Thanks for the info.
What does an average 2,000 SF house run within one hour drive of the city limits?

The hunting within the road system requires a lot of scouting by light plane, boat, or 4x4. The more exotic, the more expensive. That is the downside. The upside is that if a fella is willing to do a little work scouting, and is willing to do a little work hunting, the hunting is still good. Moose are available near the road system but you have to hunt smart. I love hunting caribou, but the best caribou close in is over around Illiamna or Lake Clark and will require air miles. Don't bother hunting the Nelchina herd... combat hunting... will leave a bad taste in your mouth that we have that sort of hunter even up here.
Sheep are a lot of work but are probably the best hunting...Game and Fish can help you find walk-in hunting areas where huntable sheep can be found..... OR get your topo out and find the most inaccessable elevated terrain available, and you will find sheep. I have to kill bears on occasion, but I don't hunt them... can't advise you on that. Ptarmigan and spruce hens are plentiful and really tasty. Waterfowl are plentiful but require some effort, and the actual flying season is fairly short. I have never had a weekend when I couldn't catch fish...just remember that the salmon are constantly on the move and may be here today and gone tomorrow. Build a smoker as soon as you get here.... halibut, hooligan (smoked or pickled), black bass and snapper, Ling cod, grey cod, clams and shellfish of all sorts, crab and shrimp if you have a boat and pots, salt water salmon (absolutely primo), run salmon in the rivers, BIG rainbow (or little rainbow for breakfast), char, grayling, burbot, northern pike, white fish, shea fish..... You need a freezer. Palmer has a farmers market for all sorts of fresh good produce at a reasonable price. You have just fed your family.
For real-estate in the Wasilla/Palmer area, contact Joe Henn (907) 376-7700. Joe is old school and has morals (his dad was a bear guide on Kodiak back when).
Alaska is just the best damn place on the face of the earth. I raised my children here, and they are STRONG. And I will get to bring my grandchildren here to learn when that time comes. You have to be strong to survive.... and enthusiastic And, there are people here of a like mind. If you doubt that, look at the posts by Paul and Ray and all of the rest of us. Come up. You can survive. And you will have one very fine life doing it ...... dick

Thunderstick,
I moved here two years ago and don't regret it one bit. This was my first season as a resident and I really enjoyed the dipnetting for red salmon on the Kasilof River and the sheep hunt I just got back from. I should say I went sheep camping as I didn't get one. Had a great time and was able to do it inexpensively. However if you want to get away from the crowds you must be willing to put in some effort, either on foot in non motorized areas or spend the money for fly-ins.

As far as the construction goes, the Valley (Wasilla/Palmer) is booming. Most contractors can't find enough good hands to work. Although outside construction is seasonal, if you can do drywall you can probably stay busy all winter. My best friend is a contractor and can never find a drywall guy that isn't busy. He has me helping him on my weeks off. If you can work hard and are honest you will most likely have more work than you can handle. Good luck. Mart

Many thanks to all for the helpful responses. We are just in the initial consideration phase and trying to get information to make an educated decision. We do not expect things to be easy initially, but the family responds quite well to challenges. I have been a construction superintendent for a number of years, though I would be fine with going back to the carpentry trade to find work.

I thought the Anchorage area might be the best place to start -- to get a job, and look the surrounding area over. From what I have read here, Alaska is a great place to hunt if you can access the areas with game.

We would plan to fly up and check it out before making any decisions.
Thanks again to all.

Also, some residents get very depressed from the long nights in Winter.