[DONNIEANDDONNA417]

Originally Posted by Luzette

If you like snow and would rather have more cold weather than hot then that's what I consider the number one issue for anyone planning a move to Michigan. If you had posted that you like the mostly hot weather of Atlanta then I would say a move to Michigan will be difficult for you, but now I say come up and you will love our state! Since we've had a very hot summer here more than ever I appreciate our four seasons. I think you will too. I live up in the northern LP near Traverse City. I'd tell anyone it's a great mid size city with much to offer, but it sounds like downstate is where you are headed.

thanks that is very welcoming I just hope we are able to make a decent living. Relocating can be very scary

[7Millionaire7]

I actually live in the Flint area, and Grand Blanc is a nice, small, growing area. There's a lot of the usual big box retailers, specifically Wal-Mart, Target, Sam's, Home Depot, and Kohl's. There's a touch of a small town feel and it's pretty quiet. I've had friends live there and have grown up and moved on. The school system is also known to be pretty good too, so you're making a good choice in being there.

Wow...I can't believe I just said something good about MI, lol.

[us66]

Other good things about this state are the fairly low state income and sales taxes (and city income taxes are few and far between), the bottle deposit (if you're running low on cash, there's always some on the side of the road), and, well, I'm still trying to think of a third. Okay. The Lake Michigan shoreline is very nice.
Cons? I've never learned to drive on the snow and ice. Haven't ended up in a ditch yet, knock on plastic computer. People are fixated with "up north" like it's Heaven or something. Illinois people (FIBs) priced the rest of us out of a lot of the Lake Michigan towns. People look at you funny if you drive a foreign car. Detroit sports teams suck for the most part. The Detroit area has a "can't-do" attitude held by many of the locals, if not most of them. Hell is in Michigan, too, in Livingston County.

[Himpurs]

I am not from Michigan originally but I lived there for 2 years. We recently left to move back to be closer to my family. BUT for the 2 years we lived there, I did love it. We were on western Michigan, 20 miles from Lake Michigan and I loved the area, loved our house, our property, the schools etc. We lived in the country and I definitely do miss that. There is also always something to do, canoeing, rafting, fishing, boating, skiing, snowmobiling, hunting, hiking, swimming...must I go on. Our kids even say they miss it there. They loved their school and friends and one of our kids says they miss MI air. Being in the country the air was fresh! We haven't sold our house there and I am actually itching to just go back for a week to relax and enjoy some of the fall colors. Oh, you will never see the colors of fall like you will in MI!! Gorgeous!!

[michsnowlvr]

Originally Posted by michmoldman

I am only 30 minutes from Grand Blanc, so I can tell you the winters will be kinda cold, not too bad, maybe averaging in the 20's to me this is not very cold, I can deal with much colder. You will not get a whole lot of snow, maybe 40"-60" sometimes more...sometimes less. Most of the time there will be no snow, or very little snow on the ground. There are really no major forests in our area, you have to go north past the thumb and west, and this is also where you will get the most snow. We want to move north because we want snow!!

To someone coming from Atlanta, 40-60" of snow is a lot Im sure lol. That is false about "most of the time there will be no snow or very little snow on the ground". In the harshest of winters the ground will be covered with snow the entire winter. In the milder winters there will be periods of bare ground, but there is never really a winter with no snow on the ground "most of the time". Flint officially averages 46.6" of snowfall per season, with 65 days of 1" or more of snow covering the ground

[michmoldman]

Originally Posted by michsnowlvr

To someone coming from Atlanta, 40-60" of snow is a lot Im sure lol. That is false about "most of the time there will be no snow or very little snow on the ground". In the harshest of winters the ground will be covered with snow the entire winter. In the milder winters there will be periods of bare ground, but there is never really a winter with no snow on the ground "most of the time". Flint officially averages 46.6" of snowfall per season, with 65 days of 1" or more of snow covering the ground

Yes...I did say most of the time there will be no snow...or very little, not most of the time there wont be any. If you love winters like I do, an inch or two of snow is nothing. May as well be bare.

