I moved to Alaska because of the gorgeous nature. Even though things cost more and there's barely any sunlight in the winter, it feels like home.

• Flint Selby, 24, moved to Alaska from Wyoming in 2020 in pursuit of outdoor adventure. 
• Selby said winters are tough, with just three hours of sunlight, so many people take vitamin D. 
• But, he said, the friendly people and affordable rent make Alaska feel like home.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Flint Selby, a 24-year-old real-estate agent who moved from Cody, Wyoming, to Palmer, Alaska, about 43 miles northeast of Anchorage, in 2020. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

I moved to Alaska in November 2020. I was living in my hometown of Cody, Wyoming.

My dad had been talking about moving to Alaska since I was in middle school and finally did in 2017. But the big reason why I wanted to move was just all the land up here. The mountains, the fishing, the hunting, the adventure. There is just so much gorgeous country out here.

When I was younger I agreed with him, but then I got into my teenage years and thought maybe I'd want to do my own thing. I thought about moving to Colorado, but when I really considered it, I changed my mind to Alaska. Lots of my friends were moving to Denver and I was excited about going to concerts at Red Rocks, but then I started to think I didn't really want to deal with a big city.

I ended up selling a lot of my stuff and fitting whatever was left over into my Subuaru. I drove 14 hours to Washington and then caught a ferry. I had never seen anything like that before. I didn't know they made boats that big. We traveled for four days across the ocean all the way to Whittier, Alaska.

Housing is cheap but McDonalds is expensive

I was working at a car dealership back in Wyoming and didn't have anything lined up in Alaska. But there's so much opportunity up here. I walked into a dealership and just asked for a job and they gave it to me. Eventually I got my real-estate license and now I work as an agent.

It wasn't hard to find a place to live. I had maybe $3,000 in savings and lived with my dad for six months to get adjusted. But, I found a place with a buddy from work. I lived there for two years, it was a two-bedroom, two-bathroom for $600 each. I then moved into another friend's house that had five bedrooms and three bathrooms. He only asked me to pay $500 per month.

The rental prices have been going up, but it hasn't been crazy. You can get a four-bedroom, three-bathroom for $2,000.

Things cost more though up here, because everything is shipped. You'll see an advertisement for a $2 McDouble, but then you go to the McDonalds here and it's $5. Milk and cheese get really expensive.

Just three hours of sunlight in the winter can be brutal

One thing that did kind of throw me off is the amount of sunlight in the winter. You really only get five hours of sunlight, and some days it's only three. It's off-putting. A lot of people out here take vitamin D supplements. For me, I just try to get outside as much as I can during that small window of light. Clear off my driveway, take my dog for a walk. Anything to get out of the house.

The secret is to go to Hawaii. You've got to take a vacation at least once during the winter up here. You can get tickets from Anchorage to Hawaii for, like, $300.

But then, in summer it's literally light for 22 hours. If you go to North Country, up to Fairbanks, it'll be light for 24 hours. You'll be sitting around a bonfire with your buddies and suddenly realize it's 4 a.m. It feels like no time passes, it's incredible.

You get the only-in-Alaska experiences, like waking up early morning to let your dog go outside and coming face to face with a moose. They're absolutely everywhere — I see them all the time. And sometimes the moose can be a little bit scary. They're huge. I'm 6'6" and they're taller than me.

You just want to make sure you look a little bit big, but you don't want to look like you're trying to prey on them. I've had to pull my dog back because he'll start barking and that will get them upset.

It's been easy to acclimate to living here because of the people

I didn't have any friends at first and I was super worried about making friends. But there are just so many good people. Everyone is so inviting. You can walk through the store and start a conversation with someone. I've made a lot of friends through work and honestly just going to the bar.

For anyone looking to move to Alaska, my tip is get a U-Haul. I sold a lot of my stuff but that made it harder to get settled. Get a U-Haul and make the drive through Canada. Get a really good jacket and boots. An Alaskan staple is Xtratuf boots, these rubber boots that are insulated. You'll see them everywhere up here, people walking around with brown and yellow boots.

Overall, I am so glad I live here. There's just so much to do. If you like getting outdoors, this is the place to be.