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NARRATOR: Alaska.
It's been called the last frontier --
a place where only the most adventurous come
to live on the edge in a vast, unspoiled wilderness.
***: Whoo! This is what I'm talking about right here!
This is awesome!
NARRATOR: So you think you want to live in Alaska...
Oh, my, goodness.
...where your nearest neighbor
might be waking from hibernation...
MAN: Wow!
...where the real amenities are outside...
And on the right here, you have your second bathroom.
WOMAN: With a million-dollar view.
...and the views change 'round the clock...
and where every day is an adventure.
MAN: Fish on!
The only thing you can expect is the unexpected
if you plan on "Living Alaska."
Lookit here -- Alaska!
-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.
Alaska -- America's last frontier.
[ Roars ]
The land's rugged appeal is intoxicating.
The Arctic wilderness calls out to hardy souls
from across the globe...
WOMAN: There you go. Good job, guys!
MICHAEL: Let's do this.
NARRATOR: ...like Mike and Amy Van De Grift
and their family.
Gonna go burrow down.
Mike works in the petroleum industry,
so making a move to oil-rich Alaska was bound to happen.
Good job.
But the relocation isn't just about the job.
It's our dream. It's our...
...our paradise.
Now, you come here, and I'll help you, okay?
The Van De Grifts have spent the last four years
in another paradise -- Hawaii.
MICHAEL: This definitely is not Hawaii.
It's a really nice place.
However, we have neighbors right close to us.
AMY: You can hear toilets flush.
That might be paradise for some people,
and it's a good place to visit, but this is paradise for us.
Yeah.
We're really looking for that outdoorsy experience,
that Alaska experience.
We want to be where we can have our children running in the yard
and we don't have to worry about them getting hit by a car.
Mike and Amy have four active kids,
ranging in age from 2 to 17.
They're going to make Alaska their personal playground.
Okay, moving on.
This is Soldotna, Alaska,
located 150 miles southeast of Anchorage,
in the heart of the Kenai Peninsula.
The salmon-filled Kenai River flows directly through town.
The Kenai Peninsula is just like no other.
You -- You have your mountains, your oceans, your rivers,
your good people.
NARRATOR: Located just 57 miles from an active volcano,
the locals have an adventurous spirit.
Good girl!
With only 4,000 residents,
Soldotna is a tight-knit community.
You know, you're looking at Anchorage
with 350,000 people, the largest city.
Down here, you're gonna get more of that country feel,
that smaller, hometown feel.
NARRATOR: Typically, homes in Soldotna sell in less than 90 days...
CHRIS: The market's really, really strong here.
NARRATOR: ...keeping Realtor and Kenai native Chris Druesedow
on his toes.
Most people are getting about 98% of their asking price.
If it's on the market here, it won't last very long.
Chris will guide the Van De Grifts
and help them find their Alaskan dream home.
So, I know you guys just came from Hawaii.
What are you guys looking for here in Alaska?
As far as roomwise, at least four rooms.
We've got four kids,
so everybody's basically got their own rooms.
How much land are you looking for?
We talked about -- I think the lowest we'll go is two.
It shouldn't be problem --
MICHAEL: Okay.
Yeah, and what price range were you looking at?
$300,000 to $400,000.
Yeah, somewhere right around there.
Well, guys, I got a few ideas.
Yeah, for sure.
Awesome.
NARRATOR: First stop -- Nikiski, 20 miles from Soldotna.
Yeah, this is definitely out here a ways.
Although a little off the grid,
at only $300,000, the house is worth a look.
Ah, it turns to...
...to gravel road.
Yeah.
And here's the home, guys.
Oh, wow. That is beautiful.
Holy smoke!
Look at the cedar roof on it.
We have a 4-bedroom, 4-bath home,
MICHAEL: Wow.
You guys ready to get out of this rain, go see it?
Let's go.
Oh, wow.
Look at the wood. I like the -- the log.
Is this that Alaska feel you guys are kind of looking for,
with the wood accents, the beams?
MICHAEL: Right, right, right.
So, why is the wall slanted?
Well, this is your typical chalet type of home.
With all the snow that we get during the winter months,
it's easier for it to fall off the roof.
That's very common in Alaska.
How do you like the fireplace, honey?
I love the fireplace, and I love the river rock.
Now, you're gonna have to chop some firewood, right?
