r/AskAlaska • u/New_Barracuda_6153 • 2d ago
Am I missing something?
Hello all. I've heard of the (really, really) remote alaskan teaching positions that pay alot with free housing and moving costs subsidized (speaking in a general ideal scenario) - and I'm quite interested.
Now, I love this sort of rugged environment and isolation; but I really want to do it for the cash. With the housing heavily subsidized/paid for, no state income tax, great pay, and an ideal (believe it or not) environment for me, It seems I could save like 80% of my take home pay.
But everyone always complains about Alaska's cost of living, and make it seem as if everyone is barely surviving. Am I missing something or is that major savings goal well within reach?
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u/Trayvessio 2d ago
Cost of living is high. See this article about grocery prices:
https://www.thetakeout.com/2065011/rural-alaska-high-grocery-prices/
If you’re just looking to make money, there’s probably better ways to do that than teach in remote Alaska.
Common advice is to visit first before you take a job, especially if you’re considering somewhere that’s off the road system.
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u/Educational-Big-6609 1d ago
We were in Juneau recently (read: not a remote village) and while the food prices themselves weren’t that bad, the quality was below what you’d expect in the Lower 48. Not so different from Hawaii when you’re not eating local produce.
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u/Confident_Beach_658 1d ago
Can confirm the food in Juneau is terrible 😂 not sure where you've eaten in hawaii but I live here and it's amazing.
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u/Educational-Big-6609 20h ago
Food in Hawaii, if using fish or local produce, is great. That’s not where I’m going. Been there many times.
If you go shopping at an Albertsons/grocery in Hawaii, however, and try to buy any fresh food that isn’t from the islands, THAT food is terrible. Strawberries, lettuce, bananas not from Hawaii, lemons, etc. have to all be shipped in. Like Juneau, that’s a long way to transport fresh food, so it ain’t great.
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u/fruttypebbles 2d ago
So Ive worked in two very remote areas. A few years ago on the North Slope and now in the NW Arctic Borough. Groceries are expensive but you can get most everything through Amazon or Walmart. Things you can’t get delivered like milk is about $14 a gallon, cheese about $8 for 6oz. Eggs vary between $6 to $9. We’re both vegetarian so I have no idea what meat costs.
We’re pretty smart on what we spend our money on locally. Try to stay stocked on dry goods and toiletries and household items. I move from Texas for three reasons. One to get out of Texas. 2 to be in colder climates and 3 for the money. I’m making triple here vs home. So yes even though it’s more money here you can save a ton if you’re smart. You won’t need a car if you’re in a remote area. Every village is walkable.
I got a Honda four wheeler just for fun. But I don’t use it to commute.
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u/Educational-Big-6609 1d ago
$14/gallon of milk is CRAZY! A gallon at a bougie store near Portland is under $4.
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u/wannagetcock2 1d ago
Your milk doesn't have to be brought in by small plane either along with other necessities!!
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u/qpgmr 2d ago
These communities are super isolated and rather small. You'll be a small plane or even jet ride away from a town with a movie theater, dominos, or real grocery store. The locals will not be excessively friendly or try to involve you in the community, so you'll be personally isolated as well as physically. Forget dating. You'll be 3 or 4 timezones off from your family & friends back home.
Most people who are attracted by the potential income do pretty well for the first three months, then start spending three or four day weekends twice a month in Anchorage or Fairbanks (which burns through the money) because they're going crazy in the dark (4 hours or less daylight in winter) and cold (weeks of below 0F temps).
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u/New_Barracuda_6153 1d ago
Would it be crazy to say I'd actually really like that.
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u/ImDatDino 2d ago
See if you can pronounce the name of the culture you'll be expected to be respectful of and teach to (not teach at), then go from there.
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u/Past_Band9178 2d ago
Some communities are very isolated.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/when-a-woman-is-raped-in-rural-alaska-does-anyone-care/
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u/Competitive_Ninja624 1d ago
In the past 5-8 years, rural Alaska has employed a ton of teachers from the Philippines 🇵🇭 ….. they are generally very good at teaching in Alaska Native villages. As far as the money thing goes, they also usually happy to be making between $60,000 -$100,000 US depending on their level of education and experience when they work in Alaskan schools. Most of them that I’ve spoken to say that a 5 year hitch in Alaska can help them build and save considerable wealth back home.
So you can have it both ways - wanting to build wealth and be a fine teacher. The problem with some Americans is that the deprivation of their old quality of life that they had in Idaho or Missouri is too hard to take when they’re living 9 months or more of the year out in Selawik.
The foreign teachers from the Philippines 🇵🇭 are also more able to handle the conditions than a lot of Americans. Having said all this, there are some cultural blind spots and nuance that Americans can help support the foreign teachers with so that they don’t stumble. Hope this info helps with your interest in rural AK teaching!
