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Tell me about Alaska!
Hi ladies! My DH & I are visting Alaska in a few months and was wondering if you could give me any info about where you are from? Do you like living in Alaska? DH is applying for a job in Anchorage and in Sitka. I have heard several bad things about Alaska..such as in the winter it's very depressing (i'm guessing cause it stays dark), It's much more expensive to live there, and it's SUPER cold! Where I am from not the coldest it gets is probably 30degrees. Am I in for a rude awakening? TIA!
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Re: Tell me about Alaska!
Hello! My husband and I have been up here in Anchorage for about a year and a half. We LOVE it! We are originally from Georgia (yup) and the cold and the winter darkness should have probably been difficult for us to get used to....if you have a really good mentality about it then it is really not that big of a deal. We have had some friends who could not stand the dark and would get really depressed but I think they were pre-disposed to be depressed. The cool thing is that there is a TON of sunlight during the summer time and it is awesome! The sights up here are unlike anywhere else and there is so much to do and see. You just have to make the most of your surroundings. It is more expensive to live up here but most places inflate salaries in order to compensate for the cost of living. What my husband and I have noticed the most is how much more rent is....food and gas was not so much more expensive that we had to adjust how we spent money. You get pretty good at couponing and the like.....
sorry i rambled. Let me know if you have specific questions!!!!!
If you guys are going to live in Anchorage, then it probably won't be bad for the roads. Just remember that if the roads are slick or snowy, leave 10 or 15 minutes early, go slower and give yourself more following distance and start braking farther back.
If you choose to live in the Valley and commute an hour to Anchorage (what I do), rent is cheaper, food is a little cheaper. The one awesome thing is that we have a dairy up here so the Mat-Valley Creamery milk is pretty fresh, and during the summer we have all sorts of farmers markets.
It is dark here during the winter, but we also have 24 hour daylight during the summer. If you need a little sun in the winter, we do have tanning booths (tho obviously... if you're BFP, prolly not the place to be) and there are stores that sell sun lamps.
If you keep yourself occupied during the winter, you tend to not notice how dark it is. Working out, having friends over, a few outdoor activities... heck, you may find that during the winter, you like inner tubing or snow machining!
It's a pretty awesome place to live. I've lived here most of my life. Spent 4 years in WI between the ages of 7 and 11 and hated it. I will never live any other place than Alaska. LOL.