sirdrakejr
Las Vegas, Nevada
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I first visited Alaska when I worked for the telecom in WA. I moved there and then retired there. There is nowhere like there. I still miss it and I have been out of there for 25 years. It never leaves you IF you really become part of it.
That said, I have seen and met some who went there to make "their fortune" and then planned on leaving. It doesn't work! They usually don't survive a year. You either love it or hate it. I have not met anyone who just LIKED it. There doesn't seem to be that middle ground if you go there. I loved flying small planes there. There is a special something in flying from Anchorage to Kenai just to have a hamburger there. And when you park you could end up beside a Staggerwing Beech or a F-27. Or fly from Homer to Seldovia and view Mt Augustine. Or fly from Gulkana to Cantwell over the mountains and see vistas others just write about. There is just too much to tell and remember.
I LOVED IT then. I still do!
Frank
RV.net blog
For those of you looking for expert advice, here ya go!
Frank
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Rhonda
Clarkton, NC
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Joined: 11/23/2002
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Thanks for the replies everyone. I immediately ordered "Alaska by RV" DVD, got it and just watched it. Made me want to go more than ever. Just a few minutes ago, I ordered "Milepost" and "Alaska" (book by John Mishner) and "Support your RV lifestyle (book). I'm trying to figure out how I can have my husband work in Alaska with me while I travel nurse there. That's the only thing holding me back at this point.
Rhonda
Enjoying life with my wonderful husband Allyn,
Our 2003 Newmar Mountain Aire Motorhome,
& various other assortment of wheels
Our Life On Wheels
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Tee Jay
Port Angeles, WA
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Joined: 11/25/2007
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Rhonda:
The Anchorage Daily News (ADN) had a lot of job ads over the summer for a lot of different skills. Providence Hospital (Anchorage) has hired travel nurses on contract in the past. Good luck.
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mcgillagorilla
north pole ak
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hey rhonda, i came up in 75 worked the pipeline and came back up in 1981 and wife and i never left. look at fairbanks the golden heart of alaska and i think my doctor is looking for another r.n. you either love it or hate it. the friendliest people in the world and the scenery is not to beleived. p.m. me and i will tell you more.
bob mcgill
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joe b.
Florida
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Joined: 08/24/2002
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I still consider Alaska to be home, as I lived there longer than any where else I have lived. I didn’t move to Alaska to try and live like I had, on a ranch in rural Oklahoma. I wanted to experience all that Alaska had to offer, especially the experiences that were different. Suspect many other do the same whether moving there or just visiting in the summer for a few weeks. Probably why so many visitors are so fascinated by bears, moose, eagles, salmon, glaciers, lakes, etc. Just plain different than what they see everyday at home. Some of this changes when you live there for some time. Some of it just becomes work/common, to some extent, catching salmon for the approaching winter, that black bears and moose are very good, next to the mashed potatoes, eagles are just the vultures/buzzards of the north, etc. You learn that mother nature has both a light and a dark side, very evident in Alaska, just like the Force or duct tape. LOL
Those tall beautiful mountains are so scenic, but as a pilot, you quickly learn (hopefully in time) that they will also try to kill you, the lakes and rivers, the same. At times, Alaska can be very unforgiving to intruders (humans) and at times only gives a person, one oops. Alaska offers the average person many more opportunities to challenge themselves, in general, than does most populated areas of the earth.
Visiting Alaska for a few weeks in the summer time (no matter how many times you do it) and living there year around are two different things. Rhonda indicated in a previous post, that she was considering moving there to live.
Rugged individualism is just an Alaska term for weirdness, IMHO. The ability to tolerate/accept, (being flexible) seems to be a factor in the success or failure of a person moving to Alaska. It is a personal trait that, in most of Alaska, is very well tolerated and almost encouraged by society. If a person moving there can't accept the differences of others and probably the changes in themselves, they more than likely won't be too happy living in Alaska. As PA12drvr said in the past, living in Anchorage isn't that much different than many other cities in the country. The standard joke in Alaska is, the best thing about Anchorage is that it is only a 30 minute flight to Alaska from there. LOL
But to live in the state, takes a real degree of being able to "mind one's own business" while staying friendly and helpful. Not all ways easy, once spring fever starts to set in, after a long dark winter. People that are highly judgmental of others and are not flexible, by nature, don't in general do well. Just like some summer visitors don't care much for Alaska, a person moving to the state to live and work, will only find out if it is for them after giving it a try.
