Hi Lauren. I just love how you educate us about different aspects of living in Alaska. You should be the Honorable Tourism Minister to Alaska... I love it.

I'm typically a silent subscriber, but this vlog was so informative and is much appreciated. Thank you for the time and effort you put in to your channel.

Hi Lauren, I’m in England. Thank you for such an informative video! My husband and I plan to visit Alaska when we retire after seeing a travel programme years ago, then I happened to stumble on your channel! I love seeing the differences in how we all live across the world. Like a lot of Europe, Gas & Electric prices in the UK have soared recently (due mainly to the War in Ukraine). We are a family of 6 and pre-war we paid £148 per month for G+E combined…….last bill was £500! Things have got so unaffordable especially as it’s winter, that the Government have stepped in with a help package as many people are having to choose between heating or eating. Our winters are nowhere near as cold as yours, but during a recent cold spell it was -5 Celsius (23F) overnight, and many houses here aren’t always insulated properly. We’ve lived in our detached house for 16 years, purchased for £189,999 but now worth £325,000 (due to renovations and market increase). I’ve recently overhauled our monthly budget to see where we’re at. In total, our outgoings are £3100 per month (mortgage, council tax, TV, Internet, Mobile phones,Life Insurance, Car Insurance, Road Tax, Water bills, Union fees + helping to support our eldest who is living away at University). That doesn’t include food/laundry.toiletries which is around £150 most weeks (£200 on a bad week). Thanks again. I’d love to see a video on schools in Alaska (especially as I work in a school!). Xx

We moved to Alaska from Houston Texas in 2002. We were shocked at the house prices here and the quality of what we could afford in Anchorage. I kept thinking “Have these people not seen HGTV?” We ended up in Palmer and were able to get a nice little house with an unfinished walkout basement. Over the years we have done different improvements (including a finished walkout basement) and are now pretty satisfied with what we have. We love living in Palmer.

I live in Pittsburgh, PA but my entire family lives in Alaska. I keep my house temperature at 68 degrees. We’ve had a very mild winter but with the increase in gas heating costs, our monthly bills aren’t reflecting the mildness. I pay approximately $250 per month to heat our 2000 sf home. Our electric have increased substantially as well. It “used to cost” during in the winter about $75 monthly but now about $125. LOVE your videos and never miss one. Thank you for sharing your life!!

I told my daughter that I have always wanted to visit Alaska but I understand things are quite more expensive than down South so I will continue enjoying your videos 😁🥰🥰

Houses where I live in Northern California are about $900K for less than 2K square feet and almost no yard. Sales tax is 9%, eggs are $17/dozen, cell phone (bought mine outright as well) $140, gas is almost $7/gallon, utilities are around $400/mo, property taxes are outrageous (at least $14K), and HOA is about $300/month, etc. Alaska would be a break from Northern California. 😂

this was so helpful & so informative! my husband and i are moving to the muldoon/eagle river area this summer and i have been devouring your videos. we’ve been multiple times but hearing all of your wisdom and facts about alaska has been so great. THANK YOU.

We keep our house at 71 during the day and 68 at night. During the summer we keep the a/c at 73, because it is hard to get it any cooler during the day. East Tennessee

Hi Lauren I love how Ms. Luna is so comfortable in your arms. She knows that you are lovely and that you have a very kind heart and a gentle personality. I love watching your vlogs and you and Mark interact with your children. It shows off the grace of our Lord in you all. Blessings. With love from Vancouver, Canada.

I am in MT and we keep ours around 68-71 in the winter and 75-80 in the summer.

I live in kodiak Alaska and its about the same except for oil no natural gas here or ever. Thank God we burn alot of free wood.❤

We keep our thermostat around 65 to 68 in the winter time I’m in Central Texas

I live in a town in the wine country of northern California. A 1400 sqaure foot starter home on a 6000 square foot lot will cost you about 1.5 million dollars. Every once in a while a home will come on the market for about 900K, but everything here is just ridiculously expensive.

