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Old 03-06-2012, 05:35 AM
 
469 posts, read 909,467 times
Reputation: 483

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Been a few years, but Alaska from May-Sept, winters are far too long and summers too short. But I always did like Hillside in Anchorage, Palmer is nice. Winter in Fairbanks is miserable, 50 below at times and 9 months long.
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Old 03-07-2012, 10:23 PM
 
Location: Kitschk-hin
162 posts, read 359,547 times
Reputation: 164
Come to Ketchikan! It's the coolest!
No, I'm serious. I love Ketchikan, and I know some people don't but I honestly think that people who don't like Ketchikan are just stuffy. Yeah, we're kind of run down and rusty, and a good portion of our population are scruffy, menacing-looking sourdough fishermen, and yeah, we kind of sold our soul to the cruise ship industry BUT, really it's an awesome town nonetheless. The people in Ketchikan are the kindest, most down to earth, laid back people I have ever met in my life. Nobody is ever in a hurry in this town- they stay, linger, then when they finally do have to leave they'll be talking to you as they're walking out the door. People go to the grocery store as much to socialize as they do to buy food. I think this attitude stems a lot from the huge Native influence on the social structure of the city.
It is only expensive here if you are comparing to the cheaper parts of the lower 48. If you've ever been to California, Seattle, NYC, etc- you can expect stuff to be about the same. The rest of SE is even more expensive than Ketchikan, I'm not really sure why. Also, keep in mind that if you're making $2,000/mo in Utah, it's gonna be more than that here.
If you want to do dispatch, the State Troopers are always hiring for someone. I bet they pay pretty well- state jobs in Alaska tend to be really cush.
If you have questions about living in Ketchikan, you can ask me. Send me a pm or ask here or whatever. I'm kind of busy and I don't check this every day, but I think it sends me an email when I get a pm.
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Old 03-08-2012, 09:57 AM
 
Location: "Out there" in Alaska.
305 posts, read 679,053 times
Reputation: 484
To the OP: For all the discouraging words in answer to your questions, Alaska is as civilized as you want it to be, or as remote. Just as with any endeavor, you plan and then do. We have roads, fuel, groceries, housing, employment. We suffer in the present economy just as the rest of the states, maybe a little more, maybe a little less. Getting here is half the effort, affording it the other half. Once you're here, you work and play and manage, just as we all do. There's no magic formula other than planning -- few people plan to be without resources, but preparing and covering your bases as much as you're able is never a bad thing. Pie in the sky is the dream that you can wander off and a find a cabin or cut trees and have a warm, habitable abode before snow. That's unrealistic. A financial cushion, a dependable, steady, guaranteed income of any kind is an advantage. The rest is up to you - a place to call home, a job, transportation of any kind that works for you is what day-to-day life is all about for us, for you, for anyone wanting to start a new life anywhere. Alaska is a little different due to logistics and climate and geography but, surprise, some of us were born fools and we're making it.
Good luck.
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Old 03-08-2012, 11:43 AM
 
26,492 posts, read 36,346,941 times
Reputation: 29548
Quote:
Originally Posted by LadyAuke View Post
Come to Ketchikan! It's the coolest!
No, I'm serious. I love Ketchikan, and I know some people don't but I honestly think that people who don't like Ketchikan are just stuffy. Yeah, we're kind of run down and rusty, and a good portion of our population are scruffy, menacing-looking sourdough fishermen, and yeah, we kind of sold our soul to the cruise ship industry BUT, really it's an awesome town nonetheless. The people in Ketchikan are the kindest, most down to earth, laid back people I have ever met in my life. Nobody is ever in a hurry in this town- they stay, linger, then when they finally do have to leave they'll be talking to you as they're walking out the door. People go to the grocery store as much to socialize as they do to buy food. I think this attitude stems a lot from the huge Native influence on the social structure of the city.
It is only expensive here if you are comparing to the cheaper parts of the lower 48. If you've ever been to California, Seattle, NYC, etc- you can expect stuff to be about the same. The rest of SE is even more expensive than Ketchikan, I'm not really sure why. Also, keep in mind that if you're making $2,000/mo in Utah, it's gonna be more than that here.
If you want to do dispatch, the State Troopers are always hiring for someone. I bet they pay pretty well- state jobs in Alaska tend to be really cush.
If you have questions about living in Ketchikan, you can ask me. Send me a pm or ask here or whatever. I'm kind of busy and I don't check this every day, but I think it sends me an email when I get a pm.
For some intangible reason that I've never been able to quite pin down, I've always really liked Ketchikan. It certainly isn't the weather, but---not sure if this will make sense, but the rain on POW can really get to me, especially during the last couple of years. But when I'm in Ketchikan, the same weather doesn't seem so bad.
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Old 03-08-2012, 01:37 PM
 
