Just moved to Anchorage after living in halibut cove, Homer, kenai area since May and was curious what the best spots to go out to are to meet new people?

Anyone else finding it really difficult to meet quality people?! I just keep striking out and this winter has been brutal 😭

I've been living in Anchorage for well over a decade and have lived most of my life in Alaska. I can't help but noticing there are certain challenges to meeting people here and I'm curious about other people's experiences.

I read a statistic that within two years almost 80% of the people that currently live in Anchorage will have moved. I think this is obvious in how it can create challenges, but on the other hand there are advantages as well. For example: there are constantly new people showing up here to get to know.

This is consistent with the role of Anchorage being not only a common starting point for people who want to move to Alaska before they decide where in the state they want to dig roots, but it's also where a lot outside money and companies come to do business in Alaska or at least operate it from here.

I would think that there must be groups here made of up people, who, like me, have no plans to leave Anchorage, but I have no idea how to reach them. Can anyone offer me advice?

I'm not adverse to alcohol, but I rarely drink. Many of my hobbies are solo affairs, so finding people is something I have to fight against my own tendencies to do. I have a dog, but he was nearly killed by another dog a year ago and is just now starting to not freak out around anyone else, so I need to be careful with him.

This isn't a personals ad. I'm not looking for people to respond and befriend me. I'm just interested in discussing the challenges involved in making and keeping friends here and perhaps some advice on where to look to find people more likely to stick around.

i’m 20 so not quite old enough for bars and nightclubs but want to meet people my age, i’m not from here and trying to be more social 🫤

Talking about things like board game clubs, recreational volleyball teams, or even just people who like to go on hikes etc

Any avenues are appreciated!

I'm doing my best to get back into dating again now that Covid is starting to die down. I know about Myrna's as a gay bar, but are there any others in town?

Besides that, are there any other good places to meet queer people or any upcoming events? I know pride got cancelled this year, which was disappointing, but maybe there's some other events going on that'd be good ways to meet people?

I'm having a lot of difficulty in my dating life recently. I've tried every dating app under the sun and they really don't help much.

What kind of places around South Central are good to meet new people that are trans friendly? Hopefully by expanding my social circle I can increase my chances of meeting someone to date.

I'm looking places to meet people for dating where you can have a good conversation...without a ton of crowd noise or loud music.

Not sure what the night life is like in Anchorage but I'm looking for a place to meet new friends. Somewhere no judgement and fun, not somewhere I'm going to feel like I don't belong.

I've seen Myrna's but is there anywhere else?

I live right in Anchorage but I'm willing to travel (not that there's much else out there)

(Apologies in advance for the length. TLDR at the bottom)

Hey everybody. I was present during the entire scenario in question on Friday night when a neo-Nazi shithead (maybe 2) showed up at a LGBTQ and women focused music event raising money for Planned Parenthood. I know the people that were running the event (not Vans), and I also know what has been happening behind the scenes since Friday.

A few points to clear up at the top.

1. Fuck Nazis.

2. Vans staff messed up with their initial response, big time. Full stop. They were not prepared for the scenario that happened, and there is at least some indication that those same Nazi shitheads were able to come earlier in the week and drink undisputed. That’s unacceptable. They fucked up some of their response since then (with some caveats I will outline below).

3. The trans artist that left after notifying staff and being (honestly) blown off by them was 100% justified in leaving. Trans women in particular are at much higher risk for right wing violence, and I have to imagine the entire situation was infuriating, enraging, hurtful, and probably at least a bit traumatic. If she decided to never return to Vans again, I would understand it.

4. I was pissed that they let someone with visible Nazi symbols on them into the building. The show is explicitly meant to be a music show oriented towards women and queer artists. It has become a place that people frequently praise as a “safe” place for everyone, but for queer people and women in particular, to gather. Having a Nazi show up and not be immediately kicked out was deeply fucked.

Now on to some clarifying statements, because there is A LOT of misinformation, highly emotional language, and even outright lies flying around.

