Anyone else watch those "moving to Alaska" shows when you don't like Alaska?

I have no idea what show that is. Also, Alaska rules.

@Aster I had the same exact thought. I have a friend who lives in Alaska and she lost her husband and now has to do all the heavy lifting herself yet refuses to abandon all the hard work and when I see her FaceBook pics I can see myself falling in love with Alaska as well and why I refuse to visit as I am afraid I would never come back!

What is the show called? I want to see it!

I’ve just finished a lovely book called The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. it’s about a couple who move to Alaska in the 1920s or 30s. Absolutely magical and made me want to go there. I think there is something about a harsh land where the challenge is staying alive, rather than deciding which supermarket to go to. It does it for me anyway.

@Stinley You might then like the story Alone in the Wilderness, the book is great but watching the video is mindblowing in how hard core this guy is or anyone for that matter who lived off the grid in Alaska.

@trailsillustrated Buying Alaska. It never is about buying a nice home in the big city. It’s about being thrilled about looking to buy tiny homes in the middle of nowhere often with no plumbing or electricity. The people work very hard cutting wood for their fireplaces and hunting and cleaning their own meat.

I talked about this type of thing recently with a question I asked here about living off the grid.

I don’t dislike Alaska – I think it looks beautiful and fascinating. Living there, however, seems to be only for those who are really hardy and independent. That’s not me. Going to an outhouse at 3:00 a.m. and the outhouse is 20 yards from the house, and it’s 5 degrees out? No thank you.

Now there are all kinds of shows on Alaska. There’s one about building in Alaska and one called Alaska, the Last Frontier, which is a reality show about a family who live in Alaska. The family live on a compound with a lot of land. They are actually the family of the singer Jewel (I wonder how they got the job of being on a reality show? Could it be that they are the parents of Jewel? That’s sarcasm in case you didn’t figure that out).

Cone on you guys, I’m pretty sure Alaska has working toilets.

Yes, I like it and watch on occasion, because I’m a big HGTV watcher. Something about the adventurer aspect intrigues me, maybe because I can’t imagine living that way, but were I younger or a millionaire, I may attempt it. :)

http://www.fluther.com/168187/do-you-know-anybody-who-lives-off-the-grid-and-if/

Here’s the “living off the grid” question. There’s another reality show which prompted the question, called “Railroad Alaska” which, of course, was about a railroad and the workers and riders in Alaska. They would show a young girl trudging through two foot deep snow, two miles to a train which would stop and pick them up the way a bus would pick someone up off a city street. She would then go “to town” to get formula for the baby or whatever, and come back to her friend in a little cottage in the woods (again, trudging through deep snow, miles to the cottage). We’re talking a tiny cottage, off the grid, not even a nice cottage, with just a fire place. I don’t know how they do it.

LOL, honest, we have indoor plumbing, working toilets, running water, all that good stuff in Alaska. I live in Wasilla, about an hour north of Alaska and aside from the snow outside in the winter and the cold, have all the comforts of home that I had in Florida. The “reality shows” most see, tho’, are designed to present Alaska in a certain way, the way that makes it looks perpetually challenging and dangerous. Ratings is the key. I mean, would you watch a show about a woman going about a normal day, turning a faucet for water, or going into the bathroom past nothing any more dangerous than the family pet when you can show someone tough out there chopping holes in ice for water, or walking through a raging blizzard or past grizzly bears to go to the outhouse.

Don’t get me wrong, many people do live off the grid and, while it’s not for me, I’m a wuss, they love it. It takes a certain kind of person to live up to that challenge, however, and, yes, that challenge does include deep snow, wild animals that might like to have you for dinner, and few if any of the modern conveniences. I might note, many have generators nowadays, however, which make many tasks, such as heat and light, far easier. Were I scripting a tv pilot, tho’, I wouldn’t mention that or that the characters own a plane and fly in and out regularly, which many do. I’d go for the “exotic” to most situation, the primitive cabin, no modern conveniences, a dog team or snow machine for transportation, the rugged, frozen in the winter outhouse, etc etc etc Bottom line, remember, most of these shows show you what will pull in the views and drama is a huge part of it.