Do people really think MI is a ugly and dreary place? (Port Huron: hospitals, house)

[burgler09]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

DON'T! LA is awful. Orange COunty and San Diego are pretty nice though (but really really crowded with all of the issues thatt go with crowded). Both are great places for 20-30 Y.O.s

I'm 20 years old and I'm actually moving to Miami this August for school

[100%Michigan]

I'm proud to live in Michigan.

[ImaMichigander]

We're moving to Ohio in July and I am having a horrible time crossing the Ohio Border Barrier-- as I an a Michigander through and through.

Having been on the MI and the Ohio CD forums, people seem to rag on Michigan a lot. To me, it seems unwarranted. I'm from a Downriver Community, and have lived in this area for most of my life. We are nice people. We look out of each other. We enjoy MI for what it is. And Michigan is a beautiful state that should be celebrated!

Now, with that said, that Ohio border was tough for me to cross, for a long time. I had bad thoughts about Ohio. It's flat, it's ugly. Michigan is way better. BUT, and yes that is a big but, I have to tell you that the people that we've met in Ohio have been SPECTACULAR! The towns are nice, the housing is good, and, admittedly, the roads are better.

I take all of those good things and am trying to mesh that with 25 years of MI living.

It amazes me how many people, including family members, have commented that we are moving to Ohio and so now we'll be Buckeyes. My response is always the same. I am moving to Ohio. But I am not a tree, a chocolate covered peanut butter cookie or and Ohio State Grad. My husband and I are University of Michigan grads and Michiganders. I think that this proves that people say things, because they think they are expected to-- just as I thought I was expected to say I didn't like Ohio. I wonder if people just fill in the gaps about the things that they don't know with the snippets they do....

[A2Mich]

Actually, if you get into southern Ohio, it becomes very hilly and scenic. I don't have anything against Ohio. I used to work in Toledo. Nothing against Ohio, I just have no desire to live there. I don't really understand the whole Michigan vs Ohio thing, outside of the football rivalry. The football rivalry should be all in fun, but some people are absolutely fanatical about it. There have been times when I was in Ohio, that if people found out I was from Michigan, they would treat me like a second-class citizen, and I have seen the same thing here towards Ohio residents. It's really idiotic and juvenile....it's one thing to tease one another and say that the Buckeyes suck or the Wolverines suck, etc, and be joking about it, but I have seen people get very defensive and hostile (not violent/physical) over it.....Jeez. Why would we crack on Ohio? After all, they have Cedar Point and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame....along with the alien bodies and UFOs at WPAFB.......

[Sociologist]

Originally Posted by Cliffie

I think MI looks hideous to people who only have a mental picture of sooty old downtown Detroit. That whole chunk of the state could use a serious visual overhaul. But other areas -- wow! Standing on the tip of the UP looking across lake Superior to Canada is incredible. Kicking back on the state's West Coast beaches -- ahhhh. Hiking through the woods anywhere north of, say, Alma -- beautiful!

The people here vary, like people anywhere. A lot of them are more demoralized than usual right now, for good reasons. But I think Leno was commenting on Tim Allen's TV persona, not Michigan itself. I daresay he's never set foot here, and if he did he probably just had a layover at Metro Airport, which is not going to fill anyone with wonder.

I agree with Cliffie..while doing consulting for Marriott (in Metro Detroit), I did meet many folks from all around the country and the jokes were quite rude some brought. "Hey are we close to 8 mile?" (And I worked in Novi) Or "will we get shot going to 12 oaks mall?" I thought it was funny that most were spread through rumor of friends who had been to MI before on business. Two summers ago I traveled to Belgium with a friend, and even there the jokes were on about Detroit and Michigan. Reputation is a hard thing to change, and a lot of people see Michigan as a joke sadly.

[Brent85]

I was reading a book at Barnes and noble that some MSU professor wrote about the Michigan economy, it was very interesting. He said the up side to Michigan having a bad economy is that it has had a positive effect on the enviroment. And that if the growth of the state continued in the last few decades like it did prior to the 70's, that Michigan would have 15million people today. Imagine all the parking lots and sprawl that would come with that. So there are pro's and con's. I'd love to see the state have better infastruture, trains, etc. And of course more jobs, not excatly a boom, but slow steady job growth.

[Bluefly]

Yeah - sad but true. Not many states are progressive enough to handle economic growth without ecological devastation. Michigan has proven incapable. The moment money comes, it's a mad dash to sprawl as much as possible.

[cardwellave]

You're always going to have blighted areas in a large city. In my opinion of the 5 and a half million or so people in the metro area, is it really so bad to say that just under a million of those, who happen to live within Detroit, are in poor conditions? Most of the people in 99% of the suburbs are living in good conditions, since we have such great suburbs, and that in my opinion is not a bad ratio.

[Miborn]

I miss the sweet smell in the country air!
I miss everything being green without irrigation.
I miss massive old oak trees.
I miss Indian summer. And the explosion of color that it creates.
I miss the overall beauty of the state.
I miss the people.
I too miss the sparkle of snow on a clear crisp winter night.
I miss healthy looking deer.

[baystater]

Originally Posted by Brent85

Usually people from big cities on the east and west coast, think their better, that's old news.

It not so much that we think were better. But people here (North East) equate Michigan to Detroit and relate the general Mid-west as farm or fly-over country. Basically a lot of us are ignorant of what the area has to offer. Hey look there's a lot of misconceptions about other state/areas as well. I mean I'm a New Englander by birth. And when I hear most people talk about us. Well we (New Englander) are the considered a rude and cold people that cling to the flag of communism. And actually what funny is that all the descriptions of weather that have been used to describe MI are the same as the ones used to describe New England. Ya know Cold, Dark, Gray, and Deary for nine months out of the year and then hot as hell for 3 months. So I understand the frustration of the OP of this tread.
BTW I personally got a very short view if the Western end of the UP. And let me tell it was pretty damned spectacular. You have a real jewel up there. I just hope not too many East or West Coaster find out about it.

Originally Posted by windfarmer

When the southwest runs out of water, Michigan won't seem so "unattractive" to the rest of the country.

Actually it will be the south in general. There have been water shortages on the eastside of the south as well. I'm currently reading "the great lakes water wars" by Peter Annin. Now I already though (look at my past posts) Michigan was going to be a very important state in the future. But this book is really reinforcing that view. In fact all of the great lakes state. NY, OH, MI, WI, and to a lesser extent IN and IL will so be very desirable places to live in the not too distant future.