How is it in Juneau, AK?

Alaska is one of the few remaining places I am aware of where as a whole, people tend to be valued at the value of their word, not anything else. For the most part, people are friendly and helpful. I left town before high school, but I imagine high school there is going to have its ups and downs like anywhere else.

You need to be prepared for rain. It is constantly raining there. If you waited for a sunny day to do something, it would never get done. Everything is constantly wet there and drying things out is an issue. Lawns will grow moss without chemical treatments. When I brought a white car to the midwest from Alaska, I noticed that it had this green mildewy stuff growing where water collects and runs on the outside, something I had never noticed living there and never seen since moving to the Chicagoland area. I'd recommend investing in some all weather clothing once you are there. Temps are 60F and rainy most of the summer. It is cool and wet (probably worse for you coming from Florida).

Fishing is huge there. I always joke that "the fish are biting" is an excuse to miss anything. However, its not terribly far from the truth.

The area is divided into two main locations with other "sub locations". Juneau is typically divided into "Downtown" and "The Valley". The locals act like driving "all the way to downtown" from the valley is a long journey, but it only 8 miles if I recall. It is something I found humorous after living in an area where the nearest grocery store was 30 miles away. Douglas is another main area that is its own island. You will also have Auke Bay (out by the University), Thane, and "out the road".

If you are into shooting, there is a beautiful outdoor shooting range out Montana Creek Road that is free (I was shocked when I left Juneau and realize most people pay to go shooting). Guns are a way of life there and many people have them.

The best places is obviously a relative thing. It sounds like you are going to be there awhile (more than a few weeks). If you are spending some time there, the biggest thing I would recommend doing is taking up hiking. There is a hiking club called the Juneau Alpine Club that leads group hikes (http://www.juneaualpineclub.org/). I have not associated with them personally, but I would get in touch with them, check their calendar, and go on every hike you can while you live there. I grew up knowing the beauty of a Sitka Blacktail deer grazing in an alpine meadow or seeing a bear fish in a stream and never realized how special it was until I left. Get a good camera and go on these hikes! You will see beauty you never knew existed. There are a ton of trails. You can see glacial ice caves with a relatively short walk from the road. Take in what you can. The Alpine club would be a good place to start. They have people familiar with the area and it allows you to hike in groups.

You will figure out other sites to see as you go. The glacier is beautiful. The Steep Creek trail there is a good place to see bear very close to the road.

The Shrine is very tranquil. DIPAC is a fish hatchery across from the Juneau Empire. Seeing fish come in by the thousands is a pretty awesome sight. Blueberry Hill in Douglas used to offer beautiful views of downtown. Since they built up, it is still OK, but there are houses in the way.

Coming from Florida, I imagine you've been out on the water. However, if you get an invite to go out on the boat, take it. To me, few things are as beautiful as Alaska from the water. Whales, seals, and sea lions are a common site for the experienced fisherman out on the water. Whales are common along the Breadline and around the North Pass. There is a sea lion rookery on Benjamin Island that is neat to float past.

When you get bored and have a few bucks, think about grabbing the ferry to Skagway (or Haines, but I like Skagway a bit more personally). The ferries used to have a nature interpreter on board, but I hear they got cut with the Obama sequester. I think it is $80 round trip for just a person, you can go to Skagway and back and see a new town. You'll probably need the number of a taxi company as the ferry terminal at both places are not in town. Taking a car with two people is about $300 round trip if I recall.

One word of warning! There are few chain restaurants in Juneau (McDonalds, Subway, Dominos, and Papa Murphys are the 4 as of last year). You will see commercials for food you are used to getting and now can't have. When we go to Anchorage or Seattle, we call and take orders for Taco Bell for friends and people couldn't be happier :)

Get past the rain and cold, Juneau is awesome. As I said, enjoy the natural beauty while you are there. It is something you will look back on the rest of your life.

Juneau is a nice city. It's far from other cities and you can't drive in, its surronded by vast wilderness on all sides. You need to fly or boat in to juneau, you can bring cars via ferry to juneau, I've been there. The tramway is very scenic as well as the many helicopter tours I suggest taking both of them. The uv index is very low in alaksa in Florida its so high so by moving there your risk of skin cancer will drop drastically. Good move. You will see lots of wildlife I suggest taking seaplane tours, and going on tours to see wildlife such as bears (brown bears and grizzly bears ) you can see them eating salmon in streams . Foxes, moose, and other orcas (also killer whales) are also seen throughout the state. Alaska is a great state to live in.