That's why I got four children.
[ Laughs ] There you go. There you go.
Oh.
Yeah.
This was the size of our kitchen
Yeah.
Oh.
It's a little small for a family of six.
But I think we could open that up.
Yeah, this wall could go away
and have that big dining room/kitchen.
Yeah.
Okay, and we have another family room right here.
AMY: That's nice.
MICHAEL: Wow. That's wonderful. That's large.
And we have the master bedroom right in here.
Oh, wow.
This is an Alaskan room, for sure.
NARRATOR: Three additional bedrooms
give the Van De Grifts tons of space.
AMY: [ Singsong voice ] This is beautiful.
Oh, wow.
This is huge.
This is the nice, private setting that you're looking for.
You can't see your neighbors.
Nobody's back here?
Beautiful.
So, do we get the moose and the bear through here?
You will.
Yeah.
...and even possible bear.
Definitely in Alaska.
Not in Hawaii anymore.
Gone are the feral cats and the pigs and the centipedes --
on to the moose and bear.
When you say "bear," it's so wide open,
and kids running around, it's like, "Aah!"
That's why 99% of Alaskans carry a gun.
There you go.
[ Bird calling ]
NARRATOR: The deck leads to a mother-in-law apartment
above the detached garage.
We got the kitchen here, the bathroom.
MICHAEL: Full restroom, yeah.
Opens up into a full living area.
AMY: It'll be exciting for my parents.
I was thinking more of a full-time rental.
[ Chuckles ]
It definitely has a lot of bonuses.
You know, the -- I think that mother-in-law suite
was something that we definitely weren't considering.
Yeah.
Out in the wilderness here, the Alaska feel --
you know, we know we're not in Hawaii anymore, you know?
Reality check.
I'm excited to see what else you got.
NARRATOR: The answer after this.
NARRATOR: The answer...
There's fish in every lake and every stream and every pond
that you drive by, and there's -- game's plentiful.
You can fill your freezer in Alaska.
NARRATOR: The Alaskan Kenai Peninsula is heaven for hunters.
[ Gunshots ]
This is paradise for us.
Relocating here is a dream come true
for Mike and Amy Van De Grift.
We are moving from Hawaii to Soldotna, Alaska.
[ Gunshot ]
We've always dreamt of living here, so here we are.
But island life felt cramped to Mike and Amy.
Avid outdoorsmen, they longed for room to breathe.
[ Gunshots ]
We want to be out in the outdoors.
We want freedom to go out and go for a hike whenever we want
or get on four-wheelers right out of our garage
and take off and go ride.
We know we're gonna be at home here.
[ Birds chirping ]
Yeah.
Realtor Chris Druesedow
is helping the couple and their four kids...
The track lighting -- it's a little outdated.
...find the house that complements
their active lifestyle.
I'm looking for the rustic Alaskan home
that every woman dreams of when they think of Alaska.
I have a little bit of an issue.
But finding that perfect home isn't easy.
I'm not really liking the tile.
Mike and Amy have been searching for two weeks...
Oh, I like that it's got a full bathroom.
Okay, moving on.
Today, Chris is taking Mike and Amy to a home
just five minutes from downtown Soldotna.
CHRIS: Now, this home is located off the Sterling Highway.
Is there a lot of people
that live close to each other out here or...
Typically, most people are gonna be on about --
sitting on about an acre out here.
AMY: Beautiful scenery, though.
And this starts the driveway for your private drive right here.
[ Laughs ] Oh, wow.
Look at this.
I love these trees down the driveway here.
Oh, my goodness.
It's like a gingerbread house.
Okay, guys, here we are -- 4-bedroom, 3-bath home,
3,600 square feet.
It's priced at $400,000, and get this -- 5 acres.
Wow.
How do you like that for privacy?
Can you see your neighbors?
Not at all.
That's right.
This is exactly what we were thinking.
This is -- This is awesome.
Chris, what is this?
You just wipe your feet, kind of just like how you would do
a rug here, and it all falls down.
You'll find this in Alaska a lot.
Yeah. Oh, it's great.
Wow, this is beautiful.
MICHAEL: This is really, really nice, Chris.
This is comfy.
The space -- it's large.
Yeah.
A lot bigger than Hawaii. I like this.
What is this tile wall and this thingy?
So, during their recent remodel,
they took out the wood-burning stove.