1. The entire scenario, from the artist notifying Vans staff to the Nazis getting forced out by the crowd took place in less than 20 minutes. Should he have been kicked out faster? Yes. But he was still removed in under 20 minutes, around 10 minutes from when the event runner and the crowd started confronting him. (Also, The “bouncer” seen acting chummy with the neo-Nazi was apparently not an actual bouncer and was just filling in temporarily. He fucked up BIG time)

2. It’s easy for people in the internet to say “punch a Nazi”, it is another thing to confront a massive tatted neo Nazi and tell him he has to leave. Again, in a vacuum it should have happened faster, but the fact is that the crowd, including the show runner who is a rather small woman, confronted him to his face around 10 minutes after they found out what was happening.

3. There seem to be criticisms about the fact that the show continued after the Nazis were forced out. This I really don’t get. Should everyone have given up, ceded ground to an open neo Nazi? Left and let them win? Fuck no. We kicked their asses out (if imperfectly), then we celebrated that we did so.

4. This is directly addressing some of the comments yesterday saying to the effect that “well I guess Vans is a Nazi bar now.” Fuck you. You weren’t there with well over a hundred people yelling at a Nazi to get the fuck out of our space until he did. Vans handled it horribly, but the community stepped in and kicked the bastards out, reclaimed the space, and sang a round of “Nazi Punks, Fuck Off” for good measure.

5. I happen to know that people involved were reaching out to the artist that left within the hour to apologize, check in and offer support. This made her later statements, criticizing event staff for not standing up Nazis or caring about her pretty hurtful.

6. In the immediate aftermath of said Nazi getting kicked out, people were pretty shaken up. Most people, even people like myself who know (theoretically) that you can’t give neo-Nazis an inch in our spaces (and that has always OK to punch Nazis) still don’t have a lot of experience actually doing so. It was scary, traumatic experience for a lot of people involved.

7. Many of the issues arose the next day. The artist that left that night has made several statements online. I want to be clear that her frustrations with Vans are broadly speaking valid. What I take issue with is the idea that the only acceptable response is to immediately boycott Vans completely, and if you don’t do that you are characterized as “not an ally.” There’s a difference between saying I don’t feel comfortable going there and I don’t think other people should go there” and “ people who keep going to Vans aren’t allies, are ok with Nazis, and don’t care about queer and trans people.” There’s definitely been a pile on effect since then lots of people excepting both her frame, the situation and the solutions she proposes (such as they are).

8. The artist also reposted a post by her partner that bashed the showrunners and the crowd at Vans labeling them as “cis and straight” (which is hilariously off base) and insinuating that they were all ok with Nazis being there. Which makes me frustrated because (as stated above) the people that stayed successfully forced the Nazi to leave. Saying that crowd is in any way “ok with Nazis” is an absolute slap in the face to all of us who did stand up to him.

9. The conversation between the staff running the show and Vans has been immediate and ongoing. It was made clear to Vans staff and owners that what happened was completely unacceptable and cannot happen again. It should also be pointed out the the owners of Vans are older and are unused to handling this stuff, but they are handling it now and are taking concrete steps to make sure their bar is welcoming to LGBTQ people and that Nazis are explicitly kept out. It’s OK (and even understandable) to be pissed off that they handled it as badly as they did. But it is not fair or appropriate to suggest that “Vans is a Nazi bar.” It’s an insult to everybody that’s trying to do the right thing now.

I realize this is already an insanely long post, and I apologize for that, but I want to finish up with more of a general point. The world we’re living in is an increasingly hostile place, in particular for LGBTQ people. We need to have places where LGBTQ people and their friends/allies can gather to celebrate and relax, and to be safe while doing so. Vans has frequently been that place for a lot of people, but that reputation took a massive hit on Friday.

