Population drop in interior and SE

[ShipOfFools42]

Originally Posted by stiffnecked

How could you possibly know that since you've never been there? Visually it's one of the most beautiful places in the entire State of Alaska. I'd still live down there if I could afford it.

I've never been to Arizona and I know I don't want to live there. Never been to Egypt, wouldn't want to live there. Sure it's beautiful in SE (I know the pictures don't do justice, but even the pictures are beautiful), but it's not what I want. I explained why, too. No roads down there, too much water and little islands, and most of all, the climate. I have no interest in living somewhere that is a rainforest, as I don't like humidity. I'd say humidity and geography are the main reasons.

[DannyL]

The southeast scoreboard. The population drop is about what I expected.

Redistricting data paints dismal picture for Southeast - Juneau Empire

Like Met said, it's about jobs, and most of the ones here don't pay enough to live on. And I don't see it changing overnight.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by ShipOfFools42

I've never been to Arizona and I know I don't want to live there. Never been to Egypt, wouldn't want to live there. Sure it's beautiful in SE (I know the pictures don't do justice, but even the pictures are beautiful), but it's not what I want. I explained why, too. No roads down there, too much water and little islands, and most of all, the climate. I have no interest in living somewhere that is a rainforest, as I don't like humidity. I'd say humidity and geography are the main reasons.

If you don't care for sideways rain assaulting you most of the time, you're right to want to avoid SE. Personally I refuse to spend the winters there anymore, and sometimes the summers aren't much better. This past one was one of those.

But...most of the FS jobs are in the Tongass; the ones in other parts of the state are usually taken by those who've done their time in SE and want to get out.

There are some people who love it in SE and would never live anywhere else, but not many, which is just as well...some places just aren't meant to sustain large amounts of humans, and the Tongass is one of them. And that's probably the truly beautiful thing about it.

[ShipOfFools42]

So what kind of snow does SE get? I don't know much about the winter conditions, but I have heard that parts of SE get rain in winter, which to me is completely unfathomable if I'm going to be living that far north. I hate it when it rains here in the winter, because all I can think about is how it COULD be snowing really hard.

And I'm not limiting myself to just the Forest Service. Upon completion of my degree, I will be qualified to do a very wide variety of outdoor-type jobs, and the interior has had quite a few openings in the past month or so. I need to spend a few weeks in the interior in winter before I make any sort of decision to move there, but there's a lot about it that appeals to me. Even in western AK, there are jobs that I will be well-qualified for, but they are a bit harder to find. Still, any sort of job that deals with wildlife, forests, ecology, field biology, GIS, mapping, streams and rivers, wetlands, and the list goes on, I will be qualified for. Hell, I think it would be awesome to conduct research in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta area. Talk about a huge change from North Carolina! (and that's what I'm looking for, a change)

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by ShipOfFools42

So what kind of snow does SE get? I don't know much about the winter conditions, but I have heard that parts of SE get rain in winter, which to me is completely unfathomable if I'm going to be living that far north. I hate it when it rains here in the winter, because all I can think about is how it COULD be snowing really hard.

It varies every year. Southern SE, especially, is not the kind of place where you buy a snow machine unless you're prepared to not be able to use it some winters. Still, they have skiing in Juneau, and Haines gets snow.

A couple of winters ago southern had a snowy, icy winter, which was great because it kept the rain down and we actually saw the sun sometimes. The year before that was a horrific nightmare of constant assaults of rain and gloom where blue sky literally was not seen for months. You just never know.