Can you help me decide where to move? (Anchorage, Fairbanks: travel, jobs)

[Sarah-Bear]

Okay, I am soooooo sorry for doing this to you! I am sure that you Alaskans get this question all of the time, but I am wanting to move to Alaska after I graduate from Nursing school next May. Do you have any recommendations of great places to live? I am a single, 26 year old female who will be a registered Nurse. I am a small town girl at heart and so I don't want to live in Anchorage or Fairbanks. I love beautiful, isolated but not completely in the middle-of-nowhere type of places (I need to live close to a hospital for work). I would be grateful if you have any advice! Oh, and one last thing: Am I completely crazy for wanting to move to Alaska as a single girl who has never been there before and who is a newbie to outdoor activities? =) Let me know if I am...

[warptman]

You can look online at Alaska Job Center Network for jobs throughout Alaska, it is a helpful site to look into.

[Metlakatla]

Check out Palmer. They just built a new hospital in the Palmer/Wasilla area and a friend of mine who works there as a nurse is quite happy there. Palmer is a pretty good place to live, a good balance between the city and rural Alaska.

Are you crazy for wanting to move to AK? LOL. That would depend on your reasons for wanting to move here. But hey, you're young, single, and will have something to offer the place because of your nursing degree, so give it a shot.

[BudinAk]

Originally Posted by Sarah-Bear

Okay, I am soooooo sorry for doing this to you! I am sure that you Alaskans get this question all of the time, but I am wanting to move to Alaska after I graduate from Nursing school next May. Do you have any recommendations of great places to live? I am a single, 26 year old female who will be a registered Nurse. I am a small town girl at heart and so I don't want to live in Anchorage or Fairbanks. I love beautiful, isolated but not completely in the middle-of-nowhere type of places (I need to live close to a hospital for work). I would be grateful if you have any advice! Oh, and one last thing: Am I completely crazy for wanting to move to Alaska as a single girl who has never been there before and who is a newbie to outdoor activities? =) Let me know if I am...

I'd say any town that is on the highway/road system would be good. The reason I say that is once you get off the road system, prices for EVERYTHING shoot through the roof, due to the neccessity of either barging everything in, or flying them in. Palmer, as suggested, is a good choice. Other small towns that would be very good: Kenai, Soldotna, Sterling, Homer, and Seward (all on the Kenai Peninsula, South-central Ak.) They are all in the range of 2000-6000, or so, in population.
No, you aren't crazy for wanting to move here. My wife is a nurse from FLORIDA, of all places, and she moved here! So...a move from Boise isn't that extreme...come on up!

Bud

[Rance]

All you can do is try it out. Either you'll love it and stay...or you'll hate it and leave. Regardless it's worth the try. Be warned...Alaska has a way of grabbing ahold and not letting go!

[rotorhead]

Sitka and Juneau always seem to be advertising for nurses. Why not try the traveller positions in a few places first to get a feel for if you'd like to move there permanently? It'd be a good way to get to know the state before you pick a spot and settle down.

[Sarah-Bear]

Originally Posted by rotorhead

Why not try the traveller positions in a few places first to get a feel for if you'd like to move there permanently? It'd be a good way to get to know the state before you pick a spot and settle down.

I think pretty much all travel-nurse agencies require you to have at least one year of experience before they will hire you and since I will be a new nurse grad next may, I will have to wait almost two whole years before I get to Alaska!!!! NOOOOO!! So I am just thinking about moving there and getting a relatively permanent job. You are all giving me great advice...Thank you! I am kind of eyeing up Homer. Whats it like? From the city-data website, it says that the mean population age is older than Alaska's average. Am I going to feel a little out of place there?
You guys are wonderful!
Sarah

[mal_flisk]

Nope, it's a great town and has a lot to recommend it. Weather is pretty good, and the eagles are a nuisance but it has gorgeous scenery and average age doesn't say much about the population. Nice folks.

[insearchof]

Originally Posted by Sarah-Bear

Oh, and one last thing: Am I completely crazy for wanting to move to Alaska as a single girl who has never been there before and who is a newbie to outdoor activities? =) Let me know if I am...

Not any crazier than I was as a Single Mom who had never even lived in Snow
we have a nursing shortage here and while Anchorage boast's the 2 biggest hospitals, living in or around Anchorage is going to cost you more.
I lived 2 mo's in Wasilla then moved to Eagle River because I had a job at Elmendorf AFB, the commute was easier.
The Kenai Peninsula CPGH (Central Peninsula Hospital) is finnishing up a major renovation, I'm sure they will be hiring more

[Sarah-Bear]

Thanks for the advice, guys! I have another question to throw at you. I was reading another post and this single mom talked about how she lived in Alaska for 6 years and hated it because she never really made any friends. Is it going to be difficult for someone like me to make friends in a small town like Homer? I am just a little concerned because I will not know anybody when I move up there and I think that I will need to make friends in order to keep my sanity in a place so far away from my family. What do you guys think?