If you don't know much about Fairbanks there are several factors in buying a house that we wanted to avoid 1. Permafrost. There are a lot of houses on permafrost, but no promises that they won't shift. I've seen some amazing ones and I'm not sure how they are still standing.
2. Being in town. Being in town is great if you don't have horrible asthma and allergies like me. In the winter there is an inversion and all of the wood smoke hangs over the city. That also gives it #9 in the most polluted cities in the US.
3. Water. Believe it or no there are a lot of places in Fairbanks that are "dry" cabins. That means that there is no plumbing. Nada. Zip.
I pretty much informed my husband that if I couldn't get a hot shower that I wouldn't be moving to Alaska. Luckily, my husband found the adorable house that we live in now. The only thing I don't like is that it has a water system. There is no well, so we have a holding tank in the basement that we get water delivered about every 3 weeks. Other than that the house is perfect. I love it and it even came with its own dry cabin.
Keep in mind that as far as dry cabins go, it is a REALLY nice cabin. It is 16 X 12 and has a loft. It's outhouse is about 20 feet from it. (Yes, I own an outhouse.) I figured we could rent it out for $300 or so. I mean, who really wants to live in a dry cabin. (Note: A lot of people do, this lady does not.) Friends of my husband told him we could get $600. $600 for a place the size of my bedroom with NO WATER. I could NEVER charge anyone that much. I put it on craigslist and we rented it within a day to a really nice kid (kid = 22) for $500, which apparently for the area we live in, the cabin and such is a steal. I still feel sort of guilty.
So I joke that my new job is landlord. I try to not drive the kid crazy and not say hi to him every time I see him. He seems like a really nice kid. It's his first Alaska winter too, so I told him if he hates it he can move out and break the contract. As for me I need to go buy some snazzy leisure suits.
As for snow...we'll see!
I just finished a three-year stint as a land lord. Our tenant finally moved out at the end of last month and my husband ripped the apartment out - now that we're expecting a baby, that will become part of the main house. It's all attached, not a separate building. I bet your little cabin is super cute in the summer. Where is this kid going to shower?
ReplyDeleteYes. What exactly do people do in dry cabins? Hooray for missing out on the inversion. We get those here and they are the devil. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Kate! How exciting. I have NO idea where he showers. Won't really bother me until the summer. :)
ReplyDeleteThere are showers on campus. =) Even people who aren't students shower on campus because it's free and no one actually checks ID's (of course I'm not saying I've ever done this...). Lots of people also shower at laundromats. I used to do that sometimes back when they only cost $3. Last time I tried to go to a laundromat a shower had gone up to $7. WTF!?! I showered at a friends house and donated a little $ to her water bill after that.
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