[cardwellave]

OP = original poster.

[suz7731]

Bless you cardwellave! i've been posting on a couple of message boards for years and have never heard that one!

[harriettetops]

The UP of Michigan is a beautiful place. Sure our summers are too short and our winters are too long, but it is easy to adapt. The winters are cold but absolutely breathtaking. At dawn and dusk on clear days, the snow takes on the colors of the sunsets, pink, lavender, blue - beautiful. I live in Menominee, the southernmost city in the UP. We are on the northernmost part of Green Bay - which is part of Lake Michigan. Yes, THE Green Bay as in the Packers. We are an hour north by 4 lane hiway of the city of Green Bay. Lake Michigan is a beautiful lake as is Lake Superior which is the northern border of the UP. We have everything needed here to live happy and fullfilling lives. We have festivals, a marina, wonderful library, good schools a great downtown area with a park on the lake and a bandshell, which has concerts all summer long. And in our restaurants we have great food pizza, burgers, the famous fish fries, etc. Our southern border is the Menominee river, which runs down from near Iron Mountain in the UP. Across the interstate bridge is Marinette, Wisconsin which has the bigger mall, movie theatres, and more. We are often called naive and sometimes a backwards area, however, if that means we are down to earth and not snobs, I guess we are. It is a friendly and proud area and after living in Wisconsin for my first 68 years, I am happy to call it home. Check us out!

Originally Posted by Sin7

Hello, residents of Michigan!

A friend and I currently live in Miami, Florida, and we both share a strong hatred for this place. The people, the weather, we really don't like it here. We are fairly young. I'm 22, he's 23, and we've lived here our entire lives. Frankly, we're fed up with the obligation of living somewhere we hate, and something about your state makes us all giddy, and we would really love to move up there. Thing is, we don't know ANYONE up there (my entire family lives in Miami), so we don't really have the scoop on what's happening over there. We've been doing research on your state and it seems that the UP is a nice place to start.

Financially, we're planning on saving about 10k between the two of us before we take the plunge. Our plan is to be out of Florida before Winter of 2010. We work retail jobs, so we're not really in the money. I've read it's tough to get jobs out there, but we really don't plan on making careers out of it as I'm sure most of the bloggers are referring to.

We would be happy earning just enough to get by in a 2 bedroom apartment and go it from there. Down here in Miami, a 2 bedroom apartment goes for about $1200 a month. I've visited Rent.com and did some searches, but once again, it's hard to narrow it down to a city. We'd like to be in an area with plenty of nature.

We are pretty low maintenance people. We generally stay home and play video games or watch movies, no big deal, but we don't want to live in a city where there's absolutely NOTHING to do. Going out and watching a flick and enjoying some nice live music would be grand. And we want to be very close to the coast, because as much as I hate it here, I do love the ocean.

So yeah, that's our story so far. Hopefully you readers won't brush this off as some young stupid kids' aimless dreams. Any general feedback would be greatly appreciated! Please!

[100%Michigan]

Originally Posted by Sin7

Hello, residents of Michigan! A friend and I need some help...

A friend and I currently live in Miami, Florida, and we both share a strong hatred for this place. The people, the weather, we really don't like it here. We are fairly young. I'm 22, he's 23, and we've lived here our entire lives. Frankly, we're fed up with the obligation of living somewhere we hate, and something about your state makes us all giddy, and we would really love to move up there. Thing is, we don't know ANYONE up there (my entire family lives in Miami), so we don't really have the scoop on what's happening over there. We've been doing research on your state and it seems that the UP is a nice place to start.

Financially, we're planning on saving about 10k between the two of us before we take the plunge. Our plan is to be out of Florida before Winter of 2010. We work retail jobs, so we're not really in the money. I've read it's tough to get jobs out there, but we really don't plan on making careers out of it as I'm sure most of the bloggers are referring to.

We would be happy earning just enough to get by in a 2 bedroom apartment and go it from there. Down here in Miami, a 2 bedroom apartment goes for about $1200 a month. I've visited Rent.com and did some searches, but once again, it's hard to narrow it down to a city. We'd like to be in an area with plenty of nature.

We are pretty low maintenance people. We generally stay home and play video games or watch movies, no big deal, but we don't want to live in a city where there's absolutely NOTHING to do. Going out and watching a flick and enjoying some nice live music would be grand. And we want to be very close to the coast, because as much as I hate it here, I do love the ocean.

So yeah, that's our story so far. Hopefully you readers won't brush this off as some young stupid kids' aimless dreams. Any general feedback would be greatly appreciated! Please!

A top choice of yours may be Grand Rapids, due to your interest in Art and being close to Lake Michigan. But if you would like to be in the middle of everything ( as close to all the big cities, close to three different lakes ) I would recommand Lansing ( or East Lansing )

[nycjefftrain]

This thread rocks!! I'm so glad the positive Michiganders showed up to express their feelings about this great state to an outsider. It's so rare that a nice thread like this wasn't turned into some Michigan bash fest by some bitter pill of a human being. Thanks and welcome to Michigan!!

