View Full Version : Pics of where I live...
I use a Canon Powershot SX110/IS.
Images of SE Alaska, hope you like them :)
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A bit of background info:
I live in a small coastal town that gets down to about -15 during the winter and reaches a high of about 75 degrees during the summer. Right now, we are peaking at about 74 degrees and have had a lot of rain this year, which is apparently very typical.
When I say a lot of rain, I don't mean rain like most normal people would expect, I mean rain like you've never seen it before. Coming down hard and constant - for weeks at a time. It can be funny to see tourists arrive so ill-prepared for the Alaskan weather then spend their whole time complaining why it's not like Baja California - as if they were expecting some tropical paradise :rolleyes:
The wife and I moved here from the east coast 2 years back as we didn't care much for it there. Just to confuse matters, I'm originally from England and spent the first 20 years of my life living in the U.K. I've visited almost 30 different countries of the world so far, but must say, there's nowhere quite as unique as Alaska or the Alaskan people. Very hardy people - they're tough, a little wild, and know how to get stuff done.
Though it is without a doubt very beautiful here and the pictures really don't do the place any justice.
Forget about crowded inner city living - if you can stand the winters, a bit of wind and rain and love the great outdoors, then this is the place for you. The short but pleasant summers here make it all worth it... and the best part: You will have the freedom of the wilderness all to yourself.
Any questions? Ask away :)
BarelyBreathing
07-01-12, 07:44 PM
It's beautiful! Definitely not for me, though. I'd love to see photos of the towns, too.
snake man12
07-01-12, 07:47 PM
That is a beautiful place to live. I would love to live up there. Although there aren't any herps
Yeah. People see the wilderness pics and think that we all live in cabins in the middle of nowhere. Some people do. But Alaskan towns are just the same as anywhere else... they are miniaturized versions of any other town in the U.S.
We have most facilities that other places have. Restaurants, cinema, pubs, harbor, pet shop, supermarket, gas stations etc etc.
I'll post up a few examples of towns in a sec.
jaleely
07-01-12, 07:54 PM
I loved Alaska when we visited. It was only the tourist towns, but there were a few times we got to go on a small hike and the nature is like nothing else!
It's definitely beautiful!
That is a beautiful place to live. I would love to live up there. Although there aren't any herps
You're right about that bud. It's a shame really. I'd love to see some wild herps up here... but the fact is, it's just so damn cold in the winter I don't think anything would survive!
Here's a few town pics as an example (I didn't take these ones)
Snakefood
07-01-12, 08:18 PM
beautiful. I`d love to visit Alaska, but I also always love coming home to Beautiful BC!!
beautiful. I`d love to visit Alaska, but I also always love coming home to Beautiful BC!!
BC is great. That's where my wife and I took our first romantic vacation together before we got married.
If it wasn't for the great time we had in BC, we probably would never have thought about getting married. It kind of "sealed the deal" so to speak... :)
Snakefood
07-01-12, 08:26 PM
Awwww, that`s sweet!! BC got you your wife!! I love it!!
Awwww, that`s sweet!! BC got you your wife!! I love it!!
Exactly. And that's yet another reason I love Canadians :)
BarelyBreathing
07-01-12, 08:37 PM
I love the first picture of the town. That's exactly what I was thinking of.
Snakefood
07-01-12, 08:38 PM
Ya, we`re great aren`t we?? LOL just kiddin!!
I love the first picture of the town. That's exactly what I was thinking of.
Yeah exactly. It's kind of "cutesy" and a little bit rustic in an spaghetti western kind of way.
Some of the pubs are called saloons and they still have the old fashioned swinging doors just like back in the cowboy days... haha
BarelyBreathing
07-01-12, 09:57 PM
I just love the quaint look about them. It makes me feel peaceful.
ashleynicole
07-01-12, 10:39 PM
very pretty to visit.. I will stick to my sunshine here in florida though :) I don't care for the cold. At least if there is a hurricane I can leave afterwards.. If you get snowed in you are stuck!
very pretty to visit.. I will stick to my sunshine here in florida though :) I don't care for the cold. At least if there is a hurricane I can leave afterwards.. If you get snowed in you are stuck!
