Help - What's wrong with Cheboygan ??? (Traverse City, Alpena: real estate, broker, travel)

[angel008a]

Cheboygan hummmm , yea rite , it dosen't deserve to have a name anymore ,or be on the map, The town may have been booming in it's day but now , The town is so dead , thier is no employment to be found , everyone walks around like in a daze , no one smiles or says hello , the people in the stores that check you out look like they have been through hell and don't smile.
All the businesses are holding on by the skin of thier teeth , more people are going hungery and lossing thier jobs everyday .
The housing situation is terriable , half the houses and businesses are falling down .Their are more people on section 8 with a waiting list of over 2 years , more people going to the food bank, and the lords kitchen for hot lunches.
The groceries are very high priced , along with taxes, and eateries (what few thier are)
The night life sux , town closes down at 7pm
The beach is not what it usta be , the water has receded way out from where the water was . the river has gown down about 4-5 feet !
Everyone seems to be depressed or stuck up.
Did notice more of a gay community, lot of women didn't look or act like women , that was shocking ,lol
No one helps anyone anymore

I grew up here and when I graduated in 82 I could not wait to get the heck out of Cheboygan , because even then , I could see that it was not a town that would survive and be a good place to raise childern or give a good education oppertunities for anyone wishing to go farther then farming, or begging for anything.When I went to the schools up thier , they were a joke , no one really cared about the education of the students , nor do they now or will they ever , because everyone is depressed and will never make much after graduation ......unless they leave Cheboygan .
I was so embarrased to bring my family back to Cheboygan , my so called ,old stomping grounds , the trip was horriable , nothing to do except Mackinaw island or mackinaw city , that was what kept us from going to crazy, that took 2 days .........wow , my husband kept asking if we had to stay the full 2 weeks , thier was just nothing to do , he was getting tired of going up and down main street,the most busy street ,ha ha , nothing changed .
My grandfather had a booming business thier in Cheboygan but even that was declining fast because of the poverty of all that lived in that town. it became more of a gathering place for stories of better times and place for warmth , and welcome faces.Then My grandfather died ,and so did the store .
I came back up in August to visit what friends and family I have left in cheboygan and they are struggling to make it ,They want to move but cant afford it. no one is buying what is trying to be sold for people to relocate .No one has the money.......
Thier are a few new businesses and new renovations , yes but .........it is still dying as a town.
I really feel bad for Cheboygan in a way but hey , they did it to themselves .To many old women in the community,not wanting to change from what I hear , making Cheboygan die.

I was one of the luckey ones who got out before it brought me down with it , I know live in Floirda and have more oppertunities for my family then I ever would have up thier . My family will thrive and be happy with lots of work and food for their bellies , and , to be what ever they want to make them happy in life .
You looking for excitement ? dont' go to Cheboygan.
but you know opinions are like a-dubble-S holes , everyone has one .
thanks for reading , and have a wonderfull day !

[angel008a]

Originally Posted by Gypsy 14

OK- I'm getting a little worried. After looking at 37 pages there is no mention- good or bad about Cheboygan. Does any one live there ? Do they have computers ? Where do the people who work in Cheboygan actually live ?

Anyone ,anyone - any input is greatly appreciated.
Thanks

The people that do live thier want out ,but can't afford to move , poverty is so bad.
people have to work more south to actually find some work , Mc Donalds? then the gas prices eat up thier bring home pay .
They do have computers but half don't really know how to use them , and the 2 computer stores in the town , I found to be with the Idiot syndrome.
I usta live thier , go back every 2-4 years to visit family and friends , will never live here again , and will darn sure not be buirried here with the rest of my family that has already passed on .
I moved several years ago , is the best thing that I ever did.
The only majior places that employe people is walmart, the paper plant and a musical insterment place that is soon to close down in the next few months , I hear . but you know how hear-says go.
Don't be worried Cheboygan was not ment to be anyway.
It was a booming river town .........the catch word ...WAS

[Northman]

I know it seems like a redundant quick fix, but what Cheboygan needs is a casino. It would provide jobs and get a little excitement stirred up over there. I don't think casinos are the answer for everything that ails Michigan by any means, but there sure aint gonna be any other businesses looking to open shop in Cheboygan anytime soon. The casinos in Petoskey and St. Ignace would probably try to block an attempt to open one there, though. I've always liked Cheboygan, wether fishing on the river, catching a flick at the Kingston, or chewing on a couple hot slices at This Old House pizzeria. It's definitely not for thrill seekers, though. Pretty sleepy town.

[Gypsy 14]

Thanks Northman. Since you are a Petoskey local- ( and others) I need your help. I am trying to find out why Harbor Springs is looking for a new school superintendent. Did he retire ? HS families -How/ Is this affecting
your childs education ? We are looking at elementary and middle school.
I found nothing listed in the local papers.

