Haha it's not like the Radio Shack my parents used to bring me in the 70s and '80s... the first floor has a lot of things like batteries and I guess smaller things and upstairs had a section for toys and a very large section for guns. But the family that runs it is really nice. It is independently owned..... the last Blockbuster in Alaska closed in 2018.

Will do it before June is over 👍

@@Life_Is_A_Highway- That's so great..my wife and I love you videos ❤️📸

Definitely a unique and fun place to visit.

Many thanks!

If there's one thing I'm proud about my videos is that I am straight to the truth without exaggerations or lies just to get views. My videos are in no way politically motivated because I have mentioned this anytime someone brings up politics which is neither party helps the people, they use their supporters for their own benefits. With that said, the leading causes of death in Alaska between the ages of 18 to 45 are, in no particular order, suicide, accidents, heart disease, malignant neoplasms, assault, liver disease...... drugs have gone up in the last 3 years but it has less to do with one person than it does with what types of drugs become available. People can always use certain statistics to back their own agendas, but that's not the best way to prove a point because there are a lot more factors in why things happen in life then just one person 👍

For starters what you choose to speak about is one thing, what I choose to speak about is another. I spoke truthfully and that can be validated by anyone who does a Google search of the Anchorage News which keeps an ongoing daily record of the deaths to bring awareness to the problem. Do you keep up with the news here, I live here and assume you do? Our death rate from drugs jumped 43% this year alone. If you want to tackle the homeless crises in Alaska you address the contributing factors, and drugs and alcohol is the leading cause. And not just here, all across America. I don’t care what political affiliation you are or are not but it’s policy changes that opens or closes those avenues for the drugs to travel not only into America but our own home, Anchorage Alaska. We have fentanyl flowing down our streets like water and you’re telling me it’s not linked to homelessness? It’s the leading cause for deaths and homelessness across America but not here? Although you suggested you don’t speak about politics inadvertently that’s what you did by defending the root cause of our homeless population in Alaska, because I mentioned the open borders and Biden. You minus well have held a sign above your head my friend. I hold no hard feelings against you and wish you only the best. As I do everyone regardless of their political affiliation because we are all one of the same before God. Peace always.

1)You are right when you choose to speak about one thing and me another thing. I kindly replied and said my videos are not political and I prefer not to have politics spoken. I do this because I do not like deleting comments and I would hope people would respect those wishes as making the videos takes a lot of time and my followers are not here for politics, rather for entertainment. Nobody wants to read about biden sucks or trump sucks constantly, it´s old and boring to most people. I may get over-sensitive when people do this because it happens often. My bad. 2) You spoke truthfully about drug use and of course death rate from drugs has increased - which usually happens with an increase in drug use, but drugs are not the leading cause of death in Alaskans aged 18-45 like you stated. That is where I corrected you. Maybe you didn´t mean that that way and I misunderstood you. If so, my bad again haha 3) My opinion, and it involves politics again, is the only way to tackle the leading cause of drug use and drug deaths is if both parties worked together. Neither is willing to. Both parties do not care. 4) I NEVER claimed drugs are not linked to homelessness. In fact, in my full length video, I specifically said drugs, alcohol and mental illness (caused by long-term drug use) are the leading causes of homelessness. So I already said almost exactly what you´re saying. 5) Actually, what I said was I do not speak politics because you blamed biden, just like I told others who made political statements I do not speak politics because they blamed trump. That typically makes the other person stop talking about politics. You can´t say I spoke politics because I said I don´t speak politics and think all politicians do not care about the people and only use them. The sign about my head says “Both parties use their supporters for their own benefits and don´t care to fix the problems. Neither party is better or worse than the other, they are just manipulating politicians. I´m not sure though that my forehead is big enough to have that sign taped to it (See, now you got me talking politics again lol)………… You and I may disagree on some things, and we may agree on others, like you said we are all the same and I think we also all want the same things, peace, security and just to enjoy life. The tough thing about typing is things are taken the wrong way, maybe mistyped and then it sounds like the other person is saying something they are not. You´re a decent guy, I can tell that by your reply, I´m sure we´d agree on a lot more than we disagree on. In fact, I think about 98% of what we are saying is the same. I just really hate politics lol Take care and enjoy the summer 😊

I was quoting the headlines from our newspaper that was front page several months ago, unfortunately I couldn’t find it online to provide to you. My brother died from fentanyl and now my neighbors son has died the same way a couple of weeks ago, the combination has me triggered. Hopefully we will have a better summer this year. Blessing always.

