I know I know, yet ANOTHER question about moving to Alaska (Lakes: hoa, vacation)

[rotorhead]

Karfar, you have stumbled onto the main issue, jobs. Specifically, good-paying, full-time jobs with decent benefits. There's TONS of part-time, seasonal work in the summer tourist hot-spots but the "keeper jobs" are much harder to find, especially in the smaller towns. If you can land something with the local or state govt. thats great, but the pay is usually so-so. The oil companies are still big business here, but not near as big as they used to be. Mining and timber are perpetually under legal assault so they're not too dependable with a few exceptions.

Find the job, and the place will find you. There are plenty of nice places to live up here (and a few great ones) buy you gotta be able to afford it. Don't worry about having the opportunity to live "rustic" enough, there are cold, uninsulated, moldy, gloomy, cramped, difficult-to-reach log cabins with little or no working indoor plumbing for rent or sale almost anywhere you'd likely end up.

BTW, if you're going to be commuting on regularly plowed roads a front-wheel drive car with studded snow tires will be fine, provided it has normal ground clearance. If you're living up a one-lane track seldom seen by the road crews, a 4-wd is recommended and depending on road conditions it still might not get you there ALL the time unless you have chains and your own plow. While the oldest Subarus ARE a bit underpowered and tinny, the new ones are much more substantial and plenty fast enough to get you in trouble. The higher-ground-clearance models like the Outback and the Forester make excellent snow cars, they're practically the "official winter car" down here in SE and you'll likely see more and more of them as gas prices keep galloping upwards.

The problem with getting stuck behind pokey Subarus is usually related to the gas-pedal actuator, and no amount of mechanical repair work is gonna fix that one.

In most cases having actual snow tires is more important than the difference between 2 and 4wd, the words "all-season radials" are a cruel joke half the year for people that live in snow country.


Hey Rance, next time you see one just SHOOT the dang thing so they can quit with the whole "reported sightings" thing. And save the meat, those big kitties are very tasty as it turns out.

[ASpilot2be]

Originally Posted by rotorhead

BTW, if you're going to be commuting on regularly plowed roads a front-wheel drive car with studded snow tires will be fine, provided it has normal ground clearance. If you're living up a one-lane track seldom seen by the road crews, a 4-wd is recommended and depending on road conditions it still might not get you there ALL the time unless you have chains and your own plow. While the oldest Subarus ARE a bit underpowered and tinny, the new ones are much more substantial and plenty fast enough to get you in trouble. The higher-ground-clearance models like the Outback and the Forester make excellent snow cars, they're practically the "official winter car" down here in SE and you'll likely see more and more of them as gas prices keep galloping upwards.


In most cases having actual snow tires is more important than the difference between 2 and 4wd, the words "all-season radials" are a cruel joke half the year for people that live in snow country.

We have a Subaru Outback and it is a freaking sweet car. It will go just about anywhere. I have gone through some serious snow and never had an issue. Learning to drive in the conditions is important.

Oh, we have "all-season radials" that are awesome. Only gotten stuck twice

[Rance]

Originally Posted by rotorhead

Hey Rance, next time you see one just SHOOT the dang thing so they can quit with the whole "reported sightings" thing. And save the meat, those big kitties are very tasty as it turns out.

The first one...I'm basically idling down Swanson River Road north of Sterling. I've got my 2 boys, and a buddy with his son. Were just idling down the road in no hurry whatsoever. Suddenly from the left, this huge tan color/blur appears out of the trees and lands in the middle of the road. We have a killer broadside view of this huge cat with a tail that had to be 5 foot long. We were rolling pretty slow so I stopped without any skidding, just real mellow. We all look at each other and this cat doing double takes for what seems like 5 minutes. I notice it has a red collar on. Appears to be a radio collar. The cat turns and looks directly at us. I'm blinking and double taking like a toad in a hailstorm. WTF? It's a mountain lion! It gives us another look, crouches on all 4's...and leaps every bit of 20+ feet from the middle of the road into the brush. We sat there another 5 minutes before anybody said a word! Then all hell breaks loose! OMG a mountain lion! Did you see that? (Of course...we all saw it) OMG! What do we do? WTF? Mass confusion all around. Even the kids are giddy. We still have 10 miles to go to the nearest phone...so we go.
This thing was airborne when it came out of the trees from the left...and was airborne when it leaped into the trees on the right. From the center of the road!
We got home and called the fish and game. They had a total of 15 reported sightings in a weeks time and hadf no idea who's collar was on it, what it was doing here, or why it was here.
The next year on Kenai Keys road...another sighting. This one had no collar. Not sure if they are migrating up from Canada or what. But I sure as heck do not want to walk into one out in the woods!

[karfar]

Originally Posted by Rance

I've seen moutnain lions/cougars on the peninsula. No legend. Fact. And I have witness'

I wouldn't be surprised about mountain lions in Alaska, but here in Wisconsin people still don't really believe it. Although it would be very cool if they were here. Ok, here's a stupid question: let's say I finally do move my butt up there, & I start thinking, hey I wonder how those fishing jobs are. You know the ones where you work for like 3-5 months & depending on how everything goes, take home a nice fat paycheck. How realistic is that? I realize the jobs like in that show Deadliest Catch are one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, but is there something else in that industry that would give you a good take home pay, something you could work for like a few months & then leave? Or are women just not considered in something like that? Is everyone laughing at me now?

