We have all heard people say they would like to move to Alaska or at least visit someday. While some are able to do so others fall short for various reasons. I just wanted to encourage those who are thinking about it to give Alaska a try. There is work and play to be found if you are not lazy...and sometimes even if you are I have had the good fortune of introducing friends to the great state (or sub-continent if you prefer) of Alaska. Each and every one of them left feeling changed. Many of them are looking for ways to return or even move here. It's a great state for many reasons and I think everyone should at least visit.

I am pleased with this forum thus far and I think it will become a highlight on the AR forums. If anyone has questions or concerns about visiting Alaska or perhaps you are contemplating a career move...don't hesitate to ask for advice. It's probable we have the answer or know someone who does. We might even be able to help make your dream a reality.

What a great offer, a typical Alaskan. This is one of the reasons you truly never leave the land of the midnight sun.

Doug

I'm with you on that Yukon Delta. I got to live in Alaska for a total of 11 years thanks to the Air Force and there is no where else I want to live. I'm currently on my last active duty hitch in California. My wife stayed in Fairbanks when I left Eielson AFB in Sept 01 and if all goes well, I'll be back to rejoin her this December. I often tell other sportsmen down here in the lower 48 how great it is in Alaska. It is really hard to communicate it to them. Honestly, If I was to die today, I could go knowing I've had the opportunity of a lifetime and have truly been blessed to have hunted and fished in Alaska. It is definitely the Last Frontier and the place I'll spend the rest of my days.

Hey Sep that's a bit of a switch...wife stayed and you left? Please don't take offense at that. Alaska has a way of grabbing ahold of you though as mentioned. She's a bit devious though as she courts you every fall and leaves you every winter.

I would offer my house to people wanting to visit but I'm a bit off the beaten path. The nearest road is 150 miles back in Fairbanks.

Yukon Delta,
My wife's keepin the home fires burnin til I get home! As I told my taxidermist friend in North Pole when I left two years ago, "You can take the boy out of Alaska but you can't take Alaska out of the boy!" ;-)

There really is something special about Alaska. I haven't experienced it anywhere else I've lived.

Sep...I just noticed that even though you're based in CA you list your home as Fairbanks. At least you've got your priorities straight! I'm basically living in your backyard (Fort Yukon) as far as Alaska distances are concerned.

Yukon Delta,
I have to agree with you. I've been to Alaska twice and have fallen in love with it. It's definately one of my most favorite places to hunt.

I got to go to Fairbanks in 99 for a week and a half of TDY. Went to Valdez and caught a 110# halibut and more grayling than I can count in the Chena. Chased moose from a Chinook flight from Fairbanks to Greely. Can't wait to get back to hunt. The vastness is overwhelming in a wonderful way.

This is why I have headed back north (at least once) every year since leaving Eielson in 87. You can't beat the people, the hunting and the overall spirit of Alaska. I have always told people that aside from the obvious, Alaska is a state of mind that everyone shares.

Doug

alaska, once i went the first time, it gets into your blood and i have gone back every year since. i plan on continuing to do so, till they put me in the ground, or i can no longer carry a pack and rifle.

cold zero

Hi Yukon Delta,
I'm replying to your post here because this is a little off topic on the other thread about rifles.

Your post: "Mr. Bill, I thought about posting this privately but decided against it. This is info that is applicable to the Alaska forum. That sounds like a reasonable rifle and everyone needs a dream...be it a bear hunt or something else. I'm curious as to why a hunt would cost you 20-25k? Are you thinking about a lifesize mount? Otherwise, a bear hunt would not cost you 20k. Also, any occupation related to aircraft has potential up here. You might ask around if you're serious. FWIW, my 2nd cousin is the director of operations for ERA aviation in Anchorage and has a lot of connections in the industry. Don't be satisfied until you do some research. "

I came up with the $20K figure by starting with the guide fees being around $15K for brown bear. That's the biggest share. Then there's airfare to and from with shipping meat and hide. Taxidermy fee for a wall mount rug with skull, I'm not sure what that would cost. Meat processing cost (?). Also, I just read that airtaxi inland is costly. I don't want to be on one of those lakes that was described in that thread. I at least $500 for incidentals. It all adds up quick. I figure by having $20K to $25K it'll be enough to cover all the unexpected and unforseen costs.

