My husband and I are Re-Locating to Charlevoix MI, I have questions!!! (Traverse City: real estate)

[HotSauce]

We've been through Charlevoix a few times. It's pretty country around there. I see what the person who mentioned "big money" was talking about. I just did a little check at one site for lake front residential property in Charlevoix. The home prices ranged from $4,475,000 down to a low $2,950,000 on the first page I looked at after selecting Search MLS and then picking Charlevoix and Residential Waterfront at Mod cut: link removed

I did the same thing for a town just a little north of Charlevoix, Harbor Springs, and found the first two homes on the first page were a measly $6,500,000 and $6,000,000.

Now back to reality where the rest of us live. :-))

[Michigansnowflake]

Guess what? There is absolutely NOTHING in Harbor Springs either, no gas stations etc, etc.its not so close to Charlevoix either, all the way around the other side of Petoskey on 119...and if people can afford those beautiful houses on the Lake, whats it to you?..You cynics and nay sayers can complain all you want, I live here and its a beautiful, peaceful place. I plan on never moving away from here, certainly not back to that hell hole that is SE MI.

[darstar]

Originally Posted by Michigansnowflake

Guess what? There is absolutely NOTHING in Harbor Springs either, no gas stations etc, etc.its not so close to Charlevoix either, all the way around the other side of Petoskey on 119...and if people can afford those beautiful houses on the Lake, whats it to you?..You cynics and nay sayers can complain all you want, I live here and its a beautiful, peaceful place. I plan on never moving away from here, certainly not back to that hell hole that is SE MI.

I remember when Harbor Springs was the only place up there to go for a little R & R, day triping , shopping....kinda quaint in a wealthy sort of way. Those were the days.....

[New_Horizon]

Charlevoix is a beautiful area and so is Petoskey, lake front homes are at a premium but can be found, however finding rental properties that allow pets can be difficult.
Petoskey has more 'big-box' stores than Charlevoix but is close enough to travel to stop, for mall shopping Traverse City is about 45miles away.

Good luck with your move!

Jan

oh and PS .. Harbor Springs has 3 gas stations, not quite so off the grid as previous poster implied.

[darstar]

Originally Posted by New_Horizon

Charlevoix is a beautiful area and so is Petoskey, lake front homes are at a premium but can be found, however finding rental properties that allow pets can be difficult.
Petoskey has more 'big-box' stores than Charlevoix but is close enough to travel to stop, for mall shopping Traverse City is about 45miles away.

Good luck with your move!

Jan

oh and PS .. Harbor Springs has 3 gas stations, not quite so off the grid as previous poster implied.

Just imagine if all the Fudgies going north on I-75 , decided to get off and go over to the shore. I guess its a good thing Mackinaw Island is luring all the flip flopper's........
.

[New_Horizon]

I still havent worked out what all the fuss is about Mackinaw City, its mostly a tourist trap, the Island is pretty much the same but has the added allure of all those lovely horses n fudge.

Since a midwest magazine published a story about the tunnel of trees scenic route the M119 north has become busier but its not a through route for most locals so its not really a problem.

Overall the area is beautiful, I've lived here for 6 years now since emigrating from the UK and have to say Northern Michigan folks are very friendly and welcoming.

Jan

[HotSauce]

Originally Posted by Michigansnowflake

Guess what? There is absolutely NOTHING in Harbor Springs either, no gas stations etc, etc.its not so close to Charlevoix either, all the way around the other side of Petoskey on 119...and if people can afford those beautiful houses on the Lake, whats it to you?..You cynics and nay sayers can complain all you want, I live here and its a beautiful, peaceful place. I plan on never moving away from here, certainly not back to that hell hole that is SE MI.

Sorry, you must have misunderstood where I was coming from. I was writing more tongue in cheek than anything. Of course the wealthy have every right to enjoy the beauty of lake Michigan's shoreline. It is a beautiful lake! If one can afford to live on the lake and in a beautiful home; then good for them. I come from a pretty large family. We have very wealthy and very poor family members - and everything in between. One is not better than the other. I love them all. I surely don't have anything against being wealthy nor do I have anything against living in a beautiful home on such a beautiful lake.

One summer while we were camping a bit south of Traverse City we decided to take a drive from there up to Charlevoix, Petoskey, and Harbor Springs. They all seemed pretty close to me. I guess it all depends on your perspective.

By the way: No Lake Michigan town has a corner on the beauties of Lake Michigan's shoreline. It's a big lake and there are tons of places along the lake for all of us to enjoy!

Merry Christmas

[Doberman125]

Ferry Beach is dog friendly, as long as you have pets on a leash. I have a dobe and I have had no trouble there. There are lots of folks walking around the neighborhood (not necessarily downtown) with pets too. No dog park...I miss that from a recent move here from downstate.

Are you still looking for rental options?

[bluebird39]

I'd steer you towards Petoskey rather than Charlevoix. Petoskey has more year-round population and things to do than Charlevoix. Both are beautiful. We had a very difficult time finding a rental too when we moved here. We had one cat at the time, and are in NE Michigan (LP). I ended up calling those vacation houses and offereing them a long term deal. We ended up buying a house after renting for 2 months. Those vacation houses often don't have good heat(extremely important up here), since they're often shuttered in the winter.

Petosky has a bigger population than Charlevoix. Traverse City has an even bigger population, if that's an option. Gaylord may be an option too. It's much lower priced than the lake front towns.

I agree that Charlevoix explodes with lots of money and people in the summer. It's kind of crazy, but still nice. All of those Western MI towns explode though, so you're going to see that from Holland up to the tip of the mit.

Good luck.

[Michigansnowflake]

YEar round pop in Charlevoix is about 3,000.........plenty big enough for me. In the summer it can swell to 30,000...sure is nice when all the fudgies go home.