My dh wants to move to Alaska?

[Ms. Cluckingly]

Oh I SO miss Alaska. We were there for 4 years at Fort Richardson/ Anchorage... which is known as the "banana belt" to the rest of Alaska.

But we'd often travel to Fairbanks for weeks at a time to Ft. Wainright and oh yeah... it gets C O L D. But you dress for it, and your body adjusts. Your first winter will be the hardest on you. You'll freak out when you go outside and it hurts to breathe in because it is so cold, and then when your boogers freeze... oh yeah.

Yeah, -12 is nothing at all. Kids still go outside to play at recess until -10 in ANchorage. You get used to driving on 3 inches of ice all winter, and having 6 and 7 foot snow drifts next to your door from shoveling.

You wake up in the morning to go to work and you have to shovel your car out, unless you have an apartment or house with a garage... which if you go. MAKE SURE you find somewhere with a garage. You plug in your engine block heaters at -20 so you don't ruin your car. I mean, you get used to it, and the Alaska PFD (just google it) is great too.

I miss it so much. I wish we could move back there.

Oh yeah.. and moose own the roads! LOL In the 4 years we were in Anchorage we saw more moose outside in the city just roaming around then we did stray dogs.

 

[RlgNorth]

I live in Northpole well actually I live in between northpole and fairbanks the cities are only about 15- 20 min apart. We have been here for 5+ years and we have succesfully have..gardens goats, horses, chickens you can go on my page and see a little of what it looks like to live here. My husband works at a gold mine called fort Knox and I am a stay at home mom. We can live up here on one income very nicely just have to prepared for fuel for the winter and when it gets really cold you would be surprised what breaks, furnaces, vehicles all those wonderful pricy things so it is almost a must to make sure you are prepared. Last year we had I think 10 days or more in a row where it was -30 and colder before the temps started to warm up a little. You get used to the cold and dark and learn to keep yourself busy to help the winter go by. Alot of ppl try it out for a winter and deside it not for them. It definatly helps if you have family up here cause when you are feeling down cause of the cold /dark they can put a smile on your face.My children love it up here but they are still little and were born here so they dont know anything differant, just becuase it is cold doesn't mean I keep my kids inside we do all the normal winter things, and any winter special events in town I make it a point to take my kids like the ice park and what not. You just be smart and layer since I have to drive 20 min to get to a town I have all the emergancy things in a vehicle. In the winter up here all the city busses are free because you can die if you get caught in the cold almost every year you hear about some poor older person or someone who got drunk and passed out in the cold and froze to dealth. Garages make your life easier that is for sure but we dont have one and do just fine. Me and my Dh are from colorado (pueblo) and the only differances to me is the extreme cold, light/dark and population.

You either love it ! or you hate it! no inbetween.

I definatly agree with Ak birdy it is a wonderful place to raise children with clean fresh air and all the wonders of it being the last frontier.

 

[beefy]

i want to go fishing in alaska. and visit some in the summer.

 

[rebecca100]

Oh well, it will be at least a year if we go. And I would like to visit. I am afraid it would be a real shock to the kids, who have never been out of AR. We may also look for land up north of us and south af AK and eventually work our way up there. I think that it would be a true adventure. My parents lived up north with no water or electricity in a 2 room cabin for years before I was born, and i grew up listening to their stories about bears and wild animals and snow and the cb being their only source of communication. They loved it, of course later they wanted to get mules and travel the us in a covered wagon. They couldn't afford the mules and so the idea stopped there until I got married and then my mom wanted us to do it so she could go with us!

my dh said heck no!

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Quote:
Just south of Alaska (in the US) is us...... Let me tell you, WA is not practice for AK, you have so much Canada in between here and AK, it's just not even similar in the slightest. I still feel like I'm on another planet entirely, down here in the lower 48 (what we call the rest of the US, in AK). Anchorage is the closest it comes to being sort of like WA, but even still it's WAY different.... All that bieng said, if you ever have the time to DRIVE from WA to AK via lots of Canada, and then drive from SE AK to the interior (like where you're talking about - to Salcha), you'll see so much and gain so much knowledge about where you want to be, there will be no questions for you. There is no question for me - I love all of AK and a whole lot of Canada too. Homer Ak is great place.... fishing towns are milder climate than the interior (Salcha). I sure hope you get to check it out!!

 

[ChicknJ]

Rebecca, I have the opposite here, I want to move to Alaska and my dh says NO, with emphasis. I have kicked this around for years so I have made a resolution. I am going to go there in the summer in 2 yrs and take a 12 week assignment (I am a RN) and see how I like it. If I do, I am going to take another assignment in the winter and see how I do with that. If I love love love it, I am moving and dh will notice when the laundry is piled up and dinner isn't ready.

 

[Quillgirl]

I agree about Homer. Cool place! Sort of hippy, artsy, end of the road sorta town. And gotta love that Homer Ale...

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Quote:
Hah, you nailed it! Best breakfast in the entire world is at Cosmic Kitchen.... But then just down the road in Soldotna, very different vibe - cowboy, trucker... AK has a little something for everyone!

 

[Boyd]

gosh, I've been wanting to move away from the snow and cold we get in Michigan then I read this thread..... I am going to google some acreage in AK now

 

[mom'sfolly]

Here ya go Boyd. Prettiest small town in the world.

http://www.hainesrealestate.com/

For an idea of what small town life is like in Alaska read Heather Lende's book, "If You Lived Here, I Would Know Your Name". I think it paints a fairly accurate picture of the rewards and risks of living in a remote place. She also has a weekly column in the Anchorage Daily News

I just need to figure out how to convince the dh we could swing the money for the Mercantile near Mosquito Lake. It is a small acreage with rental property, a small store (the only one in the area), and some other things.