Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Michigan
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 02-24-2014, 04:32 PM
 
111 posts, read 147,363 times
Reputation: 39

Advertisements

Michigan is a beautiful state.This year`s winter does not count as for many years the summer has extended beyond even october.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 02-24-2014, 10:53 PM
 
1,636 posts, read 2,124,494 times
Reputation: 1827
Quote:
Originally Posted by fredj View Post
People are leaving Michigan because of the fact that the disease called unionism has created a festering sore called Detroit. I am sure most people of Michigan are not union thugs, but from where I am from Michigan=Detroit. Good luck getting people to move there!
1) Detroit is 140 square miles. Michigan is 96,716 square miles. So Michigan does not = Detroit. In fact, Detroit constitutes only 15% of the Metropolitan Detroit area which is quite nice.

2) Michigan is a right to work state.

3) Michigan is the 9th most populated state!

4) Go to the Soo Locks, Mackinac Island, Sleeping Bear Dunes, Presque Isle, Beaver Island, Pictured Rocks, Sand Dunes of Silver Lake, and the countless small coastal towns which dot Michigan's 3100 miles of shoreline and you might realize that Michigan doesn't need good luck. It already has good luck based on its beauty!

5) Michigan is going through a transition and it will ultimately come back strong. It has the infrastructure and most importantly it is surrounded by potable water which we will never give up.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-25-2014, 06:07 AM
 
2 posts, read 3,247 times
Reputation: 10
Thanks for the reminders of the mid-west spring and summers. I have lived in the midwest much of my life - and though I detest the winters the spring and summers....almost make it bearable. They are truly beautiful.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-25-2014, 08:15 AM
 
750 posts, read 1,430,760 times
Reputation: 1837
I love all you optimistic thinkers. Personally, this winter has done me in. I'm retired and can't deal with all the snow and can't seem to find reliable snow removal service, even paying premium prices.

My plan is to get the heck out of here as soon as I possibly can!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-26-2014, 12:35 AM
 
111 posts, read 241,013 times
Reputation: 147
This winter is no reason to look down on the mid-west... Atlanta had ice storms and their city didn't even know how to put salt on the roads!!!! Thank god the mid-western states knew what to do!!!!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-26-2014, 04:27 AM
 
Location: Past: midwest, east coast
603 posts, read 872,964 times
Reputation: 625
Jobs, jobs, jobs. People are willing to disregard the weather if they have the opportunity to earn decent money and provide for their families. Chicago, the mid-north Atlantic, and Seattle are all regions with crappy weather but are desirable locations to live.

The state was built on a blue-collar industry that was easy to re-locate, and that's exactly what happened. Michigan and Detroit's fatal flaw was not diversifying it's economy. Seattle, for example, was a one-industry town back in the day. In the '70s when Boeing wasn't doing so well people were leaving in droves. Then Microsoft came and everything changed. Now at every corner there's a big corporation headquartered, a subsidiary of another corporation, or a start-up. Michigan needs to foster innovation and move toward an economy more reliant on IT, finance, etc. Another issue is that Michigan does not have a thriving major city. Detroit has been dead for decades. People do not want to move somewhere like Michigan even if Detroit's suburbs are a good place.

I am glad that Michigan is now a Right-to-Work state. When BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, Honda, VW, etc. were looking to build their factories and big tech centers the past couple decades, they bypassed Michigan due to the UAW and other factors. This move makes Michigan more competitive. Detroit declaring bankruptcy, instating Kevyn Orr, and electing Duggan gives the city a clean slate and positive outlook for the future.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-26-2014, 07:24 AM
 
Location: West Michigan
3,119 posts, read 6,564,420 times
Reputation: 4543
Quote:
Originally Posted by jimbobb23 View Post
As an outsider moving to MI - it was not my first choice.

When I think of Michigan I see taxes are high, crime is high (where I am working), the state is in decline, and the winters are cruel.

I am moving from Texas where taxes are low and the weather is wonderful (summers are a little rough) and the economy is booming and Texas is on the rise.

