Why would anyone voluntarily live in Alaska?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Over the past few days, I’ve been stuck indoors because it’s so damned cold outside and the streets and covered with snow and ice. It’s driving me batshit crazy!

Then I got to thinking, there’s an entire state up north bigger than Texas with about half a million people some of which must have moved up there voluntarily (or are descended from people who moved there voluntarily), and where it’s pretty cold most of the time. Any Alaskaners here care to explain how you survive living in this state without dying of boredom?

2

Oh, Jeez, I’d move back in a heartbeat. It’s the most beautiful place I have ever, ever seen. It’s magestic and awesome and humbling. Nature, scenery, wildlife, aurora, alpenglow.

I never got bored in the winter–reading, writing, watching movies, watching aurora, crafts, dog, cooking. There is always something to do if you have interests.

And the summers. My god, those beautiful summers.

I’m only remembering the good stuff, mind you. :slight_smile:

The negatives: cost, rednecks, mosquitoes, winter, block heaters, and the astonishing amount of dog crap that emerges from the melting snow at breakup.

Also, there is no spring. There is “break-up”.

3

Alberta here, but from Northern BC.

I love winter. Just like you get used to the heat (and I can’t stand hot!), I get used to the cold. I spend the winter doing winter sports (skiing, mountaineering, hiking, snowshoe, etc.), catching up on TV shows (I don’t watch much TV in the summer) and doing crafty stuff. It’s really not that bad. Sure, it’s -36C with the wind chill right now, but I dress for it, and I’m nice and cozy. The air is different even - fresh and clean.

4

I’d move there if I didn’t dislike the cold so much. It’s so much land, so few people, such nice landscapes.

5

They wouldn’t. That’s why people get paid to live in Alaska.

(OK, it’s not a huge amount, but $3,269 a year is kind of a neat bonus)

6

It’s an incredibly beautiful place, that’s why. I went up on an employment contract, intending to make some quick cash and come back to “the lower 48” after a month or two, but ended up staying for two years, and being quite sad to leave.

7

I’ve heard you can see Russia from there.

8

I lived there for seven years, and will move back if I ever get the chance. I miss the moose in my backyard, midnight golf, dipnetting, crazy North Roaders, snowmachines, squaw candy, and ringing the bell at Peninsula Moose Lodge. My ashes will be spread at the mouth of the Kenai River on Cook Inlet.

9

because it’s there

-n

10

I’m college age and a friend of mine visited back home from Alaska (home being here). Two of his buddies came along, they’d never been out of Alaska or northern Canada. Its cold here. Very cold here. Not as cold as there, but its not like they got off the plane in Miami. They said the biggest thing they noticed, as we barhopped that weekend, was that there were women everywhere. Like, woah, almost half! Apparently up there its more a climate where men our age go and not women (or at least go out). On that one issue alone… I’d visit. To live? No.

11

Not Alaska, but has been cold enough here in Alberta to be! It’s been -30 here for over 2 weeks, and I find myself MORE inclined to walk to work (35 minute walk) than when it’s just -5. Huge bonus: it’s not slushy, so my pants don’t get soaked.

But there’s just something…I don’t know…MANLY…about walking to work and making it all the way without losing any body parts.

12

I would if the job paid enough… and the SO went with.

13

Well the only story I have ever heard about how much “fun” the cold is was from a bunch of Aussie guys who shared a house somewhere in Canada. They were friends with a bunch of Canadian guys who lived down the street. Supposedly they would sit around smoking dope and then a group would strip down to shorts and t-shirts and race to the other house. They would carry on like this all day back and forth even when it was snowing.

14

I’d move to Alaska in a heartbeat. It’s warmer there than here (Minnesota) fairly often, and I’m a big fan of northern climes, wildlife, mountains, coastal regions, trees, and solitude. Alaska would be 3rd on my list of places fit to live in, right after Minnesota and Wisconsin.

15

I can’t speak for Alaskans, but I suspect there are a lot of people in the world who look at people living in western Canada and wonder what the hell is wrong with us (with our -36ºC windchills this week). I was born and raised in western Canada, and I know the cold and the weather and how to deal with it - It’s just a fact of life for me (and everyone else who was born here). It’s been really cold these last couple of weeks - so? What’s your point? I plugged my car in and wore an extra layer of clothes and walked really fast.