MICHAEL: So that's something that we could go back
Oh, totally.
You know, here in Alaska,
our nights get very, very cold in the winter here.
Right.
So it's a really nice option for you guys to have.
Okay.
This is a big kitchen.
MICHAEL: I like this.
I love the view.
Yeah. Alaska, the big, open window.
Bring on the moose.
Yeah.
Well, this is a yard.
This is amazing.
Are you feeling Alaska yet?
Yes.
MICHAEL: This is Alaska. Can you hear it?
Yeah, you have definitely delivered.
[ Calling ]
You guys want to check out the dining room?
Sure. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Beautiful.
This is definitely big enough to fit the family in.
This is perfect.
There's a home office here.
Nice.
And you guys are gonna really love this.
Here's the sitting room.
Oh, whoa.
This is nice.
Look at these windows.
Huge. How tall is this ceiling, Chris?
Big enough to put a 20-foot Christmas tree in here.
[ Laughing ] Wow.
Can you imagine our first Christmas in Alaska
and we have a 20-foot Christmas tree?
It's like something you see in the movies,
Huge tree.
Snow on the ground.
This is -- This is awesome. I love this.
NARRATOR: The typical upstairs has three bedrooms for the kids,
plus a full bath.
What's not so typical is the huge bonus room.
Whoa.
Wow. This is nice. This is big.
MICHAEL: We could turn it into a playroom for the kids --
put a TV up here or whatever in the wintertime or...
And what's really nice about this is it's above the garage,
Right.
...not make a whole lot of noise.
True. Right.
And here's the master.
Wow, this is a master bedroom.
This is huge.
This is amazingly huge.
The bathroom.
It's attached. I like this.
This -- are you serious right now?
I'm hanging out in my living room
and my bathroom at the same time.
There's no privacy, Mike -- none.
Yeah, but we're a family. We have no privacy.
But we are not that close of a family.
No.
We have 5 acres, no neighbors.
"Kids, it's wintertime. Go outside."
"Get on your snow machine. Head on out!"
Oh, my gosh.
This is kind of a big deal.
This isn't "kind of" -- this is -- this is an issue.
This view is stunning.
CHRIS: This is what sells this house.
It's got everything that we want to do.
[ Chirping ]
AMY: Whoo-hoo!
MICHAEL: You got one?
NARRATOR: For the Van De Grift family,
moving to Alaska has always been a dream.
[ Laughs ]
And now they're turning that dream into reality.
[ Grunts ] Oh!
The Kenai Peninsula will soon be their new address.
Dig, dig, dig.
MICHAEL: If we want to be where we can have
our children running in the yard and we can breathe --
we can enjoy life.
I think we're gonna probably see a few more over there,
if we have any luck.
Come on, Blake. Let's go look this way.
Yay!
NARRATOR: Finding potential homes
for the family of six isn't as easy as it sounds.
And so far, their search has been futile.
I'm looking for that Alaskan house,
the A-framed, rustic look -- gingerbread kind of house.
After a long discussion,
Mike and Amy couldn't come to a decision on a house,
so they're heading out with Chris once more.
Pretty nice back in here.
I notice there's a lot more of the seasonal trees here.
Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
You're right here, guys. Look.
Wow, look at that view, Amy.
AMY: That's a killer selling point.
[ Vehicle door closes ]
CHRIS: So, here we have a three-bedroom, two-bath home,
2,500 square feet, sitting on 5 acres.
Can we talk about the hot tub in the front yard?
Well, this home has a hot tub.
In the front yard.
Interesting. [ Laughs ]
Yeah, I really like this entryway.
And here we are. Entryway.
Oh, wow. This is open.
Very bright.
And here's the living room.
Oh.
This view is stunning.
And that's that Alaska view that we were looking for, yeah.
Mm-hmm, yeah.
So, what about in the summertime
when you got 23 hours of sunlight?
I mean, I don't see curtains up here on the top.
Mike, here in Alaska, what we concern ourselves with
is our bedrooms.
We black out our bedrooms.
Right. Yeah.
In Hawaii, of course, it's dark every night at 7:00, 8:00.
Here, we got the dining room and the kitchen.
Wow.
Dining room's definitely open.
I like that moose light over top of the table there --
that's nice.
I'm not really excited about this kitchen.
I think it would need to be completely gutted and remodeled.
I got to stop you there. You can't gut the kitchen.
