Since I only know 1 person that has lived in Alaska that reads my blog, I thought I would share with you some lessons I have learned from living in Alaska. I am an expert now, you know. We have lived here almost 4 months! (Note the sarcasm please!)
- Don't rent a house. Buy a house or live out of a hotel. Everyone we talk to has been jipped by their landlords. It is not a nice feeling.
- Don't leave anything in your car! Especially wet wipes. It is not nice to go out to get a package of wipes only to find them harder than a rock. What do you expect with 8 degree weather?
- Snow tires are not a necessity! Seriously! These people know how to handle snow. It is a miracle! All of the places we have lived have gotten snow. However, this is the first time people know how to deal with it! Tractors are snow plows!! Seriously. Fabulous!
- It is always colder than it feels. For example, on Tuesday, I went out to warm up my car and it didn't feel that cold to me. Came back in, put coats on Maggie & Nate and grabbed a LIGHT jacket for me. Got in my car and my thermometer read -10. Yep. That is NEGATIVE 10 degrees. Wow!
- If you order furniture to be delivered, expect 3 times as many people as needed to come. They like to come to the base about lunch time, so they schedule all the base delivery's around noon and then they go to the BX cafeteria to get lunch. I have seen this happen on 3 different occasions. This morning, my new fridge was delivered and there were 4 people here to deliver it. Only 1 did anything. The fridge is on wheels. When I told them to enjoy their lunch, they all looked at me like a deer in the headlights. So funny! Just made my day!
- All of the Native Alaskans want lower 48 food and all the military want "Alaskan" food. I have asked several times where good mom and pop places are. We want us some true Alaskan food. Nobody can give me any. But, they can tell me where both Applebee's, Chili's, Red Robin and all the Chains are. There are rumors that they are putting in a Olive Garden (there isn't one here yet) over by Target & Kohl's and folks here are counting down the days!! (FYI, old Alaskan people, they are building a movie theater over by Kohl's right now).
- It is true, everything costs more. However, the only area that I have noticed a huge difference is in the price of gas. We are paying $3.30 right now. We are usually about $1.00 higher than my parents in Utah. Quite funny huh? Alaska is a huge gas supplier, but we pay so much more. Why? There are only 2 refineries here so they charge quite a bit more than in the lower 48 where there is more access.
Watch for more posts. This is just a small list!
5 comments:
Good lessons! I like the fridge delivery story- "enjoy your lunch." Hee, hee.
Cold weather = no fun! The best investment for us was a remote start for our car. We loved it!! It was funny that 15 mins before church got out you'd here "beep beep" from everyone starting their cars or in the line at grocery stores or during the credits at a movie, etc...
LOVE IT! You almost had me crying I was laughing so much! We sure do miss it up there. After reading this I sat down to think of all the "Alaskan" restaurants to try, in just a couple of minutes I came up with 27-expect an email from me-thats lots of date nights for ya! #3 & 4 are SOOOO true people think I am crazy when I try and explain both of those facts! #5 & 6-the grass is always greener on the other side! :) I was one of those people too-I had a class on base and I always stopped and got dinner on the way home.
Denay is very right, our remote start was money well spent! I still use it daily! Looking forward to you sharing more lessons :)
1. I don't think our landlord is problem...just this stinkin' house. Just don't rent an old smelly house. Or wait it out till you get on base!
6. I knew about that...I think we need a Red Lobster though =)
I should think of a list like this...great idea!
Great list. I'm sure much more to come. And u r looking awesome. Great job at the weight. Someday I'll follow.
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