When we moved to Alaska, we were fearful that it would be cold and dark all winter long....I cannot even say how pleasantly surprised I continue to be each and every day we live here. Solstice is just 16 days away and the dark hasn't been bad at all.
Many of you have asked about the cold and the dark so here's the skinny: The dark really didn't start to become noticeable until the time change back in the beginning of November. As of now, the sun really "rises" around 10:15 but it starts to get light around 9ish. It's really not much different from when we lived in Paris. In the afternoon, as of now, it's getting dark around 4pm, and fully dark by 4:45. Just about the same as Paris and also growing up in NY. We continue to lose 5 minutes each day until 21 December. By that time, we'll be back to getting lighter! Apparently January is the darkest, because you don't gain light as quickly, so we'll keep you posted on that.
Regarding the cold, it's not so bad either. It's cold, today was -5F, but you're usually not outside for that long at that early hour anyway. Apparently it's really cold for this time of year. I have been running outside when I can and as long as I'm dressed in the right stuff, I get warm. I went on a 1.5 hour walk with friends yesterday in 0 F, and it was cold and windy, but I had on my secret weapon, smart wool, plus with my hand and foot warmers, I was actually hot!
Another plus it's not been bad is because
there has been constant sun light during the daylight hours for the past 20 days! Sun and clear skies, no complaints here! Of course, as I said, there's no snow, so people are annoyed-soon enough the snow will be here and we'll be XC skiing every second we get!
So in the end, AK still is a pretty cool place to live. Sure, you all know I prefer the heat, but hey, when in Rome!
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