Best place to raise a family??? (Anchorage, Fairbanks: power lines, crime, house)

[GaBoy-n-Iraq]

Hello Alaska,
I will be leaving the military in about a year, I’m from Georgia but I’m thinking about maybe moving to another state. I have done a lot of research on Alaska, but would like to know what the residents think. What are some good places (cities) to live? Things like crime, schools, economy, state taxes, cost of living, are all important but a couple of things I’m looking for as well is “hospitality”, a sense of neighbor hood, and politeness. I’m looking for a place that has community events (festivals, parades, carnivals, fairs, concerts), with beautiful scenery, hunting, and fishing. I’m currently in the US Army serving in Iraq, I built power lines before I joined and I’m a (25L) Signal Corp Telecommunications Lineman inside the Army. I will be looking for work in the power lineman or telecommunications field when I separate from the military. My wife is a Registered Nurse (RN) and will be looking for a job as well. So any info on power companies, telephone companies, and hospitals in those areas would be greatly appreciated. Best place to raise a family? So what’s your states “Mayberry”?

[RAF]

Hey GaBoy,

First things first my prayers are with you and your family while you are in that fun little "sandbox" My husband I moved to Alaska 6 months ago from the South when he retired from the Army and we love it here. We live in Kodiak and I am amazed at how nice everyone is. We didn't have time to be to be homesick when we arrived. There was so much to do. If you like hunting and fishing this is the place to be. Salmon, trout, halibut, are just a few fish to catch here. Hunting is great here also, I was on a flight from Anchorage with about 20 guys who were coming to Kodiak just to hunt Sitka Deer. If you would just like to look at wildlife that is not a problem either. We have hundreds of eagles flying around here, you can see foxes, snowshoe hares, squirels, sea lions, seals, otters, puffins, I think you get the picture. Oh and the whale migration starts in April you can stand on the shore here and see them.

We have some crime here but is not that bad mainly DUI's and underage drinking. Women jog on the streets here early in the morning or late in the evening. Kids walk by themeselves everywhere here. The schools here are pretty decent here also. We have Coast Guard families that try not to leave so that kids can finish school here because of the programs they are in they can't get in the lower 48. As for work I was a 72G in 3rd ID and the telphone company is definitly looking for people. I am not sure about nurses but I doubt she would have a hard time finding a job.

We drove here and caught the ferry from Homer to Kodiak. I didn't see anywhere that wasn't beautiful.

[GaBoy-n-Iraq]

[quote=RAF;2786247] As for work I was a 72G in 3rd ID and the telphone company is definitly looking for people.quote]
Thats is awsome, Im in 3ID right now as well! We are in the "sand box", like always, lol!! We get back in about 7 weeks, and I will be seperating in a year. What are some names of the telephone companies, and power companies there?

[JavaPhil]

All of the towns and villages have independent power plants. Kodiak has several villages in the immediate area, and then there are some smaller separate places like Oizinkie (that's YOU-zin-key, don't ask). Homer, on the mainland side on the Kenai Peninsula has Homer Electric, and most of the towns and villages on the peninsula are on the grid. Chugach Electric has a lot of the peninsula, but a better person to ask would be Rance as he lives there. I have only worked on the Chugach hydro site at Cooper Landing. The Alaska Peninsula across the water from Homer and the Kenai is all off the grid and the individual villages are definitely independent. King Salmona and Naknek are tied together, I believe.

Alaska power systems are kind of 3rd world in so many ways. So many places are separated from each other by water, mountains and just plain distance, that it precludes the true grid that so many people are used to in the Lower 48.

[Xa'at]

Southeast is the best place to live and raise a family! I think Sitka is the most family friendly city... but Juneau, Haines, and Ketchikan are all great places.

[RAF]

ACS is the "big" telephone company here, and we have GCI. KEA is the electric company here in the Kodiak area. I will tell you that you do feel like you have gone back in time a little when you get to Alaska. Most people are not as worried about getting the newest gagdets as soon as they come out. Here on Kodiak we live on island time. If the fishing or hunting is good people have a habit of taking off work to enjoy it. Life is slower here and not nearly as fast paced. Also a draw back of an island you just don't leave when you want to. You have to depend on the ferry or a flight.

