Moving to Alaska & Nursing (Anchorage, Fairbanks: car rental, best cities, sales)

[atripp223]

I am a nursing student in NC but upon graduation would possibly like to take the Alaska certification exam and move up there for several years.

Is Alaska a decent place to find nursing jobs?
How is the pay?
Where are the best cities to look for health care jobs/live in?
What's the weather actually like?
Is it a decent place to raise a family?
What about outdoor activities? I hike/camp/sea kayak/canoe/snow ski and would like a place that offers that...
Is travel within the cities okay?
What about the cost of living?
Are there state taxes?

Sorry for all the questions; I'm torn between Alaska and Colorado right now...

[Mtn. States Resident]

What area of nursing do you hope to specialize in? Alaska can't offer everything Denver or The Springs already do.

[atripp223]

I'm actually planning on getting my master's and becoming a nurse practitioner; probably just a basic family one if I don't decide to specialize in oncology.

[Sally123]

Definitely try out Alaska first, what an adventure -- you can always go "safe" and move to a place with big cities like Colorado if Alaska doesn't work out. It would be much harder to do it the other way around, in my humble opinion.

[Arcticthaw]

Originally Posted by atripp223

I am a nursing student in NC but upon graduation would possibly like to take the Alaska certification exam and move up there for several years.

Is Alaska a decent place to find nursing jobs?
How is the pay?
Where are the best cities to look for health care jobs/live in?
What's the weather actually like?
Is it a decent place to raise a family?
What about outdoor activities? I hike/camp/sea kayak/canoe/snow ski and would like a place that offers that...
Is travel within the cities okay?
What about the cost of living?
Are there state taxes?

Sorry for all the questions; I'm torn between Alaska and Colorado right now...

Local hospital operator website.
Registered Nurse Jobs at Banner Health (http://www.bannerhealth.com/Careers/Careers+in+Demand/registerednurse.htm - broken link)
Local Clinics websites
Tanana Valley Clinic (http://www.tvcclinic.com/index.shtml - broken link)
Fairbanks Clinic (http://www.fairbanksclinic.com/Home.htm - broken link)

Weather in fairbanks, well this afternoon and evening it was in the low 80s and I was 20 minutes out of town up river looking at beautiful scenery and counting beavers and moose. This weekend will be in the high 70 and I will be at one of the local lakes, doing watersports, and sailing. Other lakes and rivers have fishing for those that desire it. Winter can get pretty cold, but understand it is a dry cold so in doesn't penetrate like you may find where you live. We don't always get lots of snow but somewhere in the state usually does.
Like to ski really fast? Then check out this site. It becomes the third largest city in the state for 4 days! Arctic Man Ski and Sno-Go Classic

Lots of people canoe down the river here in town, this can be anywhere from an hour or two float to a 2 day trip with just you and the woods. In the winter the river is also used for cross country skiing, ski jor, dog mushing, snowmachining. There are several nordic type trails around, along with a couple of downhill ski areas also. On the army base they also set up jumps and such for the snowboarders.
There are lots of oppertunities for your kids and raising them here I think is pretty good. Mine turned out fine!

Taxes in the Fairbanks area. No state income tax. North Pole has a sales tax of a whopping 2 or 3% The borough property tax (county, aminly pays for schools) runs between 17 to 21 mills depending on where you live and what extra services you recieve. Like Fire service areas or road service areas. For those that are unfamiliar with mills they are $1 for every $1000 of property value. We have tax on alcohol and tobaco. A carton of cigarettes runs between 45 to 65. We also have tax on motel, hotel and car rentals, but there are about the same as other cities I have visited.
Cost of living is harder to quantify, your housing costs will be higher than in Texas, the average home is now in the $200,000 range. Gas is $3. for mid grade, a 12 pack of Pepsi on sale is around$5,
I forgot to mention, there is lots of hiking and camping available, and you don't have to travel too far to do it.

My former wife was an RN for years up here and the pay was getting better all the time. I think the hospital offers a bit more money but I can tell you from experience that the work load is harder and politics are almost as much as we are in the national news at times. She found she enjoyed working for one of the clinics in town better.

[traveler907]

Whatever you do avoid Barrow Alaska like the plague. The place overall is a ****hole but you should be able to find this out for yourself on the web. The docs are incredibly incompetent-- the worst I've ever worked with.

[MeganAK]

Originally Posted by atripp223

I am a nursing student in NC but upon graduation would possibly like to take the Alaska certification exam and move up there for several years.

Here is my two-cents- please take this with a grain of salt!!

Is Alaska a decent place to find nursing jobs?