Location: "Out there" in Alaska.
305 posts, read 679,053 times
Reputation: 484
Maybe it's the sense of depending on on another. Once you're there, committed, you're fairly isolated. The road goes both ways, but the meeting in the middle is more than literal; everything happens in that town and the community is supportive, no matter what the event. Moreso than Sitka, with its wide open vistas and incredible recreation opportunies. More than Juneau, with its "society" and educational venues. Ketchikan is rock and lichen and evergreens, green water and flotsam, rain and sand and floatplane noise. And the one road anthem in getting from here to there is the thread that binds it all together. Youngest was born there, father logged there, sister had business there. It's home-grown and hardscrabble, and people know your name. Pigeons and the old Bon Marche, popcorn and Gross-Alaska, the old jail and 4th of July parade past Silver Lining Seafoods. It is small town at its best in the past, now at a cross-roads of struggle and hunker down survival. It's all about what you can count on, and that builds community.
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Old 03-11-2012, 07:53 AM
 
Location: Texas
748 posts, read 1,470,996 times
Reputation: 1065
I have been a small town person most of my life. The small physical details in your posts are a world different than the towns I have lived in, but the description of the people in Ketchikan are incredibly similar to the folks I have spent my life around.

The people are what makes a town into a home, and it seems Ketchikan shares it's physical beauty with equally beautiful folks who make it home.

"Social grocery shopping" is something only folks in small towns understand, and the kind of lifestyle I have always felt at home with. I grew up with that kind of closeness, and have enjoyed it most of my life.

Thanks for the picture you folks have painted of Ketchikan. From way down here, it looks real nice.
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Old 03-11-2012, 11:28 AM
 
Location: Bethel Alaska
4 posts, read 8,728 times
Reputation: 14
My love affair for Alaska began 8 yrs. ago and it still continues. I lived in Ketchikan for 5 years and the rain you get used to not bad after a while, Lived in Anchorage for 2 yrs.with a stint in Florida of a year just to see my family,Now we are going to Bethel for the next three yrs. I suppose. We both have jobs waiting. Hope this trip turns out as well as Ketchikan and Anchorage We love Ketchikan but only tolerated Anc as being too big. So all you Bethel folks we'll see you mid April
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Old 03-11-2012, 12:05 PM
 
Location: Bethel Alaska
4 posts, read 8,728 times
Reputation: 14
I have read a lot of old threads about Bethel and am familar with Warptman's posts on Bethel and I think he has been very helpfull,We'll see, Mid-April is fast approaching and am looking forward to the next step of living in Alaska.
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Old 03-11-2012, 04:24 PM
 
Location: Kitschk-hin
162 posts, read 359,547 times
Reputation: 164
Quote:
Originally Posted by tidelines View Post
Maybe it's the sense of depending on on another. Once you're there, committed, you're fairly isolated. The road goes both ways, but the meeting in the middle is more than literal; everything happens in that town and the community is supportive, no matter what the event. Moreso than Sitka, with its wide open vistas and incredible recreation opportunies. More than Juneau, with its "society" and educational venues. Ketchikan is rock and lichen and evergreens, green water and flotsam, rain and sand and floatplane noise. And the one road anthem in getting from here to there is the thread that binds it all together. Youngest was born there, father logged there, sister had business there. It's home-grown and hardscrabble, and people know your name. Pigeons and the old Bon Marche, popcorn and Gross-Alaska, the old jail and 4th of July parade past Silver Lining Seafoods. It is small town at its best in the past, now at a cross-roads of struggle and hunker down survival. It's all about what you can count on, and that builds community.
Yes!
But things are getting better for us. New industry is filtering in to replace the lost mill, in fact the millsite was bought and will soon be in use again, take a look: PSSA Makes Living 'Off-the-Grid' More Comfortable. There is also talk of using a different industrial site to build a factory that makes biomass fuels (they are also talking about doing this in Wrangell, I believe). There is also a lot of forward momentum on a plan to get locals involved in mariculture- shellfish farming.
The community is also slowly updating and growing- we are getting a new aquatic center similar to Juneau's, they are building a much-needed new library, UASK has started putting a stronger emphasis on community education. Our hospital may soon get a new building and major upgrades throughout (also rather sorely needed). It's all very exciting.
Ketchikan is more gritty than many of southeast's other large towns, but in a sense that makes it feel more like a bush community despite being the second largest community in the panhandle. We are just the right size, I think: large enough to have nice amenities but still small enough to be a tight-knit community.
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Old 03-19-2012, 03:40 AM
 
Location: Kasilof, Ak/NCa
339 posts, read 584,116 times
Reputation: 208
My daughter loves Alaska as much as I do but the SE would do us in. She is currently in Wa, hubby is military, and sooooo unhappy ---all the rain, drizzle etc--- that she says she now knows she could never live in the SE, That said, I had a friend in Anchorage that was totally miserable because she missed the rain. She would stand in the shower, fully dressed, several times a day when she got too depresssed from the lack of rain. To each their own.

Last edited by AlaskaNana; 03-19-2012 at 03:54 AM..
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