Living in Alaska

[Dexter Grayson]

Moved on AK 5.5 years ago. Due to my father being sick and having a baby we decided to spend the winter in our home state. My wife isn’t ready to move back to the L48 permanently. I however am not.

The winters can be rough. The third winter really took a toll on my wife and I. They are long and dark. Do not regret one second of living in Ak and might be able to talk my ole lady into staying.

 

[gsimmons2]

Moved on AK 5.5 years ago. Due to my father being sick and having a baby we decided to spend the winter in our home state. My wife isn’t ready to move back to the L48 permanently. I however am not.

The winters can be rough. The third winter really took a toll on my wife and I. They are long and dark. Do not regret one second of living in Ak and might be able to talk my ole lady into staying.

Yeah convincing the ole lady would be the hardest part for sure, and I understand how it could be less appealing for a woman, even the outdoorsy ones.

 

[OXN939]

Moved on AK 5.5 years ago. Due to my father being sick and having a baby we decided to spend the winter in our home state. My wife isn’t ready to move back to the L48 permanently. I however am not.

The winters can be rough. The third winter really took a toll on my wife and I. They are long and dark. Do not regret one second of living in Ak and might be able to talk my ole lady into staying.

Any opinions on the SAD lamps, or other remedies? Specifically, other remedies that have recently been legalized? I'm not into that, but my GF might be and I've already told her the move to Alaska is 100% happening once I get my next job.

I think between gunsmithing, physical fitness, fly tying, home improvements, cross country skiing etc winters could be tolerable. Probably gotta get involved and do a lot of community events, plus one trip south between JAN and APR of each year. I have yet to do a winter up there yet, but last year was my 11th time up there and the obsession with moving up has gotten more and more intense every time since my first trip when I was in lower school... Any of you Alaska veterans up there come from a similar background?

 

[AK Troutbum]

Yeah convincing the ole lady would be the hardest part for sure, and I understand how it could be less appealing for a woman, even the outdoorsy ones.

This will more than likely be your hardest obstacle, however, I don't necessarily think that it's a good idea to try and convince your wife to live in AK. If you have to "convince" her to live here, chances are it will be short lived. Many a marriage has been lost in this great state. My wife and I moved up here almost 30 years ago, she lasted about 7 years or so, then she left and I stayed. If you do decide to move up, be prepared to make some sacrifices, and remember, one of those sacrifices may just be your marriage.

 

[gsimmons2]

This will more than likely be your hardest obstacle, however, I don't necessarily think that it's a good idea to try and convince your wife to live in AK. If you have to "convince" her to live here, chances are it will be short lived. Many a marriage has been lost in this great state. My wife and I moved up here almost 30 years ago, she lasted about 7 years or so up here, then she left, and I stayed. If you do decide to move up here, be prepared to make some sacrifices, and remember, one of those sacrifices may just be your marriage.

I completely agree with that, and that can be applied to many aspects of life.

 

[as.ks.ak]

This will more than likely be your hardest obstacle, however, I don't necessarily think that it's a good idea to try and convince your wife to live in AK. If you have to "convince" her to live here, chances are it will be short lived. Many a marriage has been lost in this great state. My wife and I moved up here almost 30 years ago, she lasted about 7 years or so up here, then she left, and I stayed. If you do decide to move up here, be prepared to make some sacrifices, and remember, one of those sacrifices may just be your marriage.

That’s why I moved up here and THEN found my wife.

But for real, if you’ve gotta convince her....rethink your priorities. What’s more important to you - her or AK life?


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[ramses342]

My wife was not the least bit outdoorsy when we moved up and she really likes it a lot. She loves looking at whales and Orcas out on our boat. She likes hunting but will not shoot a gun. She likes taking the dogs on walks with me. I think she really also likes the social environment of a really small town, where she knows everyone and all the kids run up and give her a hug. We are in SE so I won’t pretend it’s Fairbanks but she really likes it a lot.


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[Vek]

We lasted 5.5 years in anchorage...went up with no kids and came back with 3. Rough place to have babies and toddlers if Alaska cold and dark is not normal to you, and you don't have grandparents around. Still, we wouldn't trade it for anything, and we forced ourselves to do a lot more than some couples without kids. My wife is no fool; she understood that the outdoor experiences we had up there cannot be duplicated elsewhere. The kids were shrimping and fishing in big water before they could walk...these days it's not hard to convince them to spend a week or two each year fishing on Vancouver Island.

