Nome, Alaska - Living There

Ted, Anchorage is 540 miles away from Nome and there are no roads so add on the trip from Anchorage to Nome through the Bering Sea where you can only reasonably expect to have open seas from May through late September...it would be considerably more than that.

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www.salmonslayer-simplelife.blogspot.com

Yep. A quote for delivery to Anchorage is at best half of shipping, even if it goes by train to FBX. By highway, tag on another 360 or so miles on a truck. And less-than-truckload rates... for things way more necessary than antique cars.

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Home is the hunter, home from the hill, and the sailor home from the sea...

First, I must publically say thank you to my mother who have my best interest at heart and started this thread of discussion. It is nice to have somebody help me get the real picture instead of just automatically laughing when I said the words "I'm thinking about moving to Alaska." Of course, they wouldn't laugh so hard if I were moving during the hot part of the year, but to move in the winter...well, that just illustrates what a nut you are dealing with here. Anyway, thanks, Mom.

I finally got registered on the website (obviously). Thank you for all of your great feedback. I have continued to talk to my contact in Nome and you have provided me with a GREAT list of questions and topics for discussion. She certaily acknowledges much of what you have told me. She said that in the 12 years that she has lived in Nome, she has noticed two types of people who end up there...the first type are the "tumbleweeds" or individuals who are always moving from one place to the next and sort of end up at the end of the world. This type can be a bit rough around the edges. The other type are those individuals who are looking for a challenge (personal or career wise) and they are generally hard-working and are worthwhile getting to know. She said that the things are done differently in Nome (and in Alaska in general) because the people there have had to come up with creative and innovative ways of accomplishing things. For instance, medical care is often times done by a paraprofessional under the direction of a doctor some distance away; patients are flown into bigger cities if their medical conditions cannot be treated in the villages. My contact said that she is a single mother with an older teen and a "just headed for college" son; she feels like they have had some opportunites there that they might not have had in the lower 48 states, again because people have to innovative. She said that if she is stupid enough to go into a bar, she can expect to get alot of unsolicited attention, but you pretty much have to put yourself in that position. She said that "stranger violence" is rare. But, she said that you are not kidding about the substance abuse and the accompanying problems. Housing is tight...I would be offered some company housing to start out, and can then split the cost of an apartment with someone or head off on my own. And she said that same thing you did about the cost of living...she added that it seems that the prices sometimes get raised for items shipped to Alaska (and Hawaii) just because...and what are you going to do about it, but also because of the extra shipping expense. She said that residents oftentimes buy heavy items like canned goods in bulk in the summer and have them barged in because it is cheaper that way.

My Mom said that she believed you could garden in Nome, but I have not explored that angle. It doesn't seem like things except broccoli, onions, and cabbage would grown well with the cold.

I know that I am one of the top 2 candiates for this position and if I accept it, I will be arriving at the top of the world January 1. She said that hospital staff can help me unload boxes off the plane, but they will be moving fast, because it will be REALLY cold by then.

I will keep checking your feedback. I really appreciate all your feedback. And, if I accept a site visit, I will let you know what my impressions of Nome, Alaska are.

Can't remember Nome's temp on the last Jan. 1st I was in AK. Do remember that it was around 50 below in Fairbanks that year. Nome is usually milder cause it's on the coast, maybe only 40 below or so.

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Home is the hunter, home from the hill, and the sailor home from the sea...

Even with it's negatives, I'd still say go. Your young, footloose and fancy free... will be an experience, even if you never step foot out of town.

It's a hundred miles or so north, till you get to the Bering Land Bridge NPP... but there's a whole lot of country in between, that'd be a National Park, if plopped down in the Lower 48.

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Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. Seneca
Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival. W. Edwards Deming

Nome, Alaska Hit With Bering Sea Storm

Unusual weather has hit Nome, Alaska, slamming the state's western region with strong winds and high seas.

According to the Associated Press, the area experienced blizzard conditions on Tuesday night, with wind gusts up to 80 mph. Meteorologist Scott Berg at the National Weather Service's Fairbanks office told AP that they have heard reports of buildings losing roofs, and water hitting the base of buildings in Nome, Alaska.

A National Weather Service update for Nome, Alaska from 11:53 a.m (AKST) on Wednesday said that a coastal flood warning is in effect until 6 a.m. (AKST) on Thursday, and a winter storm warning is in effect until 9 p.m. (AKST) this evening.

Jeremy Zidek, a spokesman for the Alaska's emergency management agency, discussed Alaska's weather with AP, "People out there are used to extreme weather, but this is not a normal storm ... This is of a magnitude that can be a storm of record, extremely dangerous, and the state is treating it as such."

Associated Press writes:



Berg said big low-pressure systems hit Alaska often, but this one is different because of the track it took and because ice hasn't formed yet to protect the shore.

"Because we don't have shore-fast ice this time of year, that's what's significant," he said. "Just hasn't got cold enough yet. We have open water generally until the first of December."


Brad Johnson writes for ThinkProgress about the broader implications of this Alaska storm. "Global warming intensified the destructive power of Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf Coast six years ago. Now Alaska is facing its own climate-change-linked superstorm."

Johnson cites The Weather Channel's Tim Ballisty, who writes about Alaska's storm, "The current lack of sea ice in the Bering Sea will allow this storm to maximize its impact. Ice typically acts as a natural barrier that mitigates the effects of destructive wave action and coastal flooding along the shoreline." Ballisty predicts the storm will "unleash its fury for the better part of Wednesday."

Thanks NELSELGNE. I had heard something, but had not looked up the information.

DD is planing on going for the site visit. The job is getting closer to reality.