may I ask a related question? (since this is IMHO, not GQ)
Why is Alaska considered such a glamorous place of adventure, and nearby Canada is not? There’s the old expression “Alaska isn’t a state, it’s a state of mind”. Alaska attracts lots of people looking for adventure, or trying to escape the “normal” life. Does Canada have anything similar? Do some Canadians leave Montreal for the far north of their country looking for the same kind of excitement? Or is it only an American thing?
(and I apologize to the OP .I dont mean to disparage your desire to move to Alaska. I wish you Good luck with the move. But why, specifically, Alaska? If you like snow, there’s more in Buffalo NY. If you like moose and bears, there are plenty in the small towns around Sequoia and Yellowstone National Parks, or Jackson Hole, WY.
chappachula, the words Canada and *adventure * just don’t belong in the same sentence! AFAIK, it is a United Statesian thing. Alaska is only extreme if you want it to be. Living in Anchorage is a lot nicer than living in…Buffalo, for example.
Unfortunately Chefguy’s bang on. Our Tourism Board is mostly a miserable bunch of ineffectual idiots. We’re better marketed to Europe than we are to our nearest neighbours.
No adventures? There’s the Tatshenshini river rafting trips among others, ooo, if you’re into extreme endurance stuff, there’s one of the toughest dog-sled races in the world, and well, just living here’s an adventure.
However, this is a thread about moving to Alaska, so I’ll just shut up now. Thanks for the good word, though…
Technically, it alternates start points, so there! However, I guess that does underscore the fact we share it.
On the Dempster:
Take at least two extra spare tires. Apparently the frost shattered rocks on the highway are MURDER, and there’s the usual huge gaps between service stations. And watch out for the transports! Some of those drivers have been driving for three days straight, and are so bagged out they don’t even know you’re there.
Depending on what you’re driving, anyways.
Oh yeah, and take at least three more rolls of film or the digital equivalent thereof, than you think you’ll need.
What’s this I keep hearing about making money in Alaska? I’ve read in another thread about a person who went to Alaska when he was around the same age as me, and made enough money to fly back home and pay for college. I asked what kind of job he found and how he managed to live, but never got a repsonse. Well I’m clueless. What kind of jobs excist in Alaska that a young guy could support himself on, and still be able to save a little on the side? After I get my AA, I’ll need to raise money for a University, and I have no idea how to go about this.
Don’t get me worng, I’m not saying I want to go down, save money, and immeaditly return home. Alaska sounds like a place I could really settle down in. I love the wildlife, the cold, and I’m about ready for some adventure. If it’s half as good as it sounds, I’d have very little reason to leave.
Pretty much the same jobs as anywhere else. Wages are not that much higher, if at all, so unless you’re stupid enough to want to work for one of the Native corporations, you’re not going to make your fortune. A lot of college students come up in the summer to work seasonal jobs as flagmen, etc. on road construction projects, or to work in the lodges. The construction work can be 16- hour days, so you could make some coin on overtime.
As I tell everyone else: DO NOT COME UP HERE UNLESS YOU HAVE A JOB WAITING FOR YOU.
It’s no longer 30% more men than women. The 2000 Anchorage Indicators show 1.05 men per 1 woman. (pity the girl that has to date Mr. .05 :D).
Most northern states such as the Dakotas and Minnesota are colder in the winter than Anchorage, especially over the last 4 years or so, our winters are pretty moderate teens to 20s with spells of 0. Then, the typical cold snap in Jan or Feb which lasts a few weeks and can drop as low as -90 with chill factor (bbbbbrrrrrrrrr, but that hasn’t happened since something like 1989). It’s definitely not wet all the time. Especially in the last 5 or so years. We have 70s and 80s and pretty nice summers.
Fairbanks is REALLY cold in the winter, but really warm in the summer. It’s really dry up north. Specially Prudhoe. Juneau is gorgeous, but kinda claustophobic since it’s surrounded on all sides by mountains, except for the ocean side. It’s like nestled right into the mountains too, not just bordered by them like Anchorage.
