Best Place In Alaska For........

[PMFB-RN, RN]

Hello Alaskan and former Alaskan nurses. My family and I are considering a move to Alaska. My wife grew up on an Aborignal reservation in central Queensland and I grew up in eastern Oregon so we are well acustomed to remote, rual places. We currently live in northern Wisconsin so are no strangers to long, cold winters (though I understand that Alaskan winters can be longer/colder depending on what part of Alaska).

We are looking for a place near a small town where the fishing and hunting are great, particularly for trout and steelhead. Hopefully house prices would be affordable for an RN working full time. Peferably closer to the coast. Of course I will need to find employment in a hospital ICU or ER. We are currently planning on possibly doing a travel contract to Alaska first before jumping in with both feet.

Any advice would be appeciated.

Thanks in advance.

[JMBM]

As you might have seen in other posts, trying to describe Alaska is kind of a big project. It is as large as the western third of the US. Asking for a favorite place here is like asking what your favorite town is west of the Mississippi. It all depends on what you are looking for. Let's start with the basics. The southeastern panhandle has the small city/towns of Wrangell, Ketchikan, Juneau and Sitka - small city/towns located on the water with economies based on fishing and lumber (Juneau is, of course, the capital). The climate leans more towards rain than snow. Southcentral is the center of population with Anchorage and the smaller on-the-road communities of Palmer, Wasilla, Kenai, Soldotna, Homer and Seward. There is a new hospital in Palmer and small hospital/medical centers in Soldotna, Homer and Seward. Kenai/Soldotna, Homer and Seward are on or near the ocean and their economies are based on fishing and tourism. Palmer/Wasilla is north of and accessible to Anchorage. There is excellent stream fishing there and a new hospital in Palmer. Anchorage has the largest hospitals and half the state's population. Its not much different from any small northern city in the lower 48. There's a small hospital in Kodiak, and the fishing on that island is world famous. Fairbanks has a small hospital there a couple of military medical facilities. Fairbanks is a very laid back, friendly place that gets seriously cold in the winter. The "bush" communities are those off the highway grid. Several, including Dillingham, Bethel, Nome, Kotzebue and Barrow, have medical centers. I'd check out the Alaska Emergency Nurses Assn website, which lists all the hospitals and their websites. I would strongly recommend a traveler contract up here if you aren't sure.

[Justin_T_W]

Fairbanks might be a good place for you if you are wanting to be an ICU nurse

The ICU nurses in fairbanks are friendly, and the beds aren't full most of the time. We have about 8ish ICU beds, but telemetry is right next to the workspace so they care for 8 telemetry beds as well. Friendliest doctors, they always joke around -

[Gennaver, MSN]

Fairbanks might be a good place for you if you are wanting to be an ICU nurse

The ICU nurses in fairbanks are friendly, and the beds aren't full most of the time. We have about 8ish ICU beds, but telemetry is right next to the workspace so they care for 8 telemetry beds as well. Friendliest doctors, they always joke around -

Hi Justin,

I am waiting for word about being assigned to FT WW as a nurse and wonder if any nurses from there work as registry at your hospital, (because I am interested to know if this is a possibility for me).

gen

[PMFB-RN, RN]

Thanks to those that replied. I appreciate your advice.