How is bethel now? (fit in, houses, living)

[warptman]

Everyone wears whatever they want to. Winter you might want some sort of snowpants.

[mal_flisk]

Jeans are a kind of uniform item world-wide and that includes Bethel. For outdoor activities lasting longer than a half hour, I would take a pair of arctic rated bibs, with zippered legs. Jeans are also better in the summer months. Oscar de la Rente and Calvin Klein are terms for the outside. I live in Anchorage, and I have a suit (1) and couple of pairs of Dockers. The suit is for weddings and funerals, and the Dockers are for formal occasions. But, as I said, I live in Anchorage. All of my other clothes fall into the category of jeans, flannel shirts, t-shirts and sweatshirts. Beyond my unmentionables of course.

[FunFrog]

My husband just applied for a job at YKHC and we are sooo excited! We've been hoping to move to Bethel for a while now, so I hope he gets an interview. We live in Kansas and we'd be making the move with our two very small children (ages 1 and 2). We're bored in Kansas so we feel the need to move to the big city of Bethel! I joke. We just love the Yu'pik people and enjoy volunteering and being part of a tight-knit community. I've been to Hooper, Mountain Village, Scammon Bay, Aniak, St. Mary's, Russian Mission, ect but never to Bethel. We've heard great things about it and it's one of the few places on the YK Delta where my husband could take a job in his field. Anyway, I was hoping warptman (you're awesome at rockin' these boards btw!) could post an update on the current part-time job outlook. I'm a stay-at-home-mom and would hope to find a part-time job just a few hrs per week (night/weekend). Are p/t jobs hard to come by now days in Bethel?

[warptman]

There are three shopping stores here and various restaurants in town that might suit you. Keep an open mind!

Alaska Job Center Network

[FunFrog]

Thanks for the info! I pretty much enjoy doing anything/everything, so it doesn't sound like finding p/t work should be a prob there. Now it's just hoping and waiting to find out if husband gets the job!

[Jason28]

You will probably be able to find work at the hospital, like others have mentioned. I was always employed before I went there, so for me it was never an issue. I spent about two years in Bethel and absolutely hated it (thats putting it lightly). The place is very cold and very boring. The only time there is anything nonalcohol related to do is in the summer when you can go up and down the river in a boat. If your body was designed to take temperatures of negative 40 for extended periods of time, I suppose you could snowmobile or try ice fishing for pike. The cost of food and services is beyond ridiculous. Forget hunting because everything within a 25 mile radius has been killed off decades ago. You also get a nice view of mountains about 50 miles to the east of town...too bad its outside of your range to use for anything. Sorry if my views are negative but I've lived in about 50 different places in the country and Bethel is the worst by far. I figured you might want an outsider's opinion on the place.

[kittymama]

If you decide you are serious about wanting to move to Bethel, I will give you the same advice, I would give anyone making a major move. Come and VISIT the place first, even if it is expensive. True, you CAN visit a place and still make a mistake or visit it and think it is worse than it really is. However, many times if there is something that would make a place intolerable to you at the beginning, it will be apparent during your visit. It might be expensive to visit Bethel from New York, but not as expensive as moving there and then regretting it. You might also check out some other places in Alaska while you are here like Fairbanks and Anchorage and surrounding areas.

[warptman]

Originally Posted by kittymama

If you decide you are serious about wanting to move to Bethel, I will give you the same advice, I would give anyone making a major move. Come and VISIT the place first, even if it is expensive. True, you CAN visit a place and still make a mistake or visit it and think it is worse than it really is. However, many times if there is something that would make a place intolerable to you at the beginning, it will be apparent during your visit. It might be expensive to visit Bethel from New York, but not as expensive as moving there and then regretting it. You might also check out some other places in Alaska while you are here like Fairbanks and Anchorage and surrounding areas.

You hate Fairbanks though, why recommend it? It doesn't get as cold as Fairbanks in the winter.

I ride my bike year round here. It's fine once you get over the costs of things. The people here are great.

[FunFrog]

Visiting first is good advice. I think we'll try to do that if my husband gets a job offer...but it might not be possible with our budget. We've lived in Anchorage before and love it, but we really enjoy the culture in south west Alaska and have friends across the YK delta that we'd like to live closer to. We'd never live in Fairbanks...we think our friends in and Fairbanks and Tok are nuts! lol...it's beautiful out there, just way too cold for us. Activity-wise we have young children and don't really go out and do too much anyway. We like having people over to our home and just hanging out and talking and playing games...but the over-use of alcohol in Bethel does concern me a little, just for safety reasons.

"Forget hunting because everything within a 25 mile radius has been killed off decades ago." warptman, can you comment on this? We aren't hunters now, but my hope to learn so we can get some fresh meats. Also, do many people garden or have chickens in bethel? Is it possible?

[kittymama]

My advice was more geared to the people from New York than the ones in Kansas who had lived in Alaska before. I hate Fairbanks because it's cold and dark and I wish I lived in a bigger city. But I know many people who like it.