reasons to live in juneau 1. community. i feel like i know people here. like when i walk down the street i can you tell you something about half the people i see. people here in juneau care about this community and work to keep it together. they volunteer. they all show up and support each other (you know, the classic standing ovation). i like that i know my neighbors and that every day i run into someone on the street or at the grocery store and get to have a little chat that i wasn't expecting. i regularly feel in love with the world purely because of the people that i interact with on a daily basis here. i imagine that this would be a good place to raise a child.
2. bluegrass. you can go to hear bluegrass in the bars at least once a month.
3. perseverance theatre, juneau lyric opera, juneau symphony, opera to go. there are a lot of talented people here. and because it's a community, you know a lot of them and get to tell them how wonderful they are.
4. juneau is one of the most beautiful places in the world. and you can be alone in the middle of that beauty in five minutes flat. people really seem to appreciate this and feel a genuine connection to the place they live (which i love).
5. great ski areas, both downhill & nordic. great kayaking. great hiking. great fishing. great boating. anything you want to do outside (besides be warm) is possible and amazing.
6. the best god damn seafood in the world. period.
7. there's a small university here that offers a fair variety of classes and is used to having non-traditional students. i feel lucky to be plugged into the university and imagine that i will be taking at least one class there every semester. they're not always the best classes, but i do feel comfortable there and appreciate the opportunity.
8. folk fest. it's amazing. it combines community, art, music, and social life all together into one big pot of delicious debauchery. it feels like home and vacation at the same time.
9. the family connection. i love that people here know my parents and my aunts and uncles. that i'm friends now with people who held me as a baby. it makes me feel like i have roots and a history in a place that not many people have that long of a connection to.
10. i think people here value life in a different way from people down south. i think it has something to do with the lack of billboards and the amount of travel people do, but for some reason i just feel like there really aren't that many people who judge a person by what they have (possessions). i think people really place value on experiences rather than on owning cool things.
reasons not to live in juneau 1. the food options suck. big time. i feel like we have a lot of creative forces going for us in theatre, art, and music, but none whatsoever in food. it drives me nuts. also, while the organic grocery options in town have improved dramatically in the last couple of years and at this point the produce is reasonable, it still can't hold a flame to anything that you get down in california.
2. it is SO expensive to leave. and you have to leave (if you want to stay sane) and get some sun at least once or twice a year.
3. sometimes it can be pretty rough living in a small town. any issues that you have with another person end up becoming public knowledge and it's a guarantee that you'll run into them pretty regularly. i think it makes for stronger people, but it's hard.
4. rain. rain rain rain rain. when you first come back from time away, it is SO beautiful with the misty mountains and infinite shades of gray. and then it's just rain rain rain and you forget that sunshine even exists. and then it snows. and then it rains again.
5. no matter how liberal juneau feels, we live in a permanently right-wing state that makes right-wing decisions.
6. i love our little art community, but i miss being able to go to museums. sometimes i get really down about our total lack of access to the contemporary art and music community.
wow...i'm really struggling with the 'bad' list. maybe i'll just post what i have and come back when i think up four more items.
This is so awesome. And.... it's pretty much my list. I think one negative would be hard to come by, nice, affordable housing. Oh, and you pretty much have to own a car. A person could conceivably live and work downtown and not need one, but it would be hard in the winter.
And I thought of another reason for moving there: safety. I don't have to read about 2 more people getting shot overnight or fear that some one will break into my house.
But the food situation is really and truly dire in Juneau.
it is, but honestly, we eat REALLY well. we get almost all of our produce at rainbow and when we're cookiing for ourselves, i gotta say, we make some damn good food. i mean, i can't even imagine how delcious the stuff we make would be if we had super super fresh produce, but lately we've been able to get really yummy grape tomatoes at rainbow. and they're actually really good. andrew was just saying last night that they're probably the first really good tomatoes he's ever had in juneau.
also, full circle farms is an option. it's a csa that a lot of people in juneau belong to. since it's in washington, it's not an honest to goodness csa, but it does mean that people get fresh organic food in a wider variety than what is usually available here.
i had dinner last night with my dad, andrew, and my friend sarah (she's worked here for the last couple of summers and is considering staying for this winter) and i brought up this list.
my father thought i should add safety and super clean water/air to the positive list.
what alanna's folks do is they live downtown without a car and actually rent one once or twice a month for a day so that they can go to costco and take their recycling.
