Wanting to leave Alaska! (Anchorage, Fairbanks: transplants, student loans, homes)

[thefineprint]

I loved Austin when I moved there from Anchorage. The city has a small town feel to it, it's very beatnik and the people are more 'outdoorsy' than other Texas cities. It's such a great town. Edited to add- I great up in Anchorage too (Bartlett High! lol) but transferred to Texas for undergrad - it was a great decision

[MeeptJeep]

Props to you for wanting to find and experience your own adventure. People always say they want to go to Alaska for the adventure but why can't it be the other way around too? I'm a midwesterner from MN. Born and raised. Small town. Typical cold winters, mild summers. I went to college in ND and found the geography to be mundane as well. I wanted out. I had amazing friends and family in MN and ND but I didn't want to end up like the many before me that stayed, had babies, had no ambition to excel in jobs and are now miserable. Don't get me wrong MN is B-E-A-U-TIFUL! It will always be home for me and I always look forward to coming home mid-summer to take a dip in one of our 10,000 lakes .

So what did I do? I left for NorCal. I was there for about two months before a job opportunity in Texas arose and decided to move. El Paso was the city. A border city that we knew nothing about. I'd never lived more than four hours away from my family before so this was a BIG deal. So, although I did not live in Austin here is what I can tell you about Texas...

Its a GI-normous state full of conservatives. Bush came from Texas for peets sake. I consider myself to be quite liberal so this was a little bit of an eye opener. Also, coming from the midwest I was not used to the mix of culture. Texas has a lot of hispanic culture which can take some adjusting. I understand that eastern Texas has more white cowboys than western Texas and once again, remember I was on the border. The hispanic culture is amazing. I grew to love it. I quickly picked up the spanish language and the food is amazing! I could eat mexican food every single day! Also, Texans and hispanics have an 'open arms' policy. They're very family oriented and will taken you in from hello. You will see that big families are common and those big families are also very close.

Now I'm not sure if Austin has anything like this but El Paso has a huge almost cult-like following for dirtbiking and off-roading with trucks or Jeeps through the desert. We bought a Jeep Wrangler when we moved there and it quickly became a weekly past time to haul the dirtbikes out to "red sands" in the desert and off-road all day long. Desert riding resulted in the replacement of about 5 tires for the Jeep due to cacti but hey, it was all in good fun.

Along with the hot 100 degree weather (which lasts about 6 weeks) comes a perfect mild winter. Most of the year the weather is more than tolerable and you will most likely enjoy it. Do remember though this is the desert and along with hot days comes cold nights. The difference in temperature is vast enough that you will feel cold at night and you do still require a light jacket in the winter.

The lack of snow is a bummer. I'm a Minnesotan and also an avid snowboarder so seeing those brown mountains on the skyline in December was a disappointment. The plus is that Santa Fe, NM and Albequerque, NM offer great snow and mountains for your downhill pleasure. We were frequent visitors throughout our stay. Hiking is another past-time that I quickly became familiar with and grew to love. Hiking up the face of a mountain for hours, and feeling that rush when you reach the top is like no other. The lack of abundant bodies of water was also hard to adjust to. 10,000 lakes was like a distant dream and I was a fish out of water. I know there are a few "lakes" throughout Texas but as someone already mentioned, it will be a drive to get to any of them.

El Paso has the dry, desert heat, so I didn't have to deal with humidity. That was nice.

Cost of living is cheaper in Texas but with that also comes a downside. Salaries are lower as well. I was getting paid at least $5,000/yr less for the same job I could have been doing in MN, CA or AK. I don't know the reason for this but my guess at the time was because of the influx of cheap labor, why would they need to pay more?

I've also made some long-lasting, lifetime friends from Texas but don't we all? No matter where we live?

Once the economy took a dump we had to leave Texas and take the next adventure.

India!

I've spent the past year here and the heat is even worse on this side of the world! Texas would feel like heaven right now. India has been an amazing adventure as well and I don't regret moving around so much. My nickname "the transient" has been well-earned and well-deserved.

If you do take the plunge just remember a few things...

New adventures are life stories. Eternal memories. You're writing your own book remember. Not anyone else's. At the end of the day you have to look yourself in the mirror and be satisfied. You don't have to satisfy anyone else. Also, when we die and leave this world what do we have left? The commodities and crap that we have purchased and acquired over the years? Yes. But are those the important things? No. The people you meet. The lives you've touched. The places you've seen. The things you've done. Its not what you get, its what you give.

Honestly, I'd say go for it. Most likely Austin will be a jumping off point for you. Once you scratch that traveling itch it most likely won't stop. You'll move on to the next place for that next best job or school or whatever. And people back home will be proud and even a little jealous.

Funny that you want to get out of AK because I'm trying to get in. I'm sick of the hot weather. I want the cold. I want the mountains so I can snowboard whenever I want. I want the ocean. I want the wilderness. Basically, like everyone has said...

