Why do people that have never been to Alaska want to move to Alaska? (houses, movies)

[Moose Whisperer]

Originally Posted by tigre79

Nope, not a thing.

I said "build" as in the context of large, inspirational, mega-scale scientific and infrastructure projects like TAPS or the Hoover Dam.

Is American Foot-Dragging Pushing the Future Elsewhere? | Popular Science

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As the United States dithers, China and Britain show how modern countries build rail systems - Worldnews.com

[gobrien]

Hawaii must have the same problem, I have had the fantasy of moving there and becoming a beach bum...then I read their forum.

[dradiin]

Originally Posted by ysr_racer

Am I missing something here? Is it something they saw on TV?

And how many of them actually move? And how many of them move out within two years?

My Family and I moved to Barrow AK. for a job basically. Wife lost her job in Washington state and Barrow was the first job offer she got, so we jumped in feet first and committed to one of the biggest life changes ever.

I do not regret it one bit, i spend more time with my wife and kids then i ever did in the lower 48, and after one year of living here we were able to pay down over 30% of my wife's college tuition.

We gave up our first house 2 cars and lots of family ties and friendships, but in the end were healthier and happier (with the exception of our 15 year old son, who was miserable the first 3/4 of the year).

As for moving away in two years? Never, not in a million years, the diversity, the lifestyle and just the people who share this experience will keep me and my family here for good.

So nope, no TV show got me here, just an interview and alot of determination.

[tigre79]

Originally Posted by Moose Whisperer

I said "build" as in the context of large, inspirational, mega-scale scientific and infrastructure projects like TAPS or the Hoover Dam.

We've already got a lot of that stuff, so it's not really surprising that developing nations are building more large infrastructure projects than we are. I guess we'll just have to be satisfied with the government blowing all our money on wars and bank bailouts instead. Regardless, that's a different thread in a different forum.

[mdcrim]

I would love to move there for the summers. Not sure if I could tolerate the winters... Visited for 12 days which was nowhere near enough time. Can't wait to go back. It is so beautiful there and, honestly, you have some of the nicest people I have ever met anywhere!

[stewnsue]

Originally Posted by ysr_racer

Am I missing something here? Is it something they saw on TV?

And how many of them actually move? And how many of them move out within two years?

Probably for the same reason they want to move to any location they have not been to before. Newness, adventure, change, challenge, opportunities, wanderlust or just the hope for a more productive life. Just as the prospectors and mountain men of the past sought out the adventure of a lifetime, so do people in modern times. Maybe some do move up and then move back to lower 48, but they will never know if Alaska is for them unless they try. Just my opinion, of course. I think the same thing happens all over the U.S., it is just a lot harder to move back from Alaska if you change your mind!

[RayinAK]

Moving?

-Military members are moved by the military, and a lot stay here
-Others move for company work reasons (job transfer, for example)
-Others move because of relatives or friends already here
-A lot move because they feel they are at the end of the rope, without knowing that Alaska is just the other end of the same rope
-A lot move up here because of a sort of "dream Alaska" presented to them in movies, books, magazines, etc.
-Others move up here trying to escape from something in their lives, including the law

The bottom line: for a lot of people moving from one place to the next is just like the human need to date someone new. Once the blindfold we cover our eyes with at beginning of a relationship comes down, then we want to meet somebody new all over again. We often do the same with jobs (move from one to the next, and the next), specially when young. But moving from one place to another is a lot more expensive than moving from job to job. It means that most of the ones that move to Alaska aren't necessarily young

[Dakster]

Good post RAY... I think you about covered all the reasons...

I seem to fit into your last paragraph, although I have been in the same job and with the same person for a long number of years. We both want to move somewhere else when we retire. I just met someone that lives in AK and has told me a lot of Florida residents end up in AK. At first, I thought it was weird and that I would be the only person that would even consider it. (I research things to "death", so it won't be a spontaneous move --) ) But your last paragraph would be my closest reason to move, if I did.