Hi, Lauren! I am about an hour and a half east of Pittsburgh, PA. I keep my heat at 66. Last winter, we had a lot of days that were well below freezing so I did turn it up to 68. My family likes to run around the house in shorts and t-shirts all year long and I am not paying a heating bill for them to have indoor beach weather when it’s 12 degrees out! Thank you for sharing so much of your life in Alaska!

This is a fascinating way of life....a far cry from Tennessee, that's for sure! Beautiful house.

Wow! You are correct Alaska is expensive! Here’s my breakdown for a townhome in Minnesota: $1267 mortgage/property tax inc, if taxes paid separately $2750, phone $60, natural gas $60 winter, $20 summer, $40 internet, electric/ garbage thru city $85. Water included in HOA $260 We are looking like your area, had a dumping of 20 inc 2 days ago, up to over 70 inc this year 😱. We usually get 50 something. Thanks for sharing! Laurie/Minnesota

I live on Olympic Peninsula in Washington. I keep winter house at 65 during day 55 at night. I like wearing layers and especially sweaters. We have community well and septic. My dad wanted to move our family to Alaska in the 60s, but mom refused. Love your channel, just found it

Come to Ketchikan and see the homes built on the side of the rock walls!!

What a great video about Alaska expenses, housing, utilities etc. Location. Location. Location. That’s what impacts all the expenses from taxes to utilities. Susan

Hi Lauren👋🏼We keep our house at 68, mostly due to me (he’s always cold), and live in Michigan (north of Detroit). I could never live in Alaska, because I love my hot summers too much (as long as my a/c is working!). But I can & do watch your videos until the cows come home! Sending much love💕💕💕

I would recommend insulation between the floor struts in your crawlspace, protect your copper pipes with insulation as well. These are cheap upgrade and provide protection as well

You done amazing on this loved all of it😊

Boil heaters are the best. It remains constant and less maintenance and as you mentioned does not dry out you and furnishings☺️

When I lived in northeast NY, we had an outside wood furnace. It heated water which heated the house. Loved it

That last home in Chugiak with the air plane hanger looked absolutely amazing from the outside. The inside was so dated, l disliked the dark wood panels on all the cupboards. I could sit and listen to you talk for hours, you have such a soothing voice. Thanks for sharing 😊

Hi Lauren! I love your videos of your wonderful family so much!!! 💜 I hope you guys have the most amazing weekend!

Hi Lauren, I love your videos. They make my day. Your family is so special and I love watching them grow. Thanks for sharing!

I LIVE IN SOUTHERN IRELAND OUR HOUSE IS HEATED by oil and a wood stove burner I can use coal all these are very expensive I have a two story house . I have a well ( I have beautiful water ) THANKS FOR SHARING

So interesting and enjoyable! Thanks for all your hard work in this presentation!

Really loved this video Lauren! So different from what I typically come on KZfaq to watch, but I’ve been in the building design and real estate industry for a long time and love seeing how it differs from place to place!

Here in Charleston SC I keep it at 71 degrees year round…definitely need the AC here. ❤ I am originally from upstate NY, Albany area, just watching all that snow I’m littering shivering lol.

Lauren this was a great video. I am learning so much about your beautiful state and appreciate all the work you put in your videos and love the Costco trips too. Thanks!

Thank you for this very informative video. I also liked the drive along tour of different areas. The Eagles flying around was great addition.

I really loved and enjoyed this video. The tour of Eagle River was great. Thank you so much for sharing with us.

Yeah, that 80 degrees! Crazy! This video was fantastic. Thanks so much for the real information. Very interesting and informative.

I’m fortunate to live in Canada now in Calgary AB. There is a lot of similarities in how we do things here. We can get quite cold and very hot both extremes. It’s similar we use forced air heating. It’s common to keep the house around 72 F or 21 C.

I love your house; it is so spacious! My husband and I will have to visit Alaska when we retire!

First time commenting. Loved this video. Very interesting and so informative. You are so open with sharing your personal finances. Loved the neighbour home tours. Your channel is excellent.