Sorry to hear that you had to go through that with your brother and now your neighbor. I got back last year from being in Europe the past 32 years and I see that fentanyl is on its way to Europe now, hasn't quite gotten there but it will soon. They don't know what's coming.

Thanks 😊

It's 55 degrees (13 Celsius) on June 1st here 😊

I was told too bad I didn't get here 20 years earlier...... it's a shame though, Anchorage could be a really nice city to visit if City officials really cared because the parks like Westchester Lagoon, Earthquake Park and Kincaid Park are really nice, and your close to Potter Marsh from the city, it has a lot to offer all around.

All is good, Chuck. I'll be visiting Valdez in a couple of months and stop by 😊

Glad you enjoyed it 😊

I'm actually putting out a video next saturday, June 8th, that's specifically talking about jobs in Valdez and in Alaska. I just made the video yesterday lol so I don't want to give it away I want you to watch my video next Saturday haha

@@Life_Is_A_Highway- Ok doky. Will watch!

Haha but when I'm bored I can throw snowballs at my neighbor and annoy her 😅

Danke. Wenn du einmal Alaska besuchst, sag mir. Wenn du in meiner naehe bist, vielleicht kann ich dir eine Ort oder zwei vorschlagen wo du besuchen sollst 😊

Thanks 😊

Thanks 😊

Thanks 😊

I agree there with you, people who steal when they don't need to or just sit at home all day because they're lazy are maybe the worst kind of thieves/characters out there.... I locked my doors I guess out of habit, but what you said makes perfect sense. Now the next time I park my car I'm going to be confused "should I lock or unlock?" lol

@@Life_Is_A_Highway- well to be honest most of my cars have been the type you look at and know this guys broke or take a trick to start. but what i mean about not locking my doors is at home at night we have been plaged with car hoppers. i went to school with some growing up.

Okay, that makes sense regarding the car hoppers.... do you have much vandalism done to cars? I noticed when I was walking down Arctic Boulevard there was a parking lot and someone smashed the front windshields of every car one night, they weren't nice cars - they were owned by people who don't have much money. Looks like it was just done for fun.

@Life_Is_A_Highway- not so much but my brothers truck was stolen on old Seward when his fuel pump went out and he parked it overnight. The only thing that saved his truck was the gas he poured down the intake caught fire when the theives got it to intermittently start. They made it to a back street and stole the exhaust and a battery.

That sucks, the car breaking down is bad enough and then someone steals it to take parts.

He may have said some people that move to Alaska are running from something or somebody? I'm going to give a long answer but the short real answer is at the end.....Long Answer: There are definitely the type of people I described in the video who maybe are running from depression, family problems, drug scenes, warrants, etc.... I think the majority of the people who move to Alaska are coming to 1) chase unrealistic dreams because they don't realize many of the Alaskan channels are more reality TV show than true life, 2) Hunters and Fishers, 3) Outdoorsman like rock climbers, Etc 4) people who want to live around wildlife and who also prefer winters over summers, 5) and people who just want a change in life for a little while but never plan on staying, 6) someone who spent time in the military here and just fell in love with Alaska and moved back here...... the reason I say people who like wildlife and prefer Winters over Summers is because you can get wildlife in many states in the US and you wouldn't move here for wildlife if you don't like Winters. And the reason I didn't add people who want to live remotely in small towns is because every state has remote small towns but you wouldn't move to one in Alaska if you didn't like Winters.... Short Answer: If everything is perfect in your life where you are now but you hate the cold and winters you get, you wouldn't stay there. People who move to Alaska and stay here love winters. If they like hunting or fishing or wildlife or rock climbing or hiking or boondocking, those are just bonuses you get for living here.

Glad you enjoyed it 😊

I have to be honest I'm not sure whether the mayors of Anchorage were Republican or Democrat since 2015, but every single person in Anchorage tells me that's when things started getting out of control. It appears to me that no matter what party the mayor is from, none of them seem to really care. I'm personally not political because I feel like the politicians do nothing more than use the people for their own benefits, so I don't want to criticize either party because to me they're both the same, I can't personally give credit for one party doing more for the people than the other party. I think people now treat politics like they're supporting a sports team. Even when they suck, they will still support them. I don't feel like that's the way it should be in politics. But that's just my opinion 😊

Bronson shut down the shelters just before the tourist season. Republican projection.