Get involved with a church or other social group. We met some of the finest people we know up there that way.

 

[Ray]

Last year I chatted with a military guy that was really disappointed that he could not drive his jeep all over the state like he could in MT and CO and access hunting areas. He also had issues with there not being white tailed deer all over the state. Then he started talking about turkey hunting...

From a biomass perspective, unless you are talking about plants or insects, AK is a desert. It takes a lot of area to support a critter up here, so their density is low across all but the best habitat. Even then it can still be hard to get on a critter.

Having been up here since 1982, I have had a couple of struggles with SAD and the darkness. Turns out I was just fat and lazy and didn't want to go outside those winters. However, liquid vitamin D is pretty important if you plan to live north of Seattle. After lots of conversations over the decades about why people have issues with the darkness, I have reduced the issue down to what appears to me to be the basic thing: people are more afraid of the dark than they realize. Get a head lamp and go outside.

The summers can be really bad on people. Needing night to sleep will mess you up. Most the people I have met who recently moved up here did not fully understand the issue. Add a couple of young kids to the mix and nobody was happy their first summer.

 

[DoubleBroomedMountainRifles]

Last year I chatted with a military guy that was really disappointed that he could not drive his jeep all over the state like he could in MT and CO and access hunting areas. He also had issues with there not being white tailed deer all over the state. Then he started talking about turkey hunting...

I am SO glad there is not whitetail deer or turkey hunting up here! Moose is close enough to the "back east deer hunt" mentality that I personally can deal with. I love it when folks talk that way of the "limited" hunting opportunity up here in Alaska. Glad to see them leave the state as well.

 

[Russp17]

So I have lived here 12 years. I like it a lot, but the winters can be rough. They are long with the darkness and the ice on recent years. I also once in awhile miss the ease of hunting in Wyoming. In college I use to hunt elk after class. My hunting in Alaska tends to be more big epic trips. I usually do one or two ten day hunts and that is normally my hunting for the year. I mean there is other hunting to do on weekend, but I just tend to do the big trip once or twice a year and not the after work type hunts due to distance to drive and access. This kind of steered me to a different hobby in fly fishing which has been great. It fills in that other time. I love it here, but it has some downside also. The distance to family is the toughest. I'm lucky that my wife is from here so we will likely never leave but I could see if both people's families were from out of state once you have kids it doesn't leave a lot of time to explore Alaska which is the biggest reason people live here.

 

[AKDoc]

Excellent, excellent comments shared thus far for sure...

Without a doubt, Alaska is not for everyone. I believe the divorce rate in ANC is over 50%. SAD is real, but it is treatable. Studies have shown that individuals moving from lower latitudes may have a harder adjustment, e.g., southern CA, Florida, etc.

That said, moving to Alaska over thirty years ago is one of my top five best decisions in life, and surpassed only by marrying my wonderful wife, having children, going to college, and joining the Marine Corps. I love it here, and I have lived it to the fullest...fly fishing, hunting, camping, snow-machining, road trips with family, etc., etc., etc.!

 

[boom]

Dumb question. Off topic. What about food? Veggies? You all rely on frozen produce? (Good stuff, in general)

great discussion. I’m fascinated by all of it.

 

[hodgeman]

Dumb question. Off topic. What about food? Veggies? You all rely on frozen produce? (Good stuff, in general)

In most locations on the road system, you can get fresh produce year round. In Anchorage or Fairbanks it's pretty much as available as anywhere in the Lesser 48. Out in the Bush, choices get more scarce and prices get higher.

 

[as.ks.ak]

Dumb question. Off topic. What about food? Veggies? You all rely on frozen produce? (Good stuff, in general)

great discussion. I’m fascinated by all of it.

If you’re not in a big city, or near one. The quality of your produce def varies. A lot of it falls on the shoulder of the local grocer and what type of quality the local market demands. It certain “bush” villages, people are willing to pay high prices for quality fruits and veggies. In others, like my own, it’s pretty bad. If you want to buy strawberries, you’re pretty much picking the pack with the least amount of mold on them etc....the price we pay to live the way we do where we do.

There’s a lot to be said for stuff you can get online these days. For a majority of stuff, whenever we have an opportunity to swing into a bigger city like Juneau or Anchorage, most bush families will do a major Costco run to stock up on food/dry goods. We typically do 2 big Costco trips/year.


