If you’re thinking about moving to Anchorage, there are a few things you should know, some good, and some bad. Here are our pros and cons of Anchorage:
Pros
- Summer – Summertime in Alaska is often sunny, with days lasting up to 20 hours and temperatures pushing into the 70’s regularly. Additionally, the surroundings are in full bloom. Alaska in summer is beautiful.
- Fishing/Hiking – Notably in the summertime, fishing and hiking are tremendous. Outdoors enthusiasts take note.
- Aurora – Alaska in the wintertime enjoys great views of aurora borealis, aka the northern lights. Particles from the sun collide with earth’s magnetic field causing ribbons of green and pink to form in the sky.
- Locally owned – Anchorage lacks many of the big chains present in most cities, making more room for locally-owned diners and watering holes. This is a good thing.
- Job market – Anchorage is growing and has a stable job market in both the blue collar and white collar industries.
Cons
- Expensive – Getting goods to Alaska isn’t cheap. The nearest large city, Vancouver, BC, is a 3.5 hour flight to Anchorage, and over 3,500 miles driving (can’t cut across the ocean that way…). This creates a logistical nightmare for transporting resources, and causes prices to rise for your average head of lettuce.
- Bugs – Summer in Alaska births the joys that are swarms of mosquitos the size of your fist.
- Winter – Winter in Anchorage, though devoid of mosquitos, is cold, dark and icy. Trust us when we tell you that 10-degree temps and four hours of sunlight is not fun.
- City – Anchorage’s cityscape isn’t exactly that of San Francisco, or Austin, or even Portland. It lacks many of the attractions that large downtowns have, like large sculptures and unique architecture.
Learn more about Alaska, and talk to some Anchorage moving companies today, at MovingGuru.com!