[michmoldman]

Originally Posted by JGatti

There is a lot to love about our state. I almost said my state. The 4 seasons for one. I don't think I could live anywhere without them. August hits and I'm ready for fall. November hits and I'm ready for snow. End of January I'm ready for spring. Sometimes winter drags and it gets tiresome but when spring hits and the wonderful odors drift on the air you forget all about what was on the ground a few weeks prior.
Canudigit touched on some area's that are very close to anything you could ever want or need but to be honest if your in any of those cities on land the taxes are going to sock you. If $$$ is not that big of an issue look at her suggestions along with Fenton, Grand Blanc, Highland, White Lake not many have award winning schools BUT they still have good schools.
Now if you can work from home, don't have a need to commute there are so so many area's that would be ideal for what you seek and being a bit outside a more major city in northern Michigan is going to save you some $$$ when it comes to taxes. Internet, I cannot say I noticed the internet being any slower in Gaylord than it is at my house with Comcrap. Check out realtor . com and do a search for any of the cities mentioned. You can modify the search to fit exactly what you want.
Just to toot my area's horn. I live in Highland. Within 2 miles there are at least 4 horse ranches. People ride right down the street in front of my house, there are also trails throughout the Milford area and through Kennsington Metro Park. I see them down there all the time when I'm shooting ( with my camera). Huron Valley schools are pretty good if you choose the right one. We're thrilled with my sons school.
I just did a quick search and found homes with 20+ acres some with horse stalls already there. The cheapest one around my area was $239,000. There were also some gorgeous ones for around $400,000 and then of course you get into the mansions for millions. LOL
Best of luck to you, sounds like you'll love it here. Keep up posted and don't hesitate to ask for more info.

Comcrap...lol...priceless!

[darstar]

The Pacfic NW is a great place, other than the time zone thing , I could have moved there ..several times over the years. Very little of Michigan can comapre to what you have around Seattle and other areas on the Pacfic Rim.
I doubt you would find Lower Michigan to you liking, maybe the far NW area an exception.The Other Michigan, the U.P. is much more like the NW. What brings most people here and also the land down under is a job transfer.

[Bhaalspawn]

If you want to live in a large city area with a long, cold winter, you might be happier in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Detroit's winters are mild in comparison and don't last as long. The Detroit area benefits from a weird climatological effect (the "Lake Effect?") and the winters really aren't that bad here.

[darstar]

Originally Posted by Bhaalspawn

If you want to live in a large city area with a long, cold winter, you might be happier in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Detroit's winters are mild in comparison and don't last as long. The Detroit area benefits from a weird climatological effect (the "Lake Effect?") and the winters really aren't that bad here.

I have friends that moved from Seattle to MPLS. They love the Northern Tier...However , it WAS a job transfer, that was 20 years ago now...
MPLS. suffers from the same affliction found all over the mid section of the Country, hot summers , very cold winters. Being near very large bodies of water makes all the difference...and yes , Detroit as well.....Thinking about it though...can anyone imagine trading Seattle area for metro Detroit ?

[idw2s]

Thanks for the insights. Much appreciated.

As to the trade, we're in Portland now. I wouldn't mind getting back to Seattle, but I can't afford it. My Grandmother is from MPLS, we thought about that, but acreage is 'spensive!!!!! Looking at the sadly huge number of FNMA HomePath properties in MI... We can put in some sweat equity and buy something for a fraction of what we could get anywhere else. If we get something to get us by, pay it off, put aside savings (we've been in and out of medical debt now 3 times, and I'm tired of all my money going to doctors and mortgage!), we can get our dream property. We were looking at extreme rural mountaintop WA. Nice town, not so great schools, but good enough. Found a 1300 sq ft 3 br 30 year old, no high speed internet, 5 acres, with a run in shed. $270k. I could buy an equestrian estate property in some very nice parts of MI for that.... And get more reliable snow. And no hipsters!

I don't necessarily need long snowy winters, but odds of a white Christmas, and a few good snowfalls per year would be a major bonus. As a kid I asked for a white Christmas instead of toys. I grew up in Los Angeles. It didn't work well.