That's true. It ain't for everyone here. We probably won't stay forever... couldn't see myself retiring here, it's not comfortably warm enough.
But I tell ya what, nobody ever get's truly snowed in because the people are so friendly, everyone chips in and digs each other out. We had, I think, about 25 feet of snow over the course of last Winter and life just continued as normal. Nothing once ground to a halt. Alaskans are just tough like that :)
Florida sounds nice right about now though... gotta admit.
Snakefood
07-01-12, 11:17 PM
sure, until you account for tsunami`s and hurricanes, come retire in BC!!
Beautiful!! I have always loved Alaska.. If I didn't have obligations keeping me in horrid California, I'd be there in an instant!
Gungirl
07-02-12, 05:21 AM
Love it! I would love to live in a place like that but I can't see myself being so far away from some of my family. I have always loved the snow and mountains.. Beautiful!
Stunning location....enjoy it while it lasts
Thanks so much for the pictures. I always find it interesting to see other ways of life, even in the different parts of the U.S. I live in suburbia Knoxville, TN. Alaska looks absolutely beautiful!
Will0W783
07-02-12, 02:02 PM
Beautiful pics, Limey. Alaska sure looks gorgeous and wild, but it's too cold for my tastes. I don't like to be sweating hot all the time, but I really do not enjoy cold and snow anymore.
Beautiful pics, Limey. Alaska sure looks gorgeous and wild, but it's too cold for my tastes. I don't like to be sweating hot all the time, but I really do not enjoy cold and snow anymore.
I hear ya, Willow. As pretty as it is here, I'm getting a little tired of the cold myself. Perhaps a move is due sometime in the forecoming future. But where to? I understand it's really hard to find well paying jobs in the lower 48 states? Or even jobs at all? How true is this?
infernalis
07-02-12, 09:15 PM
although the current economy sucks, I happen to like the four seasons of central NY.
3 months of white
3 months of new life
3 months of summer
3 months of autumn colours
What's not to like, I can go skiing in January and water skiing in July.
Snakefood
07-02-12, 09:17 PM
interesting, it's very similar here, except a little less white and a little more summer!!
ashleynicole
07-02-12, 09:39 PM
I think the job market is improving... I get very frustrated when people complain about not being able to find work when I spent a week calling lawn companies to try to pay some one to come rake up all the pine needles and oak leaves in the house we just moved into. The house is on 1/3 acre and the back yard was not kept up. Only two of the lawn companies agreed to come by and give me quotes, only one showed up so I hired him, and on the day the job was supposed to be done nobody showed up. I mean, I though people need work why is it so hard for me to hire someone to clean up my yard? My husband and I have been working on it but there is so much to do and we have two small kids and both work about 48 hours a week so it is hard to keep up with the house and the yard.
Being a nurse I have had work throughout these times. My husband and I actually contemplated moving up to alaska for a year or two after he graduated the police academy and didn't get a job in that field for a year. Luckily I was able to work two jobs and he was able to stay home with the kids to save daycare expenses, and he worked part time, so it worked out but there are still people struggling I know we did. But even though we were having a hard time, my husband even with his college degree and certifications, worked a job in a grocery store throwing stock to help get us by so jobs are out there.
GarterPython
07-02-12, 10:06 PM
In Alberta it is like
50% Snow
30% Summer
10% Autumn Colors
10% Spring
I don't really mind the winter at all though because I LOVE snowboarding! My favorite part of the winter by far. The good way to look at Alberta wheather is that I get a lot of snowboarding in.
I need to find somewhere with a good combination of acceptable weather and career opportunities...
Alaska is where the money is. I think that's the allure for a lot of people.
AK pays generally twice as much as any other state for most entry and mid-level jobs, not sure why, perhaps because this state is so out of the way?
As a security officer in NY state I might earn somewhere in the region of $10 an hour, over here it's $20+ to do exactly the same job. You can literally make a killing out here.
