Depends on where he was. Anchorage is great if you're college age, Fairbanks (where I live) has its ups and downs. If he got assigned to Clear or Fort Greely or King Salmon or someplace like that than I could understand. Just depends on what you like.
Sorry to hear that you didn't like it (not being sarcastic). I am curious as to where you were stationed. That said, you do have to have the right personality to live up here and enjoy it. Me personally, if I left this state right now I think I'd regret it the rest of my life.
Anchorage is one of my all-time favorite cities (and I have seen a good chunk of the world). Contrary to popular belief, the winters there aren't really any different from Minneapolis, Detroit, Chicago, etc. Fairbanks, on the other hand, requires a good bit of mental toughness in the winter. You're right, Carrs does rule Most of the Natives (Indians, Eskimos) live in the southwest, west, and far northern parts of the state, where you have to fly in. Considering our population, there is a fair amount of African-American people here, although you are right in saying that this is a predominately white state. The economy is resource-based (including tourism). We have high unemployment rates but that's skewed because most Natives in the bush live subsistence lifestyles. But keep in mind that a high-ranking foreign political person (his name escapes me) said that "Who controls Alaska will control the world." It's hard to beat our strategical location for military and services (Anchorage has the busiest cargo airport in the country). Not to mention that Alaska oil employs quite a few people in Houston So after reading that quote, you might not want to sell us so quickly after all
I was on Ft. Wainwright in Fairbanks, AK. When I speak of dirty I'm referring to that period in april and may when the ice is breaking up and it's nothing but mud and slush for almost two months. Anchorage is okay, but compared to Austin it's not impressive.
The best experience you can have in Alaska that 99% of the tourists will never see is hauling ass down a frozen river on a snowmachine going 85mph. Now that's what I call a rush.
I'll give you that, breakup is always a mess. Anchorage vs. Austin, depends on what you like. If you're more into the city life, Austin wins easy. But if you enjoy the outdoors, Lake Travis and the hill country are no comparison to Denali and the Kenai Peninsula.