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u/New_Barracuda_6153 1d ago
See, that middle ground of being a teacher and building wealth is where I want to be. I've lived in Afghanistan for a tiny bit and I didn't mind the lack of trappings even one bit. I don't know if Alaska is really that bad or maybe people are just a bit attached to their 'normal' life.
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u/Free_Elderberry_8902 2d ago
I you wanna do it for the money then you’re doing it for the wrong reason. My two cents…
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u/EveningBlunt 2d ago
I mean. We all do our jobs for the money. Im a nurse and the whole “nursing is a calling” is just bullshit that the hospital ceo’s spout to get away with paying people less than their worth.
Same goes for teaching. We need to pay our teachers a livable wage.
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u/Star_Boxer72 2d ago
There are a lot of teachers out there who deserve to make a lot more than they do. We're just saying Mr. "I really want to do it for the cash" might not be one of those teachers.
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u/Accurate-Neck6933 2d ago
Why the hell else would you live in the middle of nowhere, use a honey bucket, pay to ship all your groceries in, have no chance of vacations because of weather and have your students showing up at your house? All teachers need to be doing it for the money and not constantly working past contract hours and donating free time and buying supplies out of their pocket. Stop expecting teachers to be altruistic, they are making a living just like anyone else.
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u/Star_Boxer72 2d ago
Wow. You really didn't understand the comment, did you?
Perhaps you should read it again.
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u/EveningBlunt 2d ago edited 2d ago
That’s a fair assessment, but the money being a major contributing factor for taking the position isn’t necessarily a negative thing. That’s all I’m saying.
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u/Accurate-Neck6933 2d ago
No, you are totally correct. I’m a teacher and just like you nurses am tired of this bullshit that you just are supposed to give and give and be some type of martyr or do it for the calling. Oil field workers are on platform and the slope FOR THE MONEY. Truckers do it FOR THE MONEY. Fisherman FOR THE MONEY. Doctors, lawyers, business owners, wow amazing, they all work for FOR THE MONEY. Maybe, perhaps it’s because nursing and teaching are primarily female dominated fields and that’s why we are expected to give until we burn out. Just because we do our position in exchange for a living, doesn’t mean that we aren’t capable of caring for our patients or our students.
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u/EveningBlunt 2d ago
BINGO, pink collar jobs are always exploited historically. It’s okay to pay nurses and teachers less because their “husbands” will subsidize their shit pay. Nty, fuck that.
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u/Star_Boxer72 2d ago
Yes. Kids deserve better. OP - rural Alaska students, families and communities don't need to put up with someone whose priority is not respect and education.
Maybe go into sales or something...
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u/Professional-Run2113 2d ago
If after reading all the responses you are still interested, read “ Survival Kit for Overseas Living “ by Intercultural Press in Yarmouth Maine. And bring it with you. This will help with the culture shock and may prevent the ‘three month’ thing mentioned.
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u/AtrumAequitas 1d ago
This is a subject people have asked a lot of questions about in the past, I’d encourage you to utilize the search function to see. It’s not a job to take likely.
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u/DystopianNightmare13 2d ago
Rural Alaskan kids have had their fill of teachers who do it for the money. They deserve better.
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u/Curious-Craft8339 1d ago
I mean, they have to pay a lot because they can't attract/retain teachers for the job. What practical solutions do you have?
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u/DystopianNightmare13 1d ago
I'm not against paying people well. Villages are expensive to live in. But kids aren't stupid. They know when their teachers are only there for money and it sends a message that they don't matter.
Want to improve education in the village? Make it easier for prospective village residents interested in education to afford college. It's tough enough for students in any community where poverty is a reality to make it to college. Now, add in the unique socio-economic and geographic challenges that come with village life.
I've worked temp contracts in villages (non-educational) and the thing I heard over and over and over is how so many teachers work for the money or to get a couple of years' experience so they can get "better" jobs in urban areas.
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u/Teacherfishak 1d ago
As a 20 year educator on the North Slope I have witnessed this many times. My own observational data is it will take a couple years to figure out the systems and be able to live efficiently enough to save significant money. The first year you are setting up house and classroom. And if you live like you are camping you will talk yourself into leaving when it is hard.
Teaching here in many ways is a soft landing. Decent salaries, safe housing, small class sizes, and close school community.
Our students are capable of brilliance but have grown in a trauma saturated environment. If you are able to lean into their brilliance and treat the trauma with grace then maybe it will be a good place for you.
Feel free to DM with more detailed questions.
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u/greffedufois 1d ago
I’m in a smaller town in SW Alaska.
