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My name is James, and I'll be moving to Barrow at the end of March. I'm really excited, I've read a lot of great things about Barrow from you guys on this forum.
I'm going to be a weather observer with the NWS at the airport, which also looks like it'll be a lot of fun, and the strong sense of community you mention sounds great!
I don't think I'll have too much trouble adjusting to the culture (I'm more worried about adjusting to the arctic!) I've had the oportunity to live/visit a bunch of different places/countries, and I'm excited about seeing the differences.
I've read some interesting posts on getting ready for the switch... but I also have 3 children that I'm bringing with me, so I don't want to forget/overlook/just not know anything. (I can rough it if i have to, but the kids are different!) They're 9, 2.75, and 1.75 years old.
We're planning on bringing up a couple sets of warm clothes for them (and ourselves) and see what we need by learning from others when we get there. (plus, it's hard to get cold weather gear in texas =P)
Another concern I have is our vehicle. I've read here that the DoT in barrow is really good, and for the most part keep the streets clear of snow. Is a front wheel drive car OK for barrow, or will we really regret not having AWD? Choices seem a bit limited (and somewhat expensive) when it comes to AWD/4WD vehicles that can haul kids effectively. I'm planning on getting a 4 wheeler when I get up there to get to work, run errands, etc, so the car won't be essential all the time.
Speaking of 4 wheelers, (yay! I love those things, had em all through my youth) I've read from you guys that stores there offer polaris (and possibly) honda. It seems easier to buy there than to buy here and ship it, but are there financing options available in Barrow?
I'm going to be a weather observer with the NWS at the airport, which also looks like it'll be a lot of fun, and the strong sense of community you mention sounds great!
You will enjoy your Barrow job in ways that I can't begin to tell you! If you haven't talked to the folks who work here for the NWS yet (or even if you have!), the one you really want to talk to is Gina Sturm. I just hope she is not the one you will replace though! She has wanted to leave for several years, but she's such a wonderful person that nobody locally is wishing her well in that endeavor. We want her here.
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... I also have 3 children that I'm bringing with me, so I don't want to forget/overlook/just not know anything. (I can rough it if i have to, but the kids are different!) They're 9, 2.75, and 1.75 years old.
The 9 year old is the only one to worry about, and then only if the child has special needs or problems that make adjusting difficult. One thing to know is that at that age if you stay here for 5 years, the ages from 11 to 14 are where kids develop their sense of identity, and Barrow will forever more be the "home of record" for you eldest. That's probably a very good thing too.
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We're planning on bringing up a couple sets of warm clothes for them (and ourselves) and see what we need by learning from others when we get there. (plus, it's hard to get cold weather gear in texas =P)
That's the best way to do it. In late March its starts to warm up here, so you'll only see the tail end of the harshness of winter. Of course coming from Texas even in June you'll think it's cold. But the timing is pretty good. You can assume that within merely hours of arrival you definitely will be getting helpful assistance from locals showing you what you need today and where to get it. And over the stretch of the summer there'll be lots of time to stock up on what you need to have by this time next year.
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Another concern I have is our vehicle. I've read here that the DoT in barrow is really good, and for the most part keep the streets clear of snow. Is a front wheel drive car OK for barrow, or will we really regret not having AWD? Choices seem a bit limited (and somewhat expensive) when it comes to AWD/4WD vehicles that can haul kids effectively. I'm planning on getting a 4 wheeler when I get up there to get to work, run errands, etc, so the car won't be essential all the time.
For your personal vehicle a front wheel drive is fine. It's the North Slope Borough's (NSB's) Department of Municipal Services (DMS) that does the roads, and you will be impressed. Guys with huge front end loaders with bucket scoops that can scrape snow off things with precision that matches what you and I might accomplish with a hand shovel.
The roads here are all gravel. In the winter that is much like concrete though.
The problem you have is NWS's (brand new) housing is on the extreme east end of Barrow and the (also brand new) work location is a half mile or so out of town on the west side. I don't know if they provide a vehicle to go to work or not. But that last half mile before the new work location is often snowed in where even a 4-wheel drive vehicle can't make it. I haven't talked to anyone out there in the past few weeks to see how it has actually worked out, but it certainly is a new problem for them to deal with. (I have been retired for a decade now, but when I was working my work location was a mile past where the new NWS building is, so I know that road in a snow storm like the back of my hand, literally.)
