Why I'm Leaving Juneau

Major Announcement, and future plans

Hey everyone! I have a pretty big announcement.

As I write this, I have less than a week left in Juneau. It’s been a pretty nice journey here, and I have a lot of memories from the past few months.

With that being said, I have decided to make a change of plan and shift to another location and job.

I’ll get into where I’m going to in my next newsletter, but this post will be mainly focused on the pros and cons of Juneau, Alaska. It doesn’t pertain to the whole state, but some of these reasons apply to other parts such as Anchorage and Homer, respectively.

PROS:

1. The Scenery. It’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. The trails, the long hours of daylight, and the mountains are incredible. It’s one of the many reasons why people decide to take a cruise up here, and I absolutely get it!

   

   The view outside of my house.

2. The People. As two Texans said in my recent podcast episode, the culture here is not like that of New York or other big cities. People know each other here quite well. They’re nice and hospitable to new visitors and seasonal workers. My co-workers are also a great bunch of people.

3. The Opportunities For Money. This job is and will be one of the highest paying jobs I will have for a while. If you want the hours and savings account and are willing to move out for a few months, this is the place for you. Some people that I work with are working off their student loan debt, and will probably be debt-free by the end of the season if they’re smart with their money.

CONS:

1. Being ‘Landlocked’. If I wanted to leave and go to the nearest city for a different frequency or tempo, I can’t. And even if I could…

2. Transportation. Going without a car is tough! Even if I wanted to go north to ‘the valley’ to get away from downtown, it would be difficult. I’d need to take public transit, which takes a while and grinds down on you after months of using it. It also greatly limits you to seeing only a fraction of the local life; if its not on the bus route, you have to walk for a little while.

   

3. The Homeless Situation and Drug Use. Before and after the tourist season started, the liquor stores, pot shops and homeless problems here have just been hard to observe. In addition, Many of my roommates and co-workers medicate daily over overpriced liquor or blunts, which by itself is not a big issue but I personally am pretty straightedge and just don’t relate or mix into that culture. We also haven’t touched the hard drug issue here, which I get more into in this blog post.

4. Work-Life Balance. This is moreso my issue. My main goals are to save more money and have something to show for it by the end of the year. To work an 8am-10pm shift a few times a week and to sleep to do it all over again, although makes great money, is just too fast of a pace for me at the moment. It’s great for some, but for my situation is not ideal.

So What Now?

I am moving to another part of the USA for another position in seasonal work. This is not the end of this blog by any means! In fact, I’m very excited to continue writing and doing video content as I move on to the next chapter of my life.

See you all soon, and new podcast episode on Wednesday!

-Ethan Harrer

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