Barnabas H. said:
Gina, what is going on in Alaska? I just read a news article about the plight of rural Alaska (see link below). I thought Sarah Palin got moneys from the oil companies and distributed them to the people to boost the economy. How do you survive over there with three children?
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/05/rural.alaska.villages/index.html?eref=rss_us
Barnabas, there is a funds dividend for residents from oil revenue, but it started long ago and I'm pretty sure Palin had nothing to do with it.
It was $1,654 in 2007, although it jumped to $3,269 in 2008. That means a family of four would receive $13,076 in dividends for that year. Many people have inherited a place to stay on homesteads, are shareholders in native corporations, etc..Many hunt and fish for their needs.
The village you are reading about is in a more remote area than we are in. We have this funky "on that side of us is everything, on that side of us is nothing" thing going on. Which is pretty cool! If we go one way it's just going to get more remote. The other way...there's stuff!
We even have access to a Wal-Mart and Fred Meyer's. We do have a store in our own town so we don't have to go to Fairbanks if we can't get there. We have a tiny library that the kids can walk to. We even have a McDonald's, and a few other popularly known places. They're definitely more expensive though.
We don't waste food, that's for sure. LOL I do make most of our own bread and make the majority of our meals from scratch. My one daughter is learning to sew, and with the help of a friend has already made a pillowcase and I'm sure she'll be churning out other stuff soon! (hopefully not butter, hehe)
We plan for a garden this summer, that'll also help with costs.
I measure the girls and send their sizes off to China. Their grandparents there or their uncle or father (depends who is there) will buy clothing for the kids there, which is WAY cheaper than buying clothes anywhere in the United States, even after shipping.
So there are things that do make life easier. It's a much simpler, slower life out here, and not much of the pretense you see elsewhere. That makes it all worth it. Real people. Real life.
My extra work in the moose whispering business helps too when times get rough.
It's definitely not central NYC, but both are good in their own special ways!