Not to sound gender biased but women seem to have more problems adapting to the "Alaska Lifestyle" than do men. Especially those women, that lead a more traditional married lifestyle. Being a mother, housewife and/or combo wage worker, home caretaker has to be the hardest job in existence, IMHO. Add in the complications of doing all those things in cold weather, the darkness of winter time Alaska, having few long time friends/family nearby and it will challenge the strongest not to do bodily harm to the dear spouse as he jumps on the snow machine/ATV or gets in the airplane to go play. Yes, my wife is a very strong and tolerant woman, otherwise I wouldn't probably be here today writing this. LOL
Many of the 25 + years I lived in rural Alaska, I worked at a position that was involved in hiring many new employees, many from the lower 48. While over the years I got better at hiring “keepers”, on occasion I would miss my guess and they would be gone in a few months or less.
As an example of flexibility: The year I moved to Nome, 1964, one evening in early winter, I walked into the Board of Trade bar, whereas I noticed a woman visitor to town, setting up on top of the juke box, she was completely nude. At the time it stuck me as very odd, that I seemed to be the only person in the bar that had noticed the situation. Everyone else was minding their own business but this 22 year old Okie ranch boy was having trouble ignoring the rugged individualism being shown. LOL But I worked at it and became more accepting of others and their behaviors.
Another time in the bar in Manley Hot Springs, when the owner called "closing time" the crowd refused to leave. The owner, Bob, casually reached under the back bar, took out a can of military surplus tear gas, pulled the pin, dropped it on the floor and stepped out the back door. The crowd changed their minds and decided to leave after all. Don't remember anyone getting too mad over the incident though.
Hard to believe, but both times I went in a bar, something like this happened.
.
* This post was
edited 10/07/08 06:08am by joe b. *
joe b.
South Florida, Stuart
Formerly of Colorado and Alaska
Driving a Dodge/Cummins
www.jbpacooper.com web site
http://www.picturetrail.com/jbpacooper Alaska 2004 - Alaska 2006 - Colorado photos
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garym114
Texas
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It is all my little brothers fault. His job took him to Anchorage in the fall of 05 and we flew up to visit in the spring of 06. I'm retired and the DW is still teaching so we stayed 4 weeks. We had a grand time. On the flight back we talked of getting a motor home and returning in 07. Within three months after getting back to Texas we had a MH.
We drove up in 07. Got there at the end of June. What a great drive. DW had to go back first week in Aug and I stayed till the end of Sept. Put the MH and toad in storage in Anchorage.
I flew back up mid May this year and DW came up after school was out. I just got back to Texas last week and now we are trying to decide what we want to do in 09. Take five weeks to drive it back or see more of Alaska, put it is storage again and drive back in 2010.
It would take far to long to describe what all we saw and did and what we would still like to do.
....how did it affect you? -- Consumed our last two years, not sure when it will end.
Warning - don't go unless you can do it again.
2000 Sea Breeze with 1998 CRV Toad in Dawson Creek - Start of Alaska Highway
Don't Forget - USS Liberty, June 08, 1967
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lanerd
Ridgecrest, CA
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Joined: 03/03/2003
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Just got back from 4 months up there. Would I go back? You betcha! Already planning for next year.
Ron
Ron & Sandie
'08 Safari Simba SBD35
86 Toy 4x4 P/U for Toad.
Tow Bar: Sterling
Brakes: Unified
Toys:
Yamaha 660R Raptor (mine)
Honda 350ES Rancher (hers)
64 Fairlane w/351c - 4sp
Both Fed CS Retirees
Hobbies:
DW's: Quilting
Mine: DW
RETIRED!! How sweet it is....
