No matter where you go in your life, if you grew up in Alaska it will always be a point of pride and conversation. The state is huge and you could be from the verdant rainforests of Southeast or a thousand miles north in the tundra of the Northwest. Alaska encompasses thousands of beautiful miles of varied terrain. No matter where you did your growing up in Alaska, there were sure to be far more trees than people, an outdoor lifestyle, and a lot of fish! These are some of the residual signs that you grew up at the top of the world.
Alaskans know full well not to waste a moment of summer sun. Whether it be working hard or playing hard, Alaskans have a "Go! Go! Go!" mentality that doesn't fade. When the sun shining, an Alaskan will be moving and getting things done no matter what. We know how short the summer sun can be, so we enjoy it to the fullest!
As the salmon fill the rivers and streams in the summer, Alaskans go fishing to fill the freezers for the winter. At this time of year, salmon can be eaten at every meal without a thought. Most who grew up in Alaska can eat a LOT of salmon without ever getting tired of the red, succulent fish. Whether it be smoked, dried, grilled, canned, baked, broiled or in something different like a pie or spaghetti, Alaskans find a way to keep eating salmon as long as they are running.
The Alaskan summer midnight sun brings the warmth, but when it's gone during get long, dark winter nights the heat doesn't linger. Consequently, it is never both warm and dark in Alaska. Summer nights are light and winter nights are cold. It can take an Alaskan a while to used to warm, dark summer nights in more temperate places. And in the lower latitudes, you miss out on one of the absolute treasures of winter in the north: the aurora borealis! Life in Alaska can be stunning.
With the long distances food is required to travel to get to Alaskan store shelves, most people understand that the more remote you are, the higher the prices. That can mean a $17.00 frozen pizza in Glenallen or a half gallon of milk for $8.00 in Utqiagvik (formally Barrow). So, Alaskans think prices everywhere else are reasonable. The expensive groceries are one of the Alaska stereotypes that are is definitely true.
With so much space and so few people, Alaskans rarely have to drive very close to other cars, and hardly ever have to parallel park. Unless you are in downtown Anchorage on a regular basis, most of Alaska has plenty of room to park far from other cars. Of course, parallel parking is required for the driver's license test, but those skills can get rusty when they are hardly ever used.
Small, dark, tart and completely unique, Alaskan blueberries are just not the same as the ones sold everywhere else. If you grow up in Alaska, you will forever miss the blueberries of home when snacking on the other kind. Alaskan blueberries are a wonderful spotlight in every Alaskan’s childhood!
7. You think everything is close together in the rest of the world.
Alaska is enormous and getting from one region to another takes a while, and usually more than one form of transportation. When a journey from one town to the other takes a plane, a boat, and a car ride, you are unfazed by epic distances. Everything in the Lower 48 states seems so manageable once you leave our great land. It makes Alaskans formidable travelers, unafraid of crossing long distances to get somewhere amazing.
You may think hockey would be Alaska's most popular sport, and it is pretty popular, but basketball is really the most popular sport in the AK. In rural Alaska where all items including sports equipment are scarce, basketball is played night and day all summer long. With the midnight sun lighting the courts, the pickup games are never-ending.
With weather temperatures that can drop 10's of degrees in a few hours, or warm up with the sun to sweltering temps, Alaskans know to bring a lot of different kinds of clothes everywhere they go. The ability to adjust your outfit for comfort and safety from the elements and the mosquitoes is an Alaskan skill.
Jeans, a flannel shirt, and a season appropriate boot are usually the norm at any event in Alaska, regardless of how fancy it is supposed to be. You'll see jeans at church, at nice restaurants, even at the opera in Alaska. If you are traveling, you might want to ask a friend before heading out if you are dressed correctly for the occasion because Alaskans actually have no idea.
Growing up around far, far more trees than people, buildings or cars, an Alaskan will always need to find some natural place to recharge. If you lose your Alaskan at the nice hotel, wedding, or sky scraper, look in the nearest park and you may find them sitting under a tree just getting away from the crowd and talking to the birds. Living in Alaska isn’t for the fainthearted, but it is for the one who appreciates everything this great state has to offer!
Did you grow up in Alaska? Growing up in Alaska is definitely a unique experience! Any strange side effects we didn’t mention? Tell us about it in the comments below.
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Growing Up In Alaska
Megan Mcdonald |September 24, 2020
How many languages are spoken in Alaska?
There are tons of languages spoken in this huge state. While English is the most commonly spoken language in Alaska, there are over 20 official Native languages spoken in this amazing place. Not only that, but Anchorage is such a haven for people from all over the world, that there are over 107 languages spoken in the Anchorage School District. Our state is a place thatbeckons to adventure lovers from everywhere. It’s a wonderful place to grow up, surrounded by an amazing diversity of lovely people.
Is Alaska a great place to grow up?
Growing up in Alaska is unlike growing up anywhere else in the world. The varied terrain, vast expanses, and unique features of this northern state isn’t replicated anywhere else in the world. Of the 200,000 estimated glaciers in the world, Alaska is believed to have 100,000 of them! Our state is so large and unique, we used to have multiple time zones, all within state lines. So it stands to reason that growing up here is living a life that you truly can’t find anywhere else.
