moving into Alaska out of despair (Anchorage, Kenai: sales, rent, hotel)

[gobrien]

Originally Posted by aisaum

How harsh and cold does the winter months get?

It depends on where you are, the state is huge and has many climates. Every year though, they find bodies of the homeless in Anchorage. Alcoholism may have led to their demise but it's not a good state to live in if you are broke. You will feel the same divide between the "haves" and the "have nots" in Alaska. But probably not from clothing or things like that like in California.

[gobrien]

Originally Posted by aisaum

Arkansas is one of the southern states. How does Fayetteville treat other races?

I haven't lived there since 2000. Fayetteville is pretty good overall on racial issues. There are some people there who are racist against blacks but I only saw that once at a Southern Baptist Church that I was invited to attend. There is a pretty large hispanic population and the college attracts students from all over the world, including the middle east. Little Rock, on the other hand, used to have more issues. When I went to the University of Arkansas there was a sizable black population attending. I'm not sure if I remember many Asians but it has been 12 years.

[Dakster]

What are your skill sets? What career do you want? what is your college major in or what will it be if you get accepted?

These things may help others guide you.

[Wynternight]

Originally Posted by aisaum

How harsh and cold does the winter months get?

Depends on where you are. The coldest I've been in so far is around -60, Feb 2011. We had a three day blizzard that shut Barrow down pretty much completely. It's a bad storm when the Inupiat are staying inside! The record low in Alaska is -80, set in Prospect Creek in 1971.

[Bideshi]

Originally Posted by aisaum

instead of getting hired and treated badly in low paying jobs.

This is normal these days. It's an employer's market.

[AADAD]

Its hard to give advice on such a big life transition however, realistic would tell us that you are not in a position to get a better paying job right now. I would focus on getting back into school since you have done well there academically. I would also encourage you to take some vocational testing at any community college. There is one which compares your aptitudes with thousands already working in those fields who have answered the same questions. Comparing your responses can be very insightful. I did those and for 20 years have worked as an R.N. I am employed and like my job.

Don't move to Alaska unless you can pay for housing and establish an education. It is to cold to live anywhere near outside. It's not romantic or realistic for you however only you can say that for sure however without money or a job you will not be less miserable.

Keep your chin up. I am very familiar with the dilemma posed by the Bay Area of Cali. A move away for education might be a good idea but FIRST find out what INTERESTS you and where you feel a calling. Get into schools and then move. If it takes another year or two of community college....grind it out. Find small ways each day to hold your head high. Keep strong, exercise and sleep well. Keep away from any drugs.....

Sorry if this advice sounds to personal. But I think that you are an open and honest person and it worked for me.

Best of Luck

AADAD

[ecaridad]

Originally Posted by aisaum

Is Alaska a place where it is possible to start a new life? I tried joining the military to get a new life, but they disqualified me for a skin condition called eczema and poor hearing in my right ear. I've been preparing to join but that DQ just hit me in the face. Finding jobs is worse. They're all low paying and the bosses don't care about you and only care about minimizing costs. Getting into college is tough because I have financial problems. Family is not much help. They didn't put considerable thought into starting a family and just started one because they think it will be great when they don't have the funds to support an effective family. I've been living in the Bay Area of California for most of my life and had enough feeling miserable here. Is Alaska a place where I can go, forget everything else, and just live a simple life? I'm willing to go homeless and live in the woods if I can just forget about everything else, to escape misery and despair. I don't know where else to turn

Please forgive me if any of what I say insults you but since you are young and I don't know you I will say it anyway.
First consider some other state. There are other states that offer a solitude life style if that is what you wish. moreover, since they are in the lower 48 -it is easier to "bail" if you find that it's not what you thought it was going to be like. Idaho, nevada, arizona are just three that I can think of right of the top of my head.
Second consider getting a job that allows you the solitude you desire. My advise here may be very outdated since it was a long time ago when I was in your shoes. When I was young the forest service used to hire fire fighters and watch towers observers with very little experience. If you don't mind hard physical labor I'm sure your local employment office has lots of laborer listings. (when I was your age, I and three friends became sheepherders in Nevada for a year-a dificult 7 day a week job and definetely hard labor but I look back on it with enjoyment of the solitude in that isolated ranch).
Third don't look down at minimum wage jobs. I worked my way through college and high school doing those jobs. I definetely didn't get a lot of GF's from those jobs but they got me out of the dire poverty I had been living in.
Fourth (and last) consider getting some trainining. where i am now a lot of my students' parents are truck drivers and apparentely there is such a need that the companies are willing to hire and train.

