$200 a year to live on a boat in Alaska

[watersofdiego]

If you guys are seeking a very cheap liveaboard place check out Alaska! It has the scenery and the solitude too!!

I was talking to this other sailor who has been cruising Alaska the last few years and he was saying in the village of Kake, AK mooring is $200 per YEAR. And in Petersburg, AK mooring is $79 a month. And in Wrangell, AK it's $185 a month. Compare that to San Francisco, CA which costs $800 a month to be a liveaboard and Honolulu, HI which costs $700 a month.

Consider though, however, that most of the boats up in Alaska are commercial or subsistence fishing vessels and the usual marina amenities found in, say Marina Del Rey, CA are non-existent in most ports.

[Greenhand]

Consider, moreover, the average temperature of each location.

[captain58sailin]

I guess, he didn't fill you in on the cost of living, like food etc...

[robert644]

What kind of job opportunities are available in Kake ?

[captain58sailin]

Slim and none, and slim just left town.

[seandepagnier]

It costs nothing to liveaboard in san francisco.

As for alaska... who needs work? I heard you get $1000-$3000 each year (depending) from the government.

[captain58sailin]

Yeah and you can kill and skin your own food, unless it kills you first. Not to mention the 39* water. You don't need a life jacket, they are only markers for the coasties to find the bodies. The old timers used to put rocks in their pockets when they got into storms so they wouldn't suffer if the boat went down.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by captain58sailin

I guess, he didn't fill you in on the cost of living, like food etc...

I flew up to Tuktoyoktuk with the family a few years back and we stopped in at Inuvik and bought some food at the local grocery store. I had to take some pictures, hotdogs were like $10 a pack and fresh eggs were $20 a dozen, milk was way high too. Of course there was NO road past Inuvik and to get to Inuvik was hundreds of miles of dirt roads. From the air you could see the trucks from far away as they left miles long dust clouds.
Of course you flew IFR (I follow the road) in case you had engine trouble.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by boat_alexandra

It costs nothing to liveaboard in san francisco.

As for alaska... who needs work? I heard you get $1000-$3000 each year (depending) from the government.

I believe you have to be born in Alaska to qualify for that? Maybe just a Resident though. A friends Daughter was born when they were stationed in AK and she got a check every year, even when they were in Germany. It's from the States oil revenues, seems right to me that all citizens should share some, it's their state.

[captain58sailin]

Without going into the long details of the subject. There is a permanent fund that was set up by Gov. Jay Hammond. One of the truly great persons of the state of Alaska, he has passed and he will be missed. The permanent fund was set up so that a portion of the state's oil tax revenue goes into a fund, after the fund reaches a certain level, then there is a dividend paid out to the residents of Alaska, the amount depends on the price of oil and the production in the given year. You have to satisfy the residency requirements in order to receive a check, you do not have be born in the state. The fund can never be tapped by the politicians unless there is a referendum passed by a general election where all the voters in the state get to weigh in. This has been put forth several times over the years and it has failed each time, and which ever politician sponsors the bill. loses the next election. Usually the old timers talk some freshman into sponsoring the bill and then he's out the next election. This check does a little to offset the higher cost of living in the state, but does not go anywhere near equalizing the cost of living in a place like Florida, or even California. I had the honor of meeting former Gov. Hammond in a tiny Thai restaurant in the back of a convenience store. No "posse" just him and his wife, he had callouses on his hands, he was one of the real Alaskans. His legacy shows that you can keep the politicians out of the cookie jar, you just have to make it air tight, and give the people the final say about it.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by captain58sailin

.................... This check does a little to offset the higher cost of living in the state, but does not go anywhere near equalizing the cost of living in a place like Florida, or even California....

It's not an important point, but just for sharing information, Florida ranks 28th in the US cost of living index,- right between Montana & West Virginia.

[Celestialsailor]

[QUOTE=boat_alexandra;1558262]It costs nothing to liveaboard in san francisco.
/QUOTE]

You're kidding...right?

[Hudson Force]

[QUOTE=Celestialsailor;1558577]

Originally Posted by boat_alexandra

It costs nothing to liveaboard in san francisco.
/QUOTE]

You're kidding...right?

I think that I can speculate correctly about the intent of Boat_Alexander's message that "it cost nothing to live aboard in San Francisco". I have not lived aboard in California, but I do know that it cost nothing to live aboard a boat in any of the states that I visit on the East US Coast from Florida to Maine. There is a cost for renting a slip or mooring, but no cost on your own anchor. There is a cost for fuel, groceries and sometimes water, but there is no specific cost paid to live aboard unless you are renting a facility. I some areas of Florida you must establish that you are cruising and capable of being under navigation, but there are many places in Florida where you can anchor for months at a time without question.

I must add that I have heard of "anchoring permits" and some limitations in receiving such permits on the US West Coast, but I've seen no evidence of this on the East Coast.

Boat_Alexander, please correct me with other ideas!

[hellosailor]

Alaska has no income tax, and in fact does pay residents out of an "oil" fund from the money the state gets pumping out crude oil. It won't pay your winter heating bill though. You'll need to be real crusty to winter over on a small boat in Alaska. And once you find out the price of a dozen eggs or a gallon of milk...It will make Hawaii seem like a bargain.

[northoceanbeach]

Which is why I'm heading south. I don't see the great appeal of Alaska.