[abhimulamalla]

Check out saugatuck...MI.....(west mi 45 mins south of grand rapids).....beautiful small artsy town.....lot of art galleries....mecca for artsy people....!

[zygnoda]

The east side of the state is much more populous because of Detroit. The thumb though is not as populous. I live in port huron. The population is around 31,000. The best thing about living here is being so close to the water. Canada is also just across the river. They are redeveloping the waterfront along the river in town. But unfortunately the unemployment rate is really high here and people aren't that well educated.

[owlbay]

Overall, Michigan is a great state.
Pluses:
Nature. 10,000 lakes. 4 great lakes. 50% forest. It has more coastline than the entire Eastern Seabord and the most of any state in the continental US.
Education: Great public Universities, academically and athletically.
Many charming towns. People are generally Midwestern polite - but not all are of course.
Detroit is a big sports town.
Tourism is still big, high tech is reasonably big. The state has a number of fortune 500 companies not related to auto.


Negatives:
Troubled economy in many respects due to the autos.
Cold winters

[Wabbit]

Howdy!
The three places I would recommend are:
Traverse City, Petoskey, Saugatuck.
(At least give a Looky-Looky!)
And if those places are too pricey, Fennville
is a neat little 'Northern Exposure' type town
just a short drive from Lake Michigan that is
really becoming an artistic haven.
Here's an article.

Fennville: A Haven for the Creative Class
http://www.rapidgrowthmedia.com/feat...nnville32.aspx

[mike jones]

Traverse City, Petoskey, Saugatuck.
Pricey and Pretentious.

The Ann Arbor area is more reasonable if you are into all the artsy/political stuff.
Also the the state symbol is the "for sale" sign.
You will have no problem finding a home.

I hear governor is going to change the Welcome to Michigan sign on I-75 to read "Enter at your own risk"

[deeme]

[i]Run >>>>> stay away from MI, unless you have a head hunter beggin you for a job they have ... you will have a hard time finding a job that pays anything that offers you a future! Expect to work maybe 1 yr. & then be laid off. Or, work 6 months & the company moves to India! Then, expect months to pass before you even get an interview ... they usually get thousands of applications for any job posting!

I researched States for jobs... and MI was not in the list! Try SE Wisconsin, Colorado or Wyoming. Nebraska is crying for workers! The other States are not struggling like MI is & continues to do so.

Wisconsin uses ethanol/gas & the price is the same as it is in MI for reg. gas. I don't understand how Gov. Granholm expects using it will make an impact on MI's economy! Any improvement will take eons to turn things around there. Meanwhile, crime continues to rise & you see a lot of unhappy people. It's just sad! I never thought I'd see the state in such sad shape.