Fairbanks vs Anchorage (university, to live in, law)

[DreamworksSKG]

Which city is better to live in and why?
Fairbanks or Anchorage?

-jeff
Winchester, MA

Why?

[icarian]

Why do you want to know...ie: intent?

[DreamworksSKG]

Well if I visit Alaska i'd want to know which city I should stay in longest.

or if I decide to relocate - I might want to know which city I might want to live in.

-jeff
Winchester, MA

[cobolt]

It depends on what your looking for and what you consider attractive.

[goozer]

I would definitely choose Anchorage over Fairbanks. Anchorage is a coastal city that is much more cosmopolitan and closer to the more "popular" national parks in the state. Anchorage reminds me of a smaller Seattle. It has much more of a big city feel than Fairbanks. Anchorage is also has a population that is maybe 8x bigger than Fairbanks. All lthat being said, I hear some Alaskans refer to Fairbanks as the "real Alaska" and deride Anchorage as an urbanized Lower 48-type city.

[Glitch]

As others have said, it really depends on what you want.

• Fairbanks has a population of 86,754 (estimated July 1, 2006).
• Anchorage has a population of 359,180 (estimated July 1, 2006).
• Fairbanks has colder winters and hotter summers than Anchorage, primarily because Anchorage is on the coast and Fairbanks is in the interior.
• Fairbanks is slightly closer to Denali National Park than Anchorage.
• Anchorage is closer to more salmon producing rivers than Fairbanks.
• Both locations have excellent fishing opportunities.
• Both locations have excellent hunting opportunities.
• Both have university campuses.
• Anchorage has more of the lower-48 feel than Fairbanks because that is typically where lower-48ers new to Alaska usually move first. For the same reason, Anchorage tends to be more left-leaning than Fairbanks.
• Both cities have the same amenities and services that you would expect to find in any northern lower-48 city of comparable size.

[Rance]

Visit each city and decide for yourself which one you like. Your killing me.

[DannyL]

for a second i thought this was a thread about a football game....

[Arcticthaw]

If you prefer the big city feel with the corosponding culture, night life, commuting, gangs, choose Anchorage.

If you prefer to find what you need and 99% of what you want, spend less time in traffic, be able to get to the woods in 20 minutes, know your neighbor, still enjoy cultural events and sports, then Fairbanks is a good choice. Gang activity is pretty small right now, local law enforcement has done well to be proactive.

[RayinAK]

Well, if you want to live in Alaska, then Fairbanks is the place, because Anchorage is a step closer to Alaska from Seattle