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Old 12-29-2015, 10:01 PM
 
Location: West Virginia
106 posts, read 151,925 times
Reputation: 78

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Screw the "reality" shows.
I want to know all the interesting/unsual/different-than-lower-48 type facts about Alaska. The real deal. If it seems boring to you, it's probably still interesting to me. I've always had a fascination with people who live in ways that are different than mine, and reading this board has me even more interested in the Alaska way of life than I ever thought I'd be. Being the social person that I am, I doubt I would ever make it in most areas of Alaska. But I still find it interesting to read about. I love the outdoors, big mountains, and hard work, so I almost think I'd enjoy living there for at least a little while. I'm not sure how well I'd handle the weird daylight issues up there, or the way-below-freezing temps. I like being outside in the cold, but I've never experienced 50 below! I live in WV if that gives you any idea about the climate I'm used to. A typical winter day is about low 30's, and that feels cold. I will definitely make a summer trip when my kids are old enough to enjoy it too.
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Old 12-29-2015, 10:22 PM
 
Location: Interior Alaska
2,383 posts, read 3,061,170 times
Reputation: 2373
In the interior we forecast the weather with a Ouija Board, expect -40*F, hope for -15*F, and wear t-shirts when it's +10*F.

That seems like the most interesting thing at the moment since we're having a heat wave. It's +24 and I don't know a single person that's happy about it. We were supposed to be in the middle of a cold snap, but it never happened... hence the Ouija Board comment.

Where do you live in WV? I lived in Morgantown for a while... loved it there. Awesome people and amazing music scene.
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Old 12-29-2015, 10:31 PM
 
26,476 posts, read 36,301,263 times
Reputation: 29493
Quote:
Originally Posted by nature mama View Post
I like being outside in the cold, but I've never experienced 50 below! .
Neither have the majority of Alaskan residents.

Most people live lives that are eerily similar to those of their -48 counterparts.

I was sitting on a park bench one time minding my own damn business, and a tourist plopped down next to me and began peppering me with questions about life in the great frozen North. She demanded to know if I grew my own vegetables, wore bearskin coats and hats in the winter, and, uh, stuff. She probably also thought I lived in a log cabin or an igloo. She kept saying "you" "YOU utilize everything," and she seemed disappointed when I told her I don't grow my own flippin' food. She also assumed I was Native because I have brown hair.

I think you should definitely visit, but most Alaskans are just people like everyone else. It's a huge state, so what's representative of one area isn't necessarily true of another. It's probably the only state where calling in sick to work because there's a moose between your front door and your truck is a valid excuse.

Last edited by Metlakatla; 12-29-2015 at 10:39 PM..
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Old 12-29-2015, 10:51 PM
 
Location: West Virginia
106 posts, read 151,925 times
Reputation: 78
I live in the lamest part, the eastern panhandle. I'm moving in a little further west as I just signed a contract on a tiny cabin with land that butts up to 22k acres of wildlife management area. If I lived in alaska, I would be that live off the land person tourists think about. I am aware that there are city people there too.
You are right, Morgantown is nice. The music scene and whitewater are great too. I'd love to live in Fayetteville personally. My family is here though and the kids need to see their grandparents. I hate being this close to DC.

I guess what fascinates me about Alaska is all the unique people who are able to live in the remote areas, and how different their lives are than mine. And I wonder how everyone ends up there who wasn't born there. Just genuine interest in peoples' life stories, I guess.

The ouija board comment made me giggle.
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Old 12-29-2015, 10:57 PM
 
26,476 posts, read 36,301,263 times
Reputation: 29493
Well, let me know when you find someone in Alaska who "lives off the land." I doubt that you would be that person for long. That person doesn't exist.

I have never lived in an Alaskan city, for the record.

Those who with lifestyles least like yours are probably living up in Barrow and out on the West Coast. But even they are pretty dependent on the Outside world for survival anymore.

Last edited by Metlakatla; 12-29-2015 at 11:05 PM..
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Old 12-29-2015, 11:04 PM
 
Location: West Virginia
106 posts, read 151,925 times
Reputation: 78
I don't necessarily mean completely obtaining every bit of my resources from the land around me. I mean hunting as much as I can (simply because its enjoyable), having a reasonable garden, and foraging for fun--just as I do here in WV now. I'd still have a job, and shop at the grocery store. I would think growing season is quite short there no matter what area you live in. So yeah, live off the land may not have been the correct terminology.
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Old 12-29-2015, 11:06 PM
 
Location: West Virginia
106 posts, read 151,925 times
Reputation: 78
It would be so time consuming to live off the land that a person probably couldn't have a job to pay for their exorbitantly priced home :-D
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Old 12-29-2015, 11:23 PM
 
26,476 posts, read 36,301,263 times
Reputation: 29493
That would be a part of it, yes, but that would be true of any location.

Growing seasons are surprisingly long in some parts of the state....but growing seasons aren't the whole story. Backyard gardens are probably more prevalent in the -48 than in Alaska. People do have them in some areas, but they really aren't part of the "Alaskan experience."

If you want to see the real Alaska and meet real people, consider visiting in the off season. The Talkeetna Bachelor's Auction in Dec. is always fun, and you've probably never seen the Northern Lights. You can take the kids snowmachining. No one goes out in public much during the summer, and most of the people you'll see during that time will be other tourists.

Alaska does kind of attract an adventurous type of person, but the norm is amazingly normal, in my opinion.

Last edited by Metlakatla; 12-30-2015 at 12:05 AM..
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Old 12-30-2015, 12:28 AM
 
Location: West Virginia
106 posts, read 151,925 times
Reputation: 78
What about the super expensive cost of living? The way I see it talked about just in the short amount of time I've spent reading, it seems as though only wealthy people live in alaska. Surely there must be low and middle class. How do they survive?
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Old 12-30-2015, 12:36 AM
 
Location: Anchorage
1,004 posts, read 1,173,155 times
Reputation: 1375
For living off the land why don't you try the swamps of Louisiana. You wont be as cold and you can grow about anything and fish and hunt to feed yourself. Guaranteed to be a easier life than in Alaska.
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