Some generic reflections on the Juneau region

After reading McPhee's book and hearing tales and details from Natalie about the Juneau area, I arrived with a number of preformed assumptions, some of which have been validated, others debunked

• Natalie: "It's like the Pacific Northwest on steroids" -- this is true. The outdoorsiness out-Portlands Portland and Seattle put together. But it's less precious and self-adulatory than its southern siblings.
• Natalie: "The food isn't all that great." Maybe by her very foodie standards this is true. I am less of a food hound and fairly easily satisfied. Maybe having my expectations set low has helped.
• McPhee: "Land is at a surprising premium (because so much is federally owned) and it's expensive to heat homes, so houses are surprisingly small." This is less in evidence around Juneau, maybe because the climate is more moderate and building materials are more easily transported here (though to be sure local wood construction predominates). That said, McMansion-style hypertrophy is refreshingly absent. Indeed, I've seen refreshingly few signs of overall wealth display. I've seen a Lexus and a BMW but probably not even a Mercedes and definitely nothing showier than that. While there are plenty of pickup trucks, Juneau is the land of the RAV-4 and the Subaru Outback. This could also be a function of it's being by far the most Democratic part of the state.
• McPhee: "People don't waste stuff because transporting it here is so hard, so everybody's yard is kinda like a junk yard." Again, this likely holds truer up in the interior than down here by Juneau, but it's directionally accurate down here as well. People's yards abound with stuff: boats, outbuildings, old vehicles, gear, what have you.
• Natalie: "It's expensive." True.