Looks great!! All your hard work really paid off! You have earned a big "Great job"! A sense of pride doing your own work 100%. Looking forward to what comes next!

Sorry- wrote last post but want to add: Praying fir your new little girls and Congratulations! we live in Texas… it’s freezing… 19 degrees!!! (I’m sure this temp makes you laugh- it’s like this everyday fir you!) I was cold just now so turned the temp up to 66 (from a night of 64). BUT during the day… sometimes up to 67-68 for a “heat hit”😭

Thank you Lauren! This was enjoyable as well as informative. Born, raised Texan. Love your home! Fantastic family! And following now on your journey with your pregnancy, praying for you & Mark and precious girls! Thanks again, God Bless 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

Hi Lauren! What a great idea with this video. We live north of Spokane, WA and we keep our heat around 62. Some days we just can't get warm and we may raise it to 65. Electricity has gone up by 30-40% in the last year from what we see.

Hi Lauren, wow, I’m in southeastern PA, 50 miles outside Philly, we are on 1/3 acre, 3 b / 2.5 bath, 2220 sq ft. our taxes are $5500, we also have 6% sales tax, Local tax, and state tax, we are taxed to death, AK sounds wonderful. This was a great video, thank you for opening your personal business for us to compare and “see” AK. Have a wonderful weekend. 😊

Good evening! Thanks for sharing your day. Sorry no snow here.....summer all year except during typhoon season. Hafa adai and love from the island of Guam 🌴❤🌴

Just found this podcast and really enjoyed it. I went to Alaska in 2002 and I just loved it. I thought of moving to Haines, but it was to expensive for me.. I love hearing about your town, where you shop, what you do as a family ect.

Thank you for sharing! I live in Southern California and an average 3 bedroom home is about 1.6 million. We have foreced air heating but we don't have airconditioning. We keep our house at 69 degress and our gas bill was $150 last month. Our gas bill has gone up the past few months.

Very informative! I think you included everything! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for sharing about the costs of living in Alaska and the different building styles. We are in Lindsay ONtario Canada and keep our house at a constant 72 F year round.

I love all the information you provided. My husband and I are thinking of moving the family to Alaska, and this helps so much to get some sort of an idea on what to expect. Thank you! Love your videos🤗

I just discovered your channel. Thanks for the 'civilized' homes tour and explaining your home systems. We have a home in Tununak, out on the tundra. We do have electricity but we poo in a bucket and haul in our own water. Currently residing in Washington state. Best to you!

Hi Lauren, thank you so much the time and effort you have taken in making this video. You are just made for the role of educator, it's so interesting seeing different aspects of Alaska and Eagle river, those eagles are amazing. I'm in the UK and couldn't imagine the amount of snow you guy's deal with. I'm freezing when it gets to -3C! I usuallt have my house which is heated by gas central heating on 20C, this year though as the prices are sky high I have been trying to stick with 18C, for us this is not warm at all. You seem to get more for your money is the US regarding houses.

Thank you Lauren. For sharing your place of living. Was so informative and interesting.

Lauren thank you so very much for taking the time to give us all the information that you did. It’s amazing to see the difference in each neighborhood. Your house is amazing. Love 💕 y’all!

I was so interested in how Alaskans heat their homes. Thank you so much for today's vlog. I really love your channel. I am from Wellington in New Zealand, and we only get snow flurries on the hills during Winter. We get very cold winds from the South thou. Love it when you take us sightseeing. We get a lot of earthquakes as well, and we are known as the shaky Isles, and are in the ring of fire in the Pacific. Much love from New Zealand. xx

Hi Lauren and Luna! What an interesting video. I loved how you shared your expenses regarding your home. I love your home. Its so spacious and open. I think nowadays its expensive everywhere. You gave some good insight into the area. I loved that some of the houses and the views they have….I would be interested in how you and Mark met and how you and your parents ended up in Alaska. Hope you have a wonderful week! Hope Mark and the boys are good. 😊

Love your channel! Taking a second Cruise to Alaska in September! Can't wait! Your tips are so helpful! Also, Our neighbors son and young family just moved to Palmer , Alaska! Excited for them and their new Life! I will pass on your channel to them. The wife is a ER nurse and will be commuting to Anchorage for work!

