SGT.H have you considered staying in the military and trying to get stationed in Alaska? I presume you're Army by your screen name, so you could try to go to Fort Richardson (Anchorage), Fort Wainwright (Fairbanks), or possibly even Fort Greely (Delta Junction). That way you can have uncle Sam pay your way to Alaska, have a steady job when you get here, try it for three years, and if you like it you can stay, or you can have the government pay your way back to the lower 48. Like Alex said above, Alaska didn't get as pounded as other areas of the country by the economic downturn, but things have definitely slowed down up here, and there doesn't appear to be much of an end in site. I'd highly suggest you line up employment before making the move. A lot of people mistakenly think Alaska is just covered in money and good jobs are easy to come by, so don't get lulled into that false sense of security.