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branchandroot
an attempt
Date: 2008-09-19 12:07 am (UTC)1. community. i feel like i know people here. like when i walk down the street i can you tell you something about half the people i see. people here in juneau care about this community and work to keep it together. they volunteer. they all show up and support each other (you know, the classic standing ovation). i like that i know my neighbors and that every day i run into someone on the street or at the grocery store and get to have a little chat that i wasn't expecting. i regularly feel in love with the world purely because of the people that i interact with on a daily basis here. i imagine that this would be a good place to raise a child.
2. bluegrass. you can go to hear bluegrass in the bars at least once a month.
3. perseverance theatre, juneau lyric opera, juneau symphony, opera to go. there are a lot of talented people here. and because it's a community, you know a lot of them and get to tell them how wonderful they are.
4. juneau is one of the most beautiful places in the world. and you can be alone in the middle of that beauty in five minutes flat. people really seem to appreciate this and feel a genuine connection to the place they live (which i love).
5. great ski areas, both downhill & nordic. great kayaking. great hiking. great fishing. great boating. anything you want to do outside (besides be warm) is possible and amazing.
6. the best god damn seafood in the world. period.
7. there's a small university here that offers a fair variety of classes and is used to having non-traditional students. i feel lucky to be plugged into the university and imagine that i will be taking at least one class there every semester. they're not always the best classes, but i do feel comfortable there and appreciate the opportunity.
8. folk fest. it's amazing. it combines community, art, music, and social life all together into one big pot of delicious debauchery. it feels like home and vacation at the same time.
9. the family connection. i love that people here know my parents and my aunts and uncles. that i'm friends now with people who held me as a baby. it makes me feel like i have roots and a history in a place that not many people have that long of a connection to.
10. i think people here value life in a different way from people down south. i think it has something to do with the lack of billboards and the amount of travel people do, but for some reason i just feel like there really aren't that many people who judge a person by what they have (possessions). i think people really place value on experiences rather than on owning cool things.
reasons not to live in juneau
1. the food options suck. big time. i feel like we have a lot of creative forces going for us in theatre, art, and music, but none whatsoever in food. it drives me nuts. also, while the organic grocery options in town have improved dramatically in the last couple of years and at this point the produce is reasonable, it still can't hold a flame to anything that you get down in california.
2. it is SO expensive to leave. and you have to leave (if you want to stay sane) and get some sun at least once or twice a year.
3. sometimes it can be pretty rough living in a small town. any issues that you have with another person end up becoming public knowledge and it's a guarantee that you'll run into them pretty regularly. i think it makes for stronger people, but it's hard.
4. rain. rain rain rain rain. when you first come back from time away, it is SO beautiful with the misty mountains and infinite shades of gray. and then it's just rain rain rain and you forget that sunshine even exists. and then it snows. and then it rains again.
5. no matter how liberal juneau feels, we live in a permanently right-wing state that makes right-wing decisions.
6. i love our little art community, but i miss being able to go to museums. sometimes i get really down about our total lack of access to the contemporary art and music community.
wow...i'm really struggling with the 'bad' list. maybe i'll just post what i have and come back when i think up four more items.
Re: an attempt
Date: 2008-09-19 12:15 am (UTC)Yup. Still wanting to move home.
Re: an attempt
Date: 2008-09-19 01:04 am (UTC)But the food situation is really and truly dire in Juneau.
Re: an attempt
Date: 2008-09-19 08:21 pm (UTC)also, full circle farms is an option. it's a csa that a lot of people in juneau belong to. since it's in washington, it's not an honest to goodness csa, but it does mean that people get fresh organic food in a wider variety than what is usually available here.
Re: an attempt
Date: 2008-09-19 08:18 pm (UTC)my father thought i should add safety and super clean water/air to the positive list.
what alanna's folks do is they live downtown without a car and actually rent one once or twice a month for a day so that they can go to costco and take their recycling.