I've lived in Fairbanks AK for 10 years now. It's a great place to live, especially if you are the out of doors type, and salaries are generally highish. Only recently, once we got into MMM, have we thought about the true costs of living here. When you look at other similar wintery places like WI, MN, and MI, the cost of living, at least according to the websites, is 30% cheaper than in Fairbanks. Most of that comes from heating, housing, food, and health care costs I believe. One of our scenarios involves living here until we ER around age 40, then move to a lower cost of living location such as the above, as we do still love winter.
Truly living off the land is a whole other ballgame up here. You do need skills, but also a deep knowledge of the land and it's creatures, which really only comes with time spent here.