Yes- there are jobs available all over the state. Decide if you want to be on the road system or not- it makes a difference as to availability.


How is the pay?

It seems to be about $10 an hour higher than some of the other places I have looked in the lower 48, but that is somewhat offset by the cost of living. As a new grad, you would be expected to get maybe $24 to start in Anchorage, you would get around $29 in a rural hospital.


Where are the best cities to look for health care jobs/live in?

It depends on what you want. Do you want to be on the road system? If so, your main options are Fairbanks, Anchorage, Mat-Su, and all the Kenai facilities. If not, then you have Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka, rural Alaska. There are TONS fo options. It all depends on what you want.

If you work at an IHS (Indian Health Service) facility, especially the rural ones, you can apply for Loan Repayment for two years of service. You can get up to $20,000 per year depending on how much your loans are.


What's the weather actually like?

Depends on where you are. Southeast can be like Seattle but a little colder. Southcentral has decent winter from about November-April. Temps vary. The light is the big difference. The latitude makes us have much more light in the summer, and much more dark in the winter! Coming from Missouri originally, that was the most difficult to get used to. The cold wasn't a big deal.
I tried to get by without a car in Anchorage and it was TOUGH. You really would want something with 4-wheel drive for the icy times, but it can be done without. In the Interior, it is COLD and DRY. North Caroline is moist air, but up here, it is more dry, which, in my opinion, makes it easier to handle.

Is it a decent place to raise a family?

I can't answer much on this one- don't have kids, but I would feel like most places in Alaska would be good.

What about outdoor activities? I hike/camp/sea kayak/canoe/snow ski and would like a place that offers that...

You are ALL set here. YOu can have all the outdoor adventures you want! THe kayaking is GREAT in Seward, Valdez, Homer, Whittier. THe camping is wonderful, the skiing is great. Well, it's all great! You will have no shortage of activities to choose from or beautiful places to go.

Is travel within the cities okay?

What do you mean by okay? You can travel in Anchorage and the traffic stinks, but it isn't any problem. Anchorage is the biggest city with around 260,000 and from there the population drops exponentially. Not like you are used to down there


What about the cost of living?

It is higher than anywhere you have probably been (except maybe San Francisco). It really depends on where you are though. Rent in Anchorage was running around $1200 for a two bedroom last time I checked (a year ago) and food and gas is definitely more. I have been here too long to know how it compares to other places. Your wages should keep up with the cost of living to still make it financially feasible to stay here and still do well.

Are there state taxes?

No

Sorry for all the questions; I'm torn between Alaska and Colorado right now...

I, too, tried to choose between Colorado and Alaska when I first moved here. Alaska won hands down. THe outdoor recreation opportunities were unmatcheable. Something to also consider, though, is the family deal. It does cost more and is more of a hassle to go visit family. For me, it meant visiting MUCH less. So be okay with the idea of seeing your family less often and spending more to do it. Alaska has better recreation than COlorado (I think) and less population, less government interference, less tax (none!), better pay.

Hope all this helps. Good luck!

[mirandafamily]

So I'm trying to decide the similar situation... I know this post was over a year ago, but what did you decide? Did ALASKA work out? what do you think about a family of 5 moving there after getting a BA in Nursing? How is the pay? Do they offer any incentive to assist with paying off student loans?
update info, if you can provide?
thanks

Originally Posted by atripp223

I am a nursing student in NC but upon graduation would possibly like to take the Alaska certification exam and move up there for several years.

Is Alaska a decent place to find nursing jobs?
How is the pay?
Where are the best cities to look for health care jobs/live in?
What's the weather actually like?
Is it a decent place to raise a family?
What about outdoor activities? I hike/camp/sea kayak/canoe/snow ski and would like a place that offers that...
Is travel within the cities okay?
What about the cost of living?
Are there state taxes?

Sorry for all the questions; I'm torn between Alaska and Colorado right now...

[skeww11]

I am an RN in new mexico and am also considering moving to Alaska for awhile. It is just my husband and I. He is an experienced farm machinery/diesel mechanic, has worked for a glass company recently. What would be the chances of him getting a job also and where are the best RN jobs? I've noticed alot of posts that are totally negative about Barrow. Any thoughts, anybody???

[AADAD]

Originally Posted by skeww11

I am an RN in new mexico and am also considering moving to Alaska for awhile. It is just my husband and I. He is an experienced farm machinery/diesel mechanic, has worked for a glass company recently. What would be the chances of him getting a job also and where are the best RN jobs? I've noticed alot of posts that are totally negative about Barrow. Any thoughts, anybody???

you might want to start a new thread. this thread is years old.