It's been a long time since I have been there. But driving the Alcan was exciting; going through British Columbia, Yukon Territory, seeing the newly built Alaskan pipeline, and all the beautiful scenery and wildlife. I'll never forget it!
Anchorage is very much like a toned-down Minneapolis. No rugged lifestyle required. Most of those TV programs are scripted nonsense, not to say some people can't live that way, but the majority of Alaskans don't.
So are there parts of Alaska where the temps and weather are somewhat moderate? ps: Maybe we should not ask so many questions. It's the stereotype that keeps a lot of folks from swarming up there.
Southcentral Alaska is not moderate by Virginia standards, but we always say the good thing about Anchorage is that is close to Alaska.... Southeast Alaska (where Juneau is located) is definitely moderate, similar in climate to Seattle. It may be a little colder and the summers are cooler, but not THAT much different. BUSH Alaska is quite another story, but at least half of Alaska's residents have never been there. There are "bushy" places you can drive to, like McCarthy, where I think one of the more authentic TV shows is/was taped, but most consider Bush Alaska to be about the 3/4 of the state that you cannot drive to and the Marine Highway doesn't service. I haven't been everywhere. but then since Alaska is 2 1/2 times the size of Texas or thereabouts, it is very difficult to visit everywhere.
It's interesting that proximity to oceans can drive temps more so than latitude in many places...both warming and cooling.
What bothers people more than temperature in the southern parts of the state is the light. A lot of people have trouble sleeping in the summer when it is almost always light, then get deeply depressed in the winter when darkness is the norm. One of our daughters commented when she moved to the Seattle area that it actually seemed darker there than here in winter, for, although it is dark, we usually have snow which magnifies the moonlight and the stars, and then there is the aurora.... Western Washington is gloomy all winter, as it is generally their rainy season, so they don't get the help of clear skies and snow.
We want to give Arlington and stretches of Northern Virginia back to DC. A couple of years ago we had a state senator who attempted to introduce a bill to do exactly that.
I believe I read years ago that Virginia and Maryland donated the land to make D.C on condition that it could never become a state. Curious that there is a campaign to try to gain two more liberal votes in the Senate illegally. Maybe Maryland and Virginia should "repossess D.C. and evict the current residents. Perhaps they could turn it into a Historical Park District shared by the two states.
I had heard that the Seattle region had a pretty high suicide rate because of the lack of sunlight due to habitually overcast skies. Regarding sleep patterns...I had breakfast with my neighbors today and was recalling the times I've worked graveyard shift and how it messed with my head. Makes one wonder how the Inuit coped, and what was physiologically different about them. ps: Sorry for the detour @Joy Martin
Well definitely a positive for all of us, our SS will see the largest increase since 1981 in 2023. I am a bit confused when reading the information as to exactly when the take effect date is. I assumed it would be Jan 1st but I'm just not sure. One article lead to believe it would not be until mid 23. Total using a 10 percent raise of both my SS and and small pension I would see about 120 dollars. Not bad if you consider just a couple years ago it was like 8 bucks. The figures floated around are somewhere in the 8.9 percent to 10. Boy I think we're all a bit short of the cash to run out and buy a new 60 thousand dollar electric sled, even with this increase.
Hey, I'm not knocking living in Alaska, people have good lives in Alaska but I'm good in lower states, just like I wouldn't want to live in Hawaii, It was said that gals looking for a guy go to Alaska. Plenty up there.
I could not live in areas at either extreme end of the temp scale. I worked at a place here in Virginia where we would watch the early morning TV news together and then get to work. There was coverage of a routine blizzard in Minneapolis and folks shoveling out from under, and a coworker who grew up there was getting teary-eyed because it made her homesick!!! She actually missed it!!!!!! From what folks have told me over the years, it seems that San Diego is about the only place that's consistently "just right." Anywhere else is gonna have periods (or perpetual conditions) of too hot and too cold.
They slept much of the winter away and entertained themselves in other ways as many slept nude under skin blankets in groups to stay warm. Just imagine what it was like with no artificial lighting except perhaps for a seal oil lamp when the sun didn't rise for months on the North Slope and it was dark much over most of the rest of the state too. If you ever find The People of the North, it is a fascinating look at Inuit/Inupiaq life in Canada near the Alaska border. The Canadians documented their lifestyle before they destroyed it and put all of the people on welfare and in government housing. It is almost impossible to find, but perhaps our Canadian friends here have access to it somewhere. I watched it while in Barrow some time ago.