point lay (Barrow: income, hospital, housing)

[scarlet7]

Hi! I am thinking about taking a position in Point Lay Alaska as a teacher and was wondering if any of you have been there before or live there now? I would just like to have a better sence of what I am getting myself into. I am pretty excited about the experience! Any information would be helpful! Do you ship food in and how much does it cost? What do you do for recreation? Running water? How is the teacher housing? Thanks!

[Floyd_Davidson]

Originally Posted by scarlet7

Hi! I am thinking about taking a position in Point Lay Alaska as a teacher and was wondering if any of you have been there before or live there now? I would just like to have a better sence of what I am getting myself into. I am pretty excited about the experience! Any information would be helpful! Do you ship food in and how much does it cost? What do you do for recreation? Running water? How is the teacher housing? Thanks!

Welllll... If, all things being equal, I had an independant source of income that would allow me to live just anywhere I wanted, I would have moved to Point Lay 10-20 years ago.

Unfortunately, all things are not equal and I need to be closer to a hospital, among other problems.

Point Lay has a good clinic though. The school there is very nice. There is one little store. The Volunteer Fire Department is fairly active. It is an absolute paradise for anyone who wants to get out and enjoy nature.

Just be aware that the North Slope Borough School District is a bit sick. I'm not sure how that affects teachers in Point Lay, and in particular new teachers. It is a very serious problem for long time employees here in Barrow. Teachers in villages have a tough time
in many ways.

I am not a teacher, and my children (one of whom has an Alaska teacher certificate) have children of their own. I was fairly active in school politics 30 years ago. I would recommend reading the discussion at this URL:

Re: BEWARE NORTH SLOPE BOROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICT

Point Lay is a very small (less that 300 people) village. It sits on the tundra right next to the Arctic Ocean. If you are used to very small towns, and to being far from "everything", and being where people speak a different language and have different customs, and if you are used to a very cold climate... then you will love Point Lay. But any one of those things that you can't adjust to will make your life there miserable too.

[Marty Van Diest]

Great reply Floyd...a dose of reality helps people.

[stiffnecked]

Back in the early 80's the North Slope Borough had two police officers stationed in Point Lay. I was in Barrow at the time. We were talking back and forth and the discussion centered around call volume. In Barrow we had in excess of 2000 calls for service by the end of the year. The guys in Point Lay reported a total of 8 calls for the entire 12 months.

[scarlet7]

thanks for the information so far, any other helpful hints?

[Floyd_Davidson]

Originally Posted by scarlet7

thanks for the information so far, any other helpful hints?

Well sure! But first you'll have to give up a bit more "incentive"!

Are you 20, or 40? Roughly, you don't need to be overly specific. But the question is are you so young that everything is new and exciting, or are you old enough to know what kind of kinky things are the most fun for you??? :-)

Ever butcher an animal, cook it and eat it?

Do you have any form of cross-cultural experiences? Things like living in the Barrio, or Korea Town, or on an Indian Reservation?

I've thought a bit, but can't for the life of me come up with a question that would give me a clue how you'd do as a teacher in Point Lay.

Tell me how you decided on Point Lay!