Moving to Alaska (new question about vehicles)

Mikesta

I just got a reporting job with an Alaskan newspaper, which means I'll be moving to Anchorage in January. I've got a place to live and money for a car, but I'm sure there are a lot of things I'll need to consider before I actually fly down.

Native Alaskans and others who have an insight into living in Alaska, help me out! What sort of clothing should I buy? I realize I'll need a really fluffy coat or somesuch. What should I look into in that regard?

I'm sure there are questions I'll think of later, but in the mean time, please just list things you can think of that I'll need to consider!

Thanks!

Edit:

Thanks for the advice, guys!

As for vehicles: what makes/models work best for driving in Alaska?

Uncle Long

Will you actually be living in Anchorage?

Clothingwise - depends on your office, but most every place in Alaska is very very casual. I wear Carhartts just about every day. In part because I'm poor, and in part because they're good reliable pants. People respect good reliable pants in Alaska.

Anchorage really isn't horrible cold, depending of course, on what you're used to. What are you used to?

Puffy jackets are fine, but there's a difference between gear that looks like it should keep you warm and gear that keeps you warm. Usually that difference comes at a price.

If you're outdoorsy, then at least have a look at REI (there is one in Anchorage) and think about picking up a decent winter coat there.

Will you be doing a lot of walking? It might be helpful to invest in some Yak Trax, or "creepers" as we call them. Good for ice.

Consider getting chains for your car.

I have no idea what your personality is like, and living in Anchorage is a lot less like living in the smaller Alaskan villages and a lot more like the lower 48 than most of the rest of the state, so you should find plenty to do, but be prepared for a severe lack of (interesting/attractive/fun/down-to-earth) women, and be prepared for the sudden urge to hibernate for days on end during the winter when you get very little sunlight.

Also, if you ever feel like a car ride, come on down to see me. I work at the Homer News.

edit: almost forgot, buy some long underwear. Also, if you have a place lined up then great, but if not then try and find a place with heating included. Cost of heating my cabin adds another $160-180 on my monthly expenses.

jeddy lee

Get yourself some extratuf boots like real (southeast) Alaskan's. Going to be working for ADN? I like ADN a lot. I'm from Anchorage, and am posting from here right now, but I moved to Juneau for work.

As far as car tires, I would say you need studs at best, but usually all weather tires are fine (no one really uses chains unless you are driving a bus). As far as a coat, usually a good wool coat or down jacket works. It really depends on style and function, if you're a new reporter for ADN, then sporting a Banana Republic Wool Sports Coat would be just fine.

Mikesta

To answer one of the above questions: I am from Phoenix, Arizona, so the switch from ultra hot to cold weather will be about as jarring as it could possibly be, I would imagine.

syncmaster

a cousin of mine has lived in Alaska for the last few years; she said that the biggest adjustment was getting used to the constant darkness during the winter months. just something to think about.

Scrublet

Plan on getting heavy curtains if your place doesn't have them for your bedroom. I was pretty young when I lived there and I still remember the weirdness of going to bed when it's completely bright out. Get a camera that can handle being carted around...you're going to see wilderness stuff you've never seen.

When you're hiking be aware of your surroundings. Brown bears are as scared of you as you might be of them, and generally only attack if threatened (esp if cubs are around). I think I heard somewhere grizzly bears are slightly more likely but will still mostly leave you alone if you don't surprise them or screw with them. However, the moose is a mean ass animal that you need to watch out for. It CAN charge you if it's startled, and it weighs a ton. Be careful driving when you see moose signs, and just as a general rule. A deer will total your car...a moose accident has a real chance of being lethal. And every so often one of them gets confused or hungry and wanders into Anchorage. Scared confused thousand-pound animals in a populated area are not a recipe for success.

This is by no means intended to discourage you at all from the wilderness, I fully intend on visiting there again sometime in the next few years. Like all outdoor activities, knowing about the risks is the best way to mitigate them.

PracticalProblemSolver

Anchorage isn't super cold, get a couple sets of nice long underwear, gloves, warm socks and when you buy shoes or boots remember that tight = cold so if you jam your feet with thick socks in there it might be colder than thin socks.

I find the long underwear is the biggest help as I wear fairly loose fitting clothes and it seals all the gaps. Plus a wool or down jacket and I'm all set down to around zero.