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Deb and Ed M
SW MI, USA
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Joined: 06/07/2004
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I suspect Alaska is like "Meth" - one taste and you can get hooked??? Sure happened to me....LOL!!! It's like every sight is burned into my brain - it's a place I go to, to relax. Have never experienced anything so wonderful as Alaska - but I'm not sure I'd want to live there? The Lack of sunshine in Michigan gets to me by late November - I can't even IMAGINE what it's like way up north??
And yes, we were lucky enough to see Denali on a cloudless day!! It literally GLOWED in the morning sun....
Deb
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Rhonda
Clarkton, NC
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Hi Joe,
I appreciate your reply. I really enjoyed reading it. Alaska sounds like a wonderful place indeed. Though I indicated in the past I may want to live there, I have since realized that I don't think I could ever live there full time. I would love the long days of summer, but I don't think I could bear the very long nights in winter. I don't even like it when the days get shorter here in NC! I would like to perhaps stay for a summer or if I can't do that, at least visit for a few weeks. Also, I could never give up my house and few acres here in NC.
PLEASE!! There is no need to copy a whole post just to give an answer. Using the name of the poster may give them an indication of whom you are responding too. 
Frank
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edited 10/09/08 04:50pm by an administrator/moderator *
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joe b.
Florida
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Hi Rhonda,
As you have found out, just thinking about a move to Alaska causes a person to re-evaluate themselves in terms of their needs and wants. Which to me is a good thing. My wife and I have been talking about closing our house here in Florida up for a year or so and moving back to somewhere in Alaska with a milder climate than the places we lived before. I have been checking on rental properties in both Valdez and the Homer area. Rents are about the same ±$650 a month plus lights, snow removal normally included in the Valdez market. Alaska, as a general comment is a place for younger people to live in the winter time. Saw too many of my older friends, somewhat held prisoner by the cold and ice/snow of winter, not able to do the stuff they had always done before when younger. Moving back is fun to think about but may never happen, as I am now 66 years of age. However just going back to live in the summer, as some of the other forum members do is worth considering. I have several friends that do it and return to Alaska a few times (at least every 90 days) to maintain their residency status, for cost of living adjustments on retirement, resident hunting and fishing licenses, PFD checks (Permanent Fund Dividend from the state every fall). I believe all of them have been checked by the state of Alaska at least once to make sure they can prove they are meeting the letter of the law, if not the intent.
It is a smart person that can figure out, ahead of time, what they and their spouse/family, need and want as a place of abode. I have said many times on this forum, even driving to Alaska is not for everyone. Seems like every fall someone mentions how they will never drive back to Alaska and they didn't like the trip. When I read their comments I wonder, what exactly did they expect out of the trip? Some seem surprised that their RVs get dirty, that all the roads are not super highways, that they were not welcomed to the north country as intrepid travelers of the equal of Magellan or Mackenzie, that the private campgrounds were not RV resorts but mostly a place to park and plug in, that Anchorage was just another city not that different from Seattle, just smaller and closer to Alaska, and the list goes on and on and on. Too bad these people couldn't have figured out this ahead of time as you seem to have done.
I enjoyed all the seasons of the year in Alaska, but we had the toys, jobs, housing, etc. to enjoy them. A visit to the north country, Alaska or northern Canada, during any of the seasons is beyond belief for most visitors.
I often compare Alaska, the real Alaska, outside the urban regions, to Disney World, a great place for most people to visit but only a few would want to live there year around. LOL
On Edit: Just checked the PFD requirements and now you only have to be back every 180 days and have intent to return and maintain your Alaska residency. Still have to live there for a full calendar year prior to applying to get it and plan to remain a resident.
This years check to every man, woman and child that qualifies will be $3,269. ($13,076 for a family of four) Of that $1,200 will be their new energy credit program. The same people get the $1,200 to spend on heat for the house, electricity, fuel for the car, etc. Not too bad for a state where the residents don't pay any/many personal state taxes. There are exceptions to the 180 day requirement, such as medical leave, etc. So being in prison for a felony will disqualify a person but apparently not a misdemeanor conviction of less than a year. Alaska contracts out many of their long term prisoners to the states of Washington and Oregon.
Standard disclaimers apply: Alaska residency requirement vary by program so check with your personal legal adviser for "real" answers.
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