I think Petoskey would be too far for my DH to drive to work. (Cheboygan)
Although is looks like a nice town. Some friends suggested looking to live a little north east of HS. Thoughts ?

How much is gas there ? Gallon of milk ? I received some things from the Chamber of Commerce..... Many thanks for your help!

[bluebird39]

Hi there,

I moved to NE Mi about 1 1/2 years ago. Why Cheboygan? (get used to that question) Cheboygan is pretty depressed right now, as is much of the state. The North East part of the LP is especially depreseed. It's economy is very dependent on tourism, and this part of the year there's an unemployment rate of well over 10%. Cheboygan does have a small hospital, and some stores. I think most tourists go to Mackinaw City and never quite make it over to Cheboygan. I know it mainly as where people float their boats out from Burt and Mullet Lake to Lake Huron. I live about 1 1/2 hours South of there, and rarely go there. I go to Petoskey or Traverse City (or Gaylord or Grayling) for medical needs, shopping, events.

There are good schools around. Gaylord has good schools. Have you checked them out? They're right on the main interstate, and the economy isn't quite as bad as Cheboygan.

I had the same impression about Lake Huron too at first, but after exploring some, I discovered Harrisville and E Tawas. E Tawas SP has one of the most amazing beaches I've ever seen in Michigan. I went to plenty this last summer. There's also a place between Rogers City and Cheboygan that's very nice. It's a very underappreciated part of the state. One nice thing is that most tourists stay on the West side during the summer, and many of the beaches are all but empty. It's a slower pace of life for sure. Also your money goes very far when buying a house.

Here's a link to MI's state report cards on the schools: https://oeaa.state.mi.us/ayp/ I found this really helpful when looking at schools (I have 2 in elementary school).


Good luck.

[Northman]

Sorry, Gyspy, I 'm not real up to speed on what's going on in the schools because I'm still single without kids. If I hear anything I will definitely pass it along, though.

I do not recommend living on the Petoskey side of the peninsula and commuting to Cheboygan for work. My parents live in Topinabee, northeast of Petoskey on Mullet Lake, and it takes me 40 minutes to get to their place in the summer. It's another 20 minute drive up M-27 into Cheboygan from there. In the winter you can tack on an extra 20-30 minutes at least when the weather and roads are bad.

If you want to see some nice beaches on the eastern side of the LP, check out the stretch between Alpena and Ossineke on U.S. 23. My cousin and his wife have a place on Thunder Bay in Ossineke, and that beach is VERY nice! There are also some really beautiful lakes in that area, such as Long Lake and Grand Lake, both between Rogers City and Alpena.

[Northman]

....oh , and to answer a couple of your other questions, Gyspy....... I paid $2.99 yesterday for gas (regular unleaded), and paid $3.56 for a gallon of skim milk, both here in Petoskey.

[Rusty Shackleford]

I, too, live in the Petoskey-Harbor Springs area. The drive between here and Cheboygan has nice scenery in many places, and I know several people who commute it daily. That said, the route can be kind of dicey in snowy weather (road crews around here tend to do a better job at winter maintenance than their counterparts down south, but they can't be everywhere at once). The traffic toward the Petoskey end of it can be rather heavy at times, too.

The Petoskey and Harbor Springs school districts are among the best regarded in Emmet County (and homes in them tend to be priced accordingly). Since it's by far the largest in the area, the Petoskey district has one of the widest assortments of extracurriculars and electives to choose from. Harbor has some nice extras, too, like a swimming pool. As far as the Harbor superintendent's departure, he left to take a similar position downstate (in Birmingham, I think). He said he wanted the challenges that go along with running a bigger district. He's getting a decent-sized raise in the process.

[Plains10]

According to C/D statistics the unemployment rate in Cheboygan is 17.7%
I think another poster said that maybe a new casino could be an economic development idea for this portion of the NE lower peninsula of Michigan. That would make fairly good logistical sense.

[Gypsy 14]

Everyone, Thank You, Thank you for your responses.

Bluebird- the MI report card website was great. I just had greatschools.net & schoolmatters.com.
Northman & Rusty - thanks on the travel info, school info and costs.


We'll be coming up in March to really look around. One poster mentioned Gaylord, which was a place I hadn't considered. In a nutshell- we are looking for great schools, family friendly community; low crime. No more than a 1 hr commute to Cheboygan (understandably- bad weather - could add more time) DH has a truck.

BTW, could you see that it's 78 and sunny when we come up in March? I've been looking for discounted snow shoes on the Land's end/LL Bean Websites

Again, Many thanks !