I need some good news to ease my doubts...

[Michigansnowflake]

PetoskEy, it has an E people!

[CortlandGirl79]

Maybe you could look for work in the Toledo, Ohio area. I'm not sure it's much better for employment, but it's very close to the MI border.

[Sunvixen]

Does he want to move back to MI to be closer to family? If not, Chicago is only about a 5 hour drive to Detroit and only about 2 hours to Grand Rapids...and maybe there are more job choices in/around the Chicago area? You could always make weekend trips to MI. IL climate is pretty similar to MI, and Chicago is on Lake Michigan. Chicago is sunnier than Detroit. MI really IS beautiful, but it can be grey for days even weeks on end. It doesn't bother lots of people, but if you are prone to depression, you may want to factor this in and either go for an occasional tan or do light therapy.

Otherwise, I agree the Western part of Michigan might be the place to go. It is more relaxed and full of nice, friendly people. But, then again, most people in MI are pretty nice folks. Spring and Autumn in the Midwest is hard to beat! Cider Mills and pumpkins!...Summers can be humid, but if you are from Houston, that shouldn't bother you too much. Much cooler near the water, quite nice actually, even when it's very hot.

[Huckleberry3911948]

as you get older friends will be more important and family will become more distant
(unless you are a permaparent) got friends in houston? 18 year investment?
survival involves turf knowledge, like cats. been here a long time, got real good at surviving here.
how good would i be at it somewheres else?

[magellan]

Originally Posted by Bunky39

as you get older friends will be more important and family will become more distant
(unless you are a permaparent) got friends in houston? 18 year investment?
survival involves turf knowledge, like cats. been here a long time, got real good at surviving here.
how good would i be at it somewheres else?

I don't think that's true at all. There is a period when family becomes more distant, especially if you have older kids that are pulling you in 20 different directions every day and every weekend. But as parents get older, especially to an age where they might need to be looked after more, then proximity to them becomes very important.

[Jenny1102]

Thanks to all of ya'll for having a voice.. I've enjoyed reading all the comments.. I think that it's apparent that we would not be coming there for the money.. We would be coming there to get out of the rat race... even if for a bit.. Now that we have two small ones.. we'd like them to get out of the city and enjoy things that aren't always bought.. Houston is full of Neighborhoods, if you want even a 1/2 acre of land then you'll have to drive atleast an 1 hour from the city.. but I think that everywhere has goods and bads... We're at a point in our lives where our views and wants have changed a bit and what was once important, has taken a back burner.. and we are more focused on our family.
My husband is from Clio..That is where his family is, though we know the jobs aren't very good on that side of the state. we would be probably start looking on the west side of the state, just from seeing the replys.. We really want it to work out, we don't want to get there and after a few months having to track back down here.. I don't mind Texas.. but I'm ready for a change for awhile..

[wanderer74]

Originally Posted by Jenny1102

Thanks to all of ya'll for having a voice.. I've enjoyed reading all the comments.. I think that it's apparent that we would not be coming there for the money.. We would be coming there to get out of the rat race... even if for a bit.. Now that we have two small ones.. we'd like them to get out of the city and enjoy things that aren't always bought.. Houston is full of Neighborhoods, if you want even a 1/2 acre of land then you'll have to drive atleast an 1 hour from the city.. but I think that everywhere has goods and bads... We're at a point in our lives where our views and wants have changed a bit and what was once important, has taken a back burner.. and we are more focused on our family.
My husband is from Clio..That is where his family is, though we know the jobs aren't very good on that side of the state. we would be probably start looking on the west side of the state, just from seeing the replys.. We really want it to work out, we don't want to get there and after a few months having to track back down here.. I don't mind Texas.. but I'm ready for a change for awhile..

Having moved from Texas (DFW) back to Michigan where I grew up, I can definitely understand what you're saying. I think that the slower pace of life here is good for kids, and wanting that for our kids was the biggest reason we moved back. We wanted to get out of the whole rat race thing as well and have some more land and not spend so much time commuting. Well, we have definitely enjoyed being out of the rat race, but it has been SO hard surviving here financially compared to how life was in TX. We are looking to get out of the state again but will never make the same mistake again of moving without a job lined up. We are now living on about 1/2 of what we made in TX but our cost of living is actually more here - we assumed it would be less but it has not been. We knew that we would take a dip in standard of living and believed it would be worth it, but definitely did not expect this much of a decline. In addition we thought being close to family would make everything worth it, but we only see them on holidays and the kids' birthdays, which has been a huge disappointment.

