[Wolfe's Seren]

My FH and I are considering moving to Traverse City. Can anyone tell me about public transportation, the arts and the job market there?

Thanks,

Seren

[TaxBait]

This site has some good economic data. You may have to dig a little but you can find nitty gritties like number of jobs in various fields, salary statistics, household income, etc.
http://www.nwmcog.org/subindex.html
In a nutshell, Traverse City has primarily a tourist/retirement economy and jobs are scarce. Expect to earn less than 2/3 what you might make in southern Michigan.
There's some public transportation but its focused more on seniors needs than a working age person. If you want to go car-less it would be best to live close to work.
Plenty of arts for the size of the town but its not Los Angeles or New York.

[darstar]

Keep driving north, the UP is where its at !.....this message..sponsored by the Yooper tourist association .

[TaxBait]

Originally Posted by darstar

Keep driving north, the UP is where its at !.....this message..sponsored by the Yooper tourist association .

I'd love too, but it took me 6 years to find a good paying job in Traverse City. Betcha dat's about impossible in da UP eh!

[upkiller]

TC is a great town, you still have to put up with the snow in the winter. the up is a dead issue. If I had a dime for every one I met who left there in the good times looking for work I would not have to work.
Its not even good deer hunting. the winters are to long and hard on the deer. not to mention the people. why do you think the people up there alwasy have ufo sitings? Lack of food. LOL

[malamute]

Originally Posted by TaxBait

I'd love too, but it took me 6 years to find a good paying job in Traverse City. Betcha dat's about impossible in da UP eh!

Traverse City is a great town if you have plenty of money. Then you can enjoy the winter with snowmobiles and trips to Florida in January or February. You can obviously enjoy the summers even more with sail boats and ski-boats. It's a great place for retirees who don't need to worry about jobs.

Not so good if you're working for lower wages because in the summer you have to deal with the tourist traffic on the way to work, and if you're working in tourism, you'll be busy in the summer, off in the winter unless you can house sit for those going south for the winter. Wages are pretty low for the lower wage people -- but not bad for the upper wage types.

[german71]

There is the bata bus and 2 cab companies which are expensive but so is everything else around here i have lived here 36 years it seems to get worse and worse every year.There is the old town playhouse but i do not know much about it.Lots of police and they get more corrupt by the day and also construction is gone down the tubes and there is very few jobs most expensive gas in the state high taxes high rent though i think it has come down a little and lake michigan is heavily polluted some weeks this past summer were not even suppose to swim in it also bad roads and alot of traffic for the roads in traverse city and the county does a horrible job clearing the roads come to traverse city on vacation leave on probation has become a common saying around here and i forgot about the stATE theatre
downtown where michael moorer often frequents i do not know if he owns it or part owner not sure on this you also have nmc college.

[german71]

Also go to recordeagle.com the traverse city paper look for jobs in the classifieds.

[Jswee]

The Arts are strongly supported in Traverse City and there are extensive cultural opportunities in the area. I'd be happy to go into greater detail if desired. There is adequate public transportation in the immediate Traverse City are but not so much in the outlying areas. Jobs, well it depends on what type of job you are looking for. Believe it or not, even in this economy there are some employers in the downtown area that are thriving. You should be able to find job opportunities in a lot of professional areas such as medical, dental, legal, insurance, etc. Btw, 45 year TC native here, so I have seen a lot of changes to this area. One of the best areas in Michigan to raise a family, IMHO.

[darstar]

Originally Posted by upkiller

TC is a great town, you still have to put up with the snow in the winter. the up is a dead issue. If I had a dime for every one I met who left there in the good times looking for work I would not have to work.
Its not even good deer hunting. the winters are to long and hard on the deer. not to mention the people. why do you think the people up there alwasy have ufo sitings? Lack of food. LOL

Could be , a little sour grapes talk around TC, EH ?...... maybe now that the area has competition for the hoards of tourists going to Petoskey, Charlevoix, and points north.......
This summer , Marquette , had a shortage of workers , in , all trades. Not just tourist related. Construction is still on the upswing, can't say that for anywhere else in the Country.........and , there are very few UFO sitings , Bigfoot , now , thats another matter , teams of investigators have been seen in the area , along , with the first wave of Snowmobilers. Winter is our big season. between dog sled racing, snowmobile tours, Ice hockey, Cross country skiing, down hill skiing,Ice carving, well , eating places are full, as are motels, and hotels. Enough , enough , I know , this thread is about TC, a nice place to have lunch, and pick a few cherries, before going North.