Home, sweet home
-
7/4/2009
I was born in the 70's and raised here. Anchorage is beautiful with the mountains to the east, abundant trees and wildlife in town. Interesting cultural mix, good restaurants, lots of outdoor activities (great xc ski trails). Lots of horses in town, which surprises many, but to keep them is verrry pricey. A few dog parks, one near the university with the trail around the lake (beware of beavers, dead fish, and the occasional psycho dog owner or people that bring their toddlers to walk around and are shocked when a dog licks their kids face!)... Snow is abundant too, long, lonng cold winters. Breathtakingly beautiful white landscape or barren frozen wasteland -- however you may choose to view it. It is advisable that you get out in January or February to somewhere warm. Housing and food prices are high, hard to get good produce (I think people up here forget what fresh produce is really supposed to taste like); though in the summer the Saturday market has some great local choices. The gardening season is short but growing is rapid due to the long days of sunshine, humidity, and decent rainfall. Traffic is terrible, this is relative however to how it used to be here.. but my family from SoCal who visit thinks it's bad too. The city feels more and more congested with people, big box stores, crime. In the winter people often act depressed, angry, unsociable, with poor social skills I must say. Either angry or oblivious drivers on the road (that's probably everywhere but the prevalence of giant trucks with LOUD engines revving, driving aggressively, people flicking cigs out the window is all too common.) Recycling here or concern for the environment is low, despite the large wannabe hippy, uberliberal, treehugging, subaru driving, Patagonia wearing lot... few that are actually from here. (stereotyping, yes. but it's kinda accurate!) This place is my home, I grew up on moose meat and salmon. Fishing on the river with my dad, catching fish with my hands!, playing outside til dark (which means til midnight or ), !waiting at the busstop in -20 degree weather in pitch black darkness, wearing a snowsuit over Halloween costume & having to tell people what you are supposed to be, the State Fair, the northern lights, snowmachining on frozen lakes in the middle of nowhere, the bears and my 'pet' moose, the bluegrass festivals, eating as many wild blueberries as I put in the basket and blueberry pancakes the next morning, swimming at Beluga Pt, etc, etc... are some of my fond memories. Anchorage though, as everywhere, has changed.. too congested, too much crime, rape, drugs, alcoholism, mental illness packed in between the inlet and the Chugach. We have the highest rates of certain STDs too FYI (use protection! :). It's nonetheless probably one of the better places to live in the US and there are great opportunities for career and business.
Emma | Anchorage, AK