Led,

They do a pretty good job plowing up there but winter means plenty of snow guaranteed. The problem with living up north is there is no 'highway' that goes through Anchorage, only to Anchorage. When you roll in from up north, you come into the main downtown area and then drop down through town to get to International Airport Way (I think thats the name, been a while). I have made that drive in heavy snow and it took a bit. For me, that wouldn't be a big deal if it were rare, but in AK, you can bank on it every year. You might want to recon it a bit before you buy if that is an option. To directly answer your question, I believe it is about 45-60 minutes to get to the valley from the airport. Seems like it was closer to 60 min. That was with nothing on the roads.

Your absolutely correct about affordability. Houses aren't cheap in town.