I'm planning to relocate to SE alaska in the next couple years, probably to Ketchikan. Can anybody give me any advice, info, links, books etc. Thanks.

do you like rain?

and lots of it?

Never minded it. I grew up in Mobile Alabama which is one of the wettest cities in the US but Mobile doesn't have the hunting Alaska has. It does have nice fishing but I'm told the fishing is better in Alaska. I've never been there yet (going to vacation there next summer) but if the pictures I've seen mean anything it's the most beautiful spot on earth.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by missouri_dave:
Never minded it. I grew up in Mobile Alabama which is one of the wettest cities in the US [QUOTE]

Mobile averages 64" of rainfall per year. Ketchikan get 162". You haven't seen rain yet!

120 or 130 on a lite year and up to 200 on a wet one. It is really the rain that keeps the population down. Many persons think they can but after a couple years decide they can't.

It is a very beautiful place.

Black Bear, Brown Bear, Blacktail and Goats are the big game in the area. Ducks and goose can be good. Fishing is great.

There is only about 40+ miles of road connecting to nowhere. So a boat or airtravel is required for most hunting. You know what BOAT stands for .... break out another thousand ..... air travel is also expensive.

There is hunting for Black Bear and Deer over on Prince of Wales island that can be reached by daily ferry service. About $100+ each way with a vehicle.

Plenty of jobs around. Housing (cost of living) is affordable (compaired to most of the west coast).

I guess my info on Mobile being a wet city is really only valid in the lower 48. I can live with the rain. The place is still beautiful. Can you get on the ferry in Vancouver or Seattle to get to Ketchikan? It would be a lot cheaper than a direct flight if that's possible.

the Alaska state ferry runs to Billingham Wa.

also over to Prince Rupert BC.

flying is much less than bringing a vehicle up.

It's a great place to visit...

I have good friends that live there (Juneau), and I've been to the SE a couple times to hike a bit, relax, bear hunt and fish. For a non-res and in particular one that's not rich, it's not the greatest for hunting opps, I don't think. I think I can hunt more and more often here in New England, actually.

If you have lots of cash, you can travel within AK and do a great deal of fun hunting to all parts of the state, but I agree with others in suggesting you make sure you know what you're getting into as far as weather, lifestyle and limited travel. After a week or two of constant rain, I get a bit scunnered.

If you do choose to go, get a boat if you can. Increases your bets on fishing and hunting about 1000%. At least in my Yankee eyes!

I'd love to live in SE, unfortunately work prevents that. You'll absolutely have to have a boat, min 18-20 foot skiff, preferable 22-24' cabin cruiser. Fishing will be outstanding, and you can also get shrimp and crab Suposedly there are a few critters to hunt as well

Cost of living is higher than the lower 48, but that's because it's worth it Just make sure you have enough money to enjoy the state, and enjoy it!

As far as the fishing is concerned my wife and I call it fishing heaven. There can't be anything like it on the planet. You will find different species have well defined schedules. We have thought about moving up there when my wife finishes nursing school. The only negative is the lack of sunlight in the winter.

Can you give us more to go on...

Like, what kind a work are you looking for?

Are ya married, kids?

Why Ketch?

Dave

I've been looking at this thread for sometime and have refrained from asking you what in God's name are you moving to Ketchikan for. You say the rain is not a factor but when it is raining everyday and the temp stays in the 30-40 degree range day after day that can be some pretty inhospitable territory. I lived in SW Alaska for a long time and we had rainy weather but it never stops in Ketchikan. As you go up the coast the rain lessens a little but still the AK AIR jet can only land in Peterburg about half the time because of weather.

All of SE AK is gorgeous and the limited species hunting is good plus great fishing but living there is another story. Barrow and Peterburg are the same as far as I'm concerned. If you were not born there neither place is really fit for regular humans to live.

Of course this only my humble opinion.

Regards,

Mark

Missouri_Dave.......if you are going to Alaska, and need a hunt/fish/ATV boat, take a look at this outfits boats........http://www.billmunsonboats.com/

Looks like the ideal boat for hunting/fishing in Alaska to me.

Happy hunting! Jim

I got out the military for about a year and half and lived in Barrow and Sitka.

I hated Barrow, living in the Artic is fine, but dealing with the BS of being totally isolated is not so fun. I am getting away from things a bit but here's what used to piss me off in Barrow.

