[D.ashley84]

My wife and I are planning to move to Traverse City in the spring. We currently live in Houston Tx and would like to be closer to my wifes family in Traverse City/Grayling, as well as away from this heat. I'm a real estate agent and she is a managing partner with a bar/restaurant group here in Houston, from my understanding these are both booming industries in Traverse as well. Has anyone here made the move from Houston(or Texas in general) to Traverse? We love the area and love the outdoor element as well, in Houston you can only be outside comfortably a few months out of the year but the economy is what has kept us here. Traverse economy is our biggest concern, the cost of living is very low there compared to what we are use to here. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[teachbeach]

Car insurance will be higher...check on that before you get here. Traverse City can be very populated during the summer months and on weekends throughout the spring and summer. The wineries in the entire Leelenau Peninsula are a huge draw to visitors and the best accommodations are in Traverse City. You'll learn the back roads easily enough, but just be aware that the stores/restaurants and beaches will be crowded at times. Traverse City is also a destination wedding area.

There is a good airport, you will take a short flight, smaller plane to either Detroit or Chicago to make your connections. Very convenient though, beats having to drive to Grand Rapids, Lansing, Flint or Detroit for a flight. There is much to see and do in the area, all types of housing (waterfront $$$$, new construction developments and the downtown charm of old TC). The job outlook is good, especially for anything in the service industry, although it may be quiet during the winter months. There are years that you may get a lot of snow, other years they get less than the mid state area, something about the little corner, Traverse Bay, the few hills etc. There is a quaint downtown shopping area, lots of wonderful restaurants, a rising craft beer and cocktail scene, as well as several malls and big box stores. Wonderful Sunday AM farmer's market and tons of apple, fruit, cherry orchards within driving distance, often with bargain prices and exceptional local produce, jams and homemade confections.

There is a huge medical center, if you need a specialist not found in TC, they'll send you to Grand Rapids or Ann Arbor. Good luck in your search/relocation.

[D.ashley84]

Thanks for the response teachbeach! I'm pretty familiar with the area, my wife's parents live on the grand traverse golf course and we're up there a few weeks out of the year. We actually got married at grand traverse resort 4 years ago. We LOVE the area, the people, and have you been to Houston? Our traffic is terrible so I'm fairly certain I can handle the tourist traffic lol. My real concern is economy and young professionals scene, I will be moving my real estate license up there and bartending while I get that moving. We will be leaving great jobs here in Houston but at the end of the day it just isn't where we want to live and since we don't have kids yet we can start over still, that's another issue, we don't want to raise kids here. I know it will be culture shock at first but I just really hope it's a good investment and that the area is showing significant growth and promise for the future

[Sparrow_temp]

In theory, TVC is a great airport. In practice, you end up waiting longer for the connecting flight than the drive from Flint or Grand Rapids would take. You also pay a price premium for that connecting flight. I still do it more often than not from Chicago but it seems like you only have a 50/50 chance of your flight not being postponed or cancelled from ORD in the winter.

Originally Posted by teachbeach

There is a good airport, you will take a short flight, smaller plane to either Detroit or Chicago to make your connections. Very convenient though, beats having to drive to Grand Rapids, Lansing, Flint or Detroit for a flight.

[michmoldman]

Traverse City is BOOMING and for good reason. Its one of the greatest little cities in the U.S year round.
We moved from there to Gaylord last year, and even though we love it here and being closer to the U.P. we really miss TC. I would move back in a heartbeat if I ever get bored of this area, but being only an hour away we are happy. We have tons of snow right now and it is awesome!
Good luck and welcome to Northern MI. Truly God's country!!

[Giesela]

Originally Posted by Sparrow_temp

In theory, TVC is a great airport. In practice, you end up waiting longer for the connecting flight than the drive from Flint or Grand Rapids would take. You also pay a price premium for that connecting flight. I still do it more often than not from Chicago but it seems like you only have a 50/50 chance of your flight not being postponed or cancelled from ORD in the winter.

I looked at trip prices from TC airport once. Yow! I think driving to Grand Rapids
is worth it if you don't have $$$