I have lived in many states and countries. Kodiak was the first place that people made us feel like we were already home the day we arrived. The community seems to have lot of activities all year long. The whole town chipped in to help with the Wounded Warrior Project, and they hope to make it bigger and better this year. If you and your family want to get involved in the community you will find something to keep you involved here.

[GaBoy-n-Iraq]

Originally Posted by RAF

ACS is the "big" telephone company here, and we have GCI. KEA is the electric company here in the Kodiak area. I will tell you that you do feel like you have gone back in time a little when you get to Alaska. Most people are not as worried about getting the newest gagdets as soon as they come out. Here on Kodiak we live on island time. If the fishing or hunting is good people have a habit of taking off work to enjoy it. Life is slower here and not nearly as fast paced. Also a draw back of an island you just don't leave when you want to. You have to depend on the ferry or a flight.

I have lived in many states and countries. Kodiak was the first place that people made us feel like we were already home the day we arrived. The community seems to have lot of activities all year long. The whole town chipped in to help with the Wounded Warrior Project, and they hope to make it bigger and better this year. If you and your family want to get involved in the community you will find something to keep you involved here.

Man, Alaska sound better and better to me every day, lol! The couple of people I have talked to from there seem so happy with there community. The hunting and fishing seem like a dream state, I think my "hard sell" is going to be the weather, my wife has lived on the Georgia/Florida border all her life and is worried about the cold, lol!! I have to admit.....in south Georgia when its cold people stay in side and seem miserable, but I think its because its only cold a few days out of the year, so you never get use to it, you know?
So what the weather really like, from a implants piont of view? Is it miserable, or do you get use to it and have fun with the snow and cold?


Thanks for all the replys, the more info the better, thanks again

[Marty Van Diest]

If you don't like snow, ice, and winter activities it might be tough to get used to Alaska.

I actually like winter so it's my kind of place. We vacationed in Florida 2 X in the last 3 years and if I never go back it won't hurt my feelings. You can have that 100+ degrees.

You really should have a heart to heart with your wife before making the move. Maybe do a one year at a time deal.

If all your family is in GA and FL, that makes it difficult as well. I hate to talk anyone out of Alaska, but I have seen many people come and leave for those reasons.

[RAF]

The weather is one reason we choose Kodiak. It doesn't get as cold or as much snow here. Don't get me wrong our world is white right now so we get snow, but, it is not that bad. The roads are kept fairly clear and it is easy to get around. It is 26 right now and is should be heading back into the 30's this week. It has gotten down in the single digits but only for about a week. The weather here has yet to be as bad some we had at Ft. Hood. It got so bad there that the front of our house was a solid sheet of ice and we could not get out (they closed the base that day!) You get use to it and learn to dress for it. I would have killed for some of this snow when I was a kid. There is just enough to a have a good time with without keeping you stuck inside. You should think hard about the weather question but the weather where I am at is sure better than what they are having in some places in the lower 48. I miss wearing shorts at Christmas but hey I couldn't wear them this summer either, I thought I would freeze to death when we first got here! It was in the 50's it was 109 at home so...just a little shock. LOL We moved here from the AL/FL border so yes you can get use to the weather.

[coffeehound]

AK is one of the last great places in America to raise a young family, IMO. We live in Fairbanks, and I am heartbroken that we must leave next year.

To move to Georgia, ironically. I'm worried about the weather THERE!

Fairbanks has a certain reputation for having really "hard" weather, but it's a dry, still kind of cold, so you don't feel as COLD as you might expect at -40F. Though it's an unmistakeable feeling... the world seems completely different at -40F than it does at 0. I guess you have to experience it to decide if it's something you can deal with every year or not.

Worse than the cold is the loss of sunlight. We get down to around 4 hours of sunlight a day in mid-winter. But then, come June, it's almost 24 hours of daylight. Pretty crazy at first.

The only big thing is, yes, if you are far from extended family, that can take more of a toll than you expect, especially if you're from a close-knit kind of family.

Not having grandparents to help with childcare, celebrate holidays, cousins to wrassle with, elders to pass on traditions and beliefs, uncles to give advice... some of that loss is felt much more keenly as the years go by.

My husband and I didn't much care about that when our first child was born, but as the family grows and as our children get older, we feel the strain of not having that intergenerational support for help and guidance.

Good luck and godspeed.