Oh downstairs where my bedroom is I keep the whole downstairs at 60 degrees

Just happened upon your channel because of your Costco trip and morning devotion time. I love your channel! I could not make it in Alaska. We have more than enough snow in Pennsylvania. 😂 Yet I love seeing what living in Alaska is like, and because I am also a believer in Christ, I note your dedication to the Lord and your care for your family. I’m also a huge Costco lover. So I’m a new subscriber! ❤ I made my hubby watch a little bit with me. We enjoyed it together. Thank you for showing us what life in Alaska is like!

Thank you I found this so interesting! I live in Michigan and can relate to some of the cold weather and the cost of living!

Absolutely gorgeous scenery. Wow!

I live in Indiana and keep my winter heat on 71 and air condition on 73-74 in summer. I grew up in the country and we had well and septic system. Enjoy watching you channel❤️

Lauren we love your vlogs we are Kentucky we don’t get a lot of snow. We love how your family gets outside and do all kinds of things in the snow. We love all your boys but Everett cracks us up we laugh at him all the time.

Our trash gets collected by the local council at about 4:30 am, every Thursday morning, so you really need to have it out on the kerb the night before. The larger recycling bin is collected every two weeks on the same day as trash but a bit later. (Melbourne Australia 🇦🇺)

I just happened to click on this video and really enjoyed the trip! I'm glad that you showed the map at the beginning, I needed that perspective;)

Lauren, I loved this video! Very informative! We moved to Oklahoma/Texas from the Seattle area right BEFORE housing prices skyrocketed there. I also use average billing for electric……you gave high natural gas in the winter and here in Texas we have high electric bills in the summer! Gotta have my AC!!!

I loved this video! We live in the SF Bay Area, and last summer our temperature topped out at 118 degrees, and it dips down into the 30's (sometimes lower) in the winter. We currently have snow all over our local mountain, and the temps have been in the 30's at night. We keep our home around 68 degrees or so, but use split units in each room so we generally only run the split unit in our dining, living, kitchen area (it's a huge open space) in the evenings. Power is EXPENSIVE ($1,000ish during the extremes, and they raise the rates incredibly high during the hot and cold months). We are in a major drought, so the cost of water is expensive, especially if you go over your water allotment. We pay quite a bit for internet ($300ish, but it's necessary to have the highest speed internet because my husband works from home). Garbage is reasonable, and we have trash, recycling, and yard waste with an additional 2 bulk pickups per year, and 2 bulk drop off events. Our tax rate is generally county by county, but some cities within counties are higher, I believe ours is somewhere around 8.75%. The cost of real estate in the bay area includes some of the most expensive in the country (we do not live in an expensive zip code, our home is just your average 3 bedroom with office, 2 bathrooms, on a larger suburban lot), but there are areas that are fairly reasonable, you just spend a lot more time commuting (or work from home, which is not uncommon in the tech sector).

Wonderful video that was so interesting I love Alaska we went on a cruise about 8 1/2 years ago and that was on my bucket list and I would love to come back

Hi Lauren. I love learning about Alaska . It is a fascinating state. We live in New England. Well, Western Massachusetts. During our winter, we keep the house at 62 to 64 degrees and the house has home heating oil..

We keep our house at 70°. We have snow from November to April, temperatures in January and February typically -20° here in NE South Dakota. We heat with liquid propane. BTW, love your show!

Hi Lauren. Your house is gorgeous. This is good info to compare with our country. I have a small natural gas heater which heats most of my house which is around 15squares. I have it on around 18degrees centigrade. I have a reverse cycle electric air conditioner for summer. It gets really hot here in Oz in summer. I have it on 21degrees centigrade. Electricity is very expensive here too now. It’s gone up a lot this past year. I am on town water and sewerage.

