[burgler09]

Originally Posted by lakefrontgirl

A place with roads that arent pothole crazy and summers arent rainy all season, snow is seen every few years and only an inch at that, and the same population we have in grand rapids is in Raleigh but they have every store and fun stuff to do that we had back in the bay area and along the LA coast in Cali

Sounds like somebody never heard of the the word research...

[TiredNomad82]

Originally Posted by lakefrontgirl

Michigan isnt what it used to be and from what they say on the news its only getting worse. We now, after being here for 6 yrs are relocating to Raleigh, NC in August and I cant wait to get out of here. A place with roads that arent pothole crazy and summers arent rainy all season, snow is seen every few years and only an inch at that, and the same population we have in grand rapids is in Raleigh but they have every store and fun stuff to do that we had back in the bay area and along the LA coast in Cali.

We're moving to Chapel Hill, NC in 2 weeks.

[lakefrontgirl]

Originally Posted by burgler09

Sounds like somebody never heard of the the word research...

lol We didnt have a choice in our move, my husbands work brought us here, we had a choice of michigan or new york city, and lets be honest....ew new york city? the home of filth lol
Its just my personal experiences here havent been great much less good, I love the lake but to be honest I love city life and I dont mean clubs. I guess I just miss my big city life. It really depends on what you like to do for fun, if you like to shop then this city isnt for you. Unless I drive 3 1/2 hours to Troy or Chicago, which both are fun but the drives arent...then there isnt much here.

[burgler09]

lakefrontgirl, i didn't know you were forced upon moving, that being said GR isn't even for me lol... I'm moving in 2 months. I just thought it was odd someone who moved to grand rapids was complaing about the cold..

It's like me moving to florida and then saying I hate it because its hot.

[malamute]

China might be getting a little too cocky if they have that attitude. No one in the world shops like Americans were shopping. In European countries for example, the houses tend to have very small closets or none and just a piece of furniture to hold clothes. They tend to buy quality clothes -- which would not be made in China and they buy them to last. Much of Asia and Africa and S. America are too poor to shop the way Americans did.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by lakefrontgirl

Its much worse than you think. My husband and I moved our family here for a better life back in 2002 when they were saying this was the place to be for jobs, lower cost life style, etc.
Now...there are no jobs that pay, great companies that pay very low, we moved here from California for a better life and have had nothing but worse since we arrived. This is listed as the #2 place NOT to want to live or work. Michigan isnt what it used to be and from what they say on the news its only getting worse. We now, after being here for 6 yrs are relocating to Raleigh, NC in August and I cant wait to get out of here. A place with roads that arent pothole crazy and summers arent rainy all season, snow is seen every few years and only an inch at that, and the same population we have in grand rapids is in Raleigh but they have every store and fun stuff to do that we had back in the bay area and along the LA coast in Cali. This isnt where you want to be living. Its sad actually because the lake is pretty, altho I prefer the ocean over it anyday!

Actually, Raleigh-Cary is much bigger than Grand Rapids (about 1.1 Million for R-C compared to about 770,000 for GR metro area). Raleigh is also one of the fastest growing areas of the country, so with that growth comes the retail and amenities you are talking about. But also comes the out of control growth, water shortages (severe long-term drought), environmental destruction, endless suburbs, higher cost of living, higher home prices, traffic gridlock, hot and humid weather that goes on too long, and everything else that you get in the package.

You obviously picked the wrong place to settle down in Grand Rapids. Whether that was all you could afford, who knows, but you can't make broad generalizations about an entire metro area based on your psuedo-ghetto-esque neighborhood. Just FYI, there are bad areas in Raleigh too. This time, try to avoid them if that's not your cup o' tea.

Good luck in your adventures, and don't buy a house based on a website photo.

[Ivorytickler]

Originally Posted by lakefrontgirl

Its much worse than you think. My husband and I moved our family here for a better life back in 2002 when they were saying this was the place to be for jobs, lower cost life style, etc.
Now...there are no jobs that pay, great companies that pay very low, we moved here from California for a better life and have had nothing but worse since we arrived. This is listed as the #2 place NOT to want to live or work. Michigan isnt what it used to be and from what they say on the news its only getting worse. We now, after being here for 6 yrs are relocating to Raleigh, NC in August and I cant wait to get out of here. A place with roads that arent pothole crazy and summers arent rainy all season, snow is seen every few years and only an inch at that, and the same population we have in grand rapids is in Raleigh but they have every store and fun stuff to do that we had back in the bay area and along the LA coast in Cali. This isnt where you want to be living. Its sad actually because the lake is pretty, altho I prefer the ocean over it anyday!

There are two seasons in Michgan. Winter and road construction season. We grow BIG pot holes with our freeze thaw cycles.

This is not the place to move to right now for a better life. There are like 48 states better off than we are (whose the ultimate loser if not us?)

[Michigansnowflake]

Originally Posted by Ivorytickler

There are two seasons in Michgan. Winter and road construction season. We grow BIG pot holes with our freeze thaw cycles.

This is not the place to move to right now for a better life. There are like 48 states better off than we are (whose the ultimate loser if not us?)

Funny, we moved from Se MI to NW Mi, got out of the Auto Industry into a market that is booming and will be on over time all summer......sure made for a better life for us. We are one of the lucky ones.

[Michigansnowflake]

Excuse me, East Jordan Iron Works is going like gang busters and has more work than it can handle right now, over time galore. Nope, not every one is so lucky, and I than God every day that we are so blessed in these hard times........but dont even try to tell me that work is not going well for MY family

[Bluefly]

That's kind of disturbing that you picked "michigansonwflake" as a name and then attack "michigansnowflake" and his/her posts.

Just curious - why do people in Michigan still gripe about manufacturing? It's gone. It's not coming back. A basic understanding of capitalism and its parallels to water seeking the lowest point would make it obvious to anyone that it was only here when industrialism was young and had no infrastructure in countries where people will work for pennies a day and rape the environment because there is no regulation. As soon as quality of life starts increasing in India and China, people will demand higher wages and environmental stewardship, and then industrialism will move to the next.

Why have Pittsburgh and New York and Cleveland understood this and transitioned to other industries, yet people from Detroit (and to a lesser degree Michigan in general) blame the governor or the auto industry or whomever else while waiting for them to fix things.

Seems to me Michigan is positioned well to reap the benefits of the 5 million green collar jobs Obama plans to generate. Instead of waiting for someone to make jobs, maybe we could start building small businesses that serve the green industrial revolution (and receive start-up financing from federal programs) rather than waiting for $35 an hour jobs for high school graduates making gas guzzling trucks to come back.

When you think about it, Detroit thrived because of a few visionary entrepreneurs and many small businesses making parts and services for the auto industry created by those visionaries. Just seems like Detroit - with all its warehouse infrastructure and engineers - could serve a similar function for the "green" industry, which is much more diversified in focus and potential.

Don't attack me - just trying to find solutions so you all can stop griping.