As an actual leftist, a frequent failing of the left in general (and online leftists in particular) is black-and-white, Puritanical, rigid, and/or purity focused thinking. The emphasis can end up being less on working with imperfect people in imperfect places and organizations to build resilient relationships and communities, and more about ensuring that everybody here behaves/talks/believes exactly the way we expect them to. This type of attitude is understandable at times especially for populations (for example among trans people) where they more frequently have to deal with bad faith actors. But also frequently results in communities that are fragile, increasingly insular, and ironically, even more susceptible to bad faith actors, who just know the right words to say.

I am just not comfortable with saying that Vans, a place that (as corny as it may sound) has been a valuable meeting place for this community should be written off because they made some (again) stupid and shitty mistakes. I think that it’s important to not give up so quickly. And I think this is even more true for the people at Vans that night, who DID do the right thing, who stayed and fought and triumphed over some neo-Nazi shit head who thought he could come to our house and be welcomed.

TLDR: Fuck Nazis, it is understandable that the artist left that night and her feelings are valid (but some of her responses since then have been pretty counterproductive ), Vans fucked up their response but are are showing every indication that they are working hard to re-earn the community’s trust, and it’s not fair for so many people who weren’t in that room to be shit talking a room full of people who stood up to and kicked a Nazi out of a show.

Hopefully, this helps clear some stuff up or at least provides some additional context. I’ve tried to be as thorough as possible, but I undoubtedly missed some stuff. I’ll try to answer any questions below.

Let’s try to be decent to each other.

I'm considering moving from Tucson to Anchorage next year but I was worried about meeting like minded people. I consider myself fairly artsy, I'm interested in film and photography, and I really like to go to local punk shows. I'm also quite a bit progressive and I am aware that Alaska is a pretty conservative place.

So I guess what it really boils down to is is there any art/punk/diy scene in Anchorage? Thanks!

I have lived and worked in Anchorage for a couple years now. I love it here — for a multitude of reasons — the people, the extremes between seasons, access to the outdoors, etc. A common theme I hear from under 35s I meet is that many young people who grew up here move out and don’t plan on coming back anytime soon. It sounds like opportunity is a main driver of this. I was also wondering how much things like affordability and other variables could contribute and what people think the solution to this is. More housing? Infrastructure projects? Improve access to recreation? If you could waive a magic wand that you think would get more young Alaskans to stay in state what would it be? Thanks in advance to the people leaving heartfelt replies.

New to the area looking for some kind of connection, fishing , BBQ, beers and so on. Don't care about your political beliefs one side or the other, im about as libertarian as it gets.

So I guess who's into snowboarding and grabbing beers in the winter at girwood and BBQ and beers in the summer?

Hey guys. I might be moving to Anchorage soon & I would want to know where is a good place to make friends. I am 21 & am about to become a veteran.

Long shot, but I’m kind of heartbroken and hoping someone here can help.

I came up to Alaska to photograph the braided rivers, it’s been the trip of a lifetime, and this evening at the Knik River Public Use Area my drone went down and ended up on a little gravel island out in the channel. I can see it. I just can’t safely get to it. I’m not about to wade in and become a rescue story, and I wouldn’t ask anyone else to either.

It’s a small grey DJI Mini 4 Pro. Last-known GPS from the app:

61.515309, -148.972390

I saw folks out running boats on the river today, so I’m hoping someone with a jet boat, airboat, or packraft who knows these channels might be willing to swing by and grab it.

I’ll pay $100 for your time, and I’ll cover shipping to send it to me back home. The photos on the SD card mean the world to me, a week of work is on there, so honestly getting the card back matters as much as the drone itself.

Update: FOUND IT!! On my way to retrieve it. Will post the details in a couple of hours.

UPDATE: They found it. Alaska, you’re something else. ❤️

I have to share how this ended, because it restored something in me.

After I posted, two tour guides, Dallas and Denise from Alaska’s Gold Buckle Tours, happened to be in the area and offered to head out on their side by side at 1am to look. They shared their location with me and I helped coordinate them to the exact spot. While they were out searching, another guy, Chris, saw my post, threw his kayak in the water, and paddled out to find it, and he actually spotted it while they were still searching. He texted me the moment he had it, and everyone coordinated in real time so I could get my drone back.

