Friendliest Alaska cities?

[SarisaSMouse]

Originally Posted by TKO

I was worried I might come off as too critical by being critical at all. Overall, by a wide margin, I loved my time in AK. Incomparable is the only word that does it justice.

My favorite place was Kenai near the beach. If I ever do move it would be in the Kenai area. Moderated both the temperature and the bugs. The fact that everyone down there probably has a hand in the tourism industry either directly or through relations probably goes a way to explain why they seemed more welcoming. They even get hammered by other Alaskans invading as a horde. The folks at the RV park on the bluff were wonderful.

The most scenic spot I camped was Blueberry Lake near Thompson Pass. But there weren't any other people around.

No doubt areas of NM probably are Reserved (pun intended) to outsiders as well. I felt a little of that when I worked in Santa Fe but it faded quickly. Drivers though are, except Albq, more friendly. Not better drivers mind you, just more likely to let people into traffic or wave at you when you pass on a lonely road and you'll never hear anyone lean on their horn here.

Thinking about it, because of the short summer, I would imagine that residents have a full plate of stuff to get done and not a lot of time to do it, so every day counts and anything that gets in the way is an impediment.

I give them every benefit of the doubt in coming to the conclusion that it's circumstances and not the people that gave me the impression I shared here.

Kenai sounds like heaven on earth, especially looking at the pictures online. Summer solitude with no one else around sounds like bliss. I hope you gave the RV park owners great reviews elsewhere online so others can check them out.


If every day counting and anything getting in the way of that is an impediment, Alaskans have the right philosophy. It's too bad more of them weren't of the smile and hold the door open variety while you were up there. Right track, wrong speed.


Santa Fe is strange. Most people who work there don't live there. Some of the older transplanted wealthy are a little too steeped in generic Native American noble savage romanticism, but most of them mean well. The younger hipster trust fund babies can be annoying. I like it up there, even with its strangeness.


The Second Street Brewery has great ale, an interesting selection of other drinks, the meal portions are plentiful, and the bartenders/servers have good attitudes.


I think the Pueblo nations reservations are the warmest and most welcoming, so far in my experience. Just respect them and their traditions; they have rules for a reason. It's a shame when some folks come in and think that a camera and a fat wallet is carte blanche to do whatever they want on sovereign land.


Albuquerque is Albuquerque. If you're a young woman, the world is your oyster. If you're an older woman or dressed to work, you're invisible. There is no guarantee that that little old lady with the cane will have someone open the door for her, or that the lady in the nursing scrubs can find a seat on a full bus. So it goes, in Albuquerque. But it has some positives, too.

[riceme]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

I've never found people in any part of Alaska to be unfriendly. Maybe the people you met were seasonal workers who were just getting burned out from long hours? ^^^^

I know you were talking to that other guy, but I haven't found people to be "unfriendly," but "not particularly friendly" certainly fits for NP and Fairbanks... but I am from a small town and am used to that sort of interaction with people, like waving when you pass on the road, etc. But I admit that I enjoy being able to go to the grocery store and NOT run into everyone you know AND their mother, their brother, their sister and her lover.

Friendliest places I've ever lived were WV and KS... super nice people in both places.

[TKO]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

I've never found people in any part of Alaska to be unfriendly. Maybe the people you met were seasonal workers who were just getting burned out from long hours? ^^^^

I agree, that's why I led with this

people were more reserved than they are here in southern NM. Not unfriendly, just not so quick to spark up conversation

Most of my time driving was probably on some of the busiest roads in the state at the busiest time. Might go a way towards explaining my perception of the drivers. I definitely got a sense of people being in a rush. More so than in the land of manana anyway.

I'll reiterate that I loved it and I'd go back in a heartbeat. I met a lot of really neat, exceptionally hospitable people and left with a very positive impression. The OP's question made me think about what wasn't friendly (mildly so), perhaps, because so much was, that what wasn't stood out.

[Metlakatla]

I think a lot of the summer people are rude. I looked out my window once and what did I see but some prissy princess pulled over letting her dogs out to do their business on our property.

I remember one summer where it seemed everywhere I went I'd see this little girl from Eastern Europe. She had maybe three jobs and was probably on a student visa. She was waitressing in a restaurant I used to go to, and one of the patrons began behaving like an ill-mannered guttersnipe. The woman was yelling at the waitress for speaking "broken English," and when she threw a dime at the girl at told her to bring her change for it so she could leave a tip, I got up and said something about getting a manager....there was no manager on duty. The kid ran and hid behind me at my table dissolved in a puddle of tears, and a guy at the next table who I'd been talking with got up and escorted the offensive tourist out of the restaurant. He also slipped a pretty decent bill onto that table for a tip. He was down from FBs.