This is where I'm going to have a hard time, I reckon. Wherever I move, I'm probably going to be taking a huge step down in pay and quality of life.
Still got my eyes on moving though... maybe sometime next year.
Snakefood
07-02-12, 10:22 PM
ya I know, I was in Chauvin, AB in MAY and there was still snow and Ice on the ground. SICK!!, I have vowed to only visit in the summer unless someone dies!!
infernalis
07-02-12, 10:28 PM
I need to find somewhere with a good combination of acceptable weather and career opportunities...
Alaska is where the money is. I think that's the allure for a lot of people.
AK pays generally twice as much as any other state for most entry and mid-level jobs, not sure why, perhaps because this state is so out of the way?
As a security officer in NY state I might earn somewhere in the region of $10 an hour, over here it's $20+ to do exactly the same job. You can literally make a killing out here.
This is where I'm going to have a hard time, I reckon. Wherever I move, I'm probably going to be taking a huge step down in pay and quality of life.
Still got my eyes on moving though... maybe sometime next year.
I would just buy a killer snowmobile and stay, with top salaries to draw from, I could build a big heated room to make up for the cold outside.
I would just buy a killer snowmobile and stay
Now I like where you're coming from Wayne :) a badass snowmobile with all the bells and whistles...
*Don't Mind Me*
07-02-12, 10:52 PM
I'd love to see some wild herps up here... but the fact is, it's just so damn cold in the winter I don't think anything would survive!
Here's a few town pics as an example (I didn't take these ones)
Do you live anywhere near the ocean? I've heard of leatherback turtles as far north as Alaska. Amphibians live there to assuming you live in the warmer parts of the last frontier.
Nice little town, and truly beautiful scenery...
Do you live anywhere near the ocean? I've heard of leatherback turtles as far north as Alaska. Amphibians live there to assuming you live in the warmer parts of the last frontier.
Nice little town, and truly beautiful scenery...
Marine turtles are occasional visitors here, though I've never seen any myself.
I do try to make a habit of wildlife watching, so far in the last few years I've seen:
About twenty black bears (some very close encounters, though none of them were aggressive towards me)
A couple of coastal brown bears
One lone gray wolf (very beautiful)
Half a dozen moose
Deer
Elk
Dozens of marmots (look like groundhogs)
Porcupines
Humpback whales
Killer whales
Seals
Walrus
Literally hundreds of bald eagles
Mink
Pine Martens
Many interesting species of birds (including herons, hummingbirds, hawks etc)
One frog species (unable to identify)
I know there are some amphibians here, but what species they are, I do not know.
*Don't Mind Me*
07-02-12, 11:16 PM
My wildlife watching list would be longer than yours, but not as interesting unless you have a thing for birds or insects. The only herps I have seen in the wild are toads and treefogs, sagebrush and fence lizards, checkered garter snakes, bull/gopher snakes, and one other species of snake I was unable to identify. My area has the opposite weather: to much heat, to little rain.
Thanks for taking the time to list those, I didn't even know hummingbirds were that tolerant to the cold.
infernalis
07-02-12, 11:25 PM
Now I like where you're coming from Wayne :) a badass snowmobile with all the bells and whistles...
hotseat, hand warmers, heated full face helmet and a NOS bottle.:cool:
Gungirl
07-03-12, 05:59 AM
Riding a snowmobile is a great way to warm up on a freezing cold day. I always take my jacket off when we go out riding... lol
MoreliAddict
07-03-12, 07:38 AM
Have you ever seen the northern lights up there? Isn't that in Alaska? lol
Snakefood
07-03-12, 08:48 AM
Ya, they should be able to see aroura borealis there, we can see them in Northern BC!!!
Kingsnakechris
07-03-12, 09:24 AM
I could def. Live in a place like that.
I could def. Live in a place like that.
I am with you on that one...would love it!
LISA127
07-03-12, 02:51 PM
It's beautiful, but I'd like to get away from the snow.....not move somewhere where there's even more than I already live with.
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