Anchorage

[SenatorShriv]

I am considering a job opportunity in Anchorage Alaska. The job would be at least a two year commitment so I want to make sure that Anchorage is someplace I could handle living for a while. I'm prepared for the cold (I've always been the fat sweaty kid so that doesn't bother me too much.) I'm also aware of the 24 hours of darkness during the winter and I think that I can handle it. Does anyone know much else about living in Anchorage?

[whizkid]

Anchorage is south of the arctic circle and doesn't have 24 hours darkness. Here is some climate and other info. Being on the ocean makes it a lot different than inland places like Fairbanks.

 

Anchorage

[jjkoestler]

I'm biased because I live in Fairbanks, but here's my take on Anchorage...

 

ANC is much, much different than the rest of Alaska. Simply put, it is not Alaska. Folks from the rest of the state refer to it as "Los Anchorage" or a "suburb of Seattle." It is basically your typical city. Unlike cities in the rest of the state you have access to shopping (they have a mall), better food, and nightlife. The city itself is pretty dirty, but it is in a great location for fishing (you can be on the Kenai in 30 minutes) and skiing.

 

If you want an "Alaskan Experience" i.e. roughing it, wilderness, and getting away from the crowds then Anchorage is not for you. If you want to live in Alaska and have all of the comforts and amenities of the lower 48 then Anchorage would be a good place to live.

 

Re climate: The temperatures are very mild. You will not have cold winters or hot summers. It will also be very wet. If you can handle a Wisco winter then you will have no problem in ANC.

 

Hope this helps. PM me if you have any questions.

 

http://images.yuku.com/image/jpeg/7231673cd3659fe9a985859d088295c0c4031ef5.jpg

[bjkrautk]

Oddly enough, I was just in Anchorage for a family visit / vacation last month. It doesn't have the same 'big city' vibe of a place like Milwaukee. More like Green Bay, in that the community is spread out, but without a sense of sprawl (albeit with the occasional skyscraper with an oil company logo plastered on it).

 

I was there shortly after the equinox, when it was supposedly daylight for 24 hours. 'Daylight' is probably not the right word for it; in WI, we'd say 'overcast.' Just dark enough that you wouldn't want to go golfing at 10pm.

It has most of the big box retailers you'd expect (Wal-Mart / Sams Club, Target, Best Buy, Kohls, etc.) in most towns, and a decent variety of places to eat. Tons of things to see and do, if only because you can drive an hour in any direction and find something worth taking a picture of. (Which is something I could demonstrate if I ever got around to looking through my pictures and updating my Flickr page.)

 

Most people who live there say they absolutely love it (...I'm guessing those that don't just end up moving away), but that first year requires some getting used to. Being on the Ocean, it's supposedly temperate most of the year, but it does get Wisconsin Cold during Winter. The one thing that I didn't experience during my week there, but I'm told does happen: earthquakes. You will also hear about moose and bears wandering into parts of town.

 

Not a ton of sporting events there (unless you like hockey; AK-Anchorage is in the WCHA with the Badgers), although I'm told they have a summer wood bat league (Northern Sun league, or something like that) as well as the Great Alaska Shootout in College Basketball.

 

 

Fun place to see and visit, but I don't know if I could live there, to be completely honest.

[jjkoestler]

Not a ton of sporting events there (unless you like hockey; AK-Anchorage is in the WCHA with the Badgers), although I'm told they have a summer wood bat league (Northern Sun league, or something like that) as well as the Great Alaska Shootout in College Basketball.

Hockey is HUGE up here. UAF and UAA both field competitive teams each year.

 

The summer wood bat league is called the Alaska Baseball League. It is the league that has the famous "Midnight Sun" game in Fairbanks on the solstice.

 

The Great Alaska Shootout still occurs in Anc, but it is struggling to survive.

[EdgarDiazRocks]

Born, raised and went to college in Anchorage. I have found it's a great place to be from. I wouldn't want to LIVE there . . . . . and earthquakes and volcanoes build character .. .

[SenatorShriv]

Well now that I know my license plate is already taken I don't think that I can take that job.

[dadofandrew]

Anchorage is warmer than much of the northern USA because of its ocean location. As pointed out, days may be slightly longer, but not that much, as it's light here from 5-9:30 at the peak.

[DHonks]

Al, I'd imagine its much more light. In northwestern Montana (I go there for vacation each year) the sun sets about 10:15 with twilight till sometime between 11 and 11:30. I can't imagine Alaska! I once played 72 holes of golf in a day there, withing rushing and with hour-long breaks between rounds. We also didn't tee off until 8 am.

[dadofandrew]

The sun rises almost identically now, but for whatever reason, it sets 2 hours later in Anchorage right now. So, if that's the same, it's 2 hours more light daily in the summer.

[pitchleague]

on July 4th last year, Anchorage did their fireworks around 12:30 am as that was the "darkest" it was going to get. It was dusk for you and me, with plenty of orange sky to the west.

[zurch1818]

Not that this affects your decision at all, but when I was there last summer, it seemed like everyone was playing disc golf. Any open field we found, somebody was playing. I did get the "dirty" feel to the city too. Even though it is as city as Alaska gets, the scenery around the Anchorage is still superior to many mountain sites in the lower 48.