That was a great vlog, thanks Lauren x can you do a vlog about earthquakes, what happens schools, at home everywhere. History of earthquakes etc x

I just found your channel and, so glad that I did. Your videos are so informative and well done. I live in Hawaii, and it was so interesting to see how much living in Alaska vs. Hawaii. We do pay sales tax here at some ridiculous rate. We also pay state income taxes based on your income. We are in the 30 percent income bracket.🤣 The cost of the average home is over 1 million $ which is just crazy! Our home was built in 1988 it is 1,270 sf with a garage of 450 sf. Our home is currently valued at $1.250.00. Our home has no insulation. Homes in Hawaii are just basic unless you have a mansion or have done a major renovation. We pay for electricity, water, sewer, internet, cell phones. We are charged a sales tax for everything and we cannot claim what we have paid when we file our income taxes. I apologize for being so long winded but found it so eye opening when I found your channel. I will definitely be watching more. God bless you and your family. Love and Aloha from Hawaii❤️🌺🙏😊❤️

I'm about 30 minutes from Boston. I'm keeping it at 64. Loved this video and all the info.

we have ours set in the winter at 72Fsometimes 73F only because we have my mother living with us who is 88 and is always cold, mean while when were down in the lower level we have the windows open cause were hot. We call these houses Semi's, we live in one have for the last 30 years, and love it, we have great neighbours which makes that a bonus. For us when you say a Duplex, they are known to up and a house that was divided into 2 homes, usually on top of each other, the same with a tri-plex. a home divided into 3 homes.

68° to 70° I keep my house in the winter right now in the center of Washington state where I live it is 8° so I’m at a strong 70°. Love your videos. Have a great day.

I live in South Carolina which is a state in the southern part of the US actually about 65 miles inland from Myrtle Beach, we have very little cold even in the winter I keep my home about 68 in the winter which is perfect for me I actually hate the heat and humidity in summer is almost unbearable, I recently found your channel and I love your family/videos... have a blessed day

I have central heat & air here in Florida but I don’t use that heat source because it causes me to have sinus headaches. We have about a week where temps fall to the 30’s, so I usually just layer clothes or use a small portable electric heater that has a shut-off feature if it falls over. I look forward to the winter here because I find the summers brutally hot.

Greetings from Boston MA. My heat source is gas and my monthly bill in Winter is about 400.00 .I keep my heat at 70 degrees and yes I have c/a bc it gets very hot here in the Summer. My city provides sewer system. Water bill is high especially in Summer with irrigation.

Hi Lauren. Thanks for the information. I keep my home around 60-65 in the winter. I live in So. California so I really try not to use the heat. In the summer, however, I keep the house at 80 during the day and around 76 in the evening. In winter, It is so easy to slip on a warm robe, blanket, or sweater. However, in Summer, it is hard to sleep in an 80-degree room. In Winter, keeping it at 60 degrees helps keep the gas cost down and, I don't get a dry throat or nasal passage with the heater blowing.

Hey Lauren, I live in eastern NC...temperature this week has been from 50-85*...which is warm for February. I enjoy all your videos but really like the ones where you visit an area & give us the grand tour. Also we live Luna.

Love this video. Thanks for sharing.

Hi Lauren and Luna and of course the Alaska Boys. Absolutely loved this blog. I am addicted to house videos and was surprised and happy to see this. I live in Moonee Ponds a suburb of Melbourne which is the capital and largest city in Victoria and the 2nd largest city in all of Australia. My suburb is about 6 ks from the centre of Melbourne and is serviced by a train line and station, buses and trams. I am close to most services including lots of supermarkets and other types of shops, all types of doctors and ancillary health services and hospitals. I have lived at my current address for just over 26 years and I am in government rental which is capped at 25 percent of my government disability pension. I live in a block of villa units which are brick and tile construction about 30 years old. They are all ground floor (no stairs) and have at least one courtyard. A very convenient and fairly budget way to live for me who is lesser abled, 1 adopted black kitty Rocky who currently resides on top of the pantry in the kitchen and eats off the top of the fridge next to it. I have no garage, 1 bedroom and a bathroom/laundry off it. In Australia we buy or rent and there is no fridge or washing machine provided if you buy unfurnished which I did. I am close to most everything I need and want to be. The bus 5 minutes walk away takes me up a hill to my local Baptist Church and the next stop on to the railway station which is about a handful of stations to the city centre. My husband lives near the station and catches up with me most days. After almost 3 years of wedded bliss we still have not merged households as 2 humans and a kitty do not squeeze into the same space as 1 kitty and a human. We are a work in progress. I wish you all lots of love and continued great u-tube videos. From Karen, sometimes Peter and definitely Rocky the kitty xxxx 💕💕💕

