[edee]

Hello,

We (married, late 40's, grown children; woo-hoo!) are looking for someplace with affordable housing, in proximity to an art culture, to re-locate to. After too many years away from making art, we'd like to live someplace relatively clean, (did I say affordable), inspiring, and friendly, in which to begin anew. Our new place doesn't have to be popular, just relatively safe. We're not very trendy. Historic neighborhoods/downtowns on the cusp of rebirth are very interesting to us.

What about Michigan? We've driven the length (lower) and breadth (UP) once, flown in and out of Detroit, and generally like the fact that it's surrounded by water and shoreline (and has trees). And, IOO, mid-westereners are among the friendliest people we've met anywhere. Winter doesn't bother us much; we're from the northeast US (currently in the southwest US).

Is the unemployment situation pretty dreary with all the plant closings, etc.? (We'll need to find some type of work to pay bills, taxes, buy art supplies, etc.) Or is the state re-inventing itself somewhat? It looks like the east side (thumb-side) may be less populated (no interstate along the shore).

How do, say, Port Huron and Bay City compare with other parts of the state? Any other suggestions?

Any response is appreciated. Thanks.

[mariatherese]

Hi!

I'm also an artist, born and raised in the UP, lived in Traverse City for 3 years, currently in the Detroit area. So I hope I can help!

The most artistic place, hands down, is Ann Arbor. It's beautiful. Big enough, but small enough. Affordability? I'm not sure, you'll have to check out the real estate stats. But, I don't think there are too many places in Michigan that are really bad, compared to the rest of the US. Crime? again, not sure. I've heard there are some seedy areas but IMO, after living in Detroit, it can't be bad. But don't take my word for it! I don't go there much.

Never been to Port Huron, but I hear its nice.

I tend to think the Eastern part of MI (at least the SE compared to the SW) is in fact more populated.

Not so sure about Bay City- I've not heard great things about the Saginaw area. I think the whole Flint/Saginaw/Bay city area might not be good. Flint for sure is bad, but the others... might want to check that out. I've never been there.

Now, here's an off-the-wall suggestion: Chelsea, MI. It's outside of Ann Arbor but seems to have an arts scene- it is home to Jeff Daniels' Purple Rose Theatre. It is small, quaint, and charming. Ann Arbor/Chelsea are not by the lakes, though.

Traverse City is by far my favorite place in all of MI. It is SO gorgeous there! It is small, but there are a few galleries thriving there. I went to the junior college there, majoring in art, before I transfered down here. So, I got to know many working artists in the area. It's not the ideal place for an artist to make a name for themselves, but if you are looking for a great place to live that sparks your creativity, a place with a quaint local scene that you can live out your days in peace, TC is it. It can be a tad on the pricey side but affordable, especially the outlying areas. Imagine driving by lakes the size of oceans everyday!

MI is having a tough time economically, very tough. Whether it is re-inventing itself, well, I'm not sure. Gov. Granholm would like MI to be the the state that introduces alternative fuels to the automotive industry, she wants 1,000 gas stations across MI to offer ethanol. so maybe, yes. But, it is an election year. Who knows what will happen, especially if she is not re-elected. Or even if she is, if her plans will work for the better.

But, all in all, I think the most inspiring places can be found in the UP, Traverse City/Petoskey, and Ann Arbor. There is a general saying here- the further up north you go, the nicer the people get.

[edee]

Mariatherese,

Thanks for your insight; it will certainly help narrow our search when we visit MI again.

[hanna_house]

Just to echo Mariatherese, I too have lived in several locations in Michigan and would suggest Traverse City, Petosky, Rochester Hills (where I currently reside), Port Huron, Ann Arbor and Royal Oak. I especially recommend the latter 4 if you are looking for a less harsh Winter. Overall, I have loved living in this state and after having visited many places in the US I find that it may just be the best place to live after all. It offers everything I want, most of all nice and clean mid-Western suburbs, great beaches for swimming and lots of nature to enjoy for other activities like hiking and skiing, 4 beautiful and well balanced seasons that you get to enjoy to the fullest, great shopping, tons of local events, culture and entertainment to keep you from running out of things to do (I especially love the holiday events as the Detroit area seems to go all out), and decent traffic compared to other major cities like New York, Boston Chicago etc. Another benefit to living in Michigan is being close to many other great places for weekend getaways like Chicago, Toronto, Mackinac, Cleveland, Cincinatti, Sandusky (Cedar Point), Muskegon (Michigan Advantures), and various other places up north and in the Upper Peninsula. I have been told there are great places to live around the Grand Rapids area but I suppose I would suggest avoiding Lansing and Flint in case you want to know where not to go. Best wishes to you!

[mariatherese]

i live in clawson which is right next to royal oak. royal oak is very nice but expensive and very trendy so i wouldnt recommend that one. nice to visit, but TOO nice to live there. lots of galleries, though!

[mich2fla]

Have you checked out Saugatuck, Grand Haven, Pentwater, or Ludington? All communities on the shore of Lake Michigan. Each weekend, they get plenty of Illinois visitors. It can support your type of business and there are jobs you can fall back on.

Right now Western Michigan is doing much better than the Detroit-Saginaw metro areas. Too much automotive related stuff on that side of the state. It seems many people are in the wait and see mode on what happens to the governor's race this fall.

[edee]

Thanks to everyone for your advice!

[RedWingsFan]

Michigan's economy is in the toilet right now. It's most just the automotove plants but it trickles down and the ripples are felt throughout.

[hanna_house]

Originally Posted by mariatherese

i live in clawson which is right next to royal oak. royal oak is very nice but expensive and very trendy so i wouldnt recommend that one. nice to visit, but TOO nice to live there. lots of galleries, though!

Good point about Clawson. I think that's definitely a great alternative if you find Royal Oak to be a bit pricey.

[Brent85]

I live in Midland, which is about 15miles west of Bay city. From living in the tri city area my whole life I can tell you....Saginaw is known for high crime(gangs) which really is bad this year. Bay city and saginaw have shopping, places to eat, and lots of bars. Midland is known for low crime and being family friendly, it has some things to offer, but not a lot. Being young I find it boring, but many middle aged to older people like the Midland center for the arts, Dow gardens, Downtown/Tridge area, Chippewa nature center. Anywhere around the tri city area has affordable housing, anything from $70,000-$500,000+.

The Traverse city area is very nice, I haven't been there much though.