Thank you 😊

It's worse than many places I've been to. It's not Skid Row but Anchorage doesn't have 20 million residents...... New York homeless rate is 0.46% with 20 million residents and 92,000 homeless. Anchorage homeless rate is 0.71% with 283,000 residents and over 2,000 homeless. The numbers itself show that it is worse than more than just New York. People like to use numbers because it distorts reality, like saying New York has 90,000 more homeless people than Alaska does..... I'm not sure if you live in Anchorage, but what I have found is most people in Anchorage I have spoken to who claim that it's not any worse here than elsewhere are people who haven't really been elsewhere much. But very few people in Anchorage actually say this. Most of the people in Anchorage I have met who have always lived in Anchorage their entire lives realize how it is here. And this isn't a knock on the city, I've said good things about Anchorage also. But I do my best to say what I see without exaggerating or taking sides because people who do that always have an agenda or simply don't want their Hometown or state to sound like it's not the best.

Same with the encampments, right. It's even getting dangerous in those encampments for the homeless people who are in on drugs.

You spend time in the shelters?

I've had people from Anchorage deny there are any homeless problems in the city. Humans do a good job of turning their head or closing their eyes so they only see what they want to see. As I mentioned in at least one of my videos, I've spoken to people who work in both encampments and shelters, and yes, I have been in both.

@@markbondurant6434 yes, I just got out of one. It is a rough place but far better than being out on the street. I have my own place now. Where I don't have to worry about second-hand drug smokes every night.

Well congrats on getting your own place, glad to hear that. I know it's really difficult for people getting off the streets to find an affordable place that actually has a free room.

That's an interesting story, thanks for sharing. Maybe you were at Earthquake Park here in anchorage, that's all I can think of now with how you described it, but it may be some other Park...... I decided when I was 42 that I was going to come to Alaska, but I took things slow and I finally came 12 years later. My advice is don't rush it. The more ahead you plan the more you will be able to do that you want to do. And then one day you're just going to wake up out of the blue and you're going to know it's time to go to Alaska. It may take 12 years like it did for me, but that's what happened to me, I just knew it was time. Good luck if you decide to come 😊

I could see how such a small place is boring when you're younger, to me now the small communities are all just unique and really nice. Maybe I'm just become more boring as I've gotten older haha

I´ve worked online since 2002.

@@Life_Is_A_Highway- do you know of any good jobs? im considering staying next summer season

Depends on what your definition of good jobs is but I am making a video in June regarding the types of jobs that I have seen available in several cities and towns in Alaska. But it's also going to depend on where you want to go to, and what kind of jobs you would be looking for. I wouldn't expect to get what you want, when you first move here you may have to take something you're not really happy with while you search for something better. Unless you're looking for a seasonal job but you're too late for that this year. But if you don't mind working in a grocery store for example you won't have any problems finding a job. If you want to work in a higher paid job then it won't be easy. I assume those since you're coming next summer you would be looking for a seasonal job?

I was planning on staying for three or four months and take my time looking for a cabin in the interior but I'm either heading to a cabin or moving closer to the interior maybe to Cantwell just to get away from Anchorage. I don't want to say it's a bad City but like you said, and that's all I want to say because I don't want to say anything to insult the city haha after I leave I'm going to be more specific where I live I can just say where I live it's not pretty.

I need to get two dogs because I want to hear them yell "shotgun!"

I'm not 100% sure. I really liked nelchina a lot, but there are so many nice communities with so few available cabins to rent, I can't really pick and choose, I can just see what's available in which communities and then choose one of them.

You could try. But the owner would see you as he lives upstairs and they have cameras. But you'd give him something to do at least...... Even if the hotel owner happened to not be around that day, the people who live there would pretty much throw you out themselves. Not only because they appreciate that the owner of the hotel gives them a place to stay that they can afford instead of just closing like everyone else does, but alaskans aren't going to take kindly to people who try to take advantage of other people like that. Most people in these small towns and communities usually go above and beyond keeping their eyes open for people who may be stuck or in trouble because during the cold winter that can be the difference between someone dying or surviving. Once you get enemies here, you pretty much just give yourself the death penalty because everybody gets stuck in minus 20 or minus 40 eventually, nobody would be there for you.

So how do u check in the motel during these months when there is no receptionist ?