This was really interesting. I was surprised to see the split level older homes there with the tiny entrance space. I used to live in one of those...we call them the B.C box here in British Columbia. I thought Alaska homes would all have mudrooms with creative storage because of the harsh winters. Enjoyed this video

Nice home Love your mud room nice lockers!!!!♥️thank you for sharing

Excellent educational video, on homes in Alaska. The scenery is so beautiful. Hello Luna, nice to see you.

Nice tour of area. In nyc and nj where I'm from, we have similar types of housing. We have both sewer and septic as well.

Hey Lauren……I live in Northern Delaware and keep my heat set at 70 degrees! Thanks for sharing……my sister lived in Anchorage for 30 years!

I love that you always give us great videos .

Loves this video! Thank you. You did a great job

The mud room in your home reminds me of school closets with the benches….in the uk 🇬🇧 we have what you call town houses and the living room can be at the top of the building…we have (rubbish bins) and we also recycle and the bins are collected on alternative weeks we have 4 colourful bins…bin 1 is for household waste bin 2 is for bottles (no glass) and cans ECT bin 3 is for cardboard and bin 4 is for garden waste….our utilities are very expensive especially our gas….thank you for your vlog

Really informative video I have been somewhat curious about housing in Alaska particularly prices of homes there .Taking the tour with you gave me a real sense of various neighbor hoods actually not so different than anywhere else.I live in New England and a 500.00 thousand dollar home is typical a million dollar home is not as large as the one in your video very expensive to live here .I do think prices of food in Alaska seems extreme although food is out of control everywhere yours is particularly extreme. Thanks so much for this video !!

Ther is so much I learned from that video! Thank you for educating.

Hi Lauren it was funny when you spoke about igloos I am from Wales Inthe UK and a lot of the English people thought we lived in caves work that one out love your you tube channel never miss it love and hugs x

Good morning Lauren from a cloudy 55* Tennessee, expecting rain this afternoon !! Very interesting video with the different types of housing and utility costs ! Thank you for sharing ! Do you know some of the pay rates for jobs in Alaska .. that would be interesting to hear also ! Blessings to you all!

Who in the world wants their house 80°? That is roasting 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Hi Lauren, wow thank you this was so informative and eye opening vlog. My husband and daughter have always fancied emigrating to Alaska, but sadly its way to expensive for us. So we will just have to admire it through your vlogs lol.

I live in Delaware and have the same heat (baseboard hot water) as you do. I keep the heat at 60’F in the winter. Our summers are brutal here, very hot and humid. After twenty years, we just got central air conditioning, I cant wait to use it this summer!

This was a really informative video. My family and I live in Florida but I always have an interest in other states on their housing prices, houses, and cost of living. Of course, no basements here but we have a utility garage for storage. We are on city water and sewer. We are all electric but conservative with our usage. The water here doesn’t taste the best, so we got a filtration system. There’s a hot tub. The garage is kind of my husband’s man cave. Cars are kept outside year round. We are from NY and yes, we had some harsh winters there. Had a one car garage we used when it snowed or really cold. Don’t miss winter. I never realized you had special trash bins to keep bears out. Our trash is 17.00/month. We do have raccoons, skunks, and at times a bobcat. Have to be cautious. I was hoping you could cover home and car insurance costs ( high in FL), vehicle cost ownership like registration. No state inspections? Thanks again, really enjoyed this video. Till next time. Bye Luna.😊

Love learning all the difference in Alaska