UAA or UAF? (Anchorage, Fairbanks: transplants, crime, home)

[Mintleaf]

About me: I'm 22 & living in a small town in South Louisiana. I've been here my entire life and frankly, I'm ready for something different... drastically different! I've had the dream of living in Alaska since I was a small child and that dream's never exactly faded. The more I read about the state, the more I can't help but fall in love. Outdoor recreation, an actual real winter season, a drier climate, incredible wildlife, and terrain that isn't as flat as a pancake? Sign me up!

I figured college was as good an opportunity as any to give the state a shot, to see if it really is the place for me. I'm no stranger to the reality of it all. I realize it's freezing, (at least in comparison to here, ahaha!) I realize I'm in for a potentially huge culture shock, and I realize it may not be everything I hope it will. I've been reading pages of threads here on this forum for a couple of weeks now to get a better idea of the living conditions, weather, costs, transportation, and other such things that come along with going.

Essentially though, the thing I'm having most trouble with is deciding on which university to attend if I do decide to head on up. I haven't found much info on the pros and cons of both, so I would really, really appreciate hearing different perspectives from folks that have attended there/currently attend there/know anything about the schools in general. I'm planning to (hopefully!) make a visit around the end of this year to give me a better idea of what to expect, but in the meantime I would love if ya'll could help me out!

- How are the art communities? Would you consider UAA or UAF a better option for someone whose primary interest is to study art?

- Culturally, how different are Fairbanks and Anchorage from one another? Where I'm from, we have a very mixed culture, so diversity is something I feel very at home in and would appreciate no matter where I go!

- Is the scenery in Fairbanks as "boring" as some say it is? Does the Anchorage area really have that much more to offer in terms of natural beauty?

- How is the crime in Anchorage? Is it really as bad as I keep hearing or is it overblown?

I would appreciate any tips and/or advice from anyone who's willing to offer it, so if you have anything else to input regarding either the universities or the general areas, or just things you think I should know, then by all means please do!! Thanks for reading.

[heathen]

Disclaimer: I haven't attended either university. I have lived in both interior and southcentral Alaska though, and known lots of people who've attended both schools.

Very generally speaking, UAF feels more like a "real" university, and is definitely the place to go for hard sciences and high latitude specific studies. Though I don't have the specifics to back it up, I gather that UAF attracts a much higher percentage of out of state students, while UAA is more like a large community college for Anchorage kids who aren't quite sure what they want to do after high school. I'm sure you'll find many other students at both schools who, like yourself, are using college as an excuse to get up and explore Alaska.

I haven't heard anything about art programs at either school. I don't think it's a focus. If your studies are more important than location, it might be good to put Alaska on the back burner. The northwest (Seattle, Portland, etc) has some very good art schools.

Fairbanks and Anchorage are very different culturally. Anchorage is the more "normal" of the two, by far. Fairbanks is extremely libertarian in general, and that mixes with the progressive university community in an interesting way. It's a little difficult to describe; Fairbanks is self consciously "backwoods," quirky, independent, while Anchorage wants to be a bigger, more important city than it actually is... Both have a large Alaska native community (Eskimo and Athabascan mostly), and significant black communities. Anchorage is probably more diverse otherwise, with a significant Asian and Pacific Island population, but they're both populated by transplants from all over the US. The small number of Hispanics is noticeable in both.

The scenery immediately around Fairbanks is relatively boring, and there is much less in the way of trails and recreational facilities around town. You'll want a car in either city, but Fairbanks would absolutely suck without one. It's fair to say Anchorage is probably a better fit for most people, but some absolutely prefer Fairbanks (myself included). Go there if you place a high value on lots of open space, uncrowded roads, and a deeply independent community with a lot of personality. Summer weather in Anchorage is also disappointingly gloomy. That spectacular Alaska scenery that's within an hour of Anchorage is just further from Fairbanks: 2.5 hours down the Parks Highway, 3 hours down the Richardson, 2 hours out the Steese, etc.

Judging from my own experiences and those of the people I know in Anchorage, crime seems roughly average for a city of its size. I walk around downtown at night by myself, and consider the place generally safe. I don't think crime is anything to particularly worry about.

[Marty Van Diest]

I went to UAF back when. Now my kids go to UAA. I think it depends on if you want a small city or a larger one. Anchorage has more city stuff to do. If you are into winter activities UAF has good X-country ski trails that are lit all winter.

take either one. They will bot be a culture shock for you.

Otherwise...what heather said is all good info.

[RayinAK]

Sciences: UAF
Arts and such: UAA, or UAF

By the way, Heathen made some excellent points I agree with (could not have said it better).

Auroras? Fairbanks:

[gobrien]

If you really want to know about crime in Anchorage, listening to internet based police scanner streams are useful, you hear a lot more than the news will tell you.

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[Mintleaf]

Thanks for the replies, everyone! I appreciate it!

Heathen, thank you SO very much for the informative post! That was ridiculously helpful to read. I was leaning slightly more towards Fairbanks to begin with but reading everything you had to say will likely make the decision a bit easier-- so far Fairbanks just seems like more of the type of Alaska I'm looking to experience.

RayinAK, if a photograph of the aurora can be that captivating, I can't imagine what it must be like to see it in reality!