downside to Alaska (how much, to live, airplane)

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by stacieberry

What the f*** first of all I do not even know what the pfd is so how in the hell can I "hunt" for it? Second of all we are not planning to move there for money we want to get away from here! The crime is bad the schools are bad and my husband has always wanted to go to Alaska! I have a son with AS he would be better off somewhere with less people!

From reading your posts I would guess that AK might not be a good fit for you.

Where are you living that you want to get away from?

[Chilkoot]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Where are you living that you want to get away from?

Farmerville, Louisiana?

Farmerville, Louisiana is a friendly place to raise a family or retire. Farmerville's roughly 4,000 residents enjoy a cooperative community that boarders one of North Louisiana's largest lakes, Lake D'Arbonne.

[Metlakatla]

Farmersville doesn't sound bad at all. Stacie, is the main reason your family is going to move to Alaska because your husband has always wanted to?

[Alex2009]

I will be in Valdez this Summer, and believe me......I would NEVER move there if I disliked the snow. I actually dislike hot and humid Summers. Many people around here get depressed in the Winter, but I LOVE IT. I dislike the Summer but find ways to deal with it...( pool and beach every day )- but I really love Winter and Snow, we only get about 3 months of that- and not even close to enough snow. ( I think we average 36 or so inches per year ) If your reason to move is because your husband wants to, or you want to find a place to raise your kids- I highly discourage you of moving. You will be gone after a single Winter or will be very depressed. There are plenty of nice places to raise your kids at. Can't deal with snow/ 10 degrees? ( or -40 in other places ) -- then simply don't move to Alaska. Good luck...

[thebushman]

Ahhhh cold weather isnt a downside.... Unless its so cold that when you spit, your spit freezes before it hits the ground.

[Glitch]

I'm not a cold nut, but I do enjoy brisk mornings. I find +40°F to be refreshing and invigorating. Some of my fondest memories involve fishing early in the morning, watching the steam rise off the water in the cool morning air. I don't even recall if I caught any fish, just being there was enough.

[warptman]

Originally Posted by Glitch

I'm not a cold nut, but I do enjoy brisk mornings. I find +40°F to be refreshing and invigorating. Some of my fondest memories involve fishing early in the morning, watching the steam rise off the water in the cool morning air. I don't even recall if I caught any fish, just being there was enough.

Try read this in a Public Broadcasting smooth voice, sounds like a commercial.

[Dusty Rhodes]

Originally Posted by Glitch

I'm not a cold nut, but I do enjoy brisk mornings. I find +40°F to be refreshing and invigorating. Some of my fondest memories involve fishing early in the morning, watching the steam rise off the water in the cool morning air. I don't even recall if I caught any fish, just being there was enough.

Yeah, I know that one really well, it falls into the "sometimes I catch fish, sometimes I watch the reflections in the water" There is something magical about holding the rod when a 60lb Bluefin Tuna hits the bait, The Dance is ON!!!! It is just as wonderful watching the sunset as the sky explodes in colors. There have been mornings when the trees, black against the red sky of dawn and just the silhouettes of the ducks in flight, the sounds of splashes as they rise into the air. There have been times when I never unshouldered my shotgun, I became enrapted in the vista and didn't want to spoil it with gunshots. There are always other days to get ducks. I do enjoy my hunting and fishing, for a variety of reasons.

[browncoatflan]

I hate anything over 80F. It's 85F in March in San Antonio, and I am miserable. In January it hit 80F several times. I hate it here because I can't go outside without melting. I drink so much water that I've nearly drowned myself twice and I carry around a little spray bottle of water (that I keep in the fridge when home) to mist myself with. Also, I hate people in general, but love people one at a time.

Getting orders to Alaska is a dream come true, and I don't want to do anything to f*#@ it up so I get all worried about little details, because little details add up and make one big crapball.

Then I bring my little pile of worries here and bother these fine people with them until they shred them to bits and I feel all better.

As for PFD.. yea.. a while ago I heard that AK is the place to go to get paid just to be there! And University is FREE! And the streets are paved with cheese! pfft.

If you and your big family REALLY want to move to Alaska and you're not being funded by an employer, I'd say to scrape up enough for a short trip in the winter (maybe stay with a friend to save $ and have a guide) and see how well you like things before you make such a huge commitment. I found R/T flights from Dallas for $600 a person, so it's not tooooo out there a consideration.

But you know what? I'd suggest that for _anywhere_ . Funny thing- my husband and I were actually going to use his leave this fall to do the drive up to AK and have a look around before these orders got presented.


Good luck!

Shan

[jrpierce]

Hey Stacie,
I am an outsider here, but it would be a great idea for you to visit Alaska before you move up. I live in California unfortunately and it sucks!. My family and I also would like to move north to Alaska, but a job is a must before you move. I have family up their so it would be easier on us, almost everything they are telling you is accurate. Jobs can be very hard to find if you are an outsider, I have been applying for months with no luck. I have many qualifications but I am an outsider, so this is were the difficulty lies. I wish you the best of luck. Alaska is in my eyes the best place to live, I have been their 8 times and fall deeply in love with the state everytime I go.