Jerseygirl

Not live...stay. Wording is very important.

Correct...although health insurance is the problem many retirees face.

Steve_

Is there much in the way of healthcare facility in Alaska anyway? I seem to remember Sarah Palin getting raked over the coals for going to the Yukon. I'm sure there's some basic stuff there but not exactly a healthcare nirvana.

Jan Alaska

OP a large parcel of land in Alaska can be hard to find, most good sized parcels are 'off the grid' that is only accessible by plane or in the winter sled/snowmachine. I would suggest you do some homework about exactly where in AK you would like to buy before you hand over money on land.

Anchorage area (which extends north to Eklutna, Peters Creek, Birchwood and Eagle River and south to Girdwood and Indian)

Kenai Peninsula which includes Homer, Seward, Kenai, Sterling and Soldotna

Matanuska-Susitna Valley which is a huge area and includes Palmer, Wasilla, Big Lake, Talkeetna and east to Glennallen. I know outside of city limits there is NO permit or planning permission required for this area, you go to the Borough and tell them you are building a house with a site plan and you are pretty much good to go, no inspections, no further permits .. just build.

Fairbanks area which stretches way out into many off the grid villages and out to Delta Junction, North Pole, Circle, Chena and Manly.

Google these areas or better still visit, summer temps in the Anchorage/Mat-Su/Kenai areas average around 60F (15C) Fairbanks sees temps of around 80F (25C). Winter temps can range anything from -20F to -40F around Anchorage/Mat-Su/Kenai and -60F and below around Fairbanks.

Building a home presents its own problems as the price of construction materials in AK is very high as is transportation. For example a 50lb bag of cement here in Michigan is @ $3.00 in Wasilla $15, sheetrock/drywall $6 in Michigan $15 in Wasilla. Most of AK is permafrost which means foundations are specialised or homes are built on stilts.
Buying the land might be the least of your problems, I forsee issues in buying and registering a vehicle for use there not to mention Insurance. As for health insurance make sure your travel insurance is top notch, buying over here is a nightmare.

As for other issues bought up here, homes are well built, well insulated and the newer ones mostly have triple pane windows. In Wasilla last year our highest heating bill was $350 (gas and electricity combined). Property taxes are high, the pfd (permanent fund dividend) still exists but is only for residents (you have to prove you live not just own property there to get it) and its really no enticement, this years dividend was $800. Cost of living is high, milk in the Anchorage area averages about $5/gallon. Gas (petrol) prices are high, even though the stuff flows out of the ground there it has to go out of state to be processed so tends to hover around the $4/ gallon mark which may not seem bad coming from $8 (equiv) in the UK until you find yourself driving the average American gas guzzler doing 17mpg.

I do know a couple of realtors in the Matanuska-Susitna area if you are still interested PM me.

Casual Observer

Would this not be classed as a vacation home and as the visitor is on vacation an annual multi trip travel policy from their home country would cover major medical expense including repatriation?

I am asking a question rather than making a statement because this is what it appears to be. However, I have a sneaking suspicion that all may not be as it first appears.

Jerseygirl

It depends on age, health history and how long he intends to stay. For example it cost us approx $1K for travel insurance for my then 83 yr old MIL to come to the US for just over 2 weeks.