I'm gonna be moving here from a new state.
I don't want to be putting all my time and money into this.
I mean...
Okay.
CHRIS: So, here we have the deck and those amazing views.
Wow.
I'm in awe.
Breathtaking.
This is what sells this house.
You have 200 acres of state-owned land.
Nobody's gonna be building here.
Can you believe this?
You could just walk right out
Yeah.
And it's got everything with moving to Alaska
Right.
...right in our backyard.
Look, you can see an eagle, Amy, right over there.
The eagles are here all day long.
You'll see them all day long.
All right, guys, we have the master bedroom right here.
AMY: Okay.
I think our bedroom in Hawaii was...
Yeah.
But our bedroom in Hawaii didn't have a view like this, either.
That's true. This is the Alaska dream bedroom.
So, this is the master bathroom.
Wow. This is big.
It's a lot bigger than what I imagined.
CHRIS: Up the stairs here, we have two bedrooms and a loft.
Yeah, this opens up.
Could you imagine a telescope right here for the kids...
[ Chuckling ] I was just thinking the same thing.
I was, yeah.
You could actually put a wall up here
and create another bedroom.
AMY: You know, there's parts that I really liked about it,
and there's parts that I wasn't really excited about.
The view is amazing.
MICHAEL: The view is a million-dollar view.
It is a three-bedroom. We were looking for a four.
It does need some updating.
I mean, we're gonna have to really sit down
Yeah.
Well, let's do this.
How about you guys go and talk about it,
and then give me a call when you guys are ready?
Okay.
Sounds great.
What did you think about that Sherwood Circle house,
the Reger Road, that National house?
That's gonna take some money.
And a lot of your time.
A lot of my time, yep.
[ Gunshots ]
NARRATOR: The Van De Grift family is finally fulfilling
their dream of moving to Alaska.
BOY: No...
No.
We really chose to move to Alaska because of the --
the outdoors activities, the freedom.
We're next to the ocean, yet we still have the mountains.
We have the wildlife, the skiing, the snowmobiling.
AMY: The four seasons.
But living in paradise means
the couple must decide between three unique Alaskan homes --
a chalet-style home on Sherwood Circle
that requires updating, but is a bargain,
the huge A-frame on National Avenue
that sits on 5 acres, but lacks privacy inside,
and Reger Road,
which has an amazing view, but is short on space.
[ Birds chirping ]
To clear their minds, the couple is embracing
one of their favorite hobbies, off-roading.
What did you think about that Sherwood Circle house?
AMY: I liked that it was well at the bottom of our price range.
I love the mother-in-law suite.
I know.
But the kitchen was kind of really, really small.
And that would have to be, like, completely remodeled.
It's gonna take some money.
And a lot of your time.
A lot of my time, yep.
So, what do you think about the Reger Road?
Million-dollar view.
That view -- that is the Alaska view right there, yep.
But the kitchen -- I mean, that, too, again, is gonna need...
Updating.
It has the three bedrooms,
so we would have to enclose that one balcony area
to make it a fourth bedroom.
But, you know, there, again, money, money, money.
Yeah.
What do you think of that National house?
I think it's spacious.
We could fit a huge Christmas tree in there in the wintertime.
I did not like the bathroom being open.
Even though it is at the top of our price range,
I think that we could really work
towards enclosing that, you know?
Yeah.
Well, I know I've made my decision.
I've made mine, yeah.
Let's get out and call him.
All right, let's do it.
Hey, Chris. Hi. Mike and Amy here.
Hey, Mike.
Hey, Amy and I talked about it, and we've made our decision.
Great. Which one did you guys choose?
We chose the National house.
We absolutely love it.
We love the acreage. We love the privacy.
Okay, well, that sounds great.
Let's get together, and I'll write up the contract.
Awesome.
MICHAEL: The National house was originally listed at $400,000,
but we were able to get them down to $380,000,
so I think, with the extra money
that we were able to save on that,
that will allow us all the improvements
we need to do to that house
to make that our forever home, our dream home.
AMY: And the only thing I ever knew of Alaska
was what I've watched on TV.
In coming in on blind faith, this is honestly beautiful.
It's better than what the TV even shows.
Everybody we've met here is so friendly, so nice, so welcoming.
Yeah, is friendly. Yeah.
It's been a wonderful experience.
We absolutely love it.