[wrig8701]

May have a permanent job reassignment to the Upper Peninsula, specifically Watersmeet area. Am SWF, almost 50. I've read a good deal about the weather in U.P, and can be prepared for that (grew up in north Idaho mountains). But am quite nervous about spending the rest of my career in a place so seemingly unpopulated.

I researched housing in Watersmeet. Slim choices, so I expanded the search to Ironwood, Iron Mountain, Eagle River, Bruces Crossing, Rhinelander, etc. At this point I'm just bewildered. I would prefer to live in an area where there is a strong sense of community, with frequent activities or social groups, and exposure to arts & culture like theatre, instrumental performances, etc. It appears there's nothing of the sort in the western U.P. Ideally I wouldn't want to drive 30-60 minutes per day for the work commute... however, I'd do it in order to reside in area of more conveniences, both shopping and culture.

I'm open to living in Wisconsin, too. It appears most of the towns are quite small, 1000 population or so. Am just trying to determine what larger town, nearby, might be the best choice for me. Or, which smaller town I'd be happiest in.

The most important factors would be cell service, low-cost groceries, friendly neighbors that might assist if I get stuck in a snowbank or can't get out my front door if the snow blocks it shut! Next in importance is access to community activities (not bars), ladies groups, shopping, an active church, and marriage options, LOL. Quite a few Oktoberfests in parts of Wisconsin, but it seems Rhinelander doesn't do that anymore? Just looking for anything to keep me entertained. Not looking forward to 7 months of being homebound, or having to take up ice-fishing for 7 months. I don't own a snowmobile, boat, fishing pole or ATV at the moment.

Marquette sounds like the best choice but is simply too far of a daily commute to Watersmeet. Any other ideas? Thanks so much for any thoughts or options you can share!

[wrig8701]

I did just discover that the town of Iron Mountain, ~5,000 population, has numerous other small towns directly adjacent to it. So it seems to be a much larger population center than I first realized. Yet, it still IS 1.5 hrs from my daily workplace, a significant commute, especially with winter roads.

Kingsford--part of the Iron Mountain "metropolis"--ranks fairly high according to their website ranking system. I'm unsure how reliable those rankings are, though. (When I searched on my Idaho hometown area and the group of little towns that comprised it, their rankings were misguided on attributes such as weather & amenities. I know that because of my extreme familiarity with those towns.)

But I did observe that they ranked Watersmeet quite low. That jives with what I read on other websites about it.

Again, I would appreciate any comments & viewpoints about town comparisons in the western U.P. and northwoods Wisconsin. Thankyou!

[homeschooldad1]

I work about 25-30 minutes away from watersmeet and live in a neighboring county so I am very familiar with the area. Absolutely do not try to commute from Iron Mountain. Winters are rough and roads are often in poor condition before around 8am. If its affordable, I'd recommend living in Eagle River, WI or somewhere between there and the border. Otherwise, if you can't afford that area, Iron River, MI is a nice community that is relatively accepting of outsiders. Eagle River, despite its small population actually has a large exurban community so it feels more like a town of say 5,000. Rhinelander and Minocqua are both an easy driving distance from Eagle River and there is always lots to do as the area is actually quite wealthy and very nice clean place to live.

[wrig8701]

Thanks for your good suggestion. I gave Eagle River a closer look and am surprised to see they have a movie theatre, bowling, a Shopko, and a Ford dealership as well as many smaller retailers, grocers, churches, even a mattress store. Not saying the presence of a Ford dealership could sustain me through a hard winter, lol, but it's indicative of a larger population base that you mentioned. And a golf course and small airport too. Per Wikipedia, Eagle River has an ice rink/arena (fun!), and "the World Championship Snowmobile Derby held for over 50 years at an ice oval on the north side of the city." Now that's the spirit! Does the city allow folks to ride them in-town?
https://derbytrack.com/

I read there are 500 miles of snowcat trails in the county... do people cross-country ski on those trails too? I downhill, and it looks like majority of ski resorts would be in the Ironwood, MI area. Although I do see something called "Camp 10" near Rhinelander:
https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C...0!2i513!4f13.1

There seem to be several banks in Eagle River as well, although I don't recognize any of the brands.

The area does appear to be a bit out of my price range, since I'm going to attempt to keep my current house in another state too. I'll try to keep my eyes open for a rental w/ garage. Surprisingly, there only seem to be a couple rentals in each town... at least, only a couple advertised on Craigslist, realtor.com etc.

Anyway, thanks so much for your response! It led to me to discover quite a bit about Eagle River that I didn't notice during my initial searching.

[wrig8701]

Oh my goodness, per their Chamber of Commerce website, looks like Eagle River is QUITE an active community:

https://eagleriver.org/featured/
They've got activities planned for more than a year out. Lots of them. Would definitely love to see the Bunyan Fest this weekend (chainsaw carving!), but won't be in the U.P. that soon.

Even performing arts!
http://hcpapresents.com/
I didn't expect this.

And as I'm checking other Chamber websites, I've discovered that Ironwood has a stunning historic theatre: http://www.ironwoodchamber.org/members/theatre
With a BeeGees tribute band this weekend!

[craig11152]

I am certainly going to defer to homeschooldad about the area. But I am curious where you have lived since growing up in northern Idaho. I love the thought of living in the UP, which will never happen, but that sort of extremely low density living and long winters ain't for everybody.
I would hope the concerns you expressed about small town life are overblown rather than underestimated.