Give me your worst. (Anchorage, Bethel: buy, high school, income)

[HighlandLady]

Yes...traffic can be horrid, especially during inclement weather. The one thing that has stood out is the lack of regard to pedestrian traffic...drivers are either oblivious or downright rude to the walking traffic.

That being said...perhaps the 'worst' for me is not being able to see Denali every single day...and not viewing the Aurorae every single night.

[Nephler]

Now granted, I may not be accustomed to living around this many people, coming from a town of about 1500 and the closest city about the size of Anchorage was 200+ miles away, but damn, the traffic.

[megensmom]

If you want people to look at you like you have a 3rd eye and large pink horns growing from your head tell them that your moving to the middle of nowhere like we did. 126 miles to a Walmart and people begin to think its the end of the world. We have actually now find that we have very little desire to go to town except for the must haves and of course to see my husband. If it wasn't for him I would probably just use the expidite service and not go but maybe once a month.
The thing I hate is the water. It always seems to have to much minerals or rust or something in it. And the fact that it is expensive if you have to buy water and have it delivered.

[akvarmit]

Saucy - we got all manner of comments from friends and family.....What I liked the most were the people who then lowered their voices and whispered "Gosh, I wish I had the bal*s to do that.." then they'd get quiet for a minute. Hubby and I didn't want to have that regret of our own for not coming up.....
Dawn

[fau2010]

Socialist...Liberal? lol it is probally the most conservative, capitalistic state in our country. Whether you think that is a good thing is up to you, but Alaska is definetly not socialist. There is no state income tax or sales tax. You can easily purchase guns, some high schools even have gun shows. You get my point lol.

The Bad:

-cold weather + very short and rainy summers
-high cost of living (groceries, gas, products, shipping, airfare etc)
-minimal night life even in Anchorage
-many national and international stores and banks not found in Alaska
-overwhelmingly conservative (it's nice to have a mix of people)
-low diversity

If you don't mind cold weather, appreciate mother nature, and don't mind small towns, Alaska is a good place.

[fau2010]

Regarding traffic:

I've lived in...

Seattle, WA
San Francisco, CA
Orlando, FL
Miami, FL
Gold Coast, Australia

...and Alaska (Wasilla, Palmer, Eagle River, Anchorage) has had the least traffic out of them all.

[Barkingowl]

Alaska was given an F rating by the anti-gunners. I can think of many reasons to move up & not many to stay here, other than lack of funds.

[Classic Satch]

Originally Posted by fau2010

Regarding traffic:

I've lived in...

Seattle, WA
San Francisco, CA
Orlando, FL
Miami, FL
Gold Coast, Australia

...and Alaska (Wasilla, Palmer, Eagle River, Anchorage) has had the least traffic out of them all.

I've lived in:

Pittsburgh
Orlando
Daytona Beach
San Jose

And yes, traffic here isn't even remotely comparable. Bad weather does slow things down a lot but it's still very manageable, especially when compared with the Bay Area.

[Classic Satch]

Originally Posted by Barkingowl

Alaska was given an F rating by the anti-gunners. I can think of many reasons to move up & not many to stay here, other than lack of funds.

The anti-gunners have the cognitive reasoning capability of a brick so that rating should be considered a badge of honor.

[warptman]

I lived in:

Bethel, AK.