stop by here, you MUST visit Lexi's Cafe. My absolute favorite place to eat, though they are closed Sunday and Monday.
Wasilla: everyone up there drives like theyre insane, and driving up there in blizzards is terrifying. I worked at a place for awhile and felt like i was death gripping the wheel as soon as I get into the city. Still, the outer part of Wasilla is beautiful, and it has everything you need and then some. Also my best friend lives here :)
Chugiak/ Peters Creek: Im combining these two (sue me) because theyre a bit small and close together. I work here at the time of writing this, and its a bit more spread out suburbs. Has a few restaurants, gas stations, mechanic shops, etc. I havent explored up here too much, as im usually just driving in for work (short 10m drive from eagle river) or passing it on my way to Palmer or Wasilla. Stop by the American Legion if you're a veteran, or active duty.
Palmer: Small town vibe. First places I properly visited in Alaska after moving to Anchorage. The drive up there is gorgeous, and the town is so small and adorable. During the summer it looks like a movie: pretty girls walking around with flowers in their hair, bikers cruising down the street, folks driving around and talking like old friends. My advice is to not speed up there, I hear the police get bored sometimes 😂.
Seward: Took a 3 hour road trip and lemme tell you, the drive is a bit scary (pouring rain and was driving my friends car part way) on a dangerous highway, but its also one of the most beautiful drives ive ever been on. Looks like Narnia during the summer. Once we got there its really just a small fishing town, but we ate some delicious food and walk around the docks for awhile. I bought a fleece jacket and took pictures of waterfalls.
Final words: These are just my opinions. I love Alaska, but the winters are rough. I came here about 2 years ago with nothing but $200 in my pocket, 1 friend in Wasilla, a serving job set up ahead of time, and a hard work ethic. I started bartending for awhile, and now very soon I used my drink pouring connections to get a spot on a boat as a deckhand in Bristol Bay. This place truely is the last frontier, and if you have a courageous heart, if you yearn for adventure, and if you're just a little tiny bit crazy, Alaska is the place for you.
we get bears on our front deck every spring, brown bears included. Steeple Dr.
Since there is essentially only one road in and out of Eagle River- any accident south of Hiland Exit or north of Eklutna can shut the highway down for hours
That's a great point! Wish I'd remembered that one
You can hike to girdwood through crows pass worst case scenario 😂
Great video !!
Wear your ankles bells people when hiking
Can't go wrong there!
I loved my visit to eagle river. It reminded me of my home town 20yrs ago in south FL . A word to the wise vote the proper council in otherwise they will ruin your small town feel. Our visit was to short to explore everything, but that gives us another reason to come back
It’s a beautiful town! I’ll have some Eagle River specific information on a livestream this upcoming Thursday so stay tuned 😃
I stayed out there the first week we moved here (3 weeks ago) and it was ok but didn't see where it was worth extra compared to the place we leased in Anchorage. I found little difference in the folks compared to Anchorage and the drive isn't bad at all coming from the Salt Lake Valley in UT, there is none in comparison.
It's all about perspective!
I’ve lived here all 16 of my years in Alaska and few complaints. The Heritage Courts apartment complex is a little sketchy, need more traffic lights, and most of the restaurants are average at best, but otherwise no complaints!
I want to know more about the dark side of this room. What is that?
I''m below Driftwood Bay with an unobstructed view, Grizzly and Black Bears are common, "dress" accordingly.
Paid less than $5K for my first home.
Bro it takes me an hour to get to work in an hour to pick up my daughter after work it's only a 7 mile trip.... Here in Hawaii. At least we don't have bears
😄You got me there
Not to mention the stores have gone downhill with the growth of the town.
I remember when the Eagle River Walmart was the best in the state, and the Eagle River McDonald's was the second fastest in the state. And now I just feel like it's another part of Anchorage. When I lived in Wasilla I used to go out of my way to come to the Eagle River Walmart and Fred Meyer just because of the atmosphere change, but now there's no difference.
I don't know man, I still feel the Eagle River Walmart is too classy for me 🤣
I remember when the Eagle River Walmart had no groceries, in fact they didn’t until about 2010.
McDonald’s was the second fastest in the state?? How did they measure that? I tend not to measure towns on how quick their McDonalds are.
How does eagle river compare to Chugiak?
Ooh. That’s an excellent question. I wonder if the snow plow can come through and a higher end home can be purchased there with a bit more land attached to it.
Thanks for the insight. I'll be moving to Wagle River by the end of June or July. I'm looking forward to Fishing. Anything near Glenhwy route?
Eagle River- not Wagle.
I use to live in Eagle River and used to do a lot of had shit on End Street. If you shroeder park you probably already know.
I am looking to retire there with my husband in about 3 years. We are a young couple without children. Is Eagle River the only higher end place to live? We will be looking for a home from $500k up. I think we would enjoy going out to eat and drink quite often, and we are also pretty outdoorsy.
You mentioned that Eagle River is family friendly, but we really aren’t as interested in that.
We are use to going downstairs and eating Italian or walking down our downtown street to an Irish pub. We live in a nice Chicago suburb area, so we are use to professional crown of people. Is this more or less possible in this Area?
Thank you so much for your help!
At that price range the only real problem will be waiting for something to come on the market. And I know of two places likely to come open next spring as long term residents retire. Just talked to one a week ago. The "downtown" part of ER isn't going to compare with Seattle or Chicago, but we have some nice dining and it hasn't been hit with the homelessness issue to the same degree as Anchorage. Most people here are professionals or with the military, though it has a rougher edge as far as how people operate than most suburbs in the lower 48. If you want tidy little lawns and such I'd say look for one of the subdivisions with an active HOA. I'd say if you're looking for a nice view property, the southern exposure lots in ER are the last ones standing at your price point. Anchorage's hillside is far more expensive and crowded. They even pushed up above Potter Marsh, which still seems abjectly insane to me. With that big estate winding up and selling a lot of the lots off above ER Road, it's a good time to get your foot in that door. The views are unbelievable.
The closest thing you’ll come to a pub here are the bars at the bowling center or the shabby Tips unless you’re a member of the VFW or Elk’s Lodge.
Restaurants here are hit or miss. Only ones I really like are Pizza Man, Chepo’s, and Lime Leaf.
Is that the same as Eagle?
I just moved here. You can interview me on your podcast
That would be great. Feel free to text me at 907-229-1792 or message me on Insta at Jamin_Goecker