[techoncall]

My wife and i are thinking of moving to MI, specificaly the Ann Arbor Dexter area.
We visited the area a few times and loved it.

From all the messages i read on these boards,all i read is about the doom and gloom in Michigan.
Is it really that bad?

Employment
housing

Any fresh honest imput would be appreciated....

[cszostak]

Our relocation to Connecticut was just cancelled and I couldn't be happier. I love Michigan. My sister lives in Dexter and really likes it. She is a couple miles outside of the town on a street with 15 houses, lots of kids, and big lots. She is also happy with the school.
I don't know where you are currently living, but MI has something for everyone. We have cities, woods, lots of lakes, and you will never get bored of the weather!!

[techoncall]

Thanks for replying,we are in Florida originaly from New Jersey.
How are jobs and the economy?

[bubbagirl]

The jobs completely depend on what line of work you're in. If it is a specialized field, such as engineering or medical, you're fine. You should have no problem finding a job. However, for general employment... don't commit to moving unless you have a job lined up. The state is leading the nation in unemployment and foreclosure rates, and as much as I am trying to keep from the 'doom n gloom' attitude ... there is a reality that has to be faced. It is a VERY tough economy right now. Keep in mind that the competition for a job is very strong, I think the average figured out was 2500 applicants to every job posted (this is just based on number of unemployed vs number of new jobs and is not actual). That said, give housing a year's time and you will have to ability to name your price. If you're truly interested... get on the different job sites and see what is out there. I am a born and raised Michigander and finally left for the sake of employment. I was in the Lansing area and applied for over 500 different positions in 1.5 yrs time with very little turnout of interviews and absolutely not employment offers, but I am also in the service sector. Michigan is a beautiful state with a lot to offer... and I certainly am going to miss the ability to jump in the car and head to Lake Michigan any time I want to!

[TracyLynnS]

We live in an area of michigan that's hard hit by the auto industry meltdown. However, since you are interested in the Ann Arbor/Dexter area, come on up and a spend some money to help spur the economy! AA (=Ann Arbor) is doing quite well.

My husband recently got a good job in ann arbor and if we can get rid of our house here in SE michigan, we'll be going to the Ann Arbor/Dexter area too. Until he started working there, we didn't realize how little affected they are by the rest of SE michigan's down turn. Their economy relies more on the education and medical fields and not on automotive.

I guess one of the few bad things that happened in AA is that Pfizer pharmaceuticals left there but the result is that the $330,000 beautiful newer homes of their employees are selling at 2/3 of their value! You can get a great house dirt cheap!

My real estate agent is based just west of AA and she's fantastic! (I've had a lot of bad agents so I know the difference.) Let me know if you want to talk to her to get some economy/real estate advice related to your move. She's very knowledgable.

(not an advertisement or anything, I'm just really pleased with all the help she's given us.)

-Tracy

[M TYPE X]

I read yesterday that the Ann Arbor residential real estate market is getting soft. Now is your time to buy.

[Meg Lesher]

Ann Arbor is probably the healthiest economy in the State of Michigan. If you have a job in hand to move here, it is a nice place to live. It has excellent schools and plenty to do. But if you can hold off buying for a year you might get a better bargain on down the road; it's likely to be even more of a buyers' market by then. Dexter is pleasant; has considerable new development though... I recall the sleepy village of my youth there; now condos, new homes and apartments are in this bedroom community. But the old Dexter Cider Mill is still kicking and a great place to go in the fall. Be wary of the commute, though and plan accordingly. Huron River Drive is not an effective road to travel between Ann Arbor and Dexter; find an alternate unless you just like the (beautiful) view. Please see my previous postings about Ann Arbor if you want more info; I wrote a lot about its neighborhoods on this site several weeks ago.

[wanderer74]

I will echo what the others have said: the Ann Arbor area is generally doing better than the rest of Michigan, though it has been hit fairly hard recently by the departure of Pfizer. It is also a very cool town, though on the expensive side by Michigan standards. If you have a "profession", you should probably be okay - by that I mean years of experience in a white-collar line of work, a field that you specifically trained for, a degree, etc. If you have just kind of done some of this and some of that, or if your background is more blue collar, you're likely to have a harder time. One special caution I would add that I didn't see others mention is that it is very important to have a college degree in Ann Arbor. Due to the presence of the university, the workforce in Ann Arbor is more educated overall, and according to friends of mine who had years of work experience and a few years of college education but no degree, I am told that you are at a distinct disadvantage there if you do NOT have at least a four-year college degree.

[magellan]

I'm usually one of the positive ones around here, but I hate to be the bearer of bad news: Ann Arbor is not the healthiest area in Michigan (not even close). There might be that "perception" because of the Google and Toyota expansions recently, but the facts don't bear that out:

Bureau of Labor Statistics Data
(these figures do not include any major Pfizer cuts yet)

Consistently declining job creation since 2001 is not "healthy" by any measure. The only areas in Michigan adding jobs consistently over the past 3 - 4 years are West of a line around M-66 (quite eerily actually). Even Muskegon is doing much better than AA.

Bureau of Labor Statistics Data

Not to say that you shouldn't move to Ann Arbor/Dexter. Just setting the record straight on several posts in this thread.

It seems like it would behoove leaders in Southeast Michigan to take notice of what is happening on the West Coast, but I'm sure their pride/stubbornness will not let them fathom such an idea.

Muskegon growing more jobs than Ann Arbor, Pshaw!!

[jeffncandace]

Originally Posted by techoncall

My wife and i are thinking of moving to MI, specificaly the Ann Arbor Dexter area.
We visited the area a few times and loved it.

From all the messages i read on these boards,all i read is about the doom and gloom in Michigan.
Is it really that bad?

Employment
housing

Any fresh honest imput would be appreciated....

The bottom line is don't make the move until you have a job lined up here. If you land the job you want and it's steady, then welcome to Michigan! Despite the doom-and-gloomers, the constant road construction, and the month of March, Michigan is a beautiful state with alot to offer you.

I was born and pretty much raised in southern California. My wife and I and our children moved out here last year, and absolutely love it here! Things aren't perfect, but Michigan is far from dead.

Good luck!