[Misfit38]

I have lived in Michigan my entire life and I have been all over the entire state. While some areas are very pretty (mostly the northern and northwest, and Upper Pennisula) there really aren't any job opportunities in these areas. There really isn't job opportunites anywhere in Michigan. I wouldn't suggest that anyone should relocate here. We have the highest unemployment rate in the country, people are losing their homes like crazy, very VERY high taxes, and the crime is unimaginable especially in the Detroit Metro area. If you come to Michigan, please come to enjoy our spectacular northern part, rent a cabin, go fishing, but then when you go home realize that wherever you came from, you have it pretty good.

[mofromcheboygankalamazoo]

Originally Posted by Misfit38

I have lived in Michigan my entire life and I have been all over the entire state. While some areas are very pretty (mostly the northern and northwest, and Upper Pennisula) there really aren't any job opportunities in these areas. There really isn't job opportunites anywhere in Michigan. I wouldn't suggest that anyone should relocate here. We have the highest unemployment rate in the country, people are losing their homes like crazy, very VERY high taxes, and the crime is unimaginable especially in the Detroit Metro area. If you come to Michigan, please come to enjoy our spectacular northern part, rent a cabin, go fishing, but then when you go home realize that wherever you came from, you have it pretty good.

ahhh i see you want to post the same negative message in a few different places.....

[Northman]

Originally Posted by Misfit38

I have lived in Michigan my entire life and I have been all over the entire state. While some areas are very pretty (mostly the northern and northwest, and Upper Pennisula) there really aren't any job opportunities in these areas. There really isn't job opportunites anywhere in Michigan. I wouldn't suggest that anyone should relocate here. We have the highest unemployment rate in the country, people are losing their homes like crazy, very VERY high taxes, and the crime is unimaginable especially in the Detroit Metro area. If you come to Michigan, please come to enjoy our spectacular northern part, rent a cabin, go fishing, but then when you go home realize that wherever you came from, you have it pretty good.

Yeah, this person obviously has an axe to grind. I've been back in Michigan for over a year now after living in some of the "more desirable" states, and I've never been happier in my life.

You wanna come to Michigan? Then get out there and make it happen. You wanna live in a treehouse in the forests west of Newberry up in the U.P.? Then make that happen, too. This is America.......we have the freedom to accomplish anything we set out to do. Don't listen to people like Misfit38.......they aren't happy and so they want to see everyone else around them unhappy because it makes them feel better about their shortcomings. I knew about Michigan's issues when I moved back here, and they never fazed me - not for one second - because I've always known deep down that this place and the people in it are the real deal.

Trust me, the economy is bad everywhere. I'm a health care professional....one of the best fields to be in these days........and unless you're a nurse, the job openings are WAY DOWN from what they were even 5 years ago.......even in these supposed "utopias" such as Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, and Arizona. I didn't let that stop me, though...... I had a plan and I stuck to it until I found what I was looking for. If moving to Michigan is still your plan, then stick to it. I have no doubt that you'll find what you're looking for as well.

[suz7731]

Originally Posted by Northman

Yeah, this person obviously has an axe to grind. I've been back in Michigan for over a year now after living in some of the "more desirable" states, and I've never been happier in my life.

You wanna come to Michigan? Then get out there and make it happen. You wanna live in a treehouse in the forests west of Newberry up in the U.P.? Then make that happen, too. This is America.......we have the freedom to accomplish anything we set out to do. Don't listen to people like Misfit38.......they aren't happy and so they want to see everyone else around them unhappy because it makes them feel better about their shortcomings. I knew about Michigan's issues when I moved back here, and they never fazed me - not for one second - because I've always known deep down that this place and the people in it are the real deal.

Trust me, the economy is bad everywhere. I'm a health care professional....one of the best fields to be in these days........and unless you're a nurse, the job openings are WAY DOWN from what they were even 5 years ago.......even in these supposed "utopias" such as Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, and Arizona. I didn't let that stop me, though...... I had a plan and I stuck to it until I found what I was looking for. If moving to Michigan is still your plan, then stick to it. I have no doubt that you'll find what you're looking for as well.

YAY!!! nice post!

[Stephanie P]

I just wanted to share your fustration with living in the south. I was born and raised in Texas, but got to live in Gibraltar, MI for a year (due to my ex-husband's work.) I loved it!!! It was a wonderful change from the constant heat and humidity of Texas (I am outside of Houston now.)
The fall was beautiful, I loved getting to play in the snow, everyone was so friendly, and the casino in downtown was lots of fun!
I hope you do make the move; I don't think you will regret it one bit. I am hoping to move back up north myself VERY soon.
Good luck to you!