A lot of people don’t realize that Alaska’s largest city is adjacent to a s**t-ton of undeveloped land without road access. Personally I kind of grew to like life in the Mat-Su Valley… sort of rural but most of it is only an hour or less from Anchorage, and it has a lot of areas connected to the road system (even if some are just gravel roads). But even that is sometimes a challenge for newcomers to the state… I remember two couples who liked certain aspects of life out there, but the myriad little challenges and inconveniences got old and they eventually moved to areas in the lower 48 where they were closer to everyday conveniences and a less extreme day-night cycle.

It’s great to hear it’s working out for Bryan and Laura, but I think their story of successful transition and adaptation in these circumstances are more the exception than the rule. For anyone new to Alaska thinking of emulating them, I’d recommend first spending most of a year renting a place out in the rural but road-connected areas within an hour or two of Anchorage (or any other decent-sized town). It lets one get part of the feel of Alaska life before making a huge purchase, while also allowing more time to scout out potential properties. Even my mom, who spent more than 25 years living there, admitted that part of the reason she eventually moved back to the lower 48 was that the short amounts of daylight in the winter was getting increasingly harder to tolerate.