[2ForTheSea]

I don't have much to offer as far as your education or living situation is concerned, but what I do know is that I had eczema and did everything imaginable for it. It turns out I had an allergy to gluten. I stopped eating bread, pasta, pastries, etc (all the good stuff, haha) and in a couple of weeks my skin was perfect. The gluten allergy also caused me to have a "fuzzy" brain. I was tired, depressed, overweight, listless and usually couldn't stay awake all day and then couldn't sleep at night. Once I cut out all the wheat, rye, barley from my diet it was like I became a whole new person.
Try eliminating these things from what you eat. It will cost you absolutely nothing and you have nothing to lose if it doesn't work. I promise even if it doesn't clear up the eczema you will still feel better.

Also, Washington State has the highest minimum wage in the U.S. I've crunched some numbers and it would be possible to actually exist on minimum wage in many places there. Where I live in Florida our minimum wage barely would pay for a tank of gas to get you to your minimum wage job. And Washington isn't that far that if things absolutely did not work out you could get back to California.

Please, take the advice of the people here telling you not to go to Alaska. I worked a summer job there a couple of years ago and even in mid-May there was still ice in the rivers. I got to see "break up" which was pretty cool, but seriously, going from a pretty temperate climate where you live (I've also lived in San Francisco, I get around) Alaska will be pretty harsh by comparison.

I believe there have been some other posters who have suggested looking into vocational training of some sort. I agree 100%. I'm not saying you aren't meant to go to college, but not everyone needs to. I have a Bachelor's degree that I used for about 6 months after graduation and realized I hated what I did. I've managed to live and work all over the world and there was only once where I was required to have a college education. That was teaching English in Russia and the pay was astonishingly low. All my other jobs required hard work and ingenuity and maybe a little luck. Now, my husband and I own our own business.

Good luck and it will get better as long as you take your future into your own hands.

[jetakai]

If you are really ready to "rough it", get yourself a backpack, clothes a small tent, etc. Read up, and hit the road across the USA. Pick a path and visit small towns. Keep your clothes clean and your hair cut so you look presentable. Work as you go. It will be a simple life. Make a journal, on an ipad if you have one, or on paper if you don't. Give yourself a year to get your head on straight and see what you want to do. You may find a perfect town for you or the perfect job, or some place you feel home, or get in touch with your inner self or your outer self.

Alaska is not a good place to "lose" yourself. Survival is tough. It cost to get here. Darkness over winter leads to SADD, where people do poorly in the darkness. The cold eats at you if you don't have the proper clothes. You can't just "camp out" somewhere. You would have to chop wood every day so you can make a fire to keep warm, then melt snow or ice to drink water, and what are you going to eat? Milk in outlying places is over $10 per gallon. Food doesn't come from near, most has to be flown in. Take a look at movies like The Grey to see some of what you might face.

Clothes cost money, check amazon.com for hats, socks, gloves, jackets, sleeping bags, or hit your nearest army navy store and ask what you would need for cold weather climate. Anchorage had record snow fall this year, over 132 inches. Bad enough if you were here in Anchorage, but the moose, which are huge, were wearing out just having to walk through it. Considering how tall they are (like a giraffe with a shorter neck) you can imagine a person struggling to walk through it.

I may be taking this wrong, but hitting the back country of Alaska to climb into a tent and wait to die...not a good scene. Do something. Get out of California. Volunteer. Did you ever think about Peace Corps? Helps people, don't have to be rich, gives good experience, always needs help, looks good on job apps, and still the rustic life. You might find your calling through something like that. National Peace Corps Association

[roadfamily6now]

Originally Posted by Bideshi

This is normal these days. It's an employer's market.

Yes it is. Over 150 people applied for the same job as me. It was just a simple receptionist job.