Live data from Hacker News

A town of about 200 people, almost all of whom live in the same building

stories.californiasunday.com

111–120 of 188 posts

Re: A town of about 200 people, almost all of whom live in the same building

#111
post #2

I wouldn't mind living there. I've been dreaming about moving somewhere remote and just do freelance work. The only requirement is a good internet connection which sadly excludes a lot of cool places.

Anyone notice there are no outlets on the walls with the current unit for sale.(ref: word doc) Cannot help but envision 12-months of this personally to finish project, better yet turning say one section into a serious satellite ycombinator incubator.

Internet Facts and Offers:

http://internetaccesslocal.com/states/alaska/whittier/

http://www.satelliteinternetsource.com/plan-and-pricing.php

Re: A town of about 200 people, almost all of whom live in the same building

#113
post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you open the windows in the building or are they sealed against the weather?

Well the Army installed great heavy-duty double paned windows that you could totally open and close. However, they were kind of bulky and ugly, so many people (especially on the North side with a view of the Sound), have replaced them with big unopenable picture windows. Whittier is really not THAT cold most of the time.

Was it a bit stifling, even with air-con/ventilation, not being able to open windows for fresh air? I don't think I could get used to that!

Re: A town of about 200 people, almost all of whom live in the same building

#114
post #28

W00h! I grew up in Whittier, AK. Ask me Anything! Haha, seriously, I moved to Whittier at the age of 2 in 1974 and lived there until 1986. The big change there since I left has been the tunnel. When I was there you had to drive your car up onto a railroad flatcar (and pay a steep ticket price) to get out. Anchorage is only 55 miles away, but really it's two mountains away. The railroad sold passenger service only as…

I'm from Cordova and sometimes my dad and I would dock the boat in Whittier during closures. I remember playing connect four with Irma at the Sportsman and drink Roy Rogers (which is also where I learned how to play pool, I was between 7-14 then)

Fished the sound in one way or another until I was 20 and moved away.

Re: A town of about 200 people, almost all of whom live in the same building

#115
post #93
post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was in Whittier in 1991, two years after the oil spill. I'll say that even then there was other housing and not everyone lived in the one building. You can easily see housing dotted around the area and the building sits back a bit from the water. The pictures in this article shows a remodeled building but when I was there it was in some disrepair. And as fishermen from around the prince william sound used to say, "…

> I'll say that even then there was other housing and not everyone lived in the one building. When I was there last in `86, there were a few dwellings (maybe 8-12?) at the Sportsman's Inn and two old shacks right down by the railroad owned by one family of three. On google street maps I can see two or three new freestanding houses. The Shens who ran the better bar lived there. The vast majority of people live in Begg…

> It looks about the same now as it did then...

That is really impressive. The first thing I noticed looking at the building is how well it looks for 1956 construction and particularly given harsh environment. I suppose it's a testament to the great work of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Re: A town of about 200 people, almost all of whom live in the same building

#116
post #28

W00h! I grew up in Whittier, AK. Ask me Anything! Haha, seriously, I moved to Whittier at the age of 2 in 1974 and lived there until 1986. The big change there since I left has been the tunnel. When I was there you had to drive your car up onto a railroad flatcar (and pay a steep ticket price) to get out. Anchorage is only 55 miles away, but really it's two mountains away. The railroad sold passenger service only as…

[deleted]

Re: A town of about 200 people, almost all of whom live in the same building

#117
post #41

I live in Alaska and have visited Whittier multiple times. Every time we go, my wife and I comment about how great of a setting it would be for a zombie apocalypse movie. "Oh it's only accessible by water or the main tunnel, it's easy to secure" "oops we forgot about securing the old train tunnel" "oh no they're in the apartment building, let's go hide out in the creepy old abandoned building down the street" ... cle…

It would be a great place to hold out with a large group if you had a way to obtain and import supplies and you cleared the building first. You'd probably be able to spot anyone coming or going (living or undead), and it would be likely that very few zombies would be in the surrounding land. Also, of course zombie fiction requires a major suspension of disbelief in this regard, but the damp/cold weather would cause t…

Given that zombies usually don't obey the laws of thermodynamics, if I lived in a place like Whittier I'd probably try to harness them to some kind of hamster wheel driving a generator.

Re: A town of about 200 people, almost all of whom live in the same building

#118
post #28

W00h! I grew up in Whittier, AK. Ask me Anything! Haha, seriously, I moved to Whittier at the age of 2 in 1974 and lived there until 1986. The big change there since I left has been the tunnel. When I was there you had to drive your car up onto a railroad flatcar (and pay a steep ticket price) to get out. Anchorage is only 55 miles away, but really it's two mountains away. The railroad sold passenger service only as…

I'm from Cordova and sometimes my dad and I would dock the boat in Whittier during closures. I remember playing connect four with Irma at the Sportsman and drink Roy Rogers (which is also where I learned how to play pool, I was between 7-14 then) Fished the sound in one way or another until I was 20 and moved away.

Oh man, I remember Ross and Irma, but I got my Roy Rogers and pool from the Anchor Inn. If I recall correctly, the Sportsman's is actually older than either the Buckner Building or Beggich Tower

Re: A town of about 200 people, almost all of whom live in the same building

#119
post #116
post #28

W00h! I grew up in Whittier, AK. Ask me Anything! Haha, seriously, I moved to Whittier at the age of 2 in 1974 and lived there until 1986. The big change there since I left has been the tunnel. When I was there you had to drive your car up onto a railroad flatcar (and pay a steep ticket price) to get out. Anchorage is only 55 miles away, but really it's two mountains away. The railroad sold passenger service only as…

[deleted]

Rent is very cheap. It's low speed and relaxed. Lots of people like those things, even if I m not one of them.

On a side note, it's not really quiet. The railroad hauls shipping containers off huge barges, places then on train cars, connects train cars together into huge trains (I have seen a train with six engines) and hauls them out. They build trains all night long, banging cars together, honking horns, diesel trucks straining.

Re: A town of about 200 people, almost all of whom live in the same building

#120
post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Were there people moving in to replace the deceased? The population has varied considerably over the years. It looks like it's somewhat lower than when I lived there. In a lot of ways, Whittier is not a nice place to live, so people where always moving away, but it had certain appeals that always drew new people in as well. > The brief article mentions a Sheriff and I assume there may or may not be a deputy also. I…

> had certain appeals Like what?

One man's backwater mudpuddle is another man's relaxing natural paradise.
Post reply on HN