But the job was right in the end so here we come. If you want people not committed to Michigan to be interested, I think serious reforms would have to be made to make the weather palatable. The west coast and many east coast places have a weather comparative advantage that makes high taxes/regulation less of a big deal. But why anyone moves to cold states that have high taxes is a mystery - or they could be like me - no better job. But I will be looking to leave the day I arrive. Who needs winters like that and high taxes when so many states have lower taxes and nicer weather where you can enjoy the beautiful outdoors more months of the year.
This is very common to hear from Texans and other southerners. It is a rallying cry that everyone down there uses, whether it is based in fact or not. I think it's just a way to put themselves on a pedestal and put down northerners, but most of them have spent basically zero time here. I take it with a grain of salt. It's almost like they come out of the womb saying "northern states are high tax, cold weather hellholes." The ironic thing is when people who make $8.00 an hour and live in a trailer in Texas say that sort of thing. Really? You're telling us how bad it is up north? You just got bitten by a scorpion and you have heat stroke and there is a tornado headed for your trailer park! For crying out loud!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-26-2014, 07:54 AM
 
Location: North Carolina
110 posts, read 168,653 times
Reputation: 172
I think it still comes down to jobs. My family moved away from MI for work, and that's what's keeping me from moving back. Look at North Dakota. They have as much winter as MI, without the fun of the Great Lakes, and they can't build housing fast enough to hold people coming in for the oil jobs. Extraction industries have their problems--if nothing else, they eventually use up the resource, or demand goes down, and the jobs go away. But that does suggest that climate's not an insurmountable barrier.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-26-2014, 09:24 AM
 
1,636 posts, read 2,124,494 times
Reputation: 1827
Jobs are the key to success. However, people should not underestimate how urban planning has a great effect. Michigan's big cities (Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, and Lansing) have countless small towns around them. Michigan can really take the lead in the country with building metro systems for its cities. Each of these cities should be regional centers of social and economic power. As Michiganders, we must look at the future based on flaws of the past with regard to urban planning. Many of these small towns lost importance with the creation of the freeways. Then came the suburbs which have no character and took away people from the core downtowns of our big cities. It makes more sense to drive a car in the suburbs than to walk or use public transportation.

However, we have to keep in mind that dynamic cities are those where people walk and where there are continuous store frontage with architectural detail. Washington DC is nice in the sense that there are many pedestrian areas outside of DC like Alexandria, Bethesda, etc. If you notice in the DC area, there is huge development of compact densely populated areas next to metro stops. Each of these areas are magnets for people as there are restaurants, shops, condos, etc. I really think that a key to successfull Michigan cities is to have a lightrail system which connects the downtowns of Grand Rapids, Kalamazaoo, Lansing and Detroit to to their satelite small towns which have small downtowns. (these rail lines already exist.) This will have such an impact for urban development in the next 50 years. Developers can build housing, shops, etc around these downtown areas and give each metropolitan area a more urban and less boring suburban feel. For those who prefer suburban and car oriented living, there will still be plenty of suburban areas.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-26-2014, 05:49 PM
 
Location: Loving life in Gaylord!
4,120 posts, read 8,862,649 times
Reputation: 3915
Quote:
Originally Posted by jimbobb23 View Post
As an outsider moving to MI - it was not my first choice.

When I think of Michigan I see taxes are high, crime is high (where I am working), the state is in decline, and the winters are cruel.

I am moving from Texas where taxes are low and the weather is wonderful (summers are a little rough) and the economy is booming and Texas is on the rise.

But the job was right in the end so here we come. If you want people not committed to Michigan to be interested, I think serious reforms would have to be made to make the weather palatable. The west coast and many east coast places have a weather comparative advantage that makes high taxes/regulation less of a big deal. But why anyone moves to cold states that have high taxes is a mystery - or they could be like me - no better job. But I will be looking to leave the day I arrive. Who needs winters like that and high taxes when so many states have lower taxes and nicer weather where you can enjoy the beautiful outdoors more months of the year.
You have a real bad attitude, and should probably stay where you are. Michigan is waaay more then just a "cold state" BTW..believe it or not some of us LOVE the cold weather months, especially here in northern Michigan. I am outside 12 months a year, and love every bit of it.
Day after day of the same old? No thanks!!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Michigan

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top