Anchorage Info. (Fairbanks: high school, university, living)

[WN737]

Hello, I am currently a high school student living down in California and am thinking about going to college in Alaska, maybe the University of Alaska at Anchorage. I just wanted to ask some questions about Anchorage and get some opinions about the city. The reason I am thinking about Anchorage is because it is the largest city and has most of the amenities as the big cities in the mainland do. I want to get away from the air pollution and I'm sure, like any big city, Anchorage has its share of it. But how bad is it in comparison to the Sacramento area? And call me crazy, but unlike a lot of people I think the long summer days and long winter nights are pretty neat. Another question I had is in regards to the Northern Lights. Can they be seen well in the Anchorage area?

-Thanks

[sqbox]

Northern lights can be seen from Anchorage sometimes, better view from Fairbanks though. Pollution is really non-existent in summer, but we do get air quality warnings especially in winter when inversion traps the air over the city.