Psychologically speaking:

Grass looks greener from the other side and we always seem to want what we do not have. We take what we have for granted until it is lost. One reason Alaska is tempting is that it is so "polar" opposite to the -48 in many ways. If I move I don't want what I already have. (Again, I may find out that what I have is where I need or want to be, but I will not realize that until I leave)

A saying I heard comes to mind: Why are Sex and Air the same? Neither are all that important, unless you are not getting any.

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by RayinAK

Moving?

-Military members are moved by the military, and a lot stay here
-Others move for company work reasons (job transfer, for example)
-Others move because of relatives or friends already here
-A lot move because they feel they are at the end of the rope, without knowing that Alaska is just the other end of the same rope
-A lot move up here because of a sort of "dream Alaska" presented to them in movies, books, magazines, etc.
-Others move up here trying to escape from something in their lives, including the law

The bottom line: for a lot of people moving from one place to the next is just like the human need to date someone new. Once the blindfold we cover our eyes with at beginning of a relationship comes down, then we want to meet somebody new all over again. We often do the same with jobs (move from one to the next, and the next), specially when young. But moving from one place to another is a lot more expensive than moving from job to job. It means that most of the ones that move to Alaska aren't necessarily young

You left out "for the adventure."

Not everyone who moves to Alaska does so because of work, family, something they saw in the media, or they are screwed up in some fashion. Some of us move here for the adventure and the challenge of living in a different environment.

[GrandviewGloria]

To be blunt, they're hoping to get away from Blacks and Mexicans. And many of them think the state has three men for every woman....and that the Men all look like Paul Bunyan...except maybe they're blond. And most importantly, they hold the irrational notion that those giant hunksters are lonely....thus open to the love of some scrawny Accountant from Pittsburg, whose primary claim to attractiveness is being not overweight.

Anyway, there's some misplaced notion that there are climates too cold for anyone who isn't white, and they think Alaska is one of those climates. They forgot about year-round food supplies, heated houses, and insulated clothing....and motorized vehicles...and Vitamin D supplements. Oops....

I think the shows on cable, about the Truckers and the Fishermen and the Lumberjacks got half the men in America to having fantasies about ditching the Harpie, and taking up with some big, hairy Ice Road Trucker.

They think the state is like that show about the radio station....laid-back...no social pathologies to deal with....no pathological immigrant groups running drugs... plus lots of opportunities to hang out with big, bearded men with Mink-like chests...bare chests just all the time, like the TV Show Teasers showed....and that everybody who isn't lily white is a cute, harmless Indigenous Person who says funny things.

I hate to break it to you gals out there, but my impression is that if given the choice between a giant, bearded Lumberjack in a plaid shirt, and some painted up, tweezered, waxed, lacquered, moisturized, mascaraed, silicone-injected science project in a slinky dress who calls herself a 'Woman', most men over 30 would rather (all obstacles removed....like family expectations, etc.) go live in a cabin with the Lumberjack.

(and don't forget that Brokeback Mountain finally made it to Cable...so all the menfolk who stayed alone in Motels finally got to see it without anybody knowing. That movie surely planted some ideas in some heads..."Hmmmmm....now where can I go that's so isolated there are no women, so I can accidentally fall in love with a buddy.......ALASKA!!!")

And I think that the nasty people who have taken over the East Coast, and made both business and academia there into miserable, ultra-competitive, vicious hells, have made a lot of people look at Men In Trees, and Northern Exposure, with yearning. They think Alaska will be about good friends and undemanding work lives....a milieu in which they can cut it.

And then, there are the movies like Wyvern (which encapsulates all the Alaska sitcom cliches, and adds a monster...a monster far less scary than immigrant drug gangs), making the place look so peaceful and crime-free.

Oh, yeah... and they think that when the nation breaks up, and there are famines and riots and all that... that they will somehow be able to do survivalist stuff and be just fine. And maybe they're right. "Spit some Beechnut.... Country boy....Survive...."