Why Wasilla is not for me
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8/25/2021
Previously lived for many years in Eagle River, Alaska. Moved to Wasilla almost 6 years ago now.
The Wasilla cityscape is littered with aging strip malls and junky-looking lots. It is not an attractive city. To be fair it is the last stronghold with large grocery stores and supplies like Walmart and Lowes before you head out into hundreds of miles of rural homes and wilderness. Alaska is beautiful. The areas around Wasilla are mostly beautiful. Wasilla is not.
The political climate here is strongly conservative and even though cannabis is legal in Alaska, the people of the Mat-Su valley, which Wasilla is a part of the borough, wish to abolish it. Thankfully there are still new dispensaries popping up here and there but many of them are outside of the city limits or in the surrounding towns like Houston, AK.
When dealing with the pandemic, most people here didn't mask up and still don't even though they just declared the Anchorage and Wasilla hospitals ICU full yesterday. I will say that usually, Alaskans are decent to each other but the pandemic has brought about some unsettling social side effects. As of today, the Alaska state covid dashboard reports that 54% of the state 12yo+ is fully vaccinated against covid-19. That number becomes 45% of the population if you add the kids back into the count.
Crime here is insane. The valley's shady reputation for meth-heads and crime is definitely warranted. Nearby Anchorage has one of the worst crime rates in the country and you'll find it on most "dangerous cities in the nation" lists. While violent crimes are a little lower here in the valley than in Anchorage, property crimes are higher here than in Anchorage. I live near what would be considered downtown Wasilla and frequently hear the sirens flying down the highway. Recently, someone tried to steal my husband's motorcycle from our apartment's parking space. Vandalism and vehicle theft are common here as are drug addicts.
For a little contrast, I enjoyed living in Eagle River. Eagle River sits on the base of the mountains with houses going up the hillside a bit. I was there when Mt Redoubt and Mt Spur erupted and the view was spectacular being able to see the plume across the inlet. Also earthquakes of 5.0 and below are a regular occurrence here. Most aren't even noticeable and are slept through with no damage. Bigger than 5 are usually noticed but don't start doing any real damage til you get to 6.0+
Personally, I don't mind quakes at all. I'll take a lil shaking over a tornado any day. We don't have tornados here and until recent years, we didn't have thunderstorms either. Now a couple of times a year we may get a little thunder. As a child that was born in the Dakotas, coming up here to no thunder was really strange.
I'm sorry I ramble so much. This is why I don't usually write reviews. Make what you will of the mess I've left here. Be safe out there.
Toni | Knik-Fairview, AK