I moved to Alaska seven years ago, but I still miss my home in the 48th state.
I travel to Ohio to see accredited heart specialists due to the high cost of living.
The Midwest has delicious comfort food and energetic sports.
I relocated to Alaska seven years ago. After a trip to the last frontier in 2014, my husband and I decided to relocate to the peninsula.
It has been true that living in Alaska is hard but not for the reasons I thought it would be.
I was born and raised in Ohio, which has an intense winter weather, wide-open spaces, and friendly people, but there are some things I miss even though I live here for a long time.
I love comfort food in the Midwest.
There is a large German population in the Midwest so sauerkraut and bratwurst are easy to find. A good dinner is the only thing that beats a good one.
I don't want to talk about how much I miss corn on the cob, chocolate-topped doughnuts with cream filling, and glorious buckeyes.
It's not the same as it used to be in Alaska.
Since there is more light at night, you can often hear the sound of cars going down the road.
If I could hear crickets, cicadas, and toads singing at night or get lulled to sleep by a nearby storm, I would be happy with the heat.
It was easy to manage my congenital heart defect until a few years ago. Alaska has not been a good place to find healthcare.
An adult congenital cardiologist is required. Alaska is not an accredited center for adult congenital heart disease.
I often go back to Ohio for my heart health needs because of this. I probably wouldn't have moved if I'd known I'd traveled across the country to see a cardiologist.
It costs more here if you can get them.
It's not uncommon to see no bottled water or milk at our local Safeway because of the rising cost of fuel.
Money can get tight when I consider the cost of healthcare. According to data by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Alaskans spend the most on healthcare and related expenses in the country. It is one of the most expensive states for health insurance.
Football is not as popular in Alaska as it is in the Lower 48.
A lot of people from Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois eat, sleep, and breathe sports. Baseball and football are both very religious.
It seems like there's more love for sports teams in Cleveland than in Alaska. There wasn't a marching-band performance during the halftime show of my son's high school football game.
Alaska does not have a professional sports team.
I check online community groups for bear reports every spring. I don't like meeting up with a brown bear in my backyard or on the road.
There is no better animal than moose. Young bull moose are on the prowl and can be dangerous. For the rest of the year, moms and their kids are out and about.
If you hit a moose, you can be killed. I don't want to get a phone call like that again because my son-in-law got very lucky after hitting a young person on the road.
I like to wear flip-flops, cutoff shorts, and tank tops in the summer even though I don't like the heat and humidity of the Midwest.
I only get to wear my warm-weather clothes for a few weeks a year because the summer temperatures on the peninsula are in the 70s.
Light jackets, puffy coats, winter boots, and sweaters all have a time and season, but I don't pack them away.
Alaska's wilderness, mountains, and bodies of water are some of the best places to travel in the world. Depending on where you want to go, you can take a plane, car, or boat.
Getting out of Alaska can take all day, and I don't want to fly for 18 hours before arriving in the Midwest.
A commuter plane will connect you to a major city if you only have a small airport. I change planes four to five times before I land.
I don't think I need a reason to come back to the Midwest other than missing my family. None of them live more than an hour away from each other in Ohio.
I can tell you how I miss the corn fields but I can't explain the feeling of knowing where I am.
I love Alaska but my heart is in the Midwest.
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