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Up Topic Welding Industry / General Welding Discussion / Alaska
- - By tfpearson Date 12-28-2007 04:28
Wanting info about living and welding in Alaska. Thinking about moving there in a couple of years. I live in Texas now and spent many years in North Carolina. I love the outdoors and hunting and fishing. Thinking of moving to the Fairbanks and North Pole area. This would be good for the hunting but not sure about work. The North Slope sounds like a pos. for me working a couple of weeks on and a couple off to hunt. I have wife and kids all will to come with me. Been researching and talking with some people on ICQ that live there. I have not made contact with anyone in the welding field. I am a welder at present but I will be attending school at Tulsa Welding School to ensure that I have everything I need as for as cert. when I get to Alaska. Any info you could give me would be greatly appreciated.
Timmy
Parent - By webbcity (***) Date 12-28-2007 05:38
timmy , send me your snail mail address , i'll mail you some info. my e-mail is on my profile . ? are you planning on driving up , if so you and all passengers need a passport to enter Canada jan. 1 , 2008 and you need it to re-enter at U.S customs at Alaska border , in case you didn't know . there may be other things also , i can find out if it helps , so you can be prepared . the road is much better now that it was in 1963 , when i first drove up , it's taking about 72hrs from bellingham wa. semi-truck with groceries to anchorage , kenai area . it took me 15 days in 1964 with a 50 ford 2 ton truck i had about $600 cash and i'm not leaving till i get every penny of it back . good luck . willie     
Parent - By tfpearson Date 12-28-2007 21:29
Timothy Pearson
Rt. 1 Box 112
Jasper, Texas 75951
Parent - - By tfpearson Date 12-28-2007 21:30
There is a whole lot we don't know but we are giving ourselves enough time to learn or at least I hope. Any and all info you are anyone can give us will be greatly appreciated.
Timmy
Parent - - By commonarc (**) Date 12-28-2007 22:44 Edited 12-28-2007 22:47
You can drive to Washington state and take a car ferry the rest of the way.  With todays gas prices, it may be a more comfortable way to travel.  Driving through Canada, with all your stuff would be a huge hassle.  You mentioned that you like to hunt and fish.  Bringing firearms into Canada is not easy to do as an American.  Major hassle.  Pistols?  Forget about it.  Just so you know.

I'm also wondering about welding or welding inspection work in AK.  Any union Boilermakers up there?  What's the power plant work like around Anchorage?
Parent - - By welderdude (**) Date 12-28-2007 23:27
i lived in Anchorage for 6 yrs. 

i drove down through canada with all my possessions AND long guns in 2004.  i asked the border patrol if it was legal to transport pistols through and they said yes, definitely.  all you do as far as the guns is take them all into the border patrol building, uncase them, fill out the paperwork, they look at the serial numbers, and then you go on your way. 

as far as the passports, you didn't need one when I went through.  that might have changed since then.  do a Google search for Canadian border rules or laws and you should be able to find their gov't website.

power plants in AK?  there surely aren't many!  the population of the whole state is around 500,000 and 250,000 of them are in Anchorage, so the power plants are very small and spread out.  i'm not even sure if they're natural gas, diesel, or what powers them. 

unions are very strong in Alaska.  there aren't many boilermakers there, because of the lack of large powerplants. 

also keep in mind that EVERY welder dreams of making it big in the AK oil fields, therefore, there are tons of welders up there already.  there definitely is NOT a shortage of good certified welders there.  in fact, in the winter time (October - May) construction really slows down.  there were a couple of years where I'd get laid off in November and couldn't find another welding job until the following summer.  another thing I found out is you really have to know somebody to get into working in the oil fields. 

come to think of it, I remember reading in the Hot Sheets a few months or a year ago that there was some kind of new mine opening up in southwestern AK.  it was either gold, diamonds, or zinc, i don't remember. 

I got tired of the seasonal work and the abundance of welders, but not enough work...I moved to Florida. 
Parent - By commonarc (**) Date 12-29-2007 00:20 Edited 12-29-2007 02:46
Thanks for the info on welders in AK.  I appreciate it. 
As far as transporting firearms through Canada, things have changed since 2004.  All firearms must be registered in Canada.
No exceptions and that means Americans bringing a hunting rifle over also.  You have to register your rifle with the Canadian goverment and pay a substatial fee.  Not trying to stir up trouble but firearms laws in Canada are VERY STRICT and are nothing like they were in '04.
I suggest you check out the following link:
http://www.panda.com/canadaguns/  A Practical Guide to Canadian Firearms Laws for Americans

I know this is a welding forum but please check this out so you don't get in trouble.  Handguns are almost totally banned in Canada since 2004.  You'll need to get a PAL License for all the firearms you are transporting in Canada.  This is a time consuming and expensive pain in the butt.  http://www.panda.com/canadaguns/#pal   It would be easier to just take the car ferry and avoid the customs hassle:

There is no way that you can legally enter Canada with a prohibited firearm. This likely includes your concealed carry pistol. Canadian Customs will be looking for it. Leave it at home. You can't enter Canada with a restricted firearm unless you have an Authorization to Transport. If you have a handgun that is not prohibited, then it is restricted; if you don't have an Authorization to Transport (which you need to obtain well in advance) you can't bring it in. Leave it at home.
Even if you have an Authorization to Transport for a restricted firearm, you can't carry it unless you also have an Authorization to Carry which is almost impossible to get. In general, forget about carrying a sidearm while in Canada.
Make certain that you are in complete compliance with the transport regulations.
Canadian Customs may try to bait you, e.g. by asking you to agree that this all is a good thing. Don't rise to it. Canada is not our country; we have nothing to say about their laws. Remember that you're being subject to the "attitude test."
Parent - By JescoPressure (**) Date 12-29-2007 15:40
i dont think it can be to big of a hassle bringing in long guns to Can. from the USA . I was working by Provost (300 east edmonton)  this fall during hunting season most of the guys stayin in my hotel were hunters from the states.
Parent - By TimGary (****) Date 12-29-2007 11:51 Edited 12-29-2007 11:57
Check out this link for a pipe welding job posting in Alaska  (www.rigzone.com Job# 35366)

http://rigzone.com/jobs/job_posting.asp?p_id=35366

BTW
A couple years ago my Parents were visiting my sister in upstate New York and decided to go see Niagra Falls while they were there.
They tried to cross the border to the Canadian side, and my Father didn't think about the 2 pistols, shotgun and rifle he alway carries in his truck. The Canadians thought very hard about them for about 4 hours before they decided to just send my folks back to NY....
I guess they just don't know how to take Vietnam vets with PTSD....

Tim
Up Topic Welding Industry / General Welding Discussion / Alaska

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