Folks who live in Fairbanks love it- even in winter when it is -60. They have the northern lights to watch most nights and Chena hotsprings to soak in (natural hotsprings nearby). It does get very cold but that doesn't stop folks from getting out and x-country skiing. The town has lots of good ski trails. Being an interior city, it is a dry cold not like the damp that CWR experienced in Cold Bay (an aptly named place right CWR??) The university of Alaska, Fairbanks is a thriving little place up on the hill and has a GREAT museum. Fires can be bad, but are not necessarily an all summer or even every summer event. What deters many is the fact that most living situations out of the town (even a few miles out) are "dry cabins"- no running water. But even that is o.k. It is a lifestyle. You soon learn to live with hauling your water and using an "outhouse".
What kind of work do you do? If you want to live year round in AK you may consider this to help determine where you live. There are lots of nice places. I know several groovy ladies who reside in Fairbanks and will ask them if there is any info I should pass along. If you worked in Denali (what lodge? I'm there several times/ week) then you know that the summers in Fairbanks can be quite warm- it was in the 80's the other day and I was HOT.
Hope this helps.