Plenty of Alaskans don't have running water. We bring it home in 5 gallon jugs, in 300 gallon plastic tanks, or we have someone deliver it to our home tank. It takes me two months go go through 1000 gallons of water. I pay 9¢ per gallon for it to be delivered.
2. Toilets
I still have an outhouse in my back yard, just in case. Lots and lots of people have outhouses. When indoor plumbing was beginning to become available in the US, there were plenty of folks who refused to put a toilet in their home. "How filthy! Why would I want something like that IN MY HOUSE?" They all exclaimed. I actually know real people who still feel that way! Poopy stuff belongs outside, in their books!
3. Showers/Bathtubs
Along with all the other running water appliances, plenty of Alaskans take showers at the laundromat or the gym. I have a small shower stall, no tub. I know people who don't have water, who rig up camp shower systems and who take cold showers in the summer. Taking showers at the laundromat gets old quickly!
4. Dishwashers
I used to haul water in with 5 gallon jugs. To do dishes I'd heat a big pot of water on the stove, plug the sink and then pour the hot water, plus some cold water in there and do the dishes that way. When you drain the sink it flows into a slop bucket, which you stagger outside with and pour in the woods. Try doing that at 40 below. Now that I have running water, I can do dishes by hand, and I could put in a dishwasher if I wanted to.
5.Washer, Dryer
My house didn't have water originally, and has no washer dryer hook-up. I can tell you with utter certainty that there is no such thing as a "nice" laundromat. It makes me absolutely insane. There's even one laundromat in town where the owners allow people to SMOKE. Can you imagine washing your clothes only to bring them home smelling like cigarettes?
6. Paved Roads, Flat roads, Maintained Roads
Many of us live on unmaintained dirt/gravel roads. It is up to the neighborhood, in many places, to hire someone to maintain them. In those cases sometimes neighbors can't agree or are too stingy to pay for road maintenance and you end up with some godawful road conditions. In other dirt/gravel road areas the borough maintains the roads and does that by hiring subcontractors. Your road conditions can be annoyingly awful or really great, depending on who is hired to do your area. I LOVE whoever is doing our neighborhood because they do a wonderful job!
As far as public roads go, it's an ongoing construction process! The frost heaves here are intense! We get to drive over multiple Whoop-Tee-Doos daily. The lines on the roads are wiggly. The light poles lean over at all angles (the few light poles we have). It's fun driving around here!
Because the Interior is both the coldest AND hottest place in Alaska, with temps up to 100°F in summer and -65°F in winter (and who knows how far low it goes when the thermometer only goes down to -65?) our roads go through extreme temperature variances to say the least. That means potholes, potholes, potholes. Those responsible for fixing the roads, be it the State or the Borough, are up to their armpits in work from the minute it is warm enough to do construction until Freeze Up.
Now add to these wacky roads layers of ice. Fun fun fun! And of course sometimes lots of snow, too!
7. Consistently Good Gas Mileage
When temperatures are very low, your vehicle loses efficiency. Your vehicle may only get half of what it does in optimum conditions. Low temperatures such as -20 and lower can last for weeks, months...and your gas bill will usually double during those times.
8. Cheap Electricity
Alaska has the highest cost of electricity in the nation. Why? Because we have to burn oil to get electricity in the Interior. Stupid, hunh? For instance, in the winter I must use a small electric heater to keep my water tank from freezing. If I had built this house myself it wouldn't be set up like this, but right now that's how it is. That tiny heater costs me $150 per month to run.
Not really adding much to the heating bill, but worth mentioning for those who don't understand living in the arctic, are the numerous heat traces that line much of my plumbing, guaranteeing it doesn't freeze up. With the heat trace in the toilet, I was able to stop using yet another electric heater to keep the bathroom plumbing from freezing.
9. Cars That Start
If you don't plug your vehicle in it won't start at -20. Many won't, plus it's really hard on the engine. All our vehicles are equipped with heating pads to keep battery, engine block and oil pan warm. Oil is more like jelly in the cold. You plug your car in a few hours before you are going anywhere or you could really do the engine some damage. Cost? About $65 a month in electricity.
10. Daylight
During the winter we lose light at a rate of seven minutes per day! Eventually, on December 21st, the Winter Solstice, we are down to about 2 1/2 hours of daylight. You all take it for granted that the sun will rise, you'll have at least eight hours of light to do your daily tasks, and then it will set. Not up here!
