Alaska is a state of the United States of America that is regionally separate from the rest of the US states. It is located in the extreme northwest of the North American west coast with the Bering Strait separating the landmass from Asia.
| Benefits of Living in Alaska | Drawbacks of Living in Alaska |
| Alaska is characterized by various landforms and geographic features. | The state of Alaska experiences extreme cold |
| Alaska is astonishingly rich and varied when it comes to wildlife. | The Alaskan climate does not support adequate agricultural production. |
| Alaska since its pre-colonial days has been the home to a lot of indigenous people. | Alaska is very poorly connected via roadways. |
| Alaska is linguistically diverse. | Alaska has a pretty high living cost. |
| The state has massive reserves of energy | A lot of places in Alaska don’t offer alcohol. |
| The music scene in Alaska is quite a buzzing and diverse one. | |
| Alaska offers the surreal magic of the northern lights | |
| The state of Alaska has a lot of job openings. |
Advantages of living in Alaska
Alaska is a geographical treasure:
The state of Alaska is characterized by various landforms and geographic features. From a collection of beautiful islands to majestic mountains to volcanoes, Alaska boasts it all. Alaska also has over three million beautiful lakes. The Bering Glacier, the largest frozen glacier is located in Alaska as well.
Alaska is the home to a variety to wildlife:
Alaska is astonishingly rich and varied when it comes to wildlife. The sparsely populated nature of the state enables free and prosperous territory for the wildlife. 96% of United States’ brown bears are from Alaska along with their mighty cousins, the Grizzly Bear, the magnificent Polar bears, and Alaska’s unique Kodiak bear.
Alaska is a hub of ethnic milieu:
Alaska since its pre-colonial days has been the home to a lot of indigenous people. Today various indigenous groups like those of Aleuts, Northern Eskimos (Inupiat), Southern Eskimos (Yuit), Interior Indians (Athabascans) and Southeast Coastal Indians (Tlingit and Haida) co-exist with other ethnic communities.
It is linguistically diverse:
Although the majority of the living population in Alaska is English speaking accounting to roughly 80% of the share, a rich heritage of nearly twenty indigenous languages are spoken in Alaska.
They include Inupiaq, Siberian, Yupik, Central Alaskan Yup’ik, Alutiiq, Unangax, Dena’ina, Deg Xinag, Holikachuk, Koyukon, Upper Kuskokwim, Gwich’in, Tanana, Upper Tanana, Tanacross, Hän, Ahtna, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian. In October 2014 the Governor of Alaska recognized these languages with an official status.
Alaska has vast deposits of energy:
The state has massive reserves of energy reserves consisting of crude petroleum and natural gas. Alaska is the fourth energy-rich state in the United States. The Trans-Alaskan pipeline, which is a massive engineering feat, transports the resources extracted from the North Slope to Valdez.
There is great music in Alaska:
The music scene in Alaska is quite a buzzing and diverse one. Indigenous music has created a rich legacy and has influenced contemporary music. The folk music brought in by the Russian-European colonizers also has left a significant impact.
There are various renowned music festivals based in the state of Alaska like The Alaska Folk Festival, the Anchorage Folk Festival, and the Athabascan Old-Time Fiddling Festival.
The magic of the Alaskan Northern Lights:
Alaska is one of the rare places on the planet where one can experience the surreal magic of the northern lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis. The phenomenon can be viewed in places like Fairbank and other regions above the Arctic Circle during the winter months of November, December, and January when the daylight period is extremely short.
Ample job opportunities and government support:
The state of Alaska has a lot of job openings that invite a lot of people in search of a fresh start. The state authorities are tax-friendly and most of the cities do not require taxes to live in. Moreover, federal government employees are eligible for a Cost of Living Allowance usually set at 25% of base pay.
Disadvantages of living in Alaska
The weather is freezing:
The state of Alaska is located near the Arctic Circle. Hence, the region experiences extreme cold which might turn out to be quite harsh to deal with. Sub-zero temperatures are not uncommon.
Although, seaside cities like Anchorage may experience a pleasant trend of weather owing to the sea breezes.
The Alaskan climate does not support adequate agricultural production:
The northern sub-arctic climatic conditions coupled with the permafrost and subsequent short growing periods lead to low agricultural activity and output. Alaska has no counties; the lack of consequent county fairs also affects agricultural trade.
Lack of road connectivity:
Alaska is very poorly connected via roadways. The roadways cover much less area compared to the other states in the US. The Alaskan highway is connected to various areas with very few branches.
Even the capital of Alaska, Juneau, cannot be accessed by roads. The western half of the state completely lacks a network of roadways connecting it to the rest of Alaska.
High living Expense:
Alaska has a pretty high living cost. The poor road connectivity coupled with the low agricultural output makes shipping of various products and goods into Alaska extremely difficult, thus raising the price of the commodities.
The inner the settlements are, the higher the living costs rise. The rural populace of Alaska bears the brunt of high prices the most.
A lot of places in Alaska don’t offer alcohol:
Several regions in Alaska, especially the rural ones have declared themselves ‘dry’. That means that they have put a strict ban on the production and selling of alcoholic beverages.
Interestingly, Alaska was originally a Russian colony which was eventually acquired by the United States of America in 1867. Alaska remains untouched by the vices of human overpopulation and is a relatively pollution-free region with pristine landscapes and forests. Alaska also houses rich storage of oil and natural gas.
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