Car-free in Mount Pleasant. Will it work? (Detroit, Eagle: apartments, houses)

[AJ Granger]

Originally Posted by jeeg

I live, work and play here in Marquette. Have you been up here? Just curious that you mentioned Traverse City (where a bunch of my family live). There is just as much to do (if not more) here then there is in Traverse. The weather is fabulous year round, if you're talking the snow/cold in a negative way then you need to be in the south.
One thing that you said which I whole heartedly agree with tho (and to me is obvious if you choose to live in the U.P.) " you have to LOVE the country to live up there in my opinion." Why else would you move here? We frequently wish we had more hours in the day available to enjoy it all!

Now I'm left wondering why I bother arguing with the misconceptions people have of this place?? The worse people think it is, the less people will come!
Scratch everything positive I've ever said about this place!!! AJ Granger is absolutely correct!!!!!!!!!!!

My bad. I didn't realize you lived up there. I will defer to you then.

I have never been to Marquette. I have, however, been to the UP. Your part about, "why esle would you move here?", was my point. Just wanted to make sure the OP realized how isolated it is. The reasons some people love it are the same reasons other people could never live there. Again, different strokes for different folks. It is beautiful up in "God's country", I will give you that.

For me, MP is even too isolated(without the natural beauty of the UP). I love being outside and in nature and all that, but I also enjoy the amenities that come with a city. Which is why I am in the process of relocating to CO Springs.

Glad you like it up there. Farve is the man! Hope I didn't put TOO MUCH false information out there.

cheers!

[ogre]

Originally Posted by AJ Granger

Yeah, I guess you are right. I didn't look it up. 3.5 hours to Green Bay. 5+ hours to Traverse City. Still, you have to LOVE the country to live up there in my opinion.

I have a friend who went there to play football and he hated it. Said there are basically zero females up there(exaggeration alert!). It's real pretty up there though so I hope you like to hike(who doesn't?), because what else would you do? Oh, and you have, what, 5-6 months where the weather is ok. Otherwise people sit inside and drink. No thanks. BUT, different strokes for different folks...

Different strokes for different folks, but all this information is helpful, even with differing opinions about the same place. Seeking information on this forum is like wathcing Ebert and Roeper. Sometimes one gives the movie thumbs up and the other votes thumbs down, but even when they disagree like that, they tell you their reasons for feeling the way you do, and in the process tell you enough about the movie to give you a pretty good idea whether you'd like it. Same thing here. As people tell why they do or don't like a place, they give enough detail for others to decide whether it sounds like the kind of place that would work for them.

As for me, when school's in session I get pretty deeply involved in my academic work, without necessarily taking a lot of time for other activities, so I'm more concerned with being able to meet basic needs (which does include some basic nightlife) than anything else. If I'm close to a great variety of cultural and recreational activities, so much the better, but it's not absolutely necessary. Do love that hiking. But, as pointed out, who doesn't? Main concern about connection to the outside world from a place as set apart as the U.P. is that air fares can be a lot steeper from low-traffic airports than the big centers. But I'm doing research on the places I'm considering, so I can find out how those higher fares balance out against lower costs of living in general.

AJ, thanks a lot for info on specific high-noise areas. That's the kind of thing that helps narrow down possibilities. Also, I know something about those grad student dorms. Lived in a dorm designated for both grad students and older undergrads when I started back to school. I found the people the dorm was meant for to mostly be mature and quiet. The problem was that the dorm was open all year, so the school did things the easy way, and used that same building to house others who did not meet the stated critera, but who needed to stay on campus between semesters, such as summer school students and foreign students. Some of them were younger, and could be a problem noise-wise. But that was a school with EXTREMELY poor administration. Big part of the reason I've asked for info on how well various schools are run. It's bad being a student at a school where a shoddy administration treats the students like dirt.

Thanks again everyone. All the information here is really helping with getting a picture of different places. Take care.

[jeeg]

Originally Posted by AJ Granger

My bad. I didn't realize you lived up there. I will defer to you then.

I have never been to Marquette. I have, however, been to the UP. Your part about, "why esle would you move here?", was my point. Just wanted to make sure the OP realized how isolated it is. The reasons some people love it are the same reasons other people could never live there. Again, different strokes for different folks. It is beautiful up in "God's country", I will give you that.

For me, MP is even too isolated(without the natural beauty of the UP). I love being outside and in nature and all that, but I also enjoy the amenities that come with a city. Which is why I am in the process of relocating to CO Springs.

Glad you like it up there. Farve is the man! Hope I didn't put TOO MUCH false information out there.

cheers!

