Leaving Alaska..it's not the same anymore!

[Лютый]

Yeah, I understand you Jam because I was "in your skin" when left Chukotka recently. Good luck!

[2O13]

Every city, county, country continent changes. Life is about changes. you can't just live, an not expect change. Change can be good change can be bad but most of the time its BOTH


i get the notion the OP is elder many elders can't deal with change

[takuriver]

Originally Posted by 2O13

Every city, county, country continent changes. Life is about changes. you can't just live, an not expect change. Change can be good change can be bad but most of the time its BOTH


i get the notion the OP is elder many elders can't deal with change

I've noticed a lot of changes in the people who've moved here since I arrived in '94. I imagine the people who had been here since the 60's said the same thing in '94 though. Despite the constant changes in people and the population boom of South Central, AK, the state is still the most unique place in N. America. Whenever I bristle at the newcomers and their money grubbing ways I remember I was probably viewed as one not so long ago.

We watch those we knew and respected move on or die off and think the State has changed but it hasn't. It's just rolling along the same as it has over the past 50 years.

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by takuriver

I've noticed a lot of changes in the people who've moved here since I arrived in '94. I imagine the people who had been here since the 60's said the same thing in '94 though. Despite the constant changes in people and the population boom of South Central, AK, the state is still the most unique place in N. America. Whenever I bristle at the newcomers and their money grubbing ways I remember I was probably viewed as one not so long ago.

We watch those we knew and respected move on or die off and think the State has changed but it hasn't. It's just rolling along the same as it has over the past 50 years.

There has indeed been a lot of changes in the last 20 years, some good, some not so good.

One thing I have noticed about some lower-48ers who moved to Alaska, like myself, is that they do not adapt well to their new environment. One of the prevailing attitudes in Los Angeles I noticed before I left in 1991, for example, that it is okay to "burn your bridges" if it means getting a better job. That may be acceptable in Los Angeles due to its size, but that is not something that anyone can afford to do in Alaska. It will always come back and bite them in the ass in Alaska because the population is so small. If people are other than honorable, others will find out eventually.

[takuriver]

Yeah, it's still a rather small group of "communities" so to speak. I run into folks I know in the Seattle Airport, or downtown Anchorage and it seems everything is connected somehow. Still a great place to try to make a go of it. I've had some failures here, and found some of the most forgiving people here than anywhere.

I read an article interestingly titled "Leaving Alaska" back before I even moved here, think it was '92 or '93 and I believe it was in Outside Magazine. The author talked about finding disillusionment after 6 or 7 years here and finally moving back to where he came. Remembering what he wrote and seeing others experiences, including mine, I think most have too idealistic and too unreal opinions on what Alaska really is because there will be changes in the future, both for the land and the people. Like anything, once the new wears off you are stuck with reality, not some idealistic fantasy.

[lv2hoop]

Someone's probably already used the phrase in this thread, but jam is a classic example of boomeranging out of Alaska. I have seen the boomerang effect take place with quite a few of our friends. Leave the state only to return within 12-24 months. Like Marty said in his post about the real estate, I guess it's good for the economy when people move around some.

[phlinak]

Originally Posted by NomadicBear

I think it takes a solid two years to know whether or not a new place will be to one's liking. The original poster has obviously had enough time to figure it out, but many leave their new home too soon before giving it an honest chance. It also helps to really understand yourself. I know that I wouldn't be caught dead in the southern US. My body is not built for such extreme heat. Some people get depressed from overcast skies, but the blazing hot sun, exacerbated by humidity, really gets me down.

When I first arrived in Alaska, someone told me that you have to give it three years and I would either absolutely love Alaska or absolutely hate Alaska but I would not feel ambivalent.

That was 10+ years ago and counting.

[phlinak]

Originally Posted by mizzile

Thanks for making Alaska just like the lower 48, cheechakos. Well done. Enjoy the chain stores and shopping malls and manicured ball fields and thoroughfares. We didn't need any of that crap until you lot showed up.

Reading about the "seattle freeze" is a real crack-up since Seattleites seem to love coming up here and working as hard as they can to make our state just like Seattle.

Alaska really was the last frontier. Now you really do have two choices if you want the real AK life - live off grid, and I mean WAY off grid, or be very very wealthy and buy a mini frontier that you can fly to in your float plane. Please, people coming north, just stop in Seattle and stay there - it's what you want anyway though you don't admit it until you get here to Alaska and realize we don't have all your creature comforts and Bed Bath and Beyond stores.

So, what's wrong with these things?

What, just because we're in Alaska, we have live like a Third World country?