Man moves into strange town where everyone lives in one building and residents don't leave for months
A group of YouTubers who create content based on 'seeking discomfort' decided to travel to a strange town where almost everyone lives in one building.
Residents are known to stay in their accommodation for months on end where there is access to a supermarket, a post office and even a church.
A town under one roof
In a video shared by YouTube channel Seek Discomfort last December, the group visited Whittier in Alaska, US, home to just 272 residents, as of 2020.
The city - known for its wet and snowy climate - is located about 58 miles southeast of Anchorage and is within the Chugach Census Area.
Advert
But since almost all of its locals live in the 14-storey Begich Towers, Whittier has been given the nickname of a 'town under one roof'.
"On our quest to explore the world's most interesting places, we find ourselves on the southern coast of Alaska, heading
towards a town with less than 300 residents, almost all of whom live under the same roof," content creator Thomas Brag explained.
The history of Begich Towers
Begich Towers was built in wake of World War II and is made up of 150 two-and-three-bedroom apartments - as well as a health centre, a police station, a shop and a church.
"This is Begich Towers, built during the height of the Cold War to house troops stationed in this area," Brag says.
"It was designed so that the residents could stay inside the building for weeks on end during periods of intense weather conditions, with the local grocery store, school church and post office, all located inside this building the biggest tower.
"It seems more like a fallout shelter than a residential building.
"So on our most recent trip to Alaska, we decided to go on a side quest to explore this strange town in one of the most beautiful places on the planet."
After visiting his 'cosy' two-bedroom apartment, Thomas opted to speak to someone who has lived in the towers for 40 years.
"When we first came to Whittier we lived on our boat in our motor home and I loved just idea of living in a big building like with an elevator," the woman said.
"I'm like wow, so it took us a few years to get in the building cos we had to wait for some condos to come for sale."
The mysterious Buckner building
Meanwhile, Thomas and the crew also explored the abandoned Buckner building, built at the same time as the Begich Towers.
"This was the actual military residence of Whittier, big enough to house over 1,000 soldiers," he said.
"The Buckner building had a mess hall, a jail and a bowling alley, and was connected to the rest of Whittier by underground tunnels.
"But in 1966 military pulled out of Whittier, and this building became private property. Since then, it has slowly been in decline. And in 2016 the decay became so bad that the owners completely boarded it up."
Anish Vij