Is is true I saw some post on Mi It said I hate Living in Michigain (Ann Arbor: fit in, coop)

[jaynarie]

Originally Posted by Marie Joseph

I moved to Michigan after I married my husband who is from the Detroit area.

Before I met him, I had lived in NY and SC.

Since we've been married, we have lived in MI, NY, KY, LA, TN and currently PA.

Of all the places we have lived, Michigan was the most welcoming to me.

IMO I think that it is much easier to make friends in Michigan than it is in the South.

People in Michigan didn't seem to care that I was from NY state but it seemed to be a big deal down South that I was not from the area.

I'm a native Michigander, but I can definitely agree that Southerners aren't always the most welcoming to outsiders. Especially in the more rural areas.

[canudigit]

Originally Posted by jaynarie

I'm a native Michigander, but I can definitely agree that Southerners aren't always the most welcoming to outsiders. Especially in the more rural areas.

I can attest to this. One time we were driving around Wytheville, VA in our car with Michigan plates and we got some very curious looks that seemed to convey a "What the *#$% are you doing down here?" attitude.

Even worse was the time that we had a rental car with Massachusetts plates and drove through some small towns in South Carolina and Georgia. I think it's safe to say that Northerners from the Northeast are even more unwelcome than those from the Upper Midwest/Great Lakes region!

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, DH and I are not Michigan natives but I have always found people here to be kind, helpful, and welcoming, particularly in smaller cities and towns and rural areas. Both of our kids live in outer ring western suburbs of Metro Detroit now and they have both experienced the same thing living in their respective cities. I think Midwesterners as a whole are just pretty down to earth as compared to the coasts or to somewhere very provincial like the deep South.

[jaynarie]

Originally Posted by canudigit

I can attest to this. One time we were driving around Wytheville, VA in our car with Michigan plates and we got some very curious looks that seemed to convey a "What the *#$% are you doing down here?" attitude.

Even worse was the time that we had a rental car with Massachusetts plates and drove through some small towns in South Carolina and Georgia. I think it's safe to say that Northerners from the Northeast are even more unwelcome than those from the Upper Midwest/Great Lakes region!

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, DH and I are not Michigan natives but I have always found people here to be kind, helpful, and welcoming, particularly in smaller cities and towns and rural areas. Both of our kids live in outer ring western suburbs of Metro Detroit now and they have both experienced the same thing living in their respective cities. I think Midwesterners as a whole are just pretty down to earth as compared to the coasts or to somewhere very provincial like the deep South.

I'm surprised in Wytheville. Since 77 and 81 join for a minute, they tend to get a lot of people stopping for food and gas. Not to mention it is the cheapest place for gas between MI and NC. I'd always top off when heading home to NC. You'd think they'd be used to out-of-towners. Of course, I've never ventured away from gas stations or fast food adjacent to the expressway. I'm sure locals avoid that area, lol.


Midwesterners tend to be polite and accepting. Those who are not are at least up-front about it. Where as some southerners will be nice to your face but it is a completely different story when you walk away.

I taught in a very, very small town. Blinking light at a stop sign small. Population about 600. People were always polite to my face, but they'd talk about me behind my back. I could never get 'in', either. Always left out.

[canudigit]

Originally Posted by jaynarie

I'm surprised in Wytheville. Since 77 and 81 join for a minute, they tend to get a lot of people stopping for food and gas. Not to mention it is the cheapest place for gas between MI and NC. I'd always top off when heading home to NC. You'd think they'd be used to out-of-towners. Of course, I've never ventured away from gas stations or fast food adjacent to the expressway. I'm sure locals avoid that area, lol.


Midwesterners tend to be polite and accepting. Those who are not are at least up-front about it. Where as some southerners will be nice to your face but it is a completely different story when you walk away.

I taught in a very, very small town. Blinking light at a stop sign small. Population about 600. People were always polite to my face, but they'd talk about me behind my back. I could never get 'in', either. Always left out.

We spent the night in a hotel in Wytheville because we attended an event in a nearby town, so we ventured away from the areas right next to the interstate and drove around the rest of the town and a little bit of the countryside just to see what it was like. Trust me, once you get more than a few blocks from 77 or 81 you do stick out and you won't see another out of town license plate. It is a quaint city and the countryside around it is very pretty but it is very "deep South" and it isn't very welcoming to outsiders from the North.

[KayAnn246]

I can sympathize with OP. I'm from Michigan but left after high school to go to the Army. I was in SC, NC and VA the first 4 years before going overseas.

When I went down south, I was a bit standoffish due to my surrounding in Michigan. Most people on the east coast/south are welcoming, friendly and hospitable. At first, it caught me off guard as I wasn't as accustomed to extreme friendly attitude being from Michigan. I took it as people being noisy. While my ex is from VA, he had to explain to me the norms that people were genuine. As when he came to Michigan, I had to explain the norms of the stand offish attitude of some people in Michigan.

A few things I notice is that most people I pass when walking in a public place in the south had no problem smiling and saying Hi. In Michigan, I've meet nice people but more people won't even make eye contact in public.

I've moved around many times. In the south, every time I've moved to a new neighborhood, I was met with a knock on the door, welcome to the neighborhood and a anytime you need anything offer......, In Michigan most time I was welcomed to a new neighborhood or area, it is usually from people that are not from here, mostly Canada or the south.

My brother is from here as well and moved to KY for 7 years. He decided to move back here to be close to family. Well that only lasted 2 years as he deeply missed the people and community he felt in KY. He moved back to KY a few months ago.

Even though I agree that you have to depend on you for your overall happiness. Community and feeling welcome can be a deciding factor in where you enjoy living.

While I understand people have different experiences, I've meet many people that moved from Michigan to North Carolina. They enjoy North Carolina so much more because of the welcoming feeling. I try to continue to be warm, kind and welcoming to anyone I meet but that came from being on the east coast and south.

[ebeanie]

Singlelady 10-Where in KY did your brother move back to? We are thinking of moving to KY soon and hope to find a welcoming community.

[KayAnn246]

Originally Posted by ebeanie

Singlelady 10-Where in KY did your brother move back to? We are thinking of moving to KY soon and hope to find a welcoming community.

Lexington

[EastBoundandDownChick]

Michigain? Wow, yup, welcome to your backwater mother ship.

[manofletters]

If you can ask such a question based on some unhappy idiot's post, maybe you need to get yourself together first. Whether you like living here will depend on about 10,000 different things. As soon as you list them all, I can answer your question.

[Giesela]

Native Michigander, lived in Delaware, briefly TX, Nebraska and Ohio.

I found Texas to be so much friendlier than Michigan I wasn't sure what was going on.
Nebraska was also friendlier although in a more polite way vs. going to invite you home to dinner way.
Ohio is about the same. Delaware was so long ago and I was active duty out of high school I really couldn't say.

I don't think Michigan people are particuarly friendly but they aren't unfriendly either. Sort of like our non accent