Regardless, almost certainly the best thing, if your vehicle is in good condition, is to either have it barged up from Seattle or Anchorage by either Crowley Marine or Bowhead Transportation, or put it on an airplane (talk to Northern Air Cargo) if you want it soon enough for summer. NAC is probably what you'll want to do.
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Speaking of 4 wheelers, (yay! I love those things, had em all through my youth) I've read from you guys that stores there offer polaris (and possibly) honda. It seems easier to buy there than to buy here and ship it, but are there financing options available in Barrow?
NAPA sells Polaris and the AC Store sells Honda models. New ones run $8 or $9 thousand. I don't know if financing is available through the stores, but it might be. We have a Wells Fargo bank in town and that is certainly an option of financing. I doubt they will finance a used one, but that is another option and the prices for something that is working run about half the cost of a new one.
A 4-wheeler becomes useful here in late March or early April. It's workable until some time in November, so you'll get a lot of use out of it. Initially, when it warms up in April you'll be restricted to roads. Then in June enough snow is gone that you can get off the roads in a couple places... but you can't get very far because there will be "rivers" of water from the runoff of melting snow. By July the tundra can be traveled on (but it is also a really rough go too), and it is August before one can get very far down the beach. Eventually it is possible to make it about 25 miles southwest on the beach, and then one can travel inland on the tundra in various places.
You biggest problem will be finding partners to go places with you at the times you can go. Your work schedule is a blessing and a curse! (On the other hand... I'm retired and have no schedule at all. Keep that in mind when you realize at 3 AM that you could scoot down the beach for the next 6 or 7 hours!)
You sound like an adventurous family, and if so you are about to hit the big time. Alaska as a whole is a place for adventurous people, and folks who are that tend to stay while those who are not leave. Barrow is one of the two or three most adventurous places in Alaska! (Dutch Harbor, for example, is about equal. Nothing beats them.)
Good to know about that road being snowy in the winter, I was under the impression that the work site was on the airfield, since we back up the sensors there. Dunno if it helps, but I was told the new housing is about 3 miles from the office.
I've driven 4 wheelers in the snow before, but only about 8-10 inches worth excluding drifts. I was under the impression that one would be OK to get around on the roads in even in the winter. I'm mostly worried about being able to get to work on time so I don't make the person before me stay late.
The joys of shift work though... not always fun but it has it's upsides. Sometimes it's nice to be able to get out and drink coffee, relax and chat, or just do things during the day. I try to look on the bright side, since shift work is pretty common in my profession.
I'm really excited about coming, my wife not too too much. she's been busy worrying about everything :P So how long we stay will really depend on her I suppose... but I told her we're staying for at least two years
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Haven't heard about replacing anyone, as far as I know I'm filling an empty spot. I've been USAF the last 6 years, so I'm new to the NWS and not entirely sure how that stuff works :/
Hmmm. 4 wheeler in -40.... They must be enclosed and have heat up there... Sounds like a blast to have one in the "summer" month.
I can only imagine what it would cost to air cargo a vehicle to Barrow... Hopefully the NWS picks up the tab on that moving expense.
I would call NAPA or the other place, in advance and find out about financing. I would think that if NAPA finances in the -48 they would finance there... Either way at least you know before you leave. If you have to buy one in TX and ship it, it will be easier to negotiate a deal now and in person than on the phone when you are "stuck" in Barrow. Take a photo of your salesperson when you tell them you need the arctic package on it... I love asking my car rental company down here in Miami if I can drive through Canada...
BTW - I've never been to Barrow and unfortunately, I doubt I will make it anytime soon since you can't drive there, but talking to people here have helped me form the above opinions. Plus some common sense.
dad had an enclosed 4 wheeler, was a kit you put onto a normal polaris. Worked pretty well, I might add.
If you're wearing clothes for being outside in extreme cold, and you need them anyways for work (so you have to bring them anyways) why not wear them TO work? Also, being a meteorologist and knowing what the weather is going to be (to plan ahead) helps as well. If given the choice between being a bit cold and making it to work on time, or being warmer and making the other guy work extra, I'd take the be a bit cold option personally, that's just how I am.
