Anchorage is full (Palmer: live, move to, relocation)

[Missing_The_Greatland]

I will admit that there is a certain amount of pride in saying, "I'm an Alaskan." For those of you who are fortunate enough to have been born there, please don't deny newcomers the excitement of making Alaska their new home. I lived in Anchorage for 20 years and loved every minute of it, but family obligations brought me back east.

[Missing_The_Greatland]

Healthcare is a booming industry in Alaska, especially Anchorage.

[mizzile]

Thanks soldn2slavery, it is gratifying to have someone remember how things used to be! This used to be Alaska, now it's just another lower 48-style city. Try getting some alone time anywhere within two hours' drive of Anchorage - might as well forget it anymore. Used to be a two minute drive to wilderness, now you need a float plane and even that might not do it. You should see the Peninsula now. I think there's no getting the real Alaska back.

The Valley was founded by midwestern transplants? That explains SO MUCH.

Originally Posted by tigre79

Most people here are originally from somewhere else.

That would be my point, pretty much.

If there was nobody new coming in this place would be a ghost town

No, it would still be a reasonably-sized, uncrowded, spacious, nice little city in which to live instead of an overcrowded, overbuilt, mess of roads and high-density housing. What has happened to Anchorage certainly FEELS like Armaggeddon to those who were here in the 60s and 70s.

If they call themselves Alaskans prematurely it's just because they're excited to live here.

I'm starting to notice that most people with "Alaska" in their handle aren't actually from Alaska. Moving here as an adult is not remotely the same as growing up here. I'm sad that the kids who grow up in Anchorage now aren't growing up in Alaska. They may as well be living in Federal Way.

[mizzile]

Originally Posted by Missing_The_Greatland

Healthcare is a booming industry in Alaska, especially Anchorage.

Interesting. I do meet a lot of nurses and doctors who have just moved here. It's unfortunate that the educational system here hasn't caught up with the industry needs, or employers could hire Alaskan rather than importing.

[mizzile]

Originally Posted by Missing_The_Greatland

I will admit that there is a certain amount of pride in saying, "I'm an Alaskan." For those of you who are fortunate enough to have been born there, please don't deny newcomers the excitement of making Alaska their new home. I lived in Anchorage for 20 years and loved every minute of it, but family obligations brought me back east.

But see, that's the thing. They get the "excitement" of moving to a new home but in the process they're completely ruining it for the people who already live here. It sucks. How can a person be happy about that?

[mizzile]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Human beings are hardwired to move away from where they grew up. It's in our genetic code because it prevents the human race from becoming an inbred mess. There are plenty of people who were born and raised in Alaska who no longer live there as well. Stop whining.

Insulting tone aside, you're utterly wrong about our "genetic code." Where did you get that idea?

Relocating on the current scale is a modern thing. Primitive peoples do not engage in this behavior. It's a byproduct of the information age, not "hardwired into our genetic code".

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by mizzile

Insulting tone aside, you're utterly wrong about our "genetic code." Where did you get that idea?

Relocating on the current scale is a modern thing. Primitive peoples do not engage in this behavior. It's a byproduct of the information age, not "hardwired into our genetic code".

Yes, they did. Humans have always had an innate drive for "territory." One of the reasons for that is so that they don't interbreed too much among themselves and turn into a tribe full of slobbering half-wits.

[Alaskapat528]

Originally Posted by mizzile

Thanks soldn2slavery, it is gratifying to have someone remember how things used to be! This used to be Alaska, now it's just another lower 48-style city. Try getting some alone time anywhere within two hours' drive of Anchorage - might as well forget it anymore. Used to be a two minute drive to wilderness, now you need a float plane and even that might not do it. You should see the Peninsula now. I think there's no getting the real Alaska back.

The Valley was founded by midwestern transplants? That explains SO MUCH.



That would be my point, pretty much.



No, it would still be a reasonably-sized, uncrowded, spacious, nice little city in which to live instead of an overcrowded, overbuilt, mess of roads and high-density housing. What has happened to Anchorage certainly FEELS like Armaggeddon to those who were here in the 60s and 70s.



I'm starting to notice that most people with "Alaska" in their handle aren't actually from Alaska. Moving here as an adult is not remotely the same as growing up here. I'm sad that the kids who grow up in Anchorage now aren't growing up in Alaska. They may as well be living in Federal Way.

Yes, the Valley was founded and developed by midwest folks; that does explain why the farms there are so lush and green and grow such fantastic vegetables. You insinuate your an 'Alaskan' don't you know its' history?? It sounds as if you've never been outside of Anchorage.

[Spazkat9696]

I'm going to go out on a limb (I haven't been in Anchorage since I was a child), but I doubt the two are similar. There is just no way Anchorage has the congestion, crime, traffic and issues of the cities in the lower 48.

[soldn2slavery]

There's nothing in our genetic code that predisposes us to move. Where I currently reside, you're considered an outsider if you aren't third- or fourth-generation. No exaggeration. Even if you lived 10 miles away and moved here, you're "not from around here."

While Anchorage is in a beautiful location, its location limits growth. There are only two directions for growth: north and south. They've gone about as far up the hillside as they can. North is Elmendorf and Ft. Rich. so you have to go to Eagle River and the Mat Valley. South is Chugach State Park. So, there isn't all that much room for expansion in the Anchorage Bowl, really.

Mizzile's lament is actually common to a number of places in the States that are experiencing an influx of people. People move because they don't like where they live, but then they complain that things aren't like where they used to live and start forcing change.