Those who want to get out of Alaska - Why? (Anchorage: houses, tornadoes)

[Nephler]

As I said, I moved due to work, an offer I couldn't refuse.
Now on the other side of things, for me to work, and make a living, it would have meant working in Anchorage, and I hate any type of city. Wasilla was way to populated for me, even Palmer was a bit too big. I'm a small town boy. If I could live in AK in a town with a population of a few hundred and make a living, I wouldn't have left.

I miss so much of AK, just not the hustle and bustle of the area I was in.

[Dakster]

Nephler - You still moved to a nice area of the country though!!!

[AADAD]

We took our dog, Abby for a run at Coronado dog beach today. Lots of fun for her and us. Came back to a lovely setting and did not even have one person on my bumper the whole time. Easy day watching the wind blow the light and leaves down the canyon. One would think that I would be happy. I am...kinda.

It is nice but it ain't the land of light and freedom.

[Nephler]

Originally Posted by Dakster

Nephler - You still moved to a nice area of the country though!!!

How right you are!

[Alaskapat528]

Originally Posted by Dakster

Nephler - You still moved to a nice area of the country though!!!

Yes he did. Very pretty!

[tigre79]

Originally Posted by losttechnician

tigre,

I have spent most of my life in small towns, and have seen the flight of the youngsters after graduation. Shoot, I was one of them when I was 18 as well. Got wise quick and found a way BACK to small town and have enjoyed it since.

Yeah, my guy knows several people his age (25) who left and are now trying to find a way back to Valdez.

but why would folks flee Valdez, just to go to another part of the state? To my uneducated, -48 frame of mind, Valdez looks like one heck of a nice town.

People who love it here usually love at least one of two things, the sea or the mountains, and can at least put up with the many challenges, including extraordinarily snowy*, windy winters; gray, drizzly summers; high prices for just about everything; and being as far out there as you can get and still be on the road system. Plenty of other places in the state have better weather, more convenient locations, more people, more restaurants and shops, and so on. And it's not the most dynamic town around, either. The population is actually shrinking and at least ten notable businesses have closed in the last several years. Hopefully it's just cyclical and things will pick up again. I do like it here quite a lot myself but can still see why other people wouldn't.

*Of course, the snow is a major plus if you're into winter sports, but if you're not, it's just a damn lot of heavy, wet crap to shovel.

[Alaskapat528]

Our neighbors retired to England almost 2 yrs ago, the wife was from there. He has since left England and came back to Alaska; he didn't like it and wasn't happy. She is still over there wondering why he left, she never really liked Alaska. He plans on spending his time between Alaska and Washington. He said he couldn't breathe in England; likes the openess of Alaska.

[ShipOfFools42]

Originally Posted by Dakster

Nephler - You still moved to a nice area of the country though!!!

It brings up an interesting point though: how vastly different Michigan is from Alaska, and yet a person can still love and appreciate both places. That's the thing, no one place is THE place. I guess everyone wants to get out and go somewhere in their lives, so if you started in Alaska, I could see how you would end up somewhere else. Same goes for anywhere else. I grew up in the South, and I hate the heat and some aspects of the culture, so I want to try somewhere else. I believe that's just the natural order of things.

Valdez is one of the towns on my short list though, since it was brought up. I love the mountains, and I love riding 4-wheelers/snowmachines, so it's a great spot for me. I also happen to love cloudy weather and lots of snow; even better! And to cap it off, I happen to love summers with 60˚F days, which Valdez also has. Can definitely see where the downsides would be that you mentioned tigre, but the upsides seem to outweigh them quite handily, IMO. Sight unseen, of course, but I believe I've got my facts straight.

[losttechnician]

Originally Posted by tigre79

Yeah, my guy knows several people his age (25) who left and are now trying to find a way back to Valdez.

People who love it here usually love at least one of two things, the sea or the mountains, and can at least put up with the many challenges, including extraordinarily snowy*, windy winters; gray, drizzly summers; high prices for just about everything; and being as far out there as you can get and still be on the road system. Plenty of other places in the state have better weather, more convenient locations, more people, more restaurants and shops, and so on. And it's not the most dynamic town around, either. The population is actually shrinking and at least ten notable businesses have closed in the last several years. Hopefully it's just cyclical and things will pick up again. I do like it here quite a lot myself but can still see why other people wouldn't.

*Of course, the snow is a major plus if you're into winter sports, but if you're not, it's just a damn lot of heavy, wet crap to shovel.

Well, I can sure see the downsides for many folks. I have lived where it is darned inconvenient (1.5 drive) to a movie, or mall, any shopping. Had to drive to a town of 30,000 to get all that. I understand remote, at least as in TEXAS remote, can't say I know diddly about Alaska remote.

In any case, more stupid questions. What is the primary economical driver in Valdez, other than the oil and coal terminus'? I would have thought (another silly assumption by a -48'er) that there would be a stable professional workforce with some disposable income to support some of those local businesses. Or is there, but mail/internet order has killed some of it?

Finally, how much snow falls in town? Is it an every winter week occurrence?

[tigre79]

Originally Posted by losttechnician

Well, I can sure see the downsides for many folks. I have lived where it is darned inconvenient (1.5 drive) to a movie, or mall, any shopping. Had to drive to a town of 30,000 to get all that. I understand remote, at least as in TEXAS remote, can't say I know diddly about Alaska remote.

Here it's four hours minimum. In an hour and a half here you haven't even gotten to the next town, which is even smaller.

In any case, more stupid questions. What is the primary economical driver in Valdez, other than the oil and coal terminus'? I would have thought (another silly assumption by a -48'er) that there would be a stable professional workforce with some disposable income to support some of those local businesses. Or is there, but mail/internet order has killed some of it?

Finally, how much snow falls in town? Is it an every winter week occurrence?

Oil, no coal. There's also a Coast Guard base, an oil refinery, a shipping terminal, schools, a hospital, typical town government offices, a community college, and plenty of commercial fishing. And most of the businesses are locally owned as well, of course. It's not all that hard to find a job and there are definitely people with money here. It's just a small, isolated town - about 4000 people - so small things can cause big changes. It's expensive to operate here due to shipping costs, and it's expensive to buy things here as well, so most people do their major shopping in "town" (Anchorage/Wasilla or Fairbanks). And also, one guy bought several previously-successful businesses and is in the process of mismanaging them into insolvency.

Valdez averages close to 30 feet of snow a year. It is a snowy place. I've only been here one winter, and it was a very non-snowy year, for here at least - only about 17 feet. We went several weeks without snowfall, and it was terrible - to me, at least. Normally the most snow falls in December and March, and a typical snowfall can be anywhere from six inches to three or four feet. Even this winter, with just over half the normal amount of snow and a lot more wind than usual, we had five feet of snow in our yard by March.