[Rance]

Lot's of women work the canneries. In the Kenai area we get alot of college kids that come up and work 2 or 3 months then go back to school. Same thing in some of the canneries in Naknek area. Heck in Kenai many of them live in tents all summer. Many work 16 to 18 hours a day getting the overtime as well. Then go crash in the tent for a few hours, get up and do it all over again. Some of the canneries like in Naknek have employee housing and serve meals to boot. I'm sure they deduct room and board from wages tho.

[cobolt]

Originally Posted by karfar

I wouldn't be surprised about mountain lions in Alaska, but here in Wisconsin people still don't really believe it. Although it would be very cool if they were here. Ok, here's a stupid question: let's say I finally do move my butt up there, & I start thinking, hey I wonder how those fishing jobs are. You know the ones where you work for like 3-5 months & depending on how everything goes, take home a nice fat paycheck. How realistic is that? I realize the jobs like in that show Deadliest Catch are one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, but is there something else in that industry that would give you a good take home pay, something you could work for like a few months & then leave? Or are women just not considered in something like that? Is everyone laughing at me now?

If I recall correctly, there was another inquiry a while back about fishing jobs and the poster got some pretty decent and realistic (note, THAT is the operative word) feedback. If you do a search on this forum for fishing jobs or just read through the old threads, you may be able to find it. Plus, reading through the old threads, really gives you at least an idea of the different areas and flavors of AK. Of course, nothing beats a visit to check it out yourself.

I agree with one of the previous posters who said if you want the job with benefits, stability, etc....go with govt, city, state (if you can), etc....Just know the pay will be less. I also agree that once you find the employment, the place will take care of itself. Once you get into the community and lets say you find a place you're not too wild about but you're staying there, well once you meet people and make connections, you find out about all little sorts of set ups, deals, etc...that might be better for living conditions. You'll also find that, especially in SE AK b/c you're away from alot of shopping or the stuff you'd find in ANC, that you can do just fine with less. The accumulation of "Stuff" becomes less important and the acquisition of necessities takes priority.

[Xa'at]

I apologize for the tardiness of my reply. I got a new computer and it's taking me a long time to figure out how to use it... In fact, I've already typed a response once to this message then lost it instead of submitting. Stupid vista.

Originally Posted by karfar

How long have you lived there?

Well, I was born here, and I've tried to leave a couple of times, spent a lot of time down south, but I just keep coming back. I love Juneau because the people are kind (although they are terrible drivers!), the scenery is mind-blowing, and there's an altogether laid back feel that you just can't get down south. I love going to "black-tie" events and seeing a guy in a tuxedo talking to a guy in ripped jeans and extra-tuffs. I'm not the sort of person that cares what various chain crap stores we have or don't have, (although you wouldn't see me complain about a Dairy Queen ), I'm not so important that I feel I have to have my food delivered to my door, I would never wear shoes that couldn't plow through slush, and the last time I had a latte I almost ended up in the hospital. There are some people who couldn't survive in Juneau- I'm coming to the conclusion that I couldn't survive anywhere else.

Originally Posted by karfar

Juneau seems like a place I could leave my doors unlocked & don't have to worry about someone whacking me in the head w/a gun, true?

Well, I would go so far as to say that the chances of you being hit over the head by a madman with a gun are incredibly slim, although anything's possible. I would recommend locking your car doors and such, though. When I was a kid, we found a drunk guy sleeping in the back of our car. Scared the beejeebes out of my dear mother and the car smelled gross for weeks. Don't get me wrong- very few of Juneau's many drunks are actually dangerous in any way. They're really quite harmless. But it can give you quite a shock finding them passed out in all the various places they manage to crawl into.

Originally Posted by karfar

I like that there's an assortment of bars, coffeeshops, etc. I'm craving a smaller city but not so small that I'm crying in my pillow remembering what it was like to have pizza delivery! Wait, there is pizza delivery there, right? Haha!

Ah, you jest, but the pizza delivery pickin's are pretty slim. Most places just don't bother. There's always Bullwinkles, but unless you have a thing for grease slathered on cardboard, I'd stay away from there. No, you'll have to get used to picking up your pizza the old fashioned way.

Originally Posted by karfar

More questions, this one may seem extremely naive or deluded but is there an abundance of wildlife in Juneau, you know bears, moose, that sort of thing? I'm hoping there is, all we have here in Milwaukee are squirrels....lots & lots of squirrels w/an occasional deer, fox or raccoon thrown in.

We have... deer, black & brown bears, hawks, tons of bald eagles, various assorted brown-sparrow-like birds, blue jays, five varieties of salmon, orcas, humpies, porpoises, sea lions, halibut, wolves, marmots, mosquitoes (state bird), tourists, and other stuff that I forget at the moment.

Originally Posted by karfar

You mentioned "out the road" earlier, is that considered far out from the city? And if so, is it possible to rent cabins there, is it in booney territory, what do you think of it, etc. Thanks again for your help, this is fun!

Out the road is a state of mind!! Haha, well it's not like a terribly long drive. Maybe half an hour to get out there from downtown, more if there's bad traffic. There is a place to rent cabins, it's called the Shrine of St. Therese, aka "The Shrine". (Shrine of St. Therese in Juneau, Alaska Home Page)

Flickr: Photos from Xa'at

Hope this has been of help!

[warptman]

Suddenly wants to visit Juneau...

[Majik_Imaje]

Simon Koonuk Master Ivory carver from Point Hope was murdered in Juneau.. they never did solve his murder. he was robbed and murdered because he had made a lot of money that day.!!

he was a very famous ivory carver well known all over the entire state.

[warptman]

Whoa, that was random. Thats like saying that two highschool students in Barrow murdered a cab driver up for drug money a year or two ago.