Woohoo! We politely agree to disagree Rarely see that anymore! Good luck in Colorado Springs. Been through there a few times and used to live in Denver. If you want the big city excitement and yet be short drive to some stellar outdoor recreation......... you're gonna love it!
Some of my wifes family lives just southeast of there and we'll be driving out for another visit in October.

P.S. you didn't put false information out there per sey, just common misconceptions!

Okay, back to topic!!! LOL

[Tudy]

Why don't you try central Florida? There are several schools here and the cost of living is afforable. Use the 2 wheeled type of transportation. There are area busses that have bike racks on the front so you can take the bike along. the housing situation is great here. There are so many rooms to rent or apts. to share. Think about it. We live neat FIT and it's wonderful.

[ogre]

Originally Posted by Tudy

Why don't you try central Florida? There are several schools here and the cost of living is afforable. Use the 2 wheeled type of transportation. There are area busses that have bike racks on the front so you can take the bike along. the housing situation is great here. There are so many rooms to rent or apts. to share. Think about it. We live neat FIT and it's wonderful.

Wow! People are all over the place on these forums. Who would've expected to get a suggestion about Florida at the Michigan forum. Thank you for the suggestion. I'm looking at grad schools in a number of states, including FL. I'm asking about only a few towns or cities at a time, so I don't have too many threads going at once to keep track of. My field is a non-technical area, and is not offered as a graduate program at FIT. However, U. of Florida is on my list of possibilities, possibly also Central Florida U., so I expect to have a thread that will ask about the central FL area. If you know anything about those areas, I'd be glad to have more info. Also, if you should spot my threads about towns in FL when I do start them. Thanks again for offering this suggestion. Take care.

[Michelle Sponseller]

Hi there! I justed wanted you to know that we do have public transportation here in Mt. Pleasant. ICTC (Isabella County Transportation Commission) runs service in and around Mt. Pleasant. They even have regular service to and from campus. Downtown Mt. Pleasant is 8 blocks from campus - you could ride your bike or walk to virtually anyplace you need to go.

[ntchanga]

I was a student at CMU (quite some time ago though...), did not have a car, and never had any trouble gettting around. You can walk or bike anywhere. There are plenty of options for affordable housing within walking/biking distance. There are non-traditional students there as well, so I don't think you will feel too out of place.

[ntchanga]

Oh, and I forgot to mention...

If you want to leave Mt. Pleasant for the weekend or a holiday, there are ride boards on campus. You can share a ride with somebody else going to Chicago, Detroit, up north, etc. Pretty much wherever you want to go, as long as you don't mind putting your life in another driver's hands...

[teachbeach]

I too attended CMU for undergrad, never had a car, and managed just fine for all 4 years. I remember walking to everything, using the ride board or taking Greyhound to get further out of town. Closest airport is Midland/Saginaw, but depending on where you go, Lansing may have better flights and prices. Detroit is about 2+ hours away. If you can get to East Lansing, there is a $25 bus to Detroit metro that leaves every two hours, 24 hours/day.

If you really needed a car, and are over 25, you could probably rent one somewhere in town for a day or two. There are numerous specials and quick deals on the internet travel sites.

Central used to have an older dorm reserved for graduate students who were single, and married/graduate housing as well. You could probably find out for sure if you called the housing office. There are numerous rooming houses, houses that have been converted into apartments and apartments over the businesses in the downtown area. Sometimes you can even get a house sitting job for a professor that is going out of town or on sabbatical for a year. The graduate office would be able to help you locate that. Nothing is far, it's all walkable and flat.

The main drag has all of the necessary grocery stores (WalMart). The campus health system is terrific (should you need a dose of antibiotics) and the cultural arts afforded through programs at the university are well worth the dollar you'd spend. There are quiet places to have a drink, as well as the rowdier, celebrate anything crowded bars. Good golf courses, and the physical education and fitness center would be hard to rival. Built for students, houses a terrific program for Athletic Trainers and therapists.

[odinloki1]

I lived in Mt. Pleasant for 5 years while attending CMU. Half of that time I had no car. There are plenty of apartments near campus. The Forum is cheap and run down, but a 10 minutes walk to campus. Appian way is in the same vicinity but they are 4 person apartments so you'd need roommates. There are many many other places that are within that distance and most are pretty good. You can absolutely live in Mt. P without a car, it just takes some getting used to. I am stuck in AZ right now with a car and would happily move back to Mt P without one. I would recommend getting a decent bike to get around and setting it up to carry a milk crate so you could get groceries. Its entirely doable despite what any skeptics on here say. As for airport, I'm sure that there is a taxi service that goes from Soaring Eagle Casino (which is one of the biggest in the U.S. outside of Vegas and Atlantic City) to Detroit and you could get a flight from Metro on out.

Good luck in your decision and go Chips