Good to know about that road being snowy in the winter, I was under the impression that the work site was on the airfield, since we back up the sensors there. Dunno if it helps, but I was told the new housing is about 3 miles from the office.
Heh heh, your perspective on what is "close" and what is "far" will change, eventually. Initially you'll probably feel pretty cramped here because the road going east of town ends at 12 miles, and the roads south on the west side of town only go a couple miles. All the way across town... is 3 miles.
But let me caution you not to laugh too much at that as a concept. The 2-1/2 mile road to Freshwater Lake that the NWS building is located on, about 1/2 mile past the end of the runway, is one that I've taken as long as an hour to make it to town from the 1-1/4 mile or so location where all the satellite earth stations are. And I also on many occasions simply could not go home, and spent two or three days at my work location. Being a half a mile out of town in Barrow can be akin to visiting the dark side of the moon.
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I've driven 4 wheelers in the snow before, but only about 8-10 inches worth excluding drifts. I was under the impression that one would be OK to get around on the roads in even in the winter. I'm mostly worried about being able to get to work on time so I don't make the person before me stay late.
Unless you've been in the Arctic, nothing you "know" about snow will necessarily apply here. Our snow is very dry, it is not slippery, and it might be a powder that you go through... and the same drift in two days will be solid as a rock and you can drive over the top of it. However, if you drive over the top and find a soft spot, your 4-wheeler will stay there until next spring.
But a 4-wheel ATV is only going to start easy down to about 0 to 10 above, and even if you put heaters on it to allow starting at colder temps, let me assure you that driving around on one at -20F, never mind -40F, is not something you really want to do. It can be done, but that's not fun. A car or truck is nice, and with children it is essential. You can "rent" one though! Cab rides are $6 a whack, and they are prompt and the vehicle is warm.
One thing to be aware of is that as a community we are all a lot closer than what is normal in other places. If you get stuck in a snow drift you can literally expect more than half of the vehicles going by to stop and help pull you out. Everyone with 4-wheel drive carries tow ropes, and uses them often.
And your co-workers will know a lot about what it takes to get you to work on time, and they'll share the wisdom. Don't spend much time being concerned, because when you get here the first thing you'll discover is that nothing you could imagine there comes close to what is reality here!
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I'm really excited about coming, my wife not too too much. she's been busy worrying about everything :P So how long we stay will really depend on her I suppose... but I told her we're staying for at least two years
She hooked up with you! Which is clearly coming across as the right match for an adventure like Barrow. As noted, being adventurous is the biggest key. The second one is that people who grow up in urban settings are generally never really comfortable in rural places (and the Alaska bush is as "rural" as it gets). (And as I mentioned about your children, it's where you are from about age 10 or 11 to about age 13 or 14 that makes the difference.) There are exceptions, but generally speaking people who like bush Alaska were raised in rural setting some place. (I know a lady who lives here that is from England... and grew up in a town is Devon that literally had no roads in or out, but did have a railway station, when she was a child. She doesn't feel trapped in a place where the nearest road connected city is 500 miles away!)
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Haven't heard about replacing anyone, as far as I know I'm filling an empty spot. I've been USAF the last 6 years, so I'm new to the NWS and not entirely sure how that stuff works :/
Well, an "empty spot" means some body has to be leaving, or there wouldn't be an empy spot!
Hmm... if you haven't seen it yet, you probably will enjoy looking at my web site:
well there goes the idea of getting to work inside 1/2 an hour, lol! Kinda scary to imagine getting trapped at work though, sometimes you just wanna go HOME
To be honest, I don't know a whole lot about snow, let alone arctic stuff. I grew up in florida, which probably explains why I enjoy the cold/winter. Most of my experience with living in a snowy place was germany, which doesn't really compare. I'm looking forward to learning though!
I've wanted to go to alaska for some time (but for that matter, I want to go to Antarctica too) and this job opening seemed like the way to do it! I also had another offer at the same time in much warmer Oklahoma... but had to pick Alaska!