We had a really crazy snowy Christmas 2008, and I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I may have to wait 20 more years to get another one in Portland. I'll have to wait another 5 years to afford even small acreage here, vs. what I could own outright in 2 in some rural areas of MI.

It's kind of hard to beat.

The pictures I've seen so far are breathtaking. I never liked the "purple" (cough, brown, cough) mountains in LA, nor their attendant earthquakes. I like lush, green, trees, the sound of water, distinct seasons, and while I adore our evergreens, the color and drama of deciduous trees in fall (and the budding in spring) just screams the approach of a new season. I love it here.... but I've never been happy culturally on the west coast. Pretension is not my thing. I wear my heart on my sleeve.

I forget who said it, but I'm not adverse to being closer to Detroit. I've looked at properties there as the market slumped, and seen some amazing things available. I know an acquaintance who lives in Royal Oak but spent summers in TC, and she oohs and aahs over TC, and the pictures were enough to make me glow green with envy.

I've seen a few rental properties with barns, and I have a friend in STL and my boys have been bugging me for a visit. We're selling most of our furniture, which will save moving expenses, and I'm hoping to take the boys to STL early next month and take two or three short trips up to MI from STL and check things out, and see if I can find a rental property or even affordable boarding and a small, simple rental while we check out areas and look for a property and get it rehabbed. If I'm lucky I might just be able to find something while I'm there and rent it and hurry back here to load up and move. We're in the process of packing/selling now so we can be light and prepared to move if opportunity knocks.

My husband is looking for a job, it's up for grabs whether he will work in an office again, but he's in the IT industry, horse property near his work is always going to be outside our price range, so from our perspective, better for him to negotiate a compressed work week and just work on the frequent flier miles. Most of his job contacts are in the eastern 1/3 of the US, so MI is a shorter flight from NY or PA than Seattle.

I really appreciate the feedback. I kept thinking MI sounded too good to be true for us.... But then again, most folks can't take the PNW either, and thought we were crazy. We moved back to LA and spent our whole time trying to get back. We like cold, home, hearth, family.... LA just isn't our thing.

I'll let you know when we're headed out to visit, I may need some more advice once I'm closer and actually looking around with my eyes and not my keyboard fingers!

[darstar]

City living anywhere is expensive, just goes with the territory. Land in the U.P. is very reasonable away from the water, small farms also. Many folks up here living on a small budget, in the woods and on small acrages. Doing their own thing, at their own pace....in paradise.

[indigonation]

Might I suggest Ann Arbor it is a wonderful progressive city with culture and beautiful scenery, hills, parks, plenty to do and is well below the state and national unemployment rate and is affordable in comparison with many of the places you talked about. Ann Arbor is a wonderful and safe community only about 30 minutes west of Detroit and near plenty of beautiful and interesting small towns such as Chelsea, Tecumseh, Saline, Clinton, and Dexter. It has been ranked among the top ten places in the USA to live going up against some places like Madison, Austin, Portland etc. It is listed as the 6th best place to live on Best Places Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed
I am sure you would enjoy it and its one of if not the most highly educated and progressive towns in the Nation.

[idw2s]

Due to a miscommunication with the barn owner, my horses are needing to move sooner than I thought, so I think we're just going to see if we can get belongings pared down and packed and our house rented and either stay with a friend in St. Louis and board my horse there, or see if we can find a short term rental in MI.

We want to buy by the end of the year, but I'd like to have us all out there first, rather than trying to make house hunting trips back and forth. Plus it will save me moving my poor mustang more than once. Cross country will be traumatic enough for her.

I have to say, I'm always dismayed at the fighting on the Portland board here... Other than the Gaylord hater... y'all are a friendly bunch. You folks should be doing marketing for the state of Michigan. Just... do me a favor, and wait until we buy something, will ya? We're on our way, as soon as the fates allow.

[sunshineann]

I'm very familiar with St Louis, i say just come on up here to Michigan. lol. We'll leave the light on.

[darstar]

Just a little dats from our own City-data files....for those who are interested.

Marquette County totals 1821 sq. miles.and has 36 people per sq. mile. The cost of living index is 77.3 while the National average is 100.
The median house cost ( in 08) was 123,200 , while the State wide average was 151,300.

Just some numbers that Do show living in Marquette County is not all THAT expensive....as reported.