I applied with the FAA this year for a position with the Anchorage ACO. I wasn't selected. Shucks.

I won't be satisfied until I make it happen, and I won't give up. I'll keep working on it until either I make it or the man upstairs calls. I'm one determined individual. I won't just rush into either. Being a single parent has also added to the challenge.

And if I make it and don't bag a bear that's OK too. It's the adventure that counts more. Just making it happen will be a success in itself.
Bill

Yes Alaska gets in your blood. I have lived up here for 18 years (Anchorage and Palmer) been working in Anchorage for 10 years.

Gonna get away from the BIG CITY and move to fairbanks. Most people think I am nuts but I think I'll like it up there.

Hey Mr. Bill...no meat processing on a grizzly and you should easily be able to do a hunt for well under 20k including the misc. expenses. I'm just trying to encourage you that 25k is way more than you need and probably 20k is too. Pursue that dream and make sure you do the research. It may be closer than you think.

RMiller,

Fairbanks is not quite the step back in time from Anchorage it once was! Anymore, about the only thing that I have noticed is the city is lacking is a good mall, for the ladies of course !

The city doesn't seem to have really grown over the last few years it is just that a few big retailers have come or are coming to town, Home Depot, Wally World etc. Check out Guns down under if you have not before, GREAT selection and fairly reasonable.

Doug

[ 10-21-2003, 16:13: Message edited by: dwhunter ]

I would love to try Alaska but I have a feeling I would have to take back what WE NATIVE BORN MONTANANS say,,""anywhere other than MONTANA is just somewhere else "",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I DONT KNOW IF I COULD DO IT,,,,AND WHAT IF I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE??????????( I HEAR THAT HAPPENS ALOT,,,,,)

[ 10-23-2003, 02:42: Message edited by: MONTANAHILLBILLY ]

In 38 years of marriage I have never been able to get my coon-ass( cajun ) wife further north than colorado,,and she has never been to my home state of MONTANA,,and just now I decided to go to AK. for my 60th birthday in 1-1/2 years,,she asked if it was further than colorado,,I said no,,and she knows colorado is a 2 day drive from central louisiana,,so by the 4th day I think she'll figger it out,,and I dont know how she will take it if I decide to stay ( I am taking all my stuff JUST IN CASE!!! )MAYBE MONTANA WONT SEEM SO FAR after driving for 10 days to get to Fairbanks,and if I dont stay in Ak.I will get back home more than 3 or 4 times a year....heres to hoping!!!!!!

If you ever hear anything for a CISSP and/or CISA (Computer security guy) up there in AK, please let me know. This goes for guys in Montana, Colorado and Wyoming also.

Hunting in Oh is just so blaaaa.

I knew I shouldnt have looked at this. Im 42 now and my heart has longed for Alaska since I was a kid but Ive still never been there. I have talked to both the last man and the last woman to ever homestead there and what wonderfull stories they have to tell. I met the woman in person and read her book (Arctic Homestead) and all the while I wished it was me there cutting a life out of the woods, getting my tent crapped on by a black bear and nearly dying from exposure.. No worries of dying and having not lived there..

Ive often thought about just packing up the family and going for it like Norma and Les did, that is the dream. The reality is that the dream isnt as easy as it sounds.

Latley Ive thought that maybe a compromise to Idaho or Wyoming, closer to the other members of our family, might make more sense and be more responsible on my part. But now you guys have got me wondering about truck driving jobs in Anchorage again.. Thanks a lot..

MONTANAHILLBILLY:

I'm coonass, and I love it here. Took a couple of years to get truly acclimated, now I don't like it warmer than 68 degrees.

Not too many other coonasses, but there are a few.