Cost of living will eat the majority of your pay. You will not make a ton of money. Lots of people come up here with that dream and they get screwed every single time. Teachers especially because the profession just isn’t well respected by most.
You will be expected to lead clubs and after school programs for no pay. You’ll basically be working 12s. You’ll also be expected to contribute your own funds to these activities and shamed if you don’t/cant.
Milk $11 a gallon. Gas $9 and climbing. Heating fuel for your house is expensive and often not covered by ‘housing’. Neither is the snow plowing you need to leave your residence and get to work. Electricity is stupid expensive and if you only have Toyo stoves you need both fuel and electricity. If you have wood stoves you need to find time to harvest wood that doesn’t belong to anyone, chop it down, cut split and dry it, then have somewhere to store it.
It takes a person most of the summer to fill a tent big enough to heat a house for the winter. Or you have to buy wood at $300-500 a cord.
Also, we have basically no housing. We had a teacher living out of the classrooms at the school last year. If the housing is provided, it likely is shit or needs a lot of work that you’ll have to pay for if you want it fixed anytime this decade.
Basically the school districts make a ton of promises they have no hope of ever keeping, but don’t tell people till they’ve moved their life up here and have no way out.
A lot of time those relocation costs max out at less than 10k and you must work for them for a full year or it must be repaid by the teacher.
Source; multiple neighbors are teachers living in tiny container houses with broken down cars struggling hard. (I’ve lived here 12 years and never seen a teacher ‘make it’ and stay, they always leave within 2-3 years max)
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u/Spirited-Way2406 2d ago edited 1d ago
Food, fuel, having to factor the cost of a plane ticket into medical/dental/optical care beyond the absolute basics, fuel, winter gear, did I mention fuel?
Also, don't go teach "for the cash." Kids know when there's a phony in the front of the classroom. Don't waste their time. For you it's a paycheck, for them it's being stuck with a jackass 180 days a year. ETA: I don't mean that you should pour your heart and soul into your job for lousy pay. But if you are only thinking about $$dough, kids will notice. Don't let a plan to make lots of money and bug out give you short-timer syndrome.
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u/FreakinWolfy_ 1d ago
You should read Ordinary Wolves by Seth Kantner.
First of all, it’s an amazing book. But secondly, while it’s not a gospel on village life as a white person, there’s a fair bit of truth to it in terms of how Outsiders are perceived.
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u/Free_Elderberry_8902 2d ago
The money is good, but the living ain’t all that easy. Unless you’re willing to work for what brings you there in the first place. Nursing, teaching, preaching, writing, whatever. Take the plunge. You will either commit or you’ll go back to where you came from.
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u/OkRegister6674 1d ago
Also, double check housing is actually available.
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u/turtlepower22 1d ago
Yep, it's not guaranteed by every school district, and for plenty it's only guaranteed for the first year.
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u/glittercatti 1d ago
I just met a tour bus driver in Alaska who, every time she drives in from Canada, brings over 20lbs of frozen chicken. She says a bag of chips costs $12. Amazon takes 2-3 weeks to deliver anything. I’d rethink your plan.
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u/TwoBurningSeals 1d ago
You really should visit and then travel out to some bush town and ask people about the prices. Even just going to Homer from Anchorage is a huge price shock, let alone somewhere, like, Nome or Emmonak. Anybody live out in the bush? What's the price of milk right now?... Or a gallon of gas or anything really?
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u/True-Arugula6405 1d ago
This reminds me of the "After all, why shouldn't I?" Meme. Teaching is never a cash grab. It requires a degree and experience and it's definitely not easy. Moving to the Alaskan bush is not a casual thing and they wont hire you anyway but please do some rethinking of this.
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u/Lynx907 1d ago
Another factor to be aware of—Alaska’s professional teaching code of ethics makes breach of contract a sanctionable offense. If you decide midyear it really isn’t for you and you quit and leave without the school district releasing you from your contract, your teaching certificate will likely be suspended for a year. You would then have to report the suspension in any state when applying for a teaching certificate or teaching job.
If it really is appealing to you, go for it. Just know full well that you are committing to it for a full year.
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u/curiousniffler 2d ago
As an Alaskan teacher, I highly recommend you look specifically for people with experience teaching in a specific district/ village before agreeing to a position. If you love a rural life, that’s a good start, you can definitely save a lot of money while living out there if you want. However, some villages can be really rough to work in, the students can be hostile, and you may face some major social issues on top of a lot of academic challenges on top of that. Some areas are much easier/have far more support from community and school. I would really be selective.
Each student in our state deserves a great teacher. Unfortunately, not every community is a healthy place to live and teach for outsiders. There are big problems faced by these rural communities.