Ketchikan is wet, wet, wet. The aleutians (Dutch Harbor, Shemya, and so on) are all different. It snows and rains sideways most of the time in Dutch Harbor. Bethel is small and surrounded by flat, FLAT tundra.
Most of Alaska can only be reached by plane, boat, snowmobile or barge. And the barges only travel part of the year of course.
The prices are high, but wages are comparable, and minimum wage for Alaska is set something like 75 cents per hour higher than the lower 48 (if I recall). If you have a fairly professional job, your pay will be somewhat higher than the lower 48.
It’s easier to get a really good job based on what you know and your reputation for doing well in that field as opposed to having to have a string of degrees as in the lower 48. (well at least easier than in Texas, which is the only other state in which I’ve looked for jobs).
From what I hear from friends from the ASD, most newbie teaching jobs are going to be in “the bush”.
Silenus, I have sad news for you, they tore down that record store. SNIFF~!!! It had been there since I was a teen in the 70s…
Ditto what chefguy said about alcoholism and depression. I guess it can be pretty bad for newbies, and the long hours of darkness during the wintertime (5-6 months of snow and ice) can be really hard for “statesiders” to handle.
You’ll probably want a vehicle, without CAN be done, but it’s a pain in the butt (I’m bussing and hiking it right now, but that will soon be miserable come snow and ice time). The bus system is better than it used to be, but it’s still pretty sketchy, especially in the “richer” areas of town like the hillside, where it’s non existant.
If you do get one, you’ll probably want at least front wheel drive. I’ve had mostly cadillacs and buicks (front and rear wheel drive) since I was a kid, but they’re heavy and I’ve been driving on ice and snow for a long time. As have many longtime Alaskans. But you’re from Penn? You’ll probably do just fine. A lot of folks have SUVs, 4X P/Us and the little AWD rice rockets. First snow there are always around 300 fender benders in the first few hours. (I love snow, I just HATE the idiot drivers). A lot of people swear by studs, but I’ve made do with all seasons for most of my cars for about the last 25 years. So far no problems.
[quote]
Chefguy: The schools in Anchorage take a critical beating because of the perception that there is a lot of waste and bureaucracy, and that property tax money is being squandered.
[quote]
Gee, what would make us think that?? Could it be the $70,000 stained glass window they just installed in East High School?
When did he say this was? Back in the pipeline days? A lot of people made money, pretty big money back then.
Nowadays? I can’t imagine any young college students finding a job to make “big money”. But what a lot of them do, in addition to what chefguy said, is to work at the canneries. What they do is once they get off the plane, they hitchhike to the Kenai peninsula, live in tents and 15 to a small apartment, stuff like that and work 16 hour shifts, they make their bucks killing themselves working overtime. It is NOT that the wages are all that high for that sort of job. A bit more than minimum wage, but it’s the hours, not the wages, and the cheap (tent or 20 kids to an apartment) that helps them save their wages.
I knew a guy in college who did this (cannery work) a couple of summers. This would have been the mid 1980s. It was pretty much exactly how you describe it, hard, boring, repetitive work with long hours and overtime. He made decent money, not a fortune, but most people probably couldn’t do it for more than a few months at a stretch.
And oh, by the way, it’s September 25th and it’s snowing to beat hell right now. It won’t stick around, of course, but it’s coating the roofs, lawns, etc.
I’ve also noticed that Canadians look very similar to us. But don’t be fooled. The beaver hats are a dead give-away. They come here for the paved roads and flush toilets.
Is the electricity out where you live? It seems to be out in patches over here on the east side. One light is out, and then the next intersection it’s on. One corner at Debarr and Bragaw is out, and the others are okay. Very weird.
And it’s STILL snowing, it’s been snowing since what? 7 or 8 am? It’s now 4:30 and it’s STILL going strong. Chefguy, you might have been too optimistic, it may be here to stay.
AFAIK, it is a United Statesian thing. Alaska is only extreme if you want it to be. Living in Anchorage is a lot nicer than living in…Buffalo, for example.
SNIFF~!!! It had been there since I was a teen in the 70s…