The Alaskan town of Kotzebue is home to just 3,102 people and is situated in the Arctic Circle, around 500 miles from the nearest city, Anchorage, meaning supplies are hard to come by
In the remote Alaskan town of Kotzebue, wolves and polar bears roam freely, a loaf of bread costs £7, and temperatures can drop to -40C.
This Arctic Circle town, home to just 3,102 people, is about 500 miles from the nearest city, Anchorage.
While there’s a steady supply of salmon, white fish, and moose, everything fresh has to be flown in from Anchorage… at a hefty price. A bouquet of flowers will set you back $89 (£71.09), a gallon of milk is $12 (£9.59), butter is $9 (£7.19), crisps are $11 (£8.79), and a carton of orange juice is $9 (£7.19).
80 per cent of the town’s population are native Alaskans who have lived there for generations and maintain their traditional lifestyle. The surrounding areas are home to grizzly bears, polar bears, wolves and Dall sheep.
Grant Magdanz, 30, who grew up in the town, describes it as “a fantastic place to grow up” — mainly because kids can learn extensive outdoor skills. He moved away ten years ago to attend university in Seattle and now resides in northeastern Los Angeles after landing a job post-graduation.
However, he still holds his hometown dear and would consider moving back one day. The software engineer reminisced: “There was a lot of freedom growing up in it. It’s a very safe town, and I used to run around with my friends. We played sports and cycled around the city.
“My mom loved to be outside, and when the weather was good, we would go hiking, camping, and sledding. I think it’s an excellent place for a kid to grow up, and you didn’t always need to have adult supervision.”
The town boasts only one high school, accommodating 150 students. Despite its remote location, Grant had numerous opportunities.
He was part of the school band, sports team, and even the school council, with friendship groups blending seamlessly in the tight-knit community. Grant admits that Kotzebue has always been pricey due to its reliance on goods being flown in from the nearest major city.
Cars or appliances are transported by barge, from even further away — over 2,000 miles from Seattle, US. Grant explained: “It is expensive because everything must always be flown in from Anchorage. People hunt and fish, and the diet that people eat is the things that they have hunted.
“People are not just eating out from the grocery store. There aren’t fancy restaurants at the town, there’s more takeaways.”
Locals enjoy a diet rich in white fish, sii fish, and salmon, as well as karibu and moose, he shared.
With temperatures plummeting to -40 degrees and food prices soaring, the community remains united. Grant added: “People are very communal, and that is largely important to people. People work, but their work life isn’t people’s identity and is not a huge part of their life. You are interconnected, and families are scattered across the area.
“Families are large, and people choose to stay because their families have been there for generations and they want to continue living that lifestyle.
“A lot more identity and purpose come through helping others and their families. Word travels quickly. When my dad died, people knew, and they were compassionate about these things.
“They would share stories about my dad — some people we didn’t even know. In hindsight, it is a great place to raise and be a kid.
“My experience living in a city is that I feel more anxious about life and there’s more to be stressed about. But when I return home, I notice that I feel peace and am more grounded in that lifestyle.”