I grew up on the edge between suburb and rural areas, but we always did a lot of outdoors stuff, hiking/camping/hunting/fishing when I was a kid. We moved to a much more rural area when I was 17 as well, and I liked it there. My wife is german (though half german half thai) and grew up there, so she's used to sort of cramped villages with a lot of nothing in between. Not sure how she'll handle it... I think she'll do great if she makes friends.
As for empty spot... I just meant that whoever it was, seemed like they were already gone.
So you know a bit about the new NWS houses? what's your opinion? and are they "in town" or outside?
Oh, and that Aurora Borealis picture with the satellite dishes in the background is gorgeous!
well there goes the idea of getting to work inside 1/2 an hour, lol! Kinda scary to imagine getting trapped at work though, sometimes you just wanna go HOME
Welcome to the bush!
Actually, on 359 days out of the year you will probably be able to drive along at 15 mph, ogling the world around you and enjoying every breath of very fresh air (being blown at approximately 12 MPH day in and day out, but sometimes with more velocity than that).. and you'll make it to work in way less than 1/2 an hour, unless you stop to talk to people or buy something at the store. (You'll have 7 stop signs along the way, all there for no reason other than to make sure you drive slowly.)
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To be honest, I don't know a whole lot about snow, let alone arctic stuff. I grew up in florida, which probably explains why I enjoy the cold/winter. Most of my experience with living in a snowy place was germany, which doesn't really compare. I'm looking forward to learning though!
We don't get a lot of it. But we do get it a lot! On something like 280 days of the year our intrepid weather observers spot at least a "trace" of snow. That is, at least one flake. Often it's at least two dozen flakes. Except from October through December, where it's all day every day, and sometimes accumulates an inch or two. :-)
But the thing is that we get snow in the first week of October that does not melt until the end of May or early June.
And we are a conservation minded people here. We recycle our snow!
It is all blown from East to West for 3 or maybe 4 weeks. Then we let it all blow back towards the East again. Then we repeat that cycle, all winter long. We get to see the same snow blowing by several times. We need a little for ourselves though, so we've put up snow fences to knock some if it out of the air and keep it here. Snowmachiners love it. (The snow fences keep it from blowing into town or onto the runway too.)
That, obviously, is all just the kind of thing you'd never have considered living in Texas! Oh, NWS housing is on the edge of the tundra, with no snow fense to the east of it... so you'll probably see more snow drifts in the first winter than the most of us do!
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I've wanted to go to alaska for some time (but for that matter, I want to go to Antarctica too) and this job opening seemed like the way to do it! I also had another offer at the same time in much warmer Oklahoma... but had to pick Alaska!
I grew up on the edge between suburb and rural areas, but we always did a lot of outdoors stuff, hiking/camping/hunting/fishing when I was a kid. We moved to a much more rural area when I was 17 as well, and I liked it there. My wife is german (though half german half thai) and grew up there, so she's used to sort of cramped villages with a lot of nothing in between. Not sure how she'll handle it... I think she'll do great if she makes friends.
There are a number of Thai people here, so if she leans in that direction she's going to have a good time here.
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So you know a bit about the new NWS houses? what's your opinion? and are they "in town" or outside?
I don't know much more than one can see by driving by now and then. I know they've spent an exorbitant amount of money, and may or may not have had their heads screwed on when the design was chosen. I don't know specifically about the housing, but have seen the inside of the new NWS station. A lot of money to build things the wrong way... but none of it is horribly wrong, just annoying. A design that causes the parking area and the main entrance ramp to the building to fill up with drifting snow is an example. And then on the east side, where a snow fence would have to be located to "fix" that problem... just happens to be where the only decent outside view the weather observers have, so putting up anything to block the snow would block their view.
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Oh, and that Aurora Borealis picture with the satellite dishes in the background is gorgeous!
Hmmm... last night I made a 16x24" print of that image. I haven't printed it for two or three years and was very pleased. When you get here, remind me if you'd like to have a copy and I'll whip one out as a "Welcome to Barrow" present. That, BTW, was taken from the edge of the cemetery, just past where I used to work, a little less than a mile farther down Freshwater Lake road from the NWS station. On most days you will be looking right at those satellite dishes in the distance when you turn into the driveway at work.
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