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[Akwoodchuck]

Took my wife to a large discount grocery (Winco) in Idaho a couple years ago, she'd never been to one. The prices and quality completely floored her...we basically caused a scene in produce, yelling out prices to each other and laughing our butts off...people were definitely edging away lol....

 

[dutch_henry]

I am NOT a resident. My perspective is one of a visitor who loves the state. I've been lucky enough to be up there for months at a time, including in winter. But that's not the same as living there full time or being from there.

What strikes me is it's friggin' huge at over 660,000 square miles. In terms of longitude, when overlaid on a US map, AK stretches from California to Florida. It's also longer N to S than California. Think of it this way: there are only maybe 18 countries bigger than Alaska.

In all that land, you get: the terminus of the Pacific Coast Range (and it's biggest peaks), the terminus of the Rocky Mountains, the terminus of the great plains (which show up as the coastal plains around Prudhoe Bay). as well as vast swaths of tundra, taiga, montane forest, and temperate rain forest. Plus some of the world's longest undamed rivers and more coastline than the rest of the US, etc., etc. It's immense.

With so few road miles, front-country spots can get overloaded with hunters and fisherman. There can be a lot of as$hats playing out their Rambo fantasies. But damn, put in the miles on foot or sled or boat or packraft or flight and you will see the earth like God intended it.

It's so immense it's hard to pin down, and there are a lot of contrasts. There're issues with crime and homelessness in the cities. Anchorage has the most diverse school district in America. In the cities you'll see more big box stores and strip malls than historic buildings or cabins. AK is such a young state that it's rare to find families that've been there for generations...many people move their by choice to build a life. Maybe because of that, I've found that if you work hard and treat people with respect, they'll be glad you're there. Some folks try to turn it into California or Texas, but it's better the way it is imo.

My intention is always to move there, even though there are hard parts about it. The wife has other ideas.

 

[Ray]

Dumb question. Off topic. What about food? Veggies? You all rely on frozen produce? (Good stuff, in general)

My best friend was born and raised in Anchorage. He recalls his mom, being frugal, buying naval oranges at the store and searching for all the light weight ones to keep the cost down. Those light weight oranges were dry as popcorn farts and tasted like some kind of bitter fungus.

These days the quality of vegetation is much improved over the 1970's thanks to air transport and faster barges. You will pay more. Right now the local farmers produce is working out cost wise to the store bought stuff from Mexico and South America. Just have to wait till mid summer when the local stuff ripens.

One of the food items that I have noticed people being shocked at is boxed cereal. Coming up on a barge, there is a lot of cube space with a light deck weight in those boxes. Really jacks up the shipping and handling costs. Consumer pays for it. Send that box of cereal to a village and it might as well be gold plated.

 

[Bear_Hunter]

My $0.2. Don't move up expecting to find your wife. Bring one. It's possible, just less fish in the sea...Ladies, you shouldn't have a problem finding a guy.

Everyone seems to say the winters are the worst part. Guys, it's the best part! You know why? Because it keeps most of the riff raff out. If it was pleasant all the time, Californians (sorry I know they aren't all bad) would be moving up by the bus load like Missoula or Boise! We have enough folks trying to take our trapping/hunting away, committing crimes, raising property values, etc. I like the cold and dark for that reason alone. Heck I'd make it colder, darker, windier, snowier if I could.

Ammo/reloading supplies: we're limited to what they have in stores here. We can't just add a case of 1,000 rounds of .223 to the cart and get free shipping to our door step. It just won't ship period. Same with powder/primers. Same with lots of other things. Some companies just won't ship to Alaska period, or charge an insane amount to do so. I tried to order a vortex scope one time and it wouldn't ship to Alaska period. You know why? It came with a small battery for the illuminated reticle. The battery made it hazardous to ship. Those are the frustrating things about living here to me.

The hunting is great, and it's really nice residents aren't all that limited by the "draw" system. More than plenty of opportunity for different critters with free over the counter tags.

 

[SLDMTN]

The most common factor in leaving the state seems to be lack of a family network close by. Followed closely by the younger crowd wanting to get out because they were born here, raised here and never got to experience anything else in their life. We all talked about moving when I was growing up because we'd never been anywhere else. Now I've been a few places and I want to go back to living with a wood stove, drinking powdered milk, everything was homemade, and there was no tv except for RATNET (if you know you know).