Reviews & Comments
Alaska, AK
Life in Anchorage and in Alaska -
5/5/2006Alaska is a wondrous place. Harsh, beautiful, majestic, a land where every resident is a pioneer. It is a land of extremes. Temperature, weather patterns, wind, dust, earthquakes, forest fires, etc.
A summer day in Fairbanks can be 90 degrees and sunny, but the sun can be obscured by raging forest fires. A winter day in the same spot can be -50 degrees, windless, so sunny your eyes weep at the glory, and last less than four hours from dawn to dusk.
That same summer day in Juneau may see rain and temperatures in the mid-50's. Winter looks much the same, maybe ten degrees cooler, without leaves on the trees and longer nights.
Anchorage summers may wander into the 70's, but won't be a relentlessy sunny as the Interior (Fairbanks region) or relentlessy rainy as Southeast (the Juneau region). Winters also fall into the middle, neither as cold or wet as the other two areas, with temperatures that hover around 32 degrees.
Discussion of Alaska isn't complete without mention of day length. Above the Arctic Circle, summer days can be 24 hours long. In the winter, nights are 24 hours. Farther south, where most people live, the change in day length is less extreme, but no where in the state is any inhabitant unaware of the gain or loss of light. In Anchorage, the largest city, change of day length can be measured over the course of a week. You may not notice a change every day, but over the course of a week, well, trust me, you'll notice. During the time of year with the greatest rate of change - the equinoxes - an hour is gained or lost roughly every 12 days.
This is an incredible place to live and no one who moves here will regret spending time here. Nowhere else in the USA can one find such challenging extremes. Outdoor sports are king here, with opportunities anywhere one dares to look. Hiking, skiing, biking, mountaineering, flying, kayaking, you name it.
That said, a word of warning is in order. Alaska can be cruel. The extreme climates, the lack of light in winter, the rapid daylength changes in spring and fall, and being stuck inside waiting for the right weather can cause madness. Some people can't take it and hurry away as quickly as possible. Others thrive. You won't know until you live here.