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Old 04-24-2010, 10:32 PM
 
Location: Valdez, Alaska
2,758 posts, read 5,254,409 times
Reputation: 2806

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I thought the Thai place by the University was really good. I still had some leftover red curry when I headed out of town to go camping. I remember heating it up on my backpacking stove at a roadside pullout on the Parks Highway and sitting on the trunk of my rental car eating it, looking out at the Alaska Range. I think I'd already decided I liked it up there, but that confirmed it. :-D

Hot Licks is good too. They had some interesting flavors, but I can't remember what I got. If you see huckleberry ice cream, get some. I had some in McCarthy and it was really good. The bookstore is cool too, very friendly people. And Beaver Sports had a decent selection for a smallish place.

Oh, and go to the Georgeson Botanical Garden and the Museum of the North!
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Old 04-24-2010, 10:50 PM
 
Location: Bernalillo, NM
1,182 posts, read 2,459,328 times
Reputation: 2325
Quote:
Originally Posted by FiveTen1988 View Post
I was wondering what would be standout traits for a twenty-something moving to Fairbanks with a very young child, a dog, and who is also an avid outdoor enthusiast. (From Maine, very familiar with cold, though not to the extent you Alaskans are.)
Any info on what is in the city of Fairbanks, what the atmosphere is like? Thanks!
Use the search function and check other threads on Fairbanks; I think you'll see some good info there that will help answer your question.

My wife and I grew up in Fairbanks and spent our first 38 years there. To sum up what I think are Fairbanks' best features it would be the very friendly people; the laid back, live and let live atmosphere; the acceptance of others that might be a little different from you; and the pretty unique mix of having the wild outdoors right out your front or back door but also having the amenities of civilization right at hand. Fairbanks is a wilderness town that grew up, but it hasn't grown up all the way. So it has an interesting mixture of modern urban culture and more primitive living.

Because it was so isolated originally, the original pioneers brought a lot of culture with them, and the presence of the University has helped that culture continue and expand. So you can do all the outdoors stuff you want to do, but you can also go to a concert or play or ...? Perhaps on the same day or weekend.

IMHO the huge seasonal change in Fairbanks makes it almost like two or more different places. You may understand this being from Maine. But the things folks do in mid-summer are so different than what they do in mid-winter, or even spring to fall, that the area to me is never boring. Something new is happening all the time, just because of mother nature's seasonal changes up there. Not just on the earth but out in space as well; i.e., the Northern Lights.

If you're an active person, you can do things in Fairbanks that aren't very available if at all elsewhere. Join the local Curling Club and curl during the wintertime; it's a great way to meet Fairbanksans. If you're there during the summer, join a softball team and play softball until 9-10pm or later if you want. If you're a runner, there are a number of races during the summer with many participants, capped off by the Equinox Marathon (one of the toughest in the country) in September. Lots of cross country ski races in the winter. Or hockey or basketball. Hiking, camping, biking, fishing, hunting, trapping, snowmobiling, dog mushing, boating, water skiing,... If you're interested in any of these you can probably find an applicable group (organized or not) that welcomes newcomers, and helps them learn and participate.

Lots of sports, team or individual, for your child to try and enjoy growing up - baseball, soccer, hockey, cross country skiing, swimming, basketball, bowling, etc. Fairbanks has very active recreational team leagues that range all the way from beginning kids to experienced adult leagues.

The winters are long and, especially in mid-winter, dark. But if you find activities you enjoy and stay busy, you'll hardly notice. You'll learn to ignore whether it's light or dark out when deciding what to do, although you'll dress differently for -50F than for +80F. But again, if you're coming from Maine, you're probably already used to this and I suspect it'll be a lot easier for you to acclimate to the seasonal variations in Fairbanks.

Hope this helps. We left over 20 years ago but still consider Fairbanks our home.
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Old 04-24-2010, 11:50 PM
 
Location: Bethel, Alaska
21,368 posts, read 37,923,439 times
Reputation: 13901
Silver Gulch in Fox just a little ways north of Fairbanks, great food. Everyone must try Pagoda's and Wolf's Den in North Pole. Big Daddy's BBQ & Banquet and the Cookie Jar are two other greats that Fairbanks has. Oh, I forgot the Country Inn down at North Pole. It has Christmas themed food there year round.
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Old 04-26-2010, 05:55 PM
 
Location: Fairbanks
204 posts, read 469,677 times
Reputation: 82
Seems I've got some more places to add to my places to eat at thanks to youse guys. lol I'm literally counting the days until I land in Fairbanks. Thanks again for the recommendations, fellas.
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Old 04-26-2010, 06:06 PM
 
Location: Bethel, Alaska
21,368 posts, read 37,923,439 times
Reputation: 13901
I'm flying to Anchorage next month on the 13th and driving up to Fairbanks for the weekend on the 14th, can't wait! There are a few more places I'd like to check out for food. I think Fairbanks has a lot of nicer places to dine out than Anchorage. The more I drive around Fairbanks, the more I like it. If you like old propliner airplanes, there is a bunch of them up there, a boneyard of sorts for old C-46's and DC-6's at the airport there in various conditions from flying to just spare parts.
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Old 05-12-2010, 11:09 PM
 
Location: Fairbanks, AK
1,753 posts, read 2,883,963 times
Reputation: 1886
Don't miss Clucking Blossom!
Saturday, May 15, Birch Hill
fbxshows.com
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Old 05-26-2010, 08:46 AM
 
Location: Maine, USA
12 posts, read 30,562 times
Reputation: 26
Thanks guys! My little one is 8months old. I am not dead set on a dry cabin, I just noticed there were a lot of them available and at reasonable prices. I am thinking potentially renting a normal apartment for a year and see how I feel about the winters before delving into a dry cabin for my first year. Point well taken.
And I am an anthropology/climate science major- heading to graduate school there for three years. Woo!
The food sounds amazing, by the way.
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Old 12-01-2010, 09:08 PM
 
Location: Fairbanks, AK
1,753 posts, read 2,883,963 times
Reputation: 1886
So, did you make it here? Where did you get to live?
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Old 12-03-2010, 08:56 AM
 
Location: Homosassa, Florida
2,200 posts, read 4,341,900 times
Reputation: 472
During Summers in Fairbanks. one can venture out to Coldfoot, Alaska. has the best camping sites in the whole state of Alaska. it kind of fallows the pipe line. If you have a car around Fairbanks. best service station for auto repair is Walmart.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs002.ash2/33458_1669996232386_1311761048_1790486_2984852_n.j pg (broken link)

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs127.snc1/5450_1214514085617_1311761048_600300_3731012_n.jpg (broken link)
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Old 12-15-2010, 12:26 PM
 
Location: 112 Ocean Avenue
5,706 posts, read 9,576,697 times
Reputation: 8932
Fairbanks the fastest-growing small town in America.

Fastest-Growing Small Towns - Yahoo! Real Estate

According to the article the medium income (for Fairbanks) in 2009 was over $87,000 dollars. Couple that with the latest census report stating Alaskans have the shortest work commute out of all 50 states, and you have the perfect recipe for an influx of people from other areas looking to call Fairbanks home sweet home.
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