So I currently live near Chicago, Illinois. I applied for a job in Fairbanks Alaska making really good money. I was w (Anchorage: sale, rent)

[Music_Man]

Watertown NY:

Highest max temperature:54.1°F
Lowest min temperature:-29.0°F

[MrBanks]

That's -29F before wind chill though. The whole Great Lakes thing went on there.

Here it's cold, but okay to be outside as long as skin is covered.

[riceme]

Originally Posted by Music_Man

I mean one of these, are we on the same page?
Amazon.com : Can O Worms 00300 Composting Bin : Patio, Lawn & Garden

Ha, no mine is a little less high tech. Something more like so:



But I admit that I am jealous of your big fancy can o worms!

[Justabystander]

Originally Posted by TGPII

Could you please point me to the best thread? Do you need a passport to go through Canada? Its has been negative 40 in Chicago before. Also Alaska is the big thing now for reality TV. Are all towns dry or only the remote Native American towns? How is cost/standard of living compare to the lower 48? How do you use an out house when its negative 40? Do all homes have there own tanks for heat? There were days were Chicago was colder or had more snow then parts of Alaska!

Ah, this is really interesting reading, but living in the Chicago area there is no way in hell that it has ever been anywhere near 40 below here. I know that there actually have been days where it has been colder here, but for the most part there is no comparison to suburban Chicago and Fairbanks. You do need a passport to enter Canada, and a Prius doesn't seem like the best car for your trip. Please listen to these Alaskan posters who are trying to help you, and be prepared for an interesting adventure. Just be honest with the transition.

[Dakster]

I've done your drive a few times to Alaska and to Fairbanks twice... I start in Miami, but I usually spend time with Family in SE Michigan along the way and drive the interstates past Chicago. (I-80/90) And a month ago I rented a Prius to drive around Anchorage. It had studded snow tires on it and I slipped around a little more than I would like. More than with just M+S tires on my 4WD truck. More than with studded snow tires on our Volt. But it was driveable.

The drive is incredible. However, Only you know your driving ability - but if you are up to the drive I recommend it. If you are not up to days on the road and being in the middle of nowhere, then don't. Yes you need a passport, you need to read up on what you can and cannot bring through Canada and the quantities. Some things change so it's a good idea to read up right before you leave. If you do bring legal guns through Canada (mainly long guns - and not all of those qualify either), it is not only important to declare them to Canada, BUT to declare them to the US Customs Side FIRST BEFORE YOU ENTER CANADA. They will record the serial numbers and give you a receipt. This is important - as you will need this when you enter Alaska. Careful buying things in Canada to bring into the US as well. I just buy food/drink for consumption along the way. I don't smoke or drink... So I am not worried about those limits either.

The Western/Northern Canada and Alaska winter weather is different than midwest winters. The experts there have spoken, so I have nothing else to add. I spent a lot of time on the other side of the lake from you in Michigan and I agree with them... If you can drive on the ice and snow in and around Chicago in your Prius you should be OK. I highly recommend some sort of severe snow tires - studded or non-studded. There are some that swear one is better than the other. Only issue with studded is that you can't run them all year long. There is poster here who drove in the winter in a Prius up to Alaska. S/He ended up buying studded tires from Canadian Tire and said the Prius drove a whole lot better from that point on.

I like the Milepost too. Nice thing about the new ones, you can download a PDF copy of it. So all you need is your tablet/computer or not as ideal, but still works smartphone.

I am interested from the Fairbanks people here how good, bad, or non-existent plowing is there. Anchorage, the main streets get plowed pretty quick, but you are driving on snow packed secondary and neighborhood roads for days. Unless of course you live in an association that you pay to plow the roads for you. It's getting worse as the budget gets tighter.

[TGPII]

I don't think I am getting the job anyways. Thanks.

[Dakster]

Darn... Sorry about that... I wish you the best regardless and keep trying. It took my wife a few interviews to get a job up in AK.

[riceme]

Plowing is great right now because we haven't had any significant snow in a month (is that right? Seems right) and it's been really warm, but that is not usually the case.

[Dakster]

Thanks..

Ready for the great warm up coming? If you believe some of the long range models (I don't put a lot of faith in them) could be +40F second week of January. Have to see how that shakes out. Could be an icy, slushy mess... And then of course it will freeze.

[riceme]

No, in fact I have been bitching about it for the past two or three days. -15*F is just about perfect... the forecast is some horsesh*t!