I'm a twenty-something just looking for that next adventure.

Cheers &
Good luck!

[pgrdr]

If you are a young adult and you are still in Alaska, leave! To never leave one's home stomping grounds is to never expand one's world and perceptions. To never leave Alaska is even more limiting because most people who've lived here all of their lives, or even 20+ years, are mostly clueless about how the rest of the country operates. We are 20-30 years behind many states for all sorts of things but only those of us who've lived elsewhere seem aware of that. Even many of our local elected officials are clueless about programs and practices Outside. I guess there just isn't much curiosity about anything outside Alaska. It's too bad, though, because our state and city suffer for it.

About taxes, we don't pay enough taxes, which is why we can't seem to afford even decent roads. Those of us in Anchorage pay fewer taxes than just about Anywhere else but we still complain about taxes. So if you move somewhere with higher taxes and you have a job and property that requires paying them, then you are doing okay financially as well as contributing to the upkeep of your community.

Many people who do not like Texas do like Austin. Also, you might want to consider WA or OR. Oregon has a high unemployment rate right now, so it depends on what you do for a living. There are some really nice smaller communities in eastern and central WA and OR, and it is really beautiful there. Nice dry, warm summers and snow in the winter. The Cascade Mountains would make you feel more at home most likely.

I'd be very leery of buying into a timeshare anywhere.

So if you are still here, go out and see the world outside of Alaska! You can always return someday, but you will return a more well-rounded, experienced individual with more to offer Alaska; and who knows who you will meet along the way? Good luck!

[pgrdr]

[quote=kittymama;9628381]:I am a native Texan who has lived in Alaska for 6 years.

That was great! I really enjoyed reading it.

[Lovetheoutdoors]

Mickey, like what others have mentioned, Austin is great. I went to UT and absolutely loved it!! I would have stayed but I met and married a girl from So Cal so we moved there. I was like you - born and raised in Anchorage and I wanted adventure. The funny thing is that I never came back (until recently and that was due to my father's death). I have to be honest - I love living in the Lower 48. I love the fact that I don't have to drive through a foreign country to visit another state.

You may return or you may not. Whatever you choose, I applaud you for spreading your wings. My sister has never left Alaska except for a 4-day trip to Seattle when she was 10. She's 34 now. I would have gone stir crazy if that was me.

[lonewolf39]

I was thinking of moving out of alaska to. Born and raised here and servered 3 years in the military in SC then moved to Georgia. I loved the warm rain. I spent my last year of highschool in arizona and the heat really didnt bother me I'm thinking of moving to SC close to myrtle beach cause i have friends there i want a new start in life and think that might be the place to start.

[pgrdr]

lonewolf39,

Go for it!

[MommaF8]

I agree with all those folks who encourage you to leave to see more of the US. You won't appreciate where you grew up if you never leave.
My situation is just opposite. I'm older now, did the travelling thing...I left home at 17, joined the Air Force, then married Air Force, TWICE...so I've been travelling every 3 years for the past 29!!! We just got here to Alaska in January & we absolutely LOVE it here! I personally want to live farther outside of Anchorage, as I'm a country / farm girl...need room to raise my gardens, horses, goats, kids & grandkids. Don't EVER want to see my neighbors house again. ((Those of you who have lived in base housing will appreciate what I mean! :P))
I love snow, love the mountains, love the wildlife, & absolutely LOVE the independent streak I see in all Alaskans!
Even my city-raised husband loves it here. Not even the threat of earthquakes bothers us much, as we've lived in many countries / states with every type of natural disaster you can imagine. When it's your time to go, it's your time to go, & there ain't nothing you can do to stop it.
The whole point to my blathering is that though I still love Montana (& it would be MUCH easier to see family if we lived THERE) it's now slipped to 2nd favorite. Our eldest daughter was right when she said, "Momma, I know you love Montana, but I honestly think you'd like Alaska even better!" ((She lived & worked in Fairbanks for 6 months a few years back!)) How right she is!
So, go, explore, live, learn. That's what you're youth is meant for.
And if you're meant to, you'll come back. If not...at least you'll have your memories!
God bless you in all you do!

[donoesau]

The grass is notnecessesarily greener on the other side of the fence.

[B-ham 34]

Originally Posted by dmills

Anchorage is crowded? Can't quite understand that one. For a city of comparable size I just don't see it. Maybe you mean there are more small towns in Texas thats are accessible than in Alaska (on the road system), otherwise its hard to figure how you can have more people in a much smaller area and see Alaska as more crowded than Texas.

Texas cannot hold a candle to the beauty of Alaska (unless you like oil wells), but it does offer other benefits that Alaska can't.

Dmills, you do understand Anchorage has 249,000 people don't you?