[JazzyTallGuy]

Originally Posted by DONNIEANDDONNA417

Okay I am really anxious about moving to Michigan. My husband is all game for it . But I hear so many different things I dont know if I want to.

so enlightened me. What are the pros and cons of living in michigan?

by the way I live in atlanta now

Thanks Guys

I just moved here in January of 2010

Pros:

I've met some really nice down earth people here

Michigan is flat gorgeous. Since I've been here I've been camping at Burt Lake. Driven U.S 127 to I-75 over the Mackinac Bridge all the way to Sault Ste. Marie and seen the Sault locks. Driven down U.S 31 through Petrosky and the Traverse City area. I'm going camping at Ludington State Park in a couple of weeks and looking forward to it.

More of live and let live atmosphere than in more socially conservative parts of the country.

Low cost of housing, Michigan is got to be one of the best kept secrets in the country on the basis of what you can get for your housing dollar.

Pretty summer nice weather as long it stays below 90 and the humidity isn't too bad. You get four seasons here and I like that. If you like being outdoors Michigan is a great place to live.

The competition between Michigan and Michigan State. I love it and I think it's lot of fun. Go State!

Cons:

The economy, however if you are a professional i.e. doctor, nurse, accountant, software engineer etc. you can find a job. If you are going to move here having a college degree and some solid job experience and skills is a big plus.

Rough roads.

[michsnowlvr]

Originally Posted by michmoldman

Yes...I did say most of the time there will be no snow...or very little, not most of the time there wont be any. If you love winters like I do, an inch or two of snow is nothing. May as well be bare.

I do love winter, the more snow the better. But for me, 2" of snowcover is certainly better than bare ground.

Flint averages per winter:
65 days with 1"+ snow on the ground
38 days with 3"+ snow on the ground
23 days with 5"+ snow on the ground
4 days with 10"+ snow on the ground

These are all averages mind you, some winters you can have deep snow most of the winter, other years its just a light carpet of white. Either way, coming from Atlanta and liking snow, this is a huge bonus.

Have you ever considered the White Lake area of northern Oakland county? Its just a little south of you but its elevation helps boost snowfall totals in this area of Detroits far northwest suburbs.

[Luzette]

Originally Posted by Himpurs

I am not from Michigan originally but I lived there for 2 years. We recently left to move back to be closer to my family. BUT for the 2 years we lived there, I did love it. We were on western Michigan, 20 miles from Lake Michigan and I loved the area, loved our house, our property, the schools etc. We lived in the country and I definitely do miss that. There is also always something to do, canoeing, rafting, fishing, boating, skiing, snowmobiling, hunting, hiking, swimming...must I go on. Our kids even say they miss it there. They loved their school and friends and one of our kids says they miss MI air. Being in the country the air was fresh! We haven't sold our house there and I am actually itching to just go back for a week to relax and enjoy some of the fall colors. Oh, you will never see the colors of fall like you will in MI!! Gorgeous!!

Your comment about one of your children saying they miss Michigan air reminds me of my brother. He has been living in Hawaii for the past 25 years, but everytime he comes home he comments on the air. He says nothing smells as fresh as Michigan air.

[danielj72]

Cons of Michigan would be the economy and the presence of Detroit in our state. The economy as you know is not good, however some signs of improvement are beginning to show. THe pros of Michigan are its change of seasons, the scenery and the lakes. The area you are talking about is suburban Flint, and that area has been hit hard by the economy. Flint itself while not as bad as Detroit, is still quite rough and run down. I live 25 miles northwest of Flint and people who live around here avoid Flint if possible. Almost everyone sees it in a negative light. If I was moving to Michigan and had to be close to Flint I would go out further than Grand Blanc. Grand Blanc is safe, but in my opinion it is nothing special, and its too close to Flint. Towns I would consider are outside of Genesse county, away from Flints decay.(and the higher taxes and insurance rates for living in Genesse county) Owosso is 25 miles west of Flint, Lapeer is about the same distance east of Flint. Both of those areas are much much nicer communities that do not have ties to Flint at all, but they are still easily driveable to that area. I hope you dont think this is a negative post, I just want to make sure that you see Flint for what it is, really really run down and unpleasant, even dangerous. Michigan itself is a great state to live in, lots of quiet nice little farm towns, and millions of acres of forest and wilderness in the north. The lakes are beautiful, and the fall here is unreal. There is alot of reasons to move here. I just would not move that close to Flint.