Alaska - anyone live there? Q's!

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As things go I might be transferring to the U. of Alaska to finish my degree.

Any WP members live in the state that I could contact to ask general questions about the area?

I use to live there and only moved back down south a few years back. I might be able to answer a few questions depending on which part of Alaska you want info about.

It'll be quite different than Florida, that's for sure! I'm sure you know that though! Are you going to the Fairbanks campus?? I am thinking of applying there for fall 2012 for the wildlife biology and conservation masters degree. I've been to Alaska 3 times, but I am a Canadian girl, so probably can't answer specific questions, but thought I'd respond anyway. Oh, if you want...go to my thread in the school forum about UAF. A person responded who is a current student, and maybe s/he will be able to help answer your questions.

If you can catch her online Kaybee went to uni there and would be ideal to ask

thank you all for the replies.

lily: I guess you'll be my cold weather sensei

You would be very surprised at how little we get cold weather up here.

Just sayin'.

So, what exactly are you going to Alaska for? Do you need to take igloo construction 101?

I use to live in Fairbanks so I can help a little,

Cost of living: Expensive, easiest way to explain it is down in the lower 48 you have the dollar menu up in Alaska it's the dollar fifty menu. Expect to just pay more for everything even gas.
Rent: Also expensive but more in line with the larger cities down south but you are likely to not have as many amenities and 70's interiors, if you are going to school live in the dorms.
Car: Any vehicle will need to be winterized and you will need to plug it in everywhere you go once winter comes. If you don't have a car then there is a good transit system in place but I would advise you to live near or on campus since it's on the outskirts of town.
Winter: Cold at times! Weeks of -20 degrees are not unusual and there will be times when you see -40 to -60. Personally I didn't mind it all to bad after it's been cold for a long time, the air dries out so it doesn't chill you to the bone. Winter starts in late Oct and lasts til late Spring. Nearly 24hrs of darkness in the middle of winter. You will need to invest in a good parka, boots and such.
Summer: Can be warm with temps to the 90's, lot's of bugs and nearly 24hrs of light. It's weird to see people out mowing their lawns after midnight.

At any rate, I know that it all sounds like doom and gloom but in all honestly it's all worth it. Definitely go if you can. I really enjoyed the wide open spaces, the wildlife and the absolute beauty of Alaska. I still think about moving back from time to time.

I was expecting that due to location.



90's? ach.. dry air I assume? Id hate to live there for almost a year and it be like never leaving florida

When my then-girlfriend, now unfaithful ex, that just had moved there, had ended up in a psych ward, I didn't know, and instead started thinking that she maybe had been raped, and felt she couldn't e-mail me back to tell me. So I tried to find out if it had happened by impossibly trying to search on her name (that I later found wasn't her name, at all) and with the word 'rape' in my searches, as well. Instead I found out that Alaska has the highest reported rape rate in the US, by a good margin, which just made me get even more anxiety.

So I suppose there maybe is a lot of rape in Alaska?

I haven't lived, but the paternal side of my family has origins there.

Definitely not nearly as humid as the east coast. It's would say it's fairly comfortable in the summer.

Been researching Fairbanks and it does seem a nice place (the univ. is awesome too!). Sadly it seems the cost of out of state tuition will prevent me from going there. Even with financial aid its still crazy insane expensive...and alaska requires 2 years residency to not pay out of state (in all other US states its 1 year). Argh. Its come to either being able to afford the tuition or the housing but not both at once XD

Only a full time job would allow me to offset the costs..but that would mean staying an extra 2 semesters (total 4) since i wouldnt be able to take so many classes per semester and work.

still looking into more options.. we'll see how it goes.

I used to live in Anchorage. The University of Alaska system has a surprisingly high quality of education considering the size and no-name-ness of the schools. What Vandalarius said is mostly accurate for Anchorage as well, except that the temperatures only got into the 70s in the summer (beautiful weather--warm but never hot or humid), rarely got below -20 in winter (got to -40 once while I was there), and the cost of living was no higher than it was where I grew up in the mid-Atlantic/northeast area (some things were more expensive, other things less, so that it evened out). Beauty_pact is also correct: AK has (or had when I checked the statistics a few years ago) the highest rape rate in the country. Lots of domestic violence as well. Still, it's not all doom and gloom. I was there nearly five years and was never assaulted (though I did carry Mace). The scenery is breathtakingly beautiful. The moose are really neat. Et cetera. Highly recommended.

Its not that I dont want to go.. just need to figure out how to pay for it

If you want the real Alaska experience...

http://www.jobs.state.ak.us/
http://www.coolworks.com/alaska-jobs/
http://www.alaskafishingjobs.com/

My background is in Systems Engineering, so I started out on Kodiak Island working a grant for the school district by setting up real time video links between town and the local villages before moving up to Fairbanks.