It's not an easy place to reach during the winter because the few flights are canceled most of the time and tourists are not going to be driving on the ice and snow at that time of the year over the Thompson Pass because it's too dangerous. This past winter I saw one walk in around February 1st, some guy was standing at the front desk when I went to Safeway and when I came back 30 minutes later he was still standing there. He asked me does anyone work here now and I said no but I called the owner and he came downstairs. The guy left about 5 minutes later and the owner just told me the guy was suspicious to him so he turned him away. I don't like judging people by their looks but I would say this guy hitchhiked From Another Part of Alaska probably to get away from the drug scene. Keep in mind also the winter is when the owners don't really want to work it's there free time so I guess the short answer to your question is there's a good chance you can't. If you want to stay during the winter get there in September.

Other than the two weeks where it dropped near zero, winter in Valdez wasn't bad at all. The thick ice covering the streets for almost 3 months and 400 inches of snow was not as bad as it. sounds

Ah dang, moms are always ruining the party lol

@@Life_Is_A_Highway- lol 😂 She didn't even let me go to the prom 😭

My mom probably should have kept me from going to the prom also. I was racing my friend and drove my parents car over the center divider accidentally on the highway and tore off the muffler and five other metal objects. It lasted a while until I was allowed to drive their car again.

@@Life_Is_A_Highway- oh boy 🥹 I'm glad you weren't injured or seriously hurt anyone else.

Being lucky is a big part of living long 🤣

Thanks 😊 I attempted to say the name correctly with my neighbor who's from Utqiagvik. I did my best, but he had fun laughing at me 😂 and he finally said not too bad for a white guy haha I just couldn't get that Inuit accent in there, wasn't possible.

Thanks 😊

Thanks, I was hoping it would be enjoyable for a few people 😊

Thanks for all the great information. Actually My Neighbor comes from the town and the good thing is when I go up there they can help out a lot with everything. But it's definitely one of my top places that I will be visiting in Alaska... I'm glad you enjoyed the video and I think I'm going to put out a few more of these types of videos because I like learning a bit about all of the places as well 😊

@@Life_Is_A_Highway- Wonderful! Looking forward to them!

Not really great on gas. 14.5 in the city and 18 on the highway. In Anchorage I only drive about 5-10 Miles per week, so it doesn't really affect me much... and when I get to the interior the only time I'm really going to go driving is when I go camping, so I won't be too happy if I go to the Kenai Peninsula or north of Fairbanks.

True. Unfortunately I couldn't be that picky because I visited 29 dealerships and Anchorage and there were only two trucks that I could afford haha

I just stood downtown on a Friday afternoon and made a video of what I saw when I drove up to that spot the first time I was here... I didn't plan to get a clean shot, I stopped at the side of the road jumped out of the car took a quick video jump back in and drove on to make more videos. But if you watch the full length video, you will notice I talked a lot about homelessness and you are absolutely right. I even mentioned in the video I didn't feel like my car was safe when I parked it in went into a store downtown. And I really don't feel comfortable driving around simply to take videos of homeless people so I get views in my video or try to prove a point because to me that's just disrespectful. But you are correct, the video does not show how bad it really is here.

Thanks, It's going to be extra long haha

Thanks. There's a hospital in the center of town, they can deal with most injuries but if anything is serious/ life-threatening then they would fly You by helicopter to Anchorage. But it's a good-sized hospital and it's in great condition like brand new looking. They are often looking for nurses, in fact nurses are highly in demand all throughout Alaska.

I'll give it flying colors if it doesn't break down the first year I have it haha but so far doing good

Thanks. I'm not sure if you read the other comments but I went to 29 dealerships and I only found two trucks that I could afford, this one and a 2013 F-150 two-wheel drive. Most of the used trucks were 26k or more. So I was almost forced to take this one but luckily I also liked it... the first time I bought it I actually wasn't too thrilled about the color, but now it's grown on me and I really like it haha

Caribou?

@@Life_Is_A_Highway- omg yes Caribou...thank you ❤️

I just thought to myself what do I really enjoy eating, and it's Caribou sausages, that's what she must mean haha

Safeway in Valdez doesn't deliver groceries but I believe the ones in Anchorage do. It wouldn't make much sense in Valdez cuz everybody can pretty much walk to the grocery store.

I remember back in the good old days with Safeway was where you went when you only had $10 to spend on groceries 😂

5.3 considering the age I'm happy that it's not very rusty. Do you have many mechanical issues with yours? Mine's running perfect so far.

I wish I was one of those people haha