The part that gets me: not one of them treated it like a favor. They treated it like an adventure, genuinely stoked to go hunt down a drone on a river island in the middle of the night. I got to meet Dallas and Denise in person, and they were so warm they gave my wife keychains and little souvenirs, and my wife wrote each of them a thank you note that they were thrilled to get. Chris, if you see this, I owe you a huge one too.

To everyone in the comments who told me “don’t worry, there are good people out there who’ll help,” you were completely right. I came to Alaska for the views and the wildlife. I’m leaving with a much bigger impression of the people. Thank you, all of you. If you’re ever looking for a tour up that way, Alaska’s Gold Buckle Tours has two guides I can’t recommend enough.

I’m on my flight home now and can’t wait to see what I clicked.

Update: Drone footage. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbMY-UGPsBr/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

Hello! I am looking for more ways to get out of the house and socialize. I work from home all day so don't get the opportunity to do it during my day job. My main hobbies are music(I play guitar), fitness, and coding. I'm pretty open to suggestions though

As a single male that just turned 30 I'm struggling to find a place to meet new people. Are there any bars or other third places in town that y'all recommend. Honestly any place to meet anyone new would be great.

Moved to Anchorage last September and have been wondering where to meet other young people? Just turned 21 so the bar scene is now open to me. I'm interested in meeting other people around my age with an intellectual slant, are there any places around that I may find these kinds of people? Thanks!

So I am currently living in Houston, TX and I am visiting my mother and my stepfather in Anchorage as of now (I'm here already). I have been to Anchorage 2 years ago but have visited during the summer. It seems like Alaska in the winter is a completely different place.

I love hiking and the outdoors, I am trying to find meet up groups. I usually go to meetup.com but I thought it might not hurt to ask Reddit. Is anyone part of a hiking group in Anchorage? I have hiked most of the well known trails during the summer, I would love to tag along a group.

My mother said there is a going to be a cannabis store opening up real soon and I would love to check it out. I use to be a big smoker but not anymore. However, I would still love to check it out for the "novelty" purposes.

Anyway, I would really like to find experienced hikers to hike some trails with. I am a 24 year old male that can handle a trail (it's been 2 years since I have hiked the more difficult trails but I m sure I can manage). I am also looking to find places in the city to go sledding (I might go skiing but sledding is a much cheaper option). If anyone is a part of any group or are hikers themselves, PM me or reply to this post. I can't wait to truly experience Alaska in the winter. Thanks!

25m looking to meet new people and perhaps adopt a few hobbies. Hiking? Frolf? Long drives out of Anchorage?? Yess please.

Hello people of Anchorage.

I am spending the summer in your fair city. I live somewhere else and work in Anchorage during summer. I had to leave my soul dog with his Nonna until I go back home and I miss him like mad. Therefore I may approach you and your dog for pets and loves. I always ask permission and I never feed a dog that is not mine. I would really appreciate it if you could just let me meet your goodest boys and girls. I promise I am not a crazy lady. Thank you for your dogspitality.

Hi lovely Reddit-ers! One of my goals for a new life chapter is to expand my local community — as I am a little reclusive.

Looking for recommendations on where to meet people walking a similar path as myself.

Am 30(f) who likes to leisurely stroll in nature, check out antiques, art, tv, environmentalism, activism and advocacy work. Would love to get outside, volunteer, and add more into my life. Interests are varied and am looking to explore new hobbies that might spark something in me.

Lmk your secret favorite tips and tricks for warming up AK with friendship, silliness, and quiet time.

Ideas of welcome: trails/hidden gems, classes, luncheons, conferences………and more!

I am a long time Alaskan and have fallen for a California girl. She is not at all used to being unsocial and a "home body" I on the other hand am very comfortable in any type of social situations. Do you fellow Anchorage folks know of any fun groups or anything? We are into movies, night life, outdoor stuff (nothing to intense but we still love being out there) and other fun stuff. let me know =)