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Living in Anchorage, Alaska:
Tips for Moving and Visiting

11 local experts
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If you've been wondering what it's like to live in or visit Anchorage, the Crowdsourced Explorer community can help. We asked 11 people living in Anchorage what someone who is considering moving to or visiting there should know. Here are their pros and cons, tips, and advice:

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11 comments on “Anchorage”

Fun in the summer with sunlight at midnight. Winter not so much with tons of snow the last 2 years. If thinking of moving here, invest in long underwear and buy a sturdy snow shovel.

Largest city in Alaska. We have mild winters and mild summers. We have one of the most diverse populations in the USA.

Jeffrey, says: 2023

Expensive. Beautiful summers with long sunny days, cold and dark winters with icy and snowy roads. Known as the Last Frontier, so surrounded by wooded wilderness where bear and moose can stroll into town.

Anchorage, Alaska, has 22 hours of daylight on June 21 which coincides with summer solstice. This is also the reason the state has been given the nickname “Land of the Midnight sun”. Giving residents and visitors alike plenty of daylight to explore and play.

Steven, says: 2020

Anchorage is a beautiful city filled with a diverse population. It’s surrounded by gorgeous mountains and is right on the sea-front. The city is well known for its wildlife interactions within the city limits and it’s not uncommon to see bald eagles flying above or come across a bear or a moose blundering across the road.

Haroon, says: 2020

Someone moving to Anchorage would have to take its long winters and long summers into consideration. The state is not the northernmost state and “The Land of the Midnight Sun” for nothing. It’s difficult to sleep when the sun shines through the curtain cracks for most of the night.

Katrina, says: 2020

Anchorage has unique weather patterns that range from extremely frigid to abnormally hot. Conditions often change unexpectedly, making driving a challenge for even the most skilled drivers. Despite all of this, the breathtaking scenery that surrounds the city make living here worth the struggle. It also doesn’t hurt that we occasionally are graced with amazing views of the Northern Lights.

Kaitlyn, says: 2020

Anchorage, Alaska, is a thriving, up-and-coming metropolis, but the large area and sprawling nature of the city combined with its relative lack of infrastructure can make transportation a challenge. While public transit options are available and affordable, they are extremely limited. Owning a car is strongly recommended; virtually every resident faces a significant daily commute to school or work, and the majority of Anchorage’s streets have no sidewalks or pedestrian infrastructure.

Brandy, says: 2020

Anchorage, Alaska, is the biggest small town in the world. Our population is more than 250,000 people but somehow you can still go to the grocery store and run into a dozen people you know. It is the largest city in the United States in terms of total square mileage so you will never feel crowded in Alaska’s biggest city. It is the perfect place to maintain a sense of urban living with the gateway to the wild right at your back door. You can drive ten minutes out of town, hike 30 minutes up the side of a mountain, and feel like you are the only soul in the world. It is the most unique of places to call your home.

Janell, says: 2020

Some areas of the world are the same as Alaska when it comes to having a dry climate. The people coming from those areas are used to it. But others that come from humid areas will find a dry climate can be quite different. It is essential to bring some type of body lotion with you to keep your skin from drying out. It can happen pretty quickly, within a few days to two weeks. It’s better to be prepared.

there are plenty of mountains. They should also know there are few stores as opposed to a large quantity, such as that of other cities. During summer, there is more than twelve hours of sunlight compared to the less than 12 hours during winter.

Stephen, says: 2020

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Names of respondents may have been changed.

See other cities and towns in Alaska.

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