1. Drunk or stoned Eskimos. I was a cop and they were my job, but you get tired of arresting the same woman, who's six months pregnant, drunk, and stoned on cocaine for the same thing 3 times in 48 hours.

2. Can't drive out. I knew this going into the job, but I never thought it would matter as much as it did.

3. When the store is out of 300 wing mag ammo, milk, stocking caps, deoderant, or oven cleaner they are out!

I would say number one is what really did me in. You really do get tired of arresting the same child molesting drunk eskimo for beating his wife and kids more than once or twice a year is enough.

I was then, and am now single. Being single and living in Barrow is like being a bull moose locked in a 1000 acre high fence area with 20 cow elk. All the single women up there were over 35. I was 25 when I was up there, and I am 30 now.

Sitka, now that's totally different. Yes it rains, it rains all the time, but not as much as Ketchikan.

Yes it's beautiful, when you can see it through the rain.

But it's a modern town, with conveniances unimaginable in Barrow, Pt Hope, Pt Lay, Anaktuvik Pass, Atkasuk, Nuiqsuit, or anywhere else I worked in the Artic.

Remember to loose your southern drawl provided you have one. I know damn few westerners that are tolerant of it, and that includes Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, or anywhere else.

Westerners are really stand-off-ish about outsiders. I am from Wyoming and open minded and friendly as 12 years of military service has molded me. It never ceases to amaze me when I go home, how if I don't phraise something correctly I get strange looks or no help from the locals.

I'll probably end outside Anchorage, Kodiak, or Fairbanks when I retire from the military.

I enjoyed Alaska enough to want to go back, but I need to be near a military base so I can use the doctors, commisary and exchange.

D99,

By retiring in Sitka, I pretty much completely cut the umbilical cord.

Don't fear leaving the military life too much. Trust me, within a couple years of retiring nobody there will remember you, or care. Think about how much you thought about retired members while your on active-duty.

Just move where ya want, and collect the tiny little check you earned. It don't go far, so don't worry about it too much as you'll need a real job anyhow.

Thanks for the input. BW, I am married. I have teenage twins by my first wife but they live with her. It'll just be my current wife, the dogs and me. For employment I'm attending college now to be a nurse, RN. Don't know about alaska but in the lower 48 nurses are never out of work unless they want to be. I'm also considering Juneau. Less rain, bigger town. Not sure how the hunting and fishing is near there. The wife kinda insists on being near a town of some size. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

Dave

Now the picture is a little clearer. Juneau is actually quite a nice town you just have to fly or go by boat to get anywhere from there. Sitka is also nice with both a regular and IHS hospital.

I worked at a IHS hospital in Dillingham for 19 years in SW AK and yes there is always a shortage of nurses and the pay is toward the top of the scale but not as high as what you might think.

As a nurse you can get a job in several places around the state but all will have some considerable and unique drawbacks as well as advantages.

Regards,

Mark

As Mark mentioned, there is a Federally funded Native hospital here in Sitka, it's called 'SEARHC' which I think stands for South East Alaska Regional Health 'something'.

They seems to advertise all the time for workers. I saw that they are looking for a flight nurse right now.

No big stores here though. We have a Mc Donalds and a Subway. Everything else is local. No malls, just small expensive stores.

The population is around 8000, but that number can darn near double when 3 cruise ships hit town.

Only 14 miles of road from one end to the other. But of course there's more roads in-between. If you don't like boats, it may be wise to look elsewhere.

Juneau isn't too bad. A bit too big for my taste. They've got a Fred Meyer (classy K-Mart) and a Costco. The cruise ships go there too, but it's easier to avoid that section of town than in Sitka.

Good luck!

BW,

I am getting married to a doctor I have know for about 10 years.

She's easy going, and would fallow me anywhere, but I dont' want her to be one of just a few docs, in a town of 5000, 7500, or 10,000.

Besides she knows that Anchorage is just two short (10 hours) flights back to San Diego to mama!

Well you know what they say...

Anchorage may not be Alaska, but you can see it from there.

It's hard not to like Anchorage. It's big, but not so big as to be a faceless shithole like LA or NY.

It's in Alaska but has everything anyone could want: Strip clubs, gunshops, taxidermist, Polaris dealers, two or three malls, two military bases, tons of bars, great beer, and it's cheaper than living in SE or the bush. Did I mention the strip clubs and gun shops?

I agree wholeheartedly...Anch ain't perfect, but it's not all that bad.