Cold Bay Newbie (Anchorage, Kenai, Kodiak: how much, hotel, home)

[Amenya]

Hello,

My husband is possibly getting hired for a job in Alaska, and one of the locations he may be hired at is Cold Bay. I have been browsing the internet for information about the area. From what I know so far, it is very isolated.

I am curious about what it is like in Cold Bay from people who have lived there? I wouldn't mind hearing about experiences from people that have visited there. I guess I am just anxious about the cultural shock. I grew up on 10 acres in rural Florida, but I am already getting an idea of how even more rural this community will be.

Neither of us like going out very much, we literally stay home and do stuff together such as reading, or streaming movies online. We also play a lot of games online, or on gaming consoles like the Xbox, etc. So we're easily entertained together. We are both 24 years old, and he is fresh out of the USAF.

Cold Bay is one of the three locations he is possibly getting selected for, and we won't know until the end of next week.

Thanks in advance!!

[AKStafford]

I've not been to Cold Bay, but I've lived in other rural areas of Alaska...
In my opinion, living rural in Florida wouldn't compare in any way to living in Cold Bay. If you needed a doctor in rural Florida, you get in a car and in an hour or so you could be at a medical facility. In Cold Bay if you need a medical services, it's a $600 plane ticket to Anchorage. And if the weather is bad, which it can be for days, planes don't fly.

I'm not saying its a bad place. The people that live there obviously make it work. I just want to give you some perspective of what remote Alaska means.

[retiredinhomer]

I used to work out in cold bay. Is housing going to be provided? Who is the employer city state or federal. the housing quality will depend on who it is. Faa had best housing next was the state then park service and city.
Forget about streaming anything on line very slow internet service. I have not been out there for 6 years now but I am sure alascom is the only long distance provider out there. Check with them what is available out there now.

[richelles]

On a trip from Dutch Harbor to Kodiak on the AMHS (Alaska Marine Highway System) Ferry I remember going to Cold Bay as one of the stops. There was very little I could observe from the Ferry Tustemenia and I came away with an opinion that this was one of the most isolated places the ferry visited on that trip. If I took any pictures there I didn't mark them as Cold Bay. If you use Google Earth you can see the aerial view of Cold Bay and it appears there is very little in the way of roads in that area. The major feature visible was what appeared to be a long runway and what appears to be an abandoned small runway. There were some mountains in the area but my recall was a relatively flat area with a few structures visible from the ferry coming into the port or from the dock.

I checked the AMHS schedule and there is a terminal, but it is listed as unstaffed, which might mean no one from the AMHS is there permanently. In one sense all the small towns in that area were similar in that a few structures were visible from the ferry as we came into the dock. The fact I didn't mark any of the small port cities pictures probably means the only thing close to the water was the AMHS dock so I didn't take any pictures.


Use this link (You might have to cut and paste it to your browser.) and click on the Vessel Tracking and find the silhouette of a ship on the left side and click on it and find Community Cold Bay. Click on that and follow what links you find and you'll find more about the area.

Alaska Marine Highway System :: Official Site :: Alaska DOT&PF

Use this link and find the red marker and photos and there are some pictures of Cold Bay area. I'm not suggesting the hotel but the photo tab and then the local photographs and I can't get rid of the hotel. Use the zoom slide and go out and look at the pictures of the local area.

https://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8...gl=US&hl=en-US

The trip on the ferry was really nice being we had several sunny days and a calm ocean. The locals said neither was normal and we should tell people who saw our pictures days without planes being able to fly was normal. I have pictures from the trip and they show the sunny days and calm Pacific.

[retiredinhomer]

Richelles
you were extremely lucky to have good weather out there. Stopping at the dock in Cold Bay is not at all like living there. I worked there for about six years One week on one week off. If it wasn't raining or blowing over 30 kts it was good working weather.
dennis

[richelles]

Originally Posted by retiredinhomer

Richelles
you were extremely lucky to have good weather out there. Stopping at the dock in Cold Bay is not at all like living there. I worked there for about six years One week on one week off. If it wasn't raining or blowing over 30 kts it was good working weather.
dennis

I lived in Anchorage for a couple of years so I know about the weather there. My wife was from an island off Kodiak and we spent some time out there. The weather there was usually either getting ready or just finishing and sunshine was a rarity. We went to Kodiak from Homer several times and were on the last ferry to make the trip from Seward. I liked the Spit in Homer but it was too small for me and it was a major trip to get to Anchorage. Long drive up the Kenai. Being from rural Florida I know what the poster means by getting somewhere with major amenities. The trip from Dutch was nice with decent weather during the week in Dutch and then good weather to Kodiak on the "Trusty". Leaving Alaska was a return to civilization for me. First the NYC area and now Birmingham. Nothing like the good Ole Interstate to get somewhere in a hurry.

[Isdouthit]

Please visit eastern aleutian tribes page on Facebook. We have some photos and community information there. Also, I'd like to mention that we run the clinic there, and there's really no need to fly to anchorage for medical care.

[Amenya]

Thanks everyone so far! I really appreciate the tips, and information. I'm very aware of how much more isolated Cold Bay will be compared to my background. Haha. I'm not going in naive or anything like that, I expect it to be shocking. :P My husband isn't worried though, he's been deployed to Afghanistan and he assures me that we will adapt just fine.

I was just curious about the area. Cold Bay is only one of three possible places we might be sent to. Nothing is finalized yet. Housing will be Federal, we will be paying rent.

I will definitely check out the Facebook page. My husband is a Meteorologist, so he was explaining a lot to me about the weather in Cold Bay. I prefer rainy weather to be honest, so the idea of nonstop rain doesn't frighten me too much. The only thing I am so far anxious about is the internet out there. (Silly, I know.) I just want to be able to keep in touch via emailing and webcam with my family at least. Luckily my parents are in Kenai because my dad works for the FAA.

[retiredinhomer]

Dang
I forgot about the NWS nice housing. If internet is an issue you had better check in with the nws office in cold bay and see if it has improved. I really don't think so the lines from town to the satellite dish is several miles and old copper. so slow internet. When I worked out there I saw probably 10 -12 families move in then out. It is tough out there if you like to stay in the house. The weather gets to you. Less than 2-3 blocks walk to work . You can have a lot of fun out there and then move on with the NWS if that is your career and to your liking.

[jdhpa]

Is satellite internet service available there (direct to home)?