Also: cotton kills. Or cools, whatever, don't wear it in the cold. Wools, silk, thermal synthetics, anything but cotton for the under and out layers.

Boutros

Mikesta wrote: »

I just got a reporting job with an Alaskan newspaper, which means I'll be moving to Anchorage in January. I've got a place to live and money for a car, but I'm sure there are a lot of things I'll need to consider before I actually fly down.

Native Alaskans and others who have an insight into living in Alaska, help me out! What sort of clothing should I buy? I realize I'll need a really fluffy coat or somesuch. What should I look into in that regard?

I'm sure there are questions I'll think of later, but in the mean time, please just list things you can think of that I'll need to consider!

Thanks!

If you want a technical type jacket, I think a micropuff is the way to go, they are the new softshell. Insulated, but won't make you look like the michelin man. However, a pea coat would be classy as fuck but still plenty warm.

Honestly Anchorage is not very cold, it's a costal climate. It will typically be below zero for a couple of weeks a winter but most of the time it hovers in the 20s. I spent five winters in Fairbanks and that is a million times worse.

Studded tires are unnecessary for around town driving if you have 4 or all wheel drive. Unless you live on hillside at the top of a 15% grade or something.

Don't stop your car to look at and take pictures of moose like some goddamn tourist. You will get sick of moose soon enough living here. City moose are generally cool about people and will let you run/ride right past them on the far side of the trail, but not all of them. I ran into a mean motherfucker at kincaid last year, he did not want to yield the trail and I ended up having to leave behind a water bottle that popped out when I crashed my bike to avoid him.

skettios

Scrublet wrote: »

Plan on getting heavy curtains if your place doesn't have them for your bedroom. I was pretty young when I lived there and I still remember the weirdness of going to bed when it's completely bright out. .

This. I had a hard time sleeping till my room got heavy curtains.

Be prepared for everything to be a bit more expensive, as it costs more to ship it up there and what not. However, no sales tax

Educate yourself on moose. You will encounter them. Especially in Anchorage :P

hindsight

Honestly...the clothing you need for here isn't really that different from anywhere else. I'd say the best way to dress here is in layers. While it is cold outside alot of people and business here like to keep the temperatures cranked inside.

On my normal days I have t-shirt, hoodie, and some sort of jacket (mostly for wind). As for pants and shoes, jeans and sneakers are the way to go. If you plan on being outside for extended periods of time get a good pair of boots and snow pants. You should also find a good pair of gloves and a hat.

As far as cars go...2 wheel drive need studs, pickups need studs and sand bags, all wheel drive gets by just fine on all weather tires.

other than that, Anchorage is really just like any other city (just smaller)

Mikesta

Thanks for the advice, guys!

As for vehicles: what makes/models work best for driving in Alaska?

Noquar

Get something with 4WD or AWD for your safest bet. And, buy it OUT of Alaska if you can. You can save thousands buying out of state and driving it up.

Edit: I didn't put a make/model because the above is the best criteria. Just about anything with a little clearance will be fine.

Demerdar

Mikesta wrote: »

To answer one of the above questions: I am from Phoenix, Arizona, so the switch from ultra hot to cold weather will be about as jarring as it could possibly be, I would imagine.

Take a trip up to flagstaff in the next couple of days. Plenty of snow here . Might give you a little indication of what it would be like to live in an Alaskan climate.

Also, anything AWD or 4WD with decent tires will get you by.

Boutros

You can't go wrong with a Subaru.

You can go wrong with an Audi, mine is a piece of shit. Gets around in the snow fine with all wheel drive, but unreliable and expensive to fix.

Seeks

Yeah, I see a lot of Subarus (sp?). Anything with 4wd is good for the winter, but jeeps aren't always great if they don't keep heat.

Honestly, you're probably fine with whatever, just make sure you can plug it in during the colder days. For city driving, I'll take a Camry any day. I don't know about Anchorage, but in Fairbanks, an autostart is almost mandatory.


Oh, and if you're not already familiar with a stick, winter-time Anchorage isn't where you should be learning it.

ducknerd

Subarus are quite common up here, as are small pickup trucks of any brand. Four-wheel or all-wheel drive is a must, and if you're coming from Arizona I'd definitely recommend studded tires. Driving on snow/ice is a whole new game. I'd second the idea of driving up through Canada; that'll get you used to slick roads before you have to deal with them in traffic. Also, be prepared for lousy mileage.