[NA] Anyone live in Homer, AK?

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Magnus P.IFR

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Looking for anyone who may have a lead on a summer (May-October) apartment/house/RV pad rental in Homer this upcoming season. Thanks in advance.
 
I spent a summer in Homer. All I can say is good luck in finding a affordable place to stay. When I called phone numbers for places listed for rent, no one would answer the phone or return calls. Persistence in the name of the game for finding a place.

The folks that live there look to make a years worth of money in just 3 months. I ended up living in a garage loft for 900/month. And when I left, the owners asked for more money because they felt that they should have asked a higher monthly rate. I paid all 3 months up front, which the owner agreed to for a slightly lower monthly rate.

Most of the folks in Homer are greedy, greedy, greedy. There was times when I walked into some of the locally owned stores and felt as if the owner was going to pull a gun and rob me right there.

On the other side we did meet a few really nice folks. And after work just head down to the fishin' hole and catch a salmon for dinner.

Homer is where Alaskans go for vacation. Lots of folks still stuck in the 60s there.

There is a ''reality'' show made in the area about a family that lives in the wilds of Alaska. Don't be surprised the see the stars eating in a local restaurant, or to see a paved road leading to their property.

Of course you can just park an RV on the beach, but you have to move it every couple of weeks. Take time to go fishing, sightseeing and have fun.

My wife and I enjoyed our summer in Homer, as strange as it was.

And get used to the tsunami warning test. Nothing like walking next to a loud speaker when the test starts.
 
Zeldman said:
I spent a summer in Homer. All I can say is good luck in finding a affordable place to stay.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the real world feedback. Following to see if Alaska is in my future...
 
Well, I’m slowly preparing to live in an RV for the summer if need be. Hopefully after having made some more connections this summer I’ll be in a better situation the following seasons.
 
Sure do miss listening to Tom Bodett's "End of the Road" radio show.
 
belbert said:
Thanks for the real world feedback. Following to see if Alaska is in my future...
Click to expand...

Just to add.... Homer is not real Alaska. Real Alaska to me cannot be driven to because no roads go to real to me Alaska. I loved every minute of living/working north of the Arctic circle. The Eskimo people can be the best folks to live/work with. They are fun loving people that love to laugh. It is hard to be accepted in, but once in you are in. And you won't know you are in until something happens... like when someone will hand you a sandwich because they know you missed lunch, or someone hands you a salmon to thank you for something you did that is out of the usual pilot work. Or offer an Eskimo dish just to see if you will actually try to eat it.... (some Eskimo foods can kill cheechakos...)

On the other side Alaska is the end of the road for some folks. There are people that move there thinking they are getting away from all the problems in their lives, but not realizing that the problems in their lives start with the image they see in the mirror. But that happens everywhere.

Go to Alaska, try it out for size. I may do that again at age 61.!!
 
Homer isn't Alaska? Says the non-Alaskans!

On a nice summer day Homer is one of the prettiest places on the planet. Enjoy!

Include Anchor Point in your housing search.
 
Stewartb said:
Homer isn't Alaska? Says the non-Alaskans!

On a nice summer day Homer is one of the prettiest places on the planet. Enjoy!

Include Anchor Point in your housing search.
Click to expand...

Well, I've lived there since 81, Does that count? Matter of fact, I was just in the land of the Homeroids last week.

No one said it wasn't beautiful there, but there's a whole lot of Alaska that's nothing like Homer, and just as pretty if not more.

The point we were making is a lot of people don't have a clue how big Alaska is and unless you travel extensively, you're not really seeing what Alaska has to offer.
 
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You're a newbie. A Cheechako. ;)

Let the next new guy enjoy the journey. Alaska is a great place.
 
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SToL said:
The point we were making is a lot of people don't have a clue how big Alaska is and unless you travel extensively, you're not really seeing what Alaska has to offer.
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Exactly.

I have some relatives that moved to Palmer the week before the '64 earthquake. They have been to Anchorage and Fairbanks and points in between, but have never been off the road system. I saw more of Alaska in my first year than they ever saw.

I never said Homer and the Kenai Peninsula wasn't a pretty place, especially in summer, and never said Alaska was not a great place. I really enjoyed Seldovia and Halibut Cove. Awesome views of the volcanoes in the area. I flew close enough to a couple of them that we could smell the sulfur aroma.

The Salty Dawg Saloon on the Homer spit is worth going into at least once, as well as the Saltry Restaurant at Halibut Cove.

I spent most of my time north of the Arctic Circle. A place where the road only goes as far as the edge of the village. And many times the landing strip was the longest road in the village.

Living on the road system in Alaska is no different from where I live here in New Mexico. Except here in NM the snow removal is not so well planned out so sometimes I don't get to town for a few days even after a minor snow storm.

For me, my definition of real Alaska is when I realize I am one of only a few non-Eskimo folks in the village.
 
write-stuff said:
Parker Schnable?
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Gold Rush is the Canadian Yukon. Gold Rush only shows the destruction. Wish they'd show how the area is remediated after the season ends. When I worked at BLM, the remediation plan for drilling was often bigger than the rest of the proposal.
 
Zeldman said:
I spent a summer in Homer. All I can say is good luck in finding a affordable place to stay. When I called phone numbers for places listed for rent, no one would answer the phone or return calls. Persistence in the name of the game for finding a place.

The folks that live there look to make a years worth of money in just 3 months. I ended up living in a garage loft for 900/month. And when I left, the owners asked for more money because they felt that they should have asked a higher monthly rate. I paid all 3 months up front, which the owner agreed to for a slightly lower monthly rate.

Most of the folks in Homer are greedy, greedy, greedy. There was times when I walked into some of the locally owned stores and felt as if the owner was going to pull a gun and rob me right there.

On the other side we did meet a few really nice folks. And after work just head down to the fishin' hole and catch a salmon for dinner.

Homer is where Alaskans go for vacation. Lots of folks still stuck in the 60s there.

There is a ''reality'' show made in the area about a family that lives in the wilds of Alaska. Don't be surprised the see the stars eating in a local restaurant, or to see a paved road leading to their property.

Of course you can just park an RV on the beach, but you have to move it every couple of weeks. Take time to go fishing, sightseeing and have fun.

My wife and I enjoyed our summer in Homer, as strange as it was.

And get used to the tsunami warning test. Nothing like walking next to a loud speaker when the test starts.
Click to expand...
FYI: taking advantage of market conditions is not greed. It's the American Way.
 
Well this sure got off track, just like most POA posts.

Now to really stir the pot...Any part of AK is better than most people’s American existence in the lower 48, in my opinion. I’ve spent several years in AK as a commercial fisherman, snowboarder, snow machiner, hunter and tourist.
I understood it to be a difficult task to find seasonal housing in Homer, thus original post. Would I want to live in AK year-round? Probably not. Does that mean I miss out on the “real” AK? Probably not.
Even living in an RV for several months in Homer to help get my family ahead financially is worth it in my opinion. (winters off to go snowboard, yes please) And that means going where the tourist money is at this point in my aviation career. Been pounding nails up to this point, not a sustainable means of existence physically. We all make sacrifices.

signing off.
 
Kenny Phillips said:
FYI: taking advantage of market conditions is not greed. It's the American Way.
Click to expand...

No complaint with that at all. You have to be there to understand.

The local residents wanted to pass a tax ordinance that raised sales tax in the summer only, and to non-residents only. It didn't pass.
 
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