Alaska or New England?

[Autumnchik 6]

I'm at West Point, NY now, which I am assuming qualifies as New England. It is beautiful! I would have to say that Alaska would win out though. You can come here and visit anytime. How many chances are you going to have to explore Alaska and get paid for it?

Not being picky here, but just in response .... NY does not qualify as New England. The New England states are: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

[Teacher Mark 53]

I'm at West Point, NY now, which I am assuming qualifies as New England. It is beautiful! I would have to say that Alaska would win out though. You can come here and visit anytime. How many chances are you going to have to explore Alaska and get paid for it?

Not being picky here, but just in response .... NY does not qualify as New England. The New England states are: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

Well they talked funny there too! I'm in Trenton, NJ now, heading to Hartford, CT tomorrow and then Worcester, MA the next day. I'll weigh in later in the week! Regardless I'd still choose Alaska.

P.S. Why are New Yorkers so grumpy? Because New Jersey is the light at the end of their tunnel! Actually, I like Jersey. The people are relatively friendly and have an outstanding sense of humor. Just my 2 cents.

[2ond journey 0]

I am originally from Connecticut but now live in Alaska. I love the 4 seasons they had in Connecticut although people can be alittle snobby there. In Alaska it really depends on where you will be staying. I am currently in Fairbanks. Most people cant take the darkness in the winter time it can be very depressing. Now anchorage is ok more stuff to do there. Although in the summer time it tends to rain quite a bit. Juneau is isolated nothing to do there but site see. Southern parts of Alaska rain alot in the summer time. In the winter time it doesnt get as cold there either. Maybe around 0.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

New England has culture.

Alaska has bridges.

[Kazan' Tiger 1]

That, for me, would be an easy choice... Alaska.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

New England has culture.

Alaska has bridges.

[truffles 2]

Wow..what a co incidence...we are planning a move to Alaska because of a job offer...I am looking forward to the experience and like someone else has pointed out it doesnt have to be for life. I would guess to choose you would need to look at the lifestyle you want ? I have been forewarned by my husband ( he has lived in Alaska before) that day to day living can be a bit different from what you are use to - especially in more remote places but he says Anchorage has become like any other town in America ( in respect of facilities jobs etc).

He is a hunting/fishing/camping sort so he knows he prefers the more remote places - but stresses the nature of the villages is quite friendly and close knit. I like to think of myself as being adaptable - (never fished until i lived here in the US and quite enjoying it!) so I am confident i will be able to settle in as long as i keep a positve attitude.

Alaska has a very interesting history - and it is worth taking the time to read up and research on it. I am bias as a Brit - and from Yorkshire that some of the references are to British Sailors such as Captain James Cook ( Cook inlet ) and Bristol Bay names after the Admiral of the day and also happened to be the Earl Of Bristol.

It cannot be ignored that the other nations have influences in Alaska, and I intend to research them to.

Sadly I cannot comment on New England....but please let us know how it goes!

[Empress of Groovy 373]

I'd go for Alaska. New England is great (especially Massachusetts, my glorious home state!), but as some people have mentioned, you can always visit or move there at some future point. The Boston area has a very robust economy with jobs in lots of different fields, but I imagine that moving to Alaska (if that's what you wanted to do) would be trickier. I'd take advantage of the Alaska adventure while you can. New England isn't going anywhere!

[~krakatoa~ 27]

Alaska!

[FutureAmerican 2]

Thanks to all for the replies! It's an incredibly hard choice and right now my wife & I are tempted just to toss a coin over it

One thing I'm going to do is make a list of all the available units in each District, and do a side by side comparison of the "best" and "worst" case scenarios. A big thing for us is trying to get on a large base with lots of facilities, as my wife doesn't drive at the moment, and I want her to have access to things there.

Sinergy - congrats on your hubby joining the USCG! If you need any info about the expedited route to Citizenship he'll be eligible for let me know as I've dug up a lot of info on it. If he scored above a 65 on the ASVAB, he's eligible for the "Guaranteed District" option in his contract - you can choose any apart from Florida or Hawaii....although you can still end up at any unit within that District, it still gives you some idea of where you'll be going.

BTW, for the purposes of this discussion.....New York is part of New England - because it's included in USCG District 1

[cieloazul 0]

I would try and see how long you would be at sea in either district. I've also heard there are some coast guard units in the middle east (were these redeployed from districts in the states?). Being newly married, I'd guess you'd want to limit how long you'd be away from your wife. The coast guard base in Alaska is shown in this link: http://benefits.military.com/misc/installa...ap.jsp?state=AK .

[natty bumppo 297]

New England has culture.

Alaska has bridges.

So does CT ... quality ones too ... like the Mianus River Bridge

Mianus River Bridge

[Teacher Mark 53]

Wow..what a co incidence...we are planning a move to Alaska because of a job offer...I am looking forward to the experience and like someone else has pointed out it doesnt have to be for life. I would guess to choose you would need to look at the lifestyle you want ? I have been forewarned by my husband ( he has lived in Alaska before) that day to day living can be a bit different from what you are use to - especially in more remote places but he says Anchorage has become like any other town in America ( in respect of facilities jobs etc).

He is a hunting/fishing/camping sort so he knows he prefers the more remote places - but stresses the nature of the villages is quite friendly and close knit. I like to think of myself as being adaptable - (never fished until i lived here in the US and quite enjoying it!) so I am confident i will be able to settle in as long as i keep a positve attitude.

Alaska has a very interesting history - and it is worth taking the time to read up and research on it. I am bias as a Brit - and from Yorkshire that some of the references are to British Sailors such as Captain James Cook ( Cook inlet ) and Bristol Bay names after the Admiral of the day and also happened to be the Earl Of Bristol.

It cannot be ignored that the other nations have influences in Alaska, and I intend to research them to.

Sadly I cannot comment on New England....but please let us know how it goes!

Read James Michener's "Alaska".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_%28novel%29

It's an outstanding novel, as most of Michener's works are.

Edited May 3, 2008 by WideAwakeInTheUSA

[Emancipation 2]

If you go by current average gas prices alone...

Alaska 3.987

Connecticut 3.803

[Sinergy 3]

Thanks to all for the replies! It's an incredibly hard choice and right now my wife & I are tempted just to toss a coin over it

One thing I'm going to do is make a list of all the available units in each District, and do a side by side comparison of the "best" and "worst" case scenarios. A big thing for us is trying to get on a large base with lots of facilities, as my wife doesn't drive at the moment, and I want her to have access to things there.

Sinergy - congrats on your hubby joining the USCG! If you need any info about the expedited route to Citizenship he'll be eligible for let me know as I've dug up a lot of info on it. If he scored above a 65 on the ASVAB, he's eligible for the "Guaranteed District" option in his contract - you can choose any apart from Florida or Hawaii....although you can still end up at any unit within that District, it still gives you some idea of where you'll be going.

BTW, for the purposes of this discussion.....New York is part of New England - because it's included in USCG District 1

ahhhhhhhhhhhhh ok, good to know, he took it and made a 89% but we havent spoken to the recruiter about location since then, so yaay we should be able to stay in florida then.

yea they already discussed the citizenship thing with thim. from what i understood he doesnt have to pay any of the fees as the military takes care of it all for him.