Julie Caples, 25, and her husband Trent moved to the Fairbanks area without visiting first. In an interview with People, she said the cold is manageable, while months of limited daylight require extra care for mental health.
Julie Caples and her husband, Trent, left Texas for Alaska and settled near Fairbanks, despite never having visited the place before deciding to move. Italian outlet Il Fatto Quotidiano recounted their story, citing People.
In a TikTok video, Caples showed a winter evening after work in temperatures around 30 degrees below zero: she went home, cooked caribou and answered questions about life in Alaska. She said the dry cold can be bearable in some respects, but daily life becomes more difficult when temperatures reach around 40 or 50 degrees below zero.
The harder adjustment, she told People, is the darkness. In winter, she may wake up, commute to work and return home after dark. That pattern takes extra effort and awareness when caring for mental health, she said, including making sure to get outside and stay active.
Near Fairbanks, Caples has also seen the northern lights in spring and encountered moose that enter her property and sometimes come close to the house. She and Trent had wanted an adventure when they moved north without first seeing their new home.