Obviously all families have different dynamics, and only you know what you want most out of life. But I do urge you to really think about what you hope to gain from moving here. In my experience I think I had a really idealized vision of what "home" would be like, and it hasn't lived up to that reality at all. Decide if you would still be happy if you turned out to be one of the many who is living on a low income here. Obviously if you or your husband have professional, in-demand skills and experience, your chances of doing well here are much better than if you have done some of this and some of that. My husband was working as an Operations Analyst for about $45K a year in Dallas - when he finally found a job here after 6 months of looking, it was as an accounting assistant making $24K a year. (Believe it or not, people here told him that was a *good* job too!) It is beautiful here, the pace of life is slower, the schools are better for the kids - all this is true. But you really need to ask yourself exactly how much you want it - and definitely do NOT move up here without a job lined up in advance!

[Bydand]

Very good advice Wanderer. If you do have in-demand job skills there are some very nice paying fields right now. The ones I know of are healthcare related, but there are out there if you look. From where we are right now, to West Michigan there is about a 20K INCREASE in pay for us, with me NOT having a job lined up first, just my wife. That is nice because the other costs are less in Michigan than in the North East right now, especially taxes.

Family can be the biggest disappointment anywhere I'm afraid. I found the same to be true when we moved closer to family as well before. They were established already in their routine and that didn't include my part of the family. It is worse than being someplace without any family around, because you expect to be alone every holiday and have nobody around, but when they are close and you are still alone every holiday and family event it is hurtful. We overcame that with good, true friends. Now we are coming back to West Michigan and we will have good friends waiting for us, as well as family.

[Jenny1102]

I am a little worried that the family thing would be a big dissapointment.. I was hoping to get to move very close to his family so our kids could be raised around them, but seems that their area isnt doing well. I'm really starting to have my doubts about leaving my comfort zone from here in texas. We have a pretty easy life, with great jobs that pay well. Housing here is pretty cheap compared to most parts of the US and gas prices are still pretty low. They just now hit 3.09 here today. Are there any electricians on this forum that knows that area of jobs up there?

[malamute]

Originally Posted by Jenny1102

I am a little worried that the family thing would be a big dissapointment.. I was hoping to get to move very close to his family so our kids could be raised around them, but seems that their area isnt doing well. I'm really starting to have my doubts about leaving my comfort zone from here in texas. We have a pretty easy life, with great jobs that pay well. Housing here is pretty cheap compared to most parts of the US and gas prices are still pretty low. They just now hit 3.09 here today. Are there any electricians on this forum that knows that area of jobs up there?

I have a relative who is an electrician up there -- he's doing okay but that's all. He did have a growing business at one time but it's cut back. Electricians can make their own jobs -- but then you might be on call all the time.

I once moved back to be near family and I found that everyone is always busy doing every day things and the family get-togethers happen too rarely to endure long winters, the best ones we have are outdoors -- camping trips and so on and I can get in on those without living there.

Some people love the four seasons, and they love winter activities -- which really can be a lot of fun. They don't mind the overcast days, they love that cozy feeling of being warm indoors with the cold winds howling outside.

The reason I moved back to the SW was because by the time I moved up there, everyone in the family was taking winter or spring vacations in the south -- and I was too short of money -- but I got to get quite a bit of overtime filling in for all the co-workers going south for a week or two and that kind of did it for me. I decided I preferred living where the sun shines all the time and where I don't have to worry about any heating bills.

What's right for one person isn't right for another -- you have to go with how you feel about it, what compromises to your life and your preferences you want to make. How often does the family get together - if it's only the holidays and not much else, or you find yourself house-sitting while everyone else leaves town, it might be a disappointment but it really can be hard giving up family physical closeness too -- having those housesitters and people you can count on.