Life in Ketchikan (apartments, travel, rent)

[cvanripe10]

Aside from the heavy overcast, what is life like in Ketchikan. What do people do for a living? are there apartments? nightlife?

Also how do you get there. I'm guessing a feiry but where does it depart from?

[mal_flisk]

There are apartments, and fishing, tourism and timber are the big three industries.

[Alaskagrl]

Yes, you take a ferry from either Bellingham, WA, or Prince Rupert, Canada, to get there.

Ketchikan is where us rural folks ferry to a few times a year for medical care, shopping, and just to cut loose a little bit.

Personally, I would not enjoy living there. It just has kind of a grungy atmosphere of "transitory-ness" about it for me...if that makes any sense But there are good things about it; it is a good place to start out in SE Alaska; job opportunities abound, compared to rural AK...medical industries, bar/restaraunts, other seasonal jobs. PM me to learn more, if you want.

But there are very pretty places out of the immediate city, and you can travel with ease to beautiful places in SE Alaska from Ketchikan. There are lots of events in the summer, many geared toward the myriad of tourists getting on and off the cruise ships...logging festivals, etc. Good restaurants and shopping. Nightlife; lots of bars, a couple clubs.

Apartments are expensive, but available. The town is built on a mountain, so the street layout is a bit crazy.

Lots of people own boats/charter/tourism business...fishing is probably #1 recreation there. Also drinking! And it RAINS...I've only seen the sun 1 day in Ketchikan, and I've been there many, many times! But that's SE AK.

[cvanripe10]

you said fishing is the #1 recreation. What about for a job?

[Alaskagrl]

There are commercial fishing vessles based out of Ketchikan; however, I think if you wanted a job fishing, that it wouldn't be the best place in AK to start. See Rance's answer to another person wondering about this issue...will check thread name and post again.

[paddleplay]

hi cvanripe10 -

one of my close friends move to Ketchikan about a year ago. she had to work outside of her field for a while until she found something more in line with her training. she had little trouble finding work, and think she had many options related to the tourist industry.

overall she has wonderful things to say about the town and its community. she finds everybody really friendly. i know she doesn't drink, so it seems that there are plenty of other recreational things to do that don't involve alcohol.

the rain seems to be incredible and if its not raining, its likely overcast. so be prepared to go without, the sun, moon and stars ...

good luck

[mom23sweetgirlies]

I live in Ketchikan and it is gorgeous...on sunny days, but we don't have many of those. In the summer time it is pretty crowded downtown with all of the tourists and the road layout makes driving a little crazy. There are quite a few houses and apartments to rent, but they fill up quickly in the summer and are expensive. Expect to pay at least $900 a month, more if you want to rent a house. I don't know much about the fishing jobs, but a lot of locals own charters so that is an idea. I personally don't enjoy living in Ketchikan although the sunny days are absolutely breathtaking, it is just too rainy most of the time and expensive to live here.