As for the solitude and the lack of civilization, if that’s your kind of thing, I can see people wanting that very much.

16

i’d move there in a flash. i really liked sitka. the earthquakes give me more pause than the winter. my allergies like winter. also there less bugs. the less bugs the better. i did hear rumours of a beetle… i’m not too sure about that.

i also liked churchill i would also move there in a flash. yeah, there are polar bears milling about (aboot?), but hey, not many bugs. well, they did say something about big flies. i can handle flies.

17

Keep in mind just how large this state is. I’ve traveled throughout most of it and offer the following:

Southeast Alaska is temperate rainforest, much like the Washington coast. Winters are very mild and snowfall infrequent. Lots of rain. Only way in or out is by boat or plane (except for Haines and Skagway).

Coastal Alaska (Prince William Sound) gets hammered with snow every year. Twenty feet is not uncommon at sea level. Temperatures stay mild, however, and summers can be quite wet.

Southcentral Alaska is moderate climate, with very comfortable summers (60s-70s), moderate winters (usually teens to 20s, with the occasional cold front sending things sub-zero). Snowfall is moderate, with the occasional dump. Yesterday was the shortest day of the year: we had 5 hours, 28 minutes, 15 seconds of daylight. On a cloudy day, it seems like much less.

Interior Alaska (taiga) has extremes of weather, with summers often being in the 80s and 90s, and winters often in the negative 20s and 30s, with occasional plunges to negative 50 or 60. But little snow to speak of.

Arctic Alaska (tundra) has bitter cold in winter, with summers usually not venturing much above the 40s. Very little snowfall, lots of wind.

People live here because of the beauty and the outdoor life. If you don’t like winter sports, this can be a boring place indeed. Anchorage has a population of about 250,000, but it’s way behind the curve for entertainment and quality restaurants. The Performing Arts Center tries very hard to get quality acts up here, and the oil companies sponsor quite a bit, but most of the acts are second-rate or the artists past their prime. There is an excellent all-volunteer (except for the conductor) symphony orchestra and chorus that puts on an aggressive schedule every year.

Once outside of Anchorage, entertainment value by others takes a serious nosedive. If you can’t entertain yourself, and don’t want to venture outdoors for fun, you’ll be absolutely miserable. Summers can be spectacular, with long days of light to do whatever you want. But again, if you don’t like the outdoor options, you won’t be happy. We drove all of the roads here in three years. The problem with the roads is that they don’t really go anywhere other than to more Alaskan scenery. The scenery is hard to beat, and I don’t get tired of it, but unless you get out into it, it could start to become “just another mountain”.

Oh, and most of the people here came from somewhere else. On purpose.

Rigamarole: That $3200 was a one-time deal. The governor tacked on $1200 to the dividend to offset fuel prices. The dividend fluctuates every year according to how the investments of the permanent fund fare. Last year was the highest ever, I believe. This year’s won’t be so good.

18

Spruce bark beetle infestation wiped out enormous stands of spruce trees, especially in Southcentral and Interior Alaska, creating serious forest fire danger. They don’t bother people.

Polar bears are confined pretty much to the Arctic coastal areas.

19

There’s a saying that goes around in Fairbanks: “It’s not that Fairbanks is such a great place to live; it’s just that after living there, it becomes unacceptable to live anywhere else.”
It’s true. I’m an Alaskan married to an Alaskan. We’re living in Montana while I go to grad school, and all we want is to go home.

The winters are easier to deal with, believe it or not, because at least you know what to expect. It’s gorgeous nearly everywhere there. The “culture” is a bit different, although I find that nobody outside Alaska believes this and I’m unable to describe it.

The biggest downsides, IMHO, are really just that costs are high and you’re very far away from everywhere else; family trips are difficult, and it’s hard to make ends meet in winter.

20

I loved my 7 years in Alaska. I really hated moving Outside again. Midnight Frisbee is a lot harder when it’s dark.

As for the shortage of women, let me just say that when I was there, there was indeed a lopsided ratio, but the ladies were doing their best to make up for it in sheer kinkiness.