Thinking of retirement relocation. Unfortunately I haven't traveled the Kenai, and have spent little time in the Palmer/Wasilla area. We could sell out here and purchase a comparable home for half the price in either of those areas. The hardest thing for me would be leaving the salt water and bottom fishing I grew up with here. Homer looks to have a harbor and launch ramp but seems to be on the expensive side. Curious about things a realtor wouldn't tell us like crime, spruce beetles, fire hazards, heating costs and other negative things. Want to stay as far away from Anchorage as possible, not live in suburbia and stay on grid. 200kish for home and property. Ideas? Comments?

Your are there, it sounds like.

Think about North of Palmer. Like Buffalo Mine Road. Used to live there. Affordable, not a whole lot of people, on the grid. Not a lot of druggies either.I didn't care for Wasilla. To much crime.

If I had to do all over again I would have bought between Willow and Trapper Creek. An hour+ out from Wasilla, 2+ from Anchorage. Plenty of fishing opportunities along the Parks, and plenty of open land to explore and hunt. Whitter is 4 1/2 hours away, Seward 5 1/2 for salt water options. Fire hazards are there, just research the Sockeye fire, crime is not to bad out that away. Heating I have no clue, it does get in the negatives and stays there through the winter and they get alot of snow.
It is semi flat rolling land, easy to run with a snow machine, not so much a wheeler in the summer, a lot of open bog meadows.
You go north of Palmer you hit mountains, not much fire hazards or crime. I will say that I would rather drive the Parks to get into town then drive the Glenn north of Palmer in the winter.

Deep creek boat launch....

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xV0XRZqDBWs

Thanks for the food for thought. Been mostly looking through craigslist realty and trying to give ourselves a crash course in town locations. Wife and I are both fed up with the constant rain. Staying in state in a "cola shack" is an option that seems preferable to a move out of state. We would also be able to drive out if the need arose. 400 a month property tax is getting kind of old also.

I have had the opportunity to travel from Homer to Fairbanks and back both highways. NOTHING compares to the feeling I get everytime I drive into Homer. ;0). You can have the summer time traffic Kenai and Soldotna has in the summer. Homer gets its share but it is mostly felt out at the spit. All depends on what you want to do. Homer has its plus and minus. But as far as the road system goes. Is my first choice.

If you’re talking about the town of Kenai, don’t do it. I live here but I wouldn’t retire here . If you’re not making a living from the river or the oilfield, not much reason to be here.
If you mean the Kenai Peninsula, then there are still some good options. You might like Homer if you can handle odd people (no offense FT ). Nice people, just a tad different. If access to saltwater is a priorirty, I would look at Seward/ Moose Pass. Or at least somewhere you can get to Seward or Whittier. I like the northern Mat-Su valley, but you’re a ways from saltwater and town, if that concerns you. Of course distance to town and what “town” looks like is a vast matter of opinion. One note: if you’re only looking on Craigslist, you’re missing the majority of options. Realtors around here get the vast majority of listings. The good news is that it makes listings easy to view online. You can use apps/websites like Zillow and Trulia to see all available properties.

Bingo, that's the stuff we need to help make a decision. As far as odd people go, I live in Juneau, no shortage of them here howling on the Capital building steps. I worked on the ferry system for over 20 years and have had my fill with "dreamers" coming north. I am very familiar with all the communities in SE Alaska, plenty of freaks tucked away here. Most of them probably couldn't make it across the border and here they stay.
I am referring to the peninsula, and with some of the advise on here we are exploring north of palmer and Wasilla. We currently live on an acre and can't really see our neighbors. I would like to replicate that. I just had a new skiff welded in copper center and would like to bring that with me rather than sell it after less than a years use.
As far as traffic, that would be a hard pill to swallow. I have an issue with non res coming here to rape and pillage seafood. I don't want to get started on that rant.

Just remember that west and north of Wasilla is where the next building/population boom is predicted to be. Not many other places in Alaska have the amount of private land and space/suitable terrain for that to happen. If you like neighbors that's great.

T:

What do you think of your Copper Center skiff ?

I saw their Ad and was wondering.

Yeah, but a housing boom requires either a population boom or economic boom, and I don’t see either happening soon. Honestly I wouldn’t mind if the population kept shrinking for a bit.

Tree, I’d be interested to know how close you want to live to town. If you don’t mind being a little drive away from the store, there are some great deals and good locations outside the main communities on the peninsula. The areas between Kenai and Homer have some excellent deals right now, meaning Clam Gulch, Ninilchik, Deep Creek and Anchor Point. That’s all within 45 min drive to Homer. Of course you can go the other way from Homer out East End and North Fork Road, but I don’t know anything about real estate down there. On the north end of the Peninsula are many little areas between Cooper Landing, Moose Pass, Bear Creek and Seward. Many of those communities are pinched in the National Forest, so you don’t have to worry much about growth or suburban sprawl.
Regarding Kenai itself, I should be fair. There are many people who retire here and love it. I like it, but I like mountains and changing terrain better than river fishing. I guess it depends on your priorities and what you want to do.

I do not want to live in town however we want to enjoy the amenities of civilization. Power is a must, Natural gas would be cool although I have no experience with it. Anchor point is looking kind of favorable. The wife likes the matsu area, the new construction homes are the draw for her. We have an adult son who will be living with us always. He is disabled and his job at safeway means the world to him so possibly driving him to a menial job would be huge to keep him out in the world.
The real estate up north is unbelievable to us. A new modular here in a trailer park can run 150k with 400 monthly lot space. Our home is a shack assessed at 400k+
I'm thinking a short sale on our place and renting until we get the nuances down. The little pearls of wisdom I am picking up on this thread are invaluable.

We have a friend with a son just like yours. They live on Buffalo Mine road in a new (When they purchased it 6 years ago.) house, work in Palmer, go to a new church just started in Sutton. His 28 year old special needs boy works at McDonald's in Palmer. A lot of good people live on that road. Preached in 4 churches in the area over the years, at least 11 families that attend those churches live on that road. Might not mean much to some people. Good solid MEN, not panny-wasted yuppies that will be irritating neighbors.

Both Kenai and Soldotna Safeway stores are great at hiring developmentally disabled individuals. Kenai Home Depot too, with some limitations. Keep us posted on your search.