I just drove the Parks Highway and was reminded of how much trucking industry there is in Alaska. We have lots of tandem trailers up here fellas so don't be afraid to look for a trucking job. Lots of jobs in the boat/plane/cargo/etc industry. Don't be afraid to put your name and need out there for someone to see. You never know what might happen...

I have been to Alaska twice, first time on a cruise, second time to black bear hunt. Going back next year with the family on another cruise and in 05 for the big brownie, maybe bullwinkle.

If I was 25 years younger, would certainly have give serious consideration to moving there. Unfortunately, can't turn back the wheels of time so will have to settle for the not often enough opporunities to go when I can can finagle my way.

AK is truly an intriguing and special place. It isn't for everyone. If you are into shuffleboard or surfing don't waste your time. If invigerating and exhilerating adventure is your game AK is the place.

Some people will have difficulty dealing with the extremes in availible daylight over the year.

Bottom line is AK isn't for everyone, and that is good for me or else everybody would already be there and it would be really crowded even as big as it is and the lack of crowds is one reason I like going there.

Despite having been born in and always lived in an inner city environment, as long as I can remember I yearned to tread on Alaskan soil.

Last year a man (who over the past couple of years has become mentor to me, and my dear friend) invited me to his home to embark on a SE AK black bear hunt. Under his tutelege (and indeed his proverbial wing), what was once but a series of heady dreams and fantasies became reality.

I stalked to within 40 meters of, and took a stunningly beautiful chocolate boar. But it wasn't just my first bear; it was also my first big game kill.

He probably doesn't fully realize how important that trip was, still continues to be and will *always* be to me. It's hard to describe, but I believe I've always been a hunter at heart, but he let me see that. Up close.

How do you even begin to thank a man for a gift like that? I'm not sure I'll ever be able to. But for beginners, I'll endeavor to always mirror his special brand of respect and appreciation for the game I chase, for the hunt and all the experience and knowledge that comes with it. These things I shall pass on to any others I meet, especially those like me who may never have learned about Alaska and the hunt, but for to have had someone like him extend it to me.

And then there's the fifths of 25 year old single malt and big ol' boxes of live lobstah...

Leighton

Nice post Leighton. We all need someone like that but it doesn't happen as often as it should. Consider yourself fortunate.

I don't know if it's dream or could be a realiaty for me but I've decided that I don't want to spend the rest of my days living in the one place.

Italy is, well, nice, but in a very Italian, unbarized, metropolis way.

Australia is as great a place, in my humble opinion as Alaska or Afirca, but I've lived there for 18years and call Australia home.

I have covered almost all of the island continent that can be seen. So I'm happy that I've gotten to know her.

Now I would like to find a new place to treasure. I don't like the cold. It can downright scare me at time so the great white north is also a bit of a challenge to me.

I hope that one day I will be able to move away from civilization, I'm learning more and more that this place where I live just doesn't fit me.

Joe, I've been to Anchorage and loved it. Would move there in a heartbeat (except for that heartbeat problem). Don't let them scare you with stories of the cold. Anchorage doesn't get really cold. Just damp. Now Fairbanks is another matter entirely. - Dan

Dan is right about Anchorage. It's milder than some places in the Lower 48 due to the ocean being right there to moderate it. It's never real hot or cold there. The Interior is another matter altogether. It's -29 at my place right now and might hit -50 in the next couple of days. In the summer, we'll be the hottest place in the state and full of biting flies and mosquitos.

Its only -5 in anchorage today.

Alaska makes you understand words like Sanctity and Majesty.

"No, there's the land.
Have you seen it?
It's the cussedest land that I know.
From the dizzying mountains that screen it
To the deep deathlike valleys below.
Some say God was tired when he made it.
They say it's a land to be shunned.
Maybe. But there's others who'd trade it
For no land on earth...
And I'm one." ---Robert W. Service

How hard would it be for me to find work? I have 3yrs running heavy equip, 20 yrs Carpenters Union, and 5 years on a fishing boat on the NC coast. In the Achorage area... What would be the best time of year to come up.....OTTO