Can I make it through a Houghton winter alone? (Detroit: income, rental)

[Houghtonnnnn]

I may be offered a job and hence wil be moving to Houghton (from Detroit) in about a month, end of Aug '08, and am a little worried about the winters. I hear average snowfall is 16 feet per winter!!! My first year, I plan to rent in or near town, but what do you do if you get 3 feet in one night? How do you leave your house? Do I have to buy a snow mobile to get around? I am single, 50 years old and in relatively good health. Although I am a nature lover, enjoy winters, and look forward to getting involved in the winter activities (especially those from MTU) , are there days where you're just snowed in and can't leave unless you have a snow mobile? How much do they cost?
My friend told me a horror story about roofs caving in from the seasonal snow fall. He said that you literally see people shoveling their roofs off in the winter (sometimes with snow blowers). Is that the norm? Any clarification and/or hints on surviving my first Houghton winter would be appreciated!

[tuebor]

They get a lot of snow, but they have the equipment to deal with it. Getting around is usually not a problem. If your landlord doesn't plow your driveway or parking area, though, you'll have to do that yourself, which may mean buying a snowblower or hiring someone to do it for you. I would also recommend that you get a place within the city limits and not out in the country. The city streets get better service than the county roads and there is a rudimentary bus service in Houghton you can use if your car dies. Whether you need to shovel your roof depends on the severity of the winter and the kind of roof you have. Steep metal roofs usually shed enough snow without shoveling, and occasional warm spells may do the job for other roofs. But some roofs accumulate ice dams that need to be removed. Again, you may just have to pay somebody to do this, and there will be no shortage of folks who need the work. There are plenty of elderly people who live alone in the Keweenaw; if they can do it, you can too.

So the short answer is, go ahead and take the job.

[Houghtonnnnn]

Thanks tuebor, I sure appreciate the info. And like you said, gonna try to get a rental within the city limits. Although to date, there is only one Houghton realtor who has gotten back with me. He said the pick'ens are slim right now, but he thinks something may open up by end of August. I hope it's sooner though. School starts Sept 2 and i want to be in and settled in by then. I'm a school media specialsit.

[Great Lakes Pirate]

Congratulations on your move next month!

First off, I think you have your facts pretty much straight. We do get 16+ feet of snow every winter. A couple things about that snow, however:

- It's mostly powder, and doesn't carry the water content you see in downstate snow. So, although there is a lot of it, for the most part it isn't heavy (and therefore, not impossible to move).

- If the weather patterns line up -- brining cold Arctic air over the Lake -- well, then around the end of December, or so, the snow just keeps coming. And coming. Until mid-Feb. Maybe an inch per day, maybe 6+/day. So it's not like that 16 feet of snow comes with 16, one-foot blizzards... it accumulates kind of slowly, making it manageable.

IMO, it isn't the snow itself that makes getting out of your driveway a hassle, it's the huge mound of roadguck the plow truck spews at the end of your driveway. That stuff is hard-pack and heavy. Depending on where you live, you may want to consider a snowthrower for this job.

The road crews are very practiced and excellent at dealing with our roads. Only under the worst conditions (24 inch snowstorm) will they fall behind. Obviously, we don't have the kind of traffic you've got downstate, so there isn't a lot of vehicles in the way of plowing.

I suppose you've been up here already, right? Well then you know it is hilly -- and you might not want to rent in town on one of the N-S streets in Houghton that run up the hills.

Car-wise, I dunno if 4WD is absolutely necessary. Just something that can chew through snow, like a Jetta or Saab or Volvo or Subaru. I'd look for good ground clearance.

[Houghtonnnnn]

Great Lakes Pilot~
You done eased my mind...Thanks! I get it now, the snow is kinda like a cumulative effect; and it's builds up more slowly. YOu're right, down here it's less common to get the powdery snow; we usually get the heavier, wet stuff. Any your idea about the hilly streets is definitely something i'll keep in mind. I would have never thought of that. I think you guys out there are a God send.

[Great Lakes Pirate]

As far as rental pickin's go, it is a little tight right now. MTU enrollment has crept up a bit in the past couple of years, so more rentals are going to students. Plus, with their school starting in less than a month, a lot's been rented out already.

If you're finding dead-ends, maybe ask your employer for leads? I don't know where you'll be working, but the Copper Country ISD and MTU can be helpful in this regard.

If you really get in a bind, place an ad in the Daily Mining Gazette seeking house to rent. There about 1000 homes on the market, I'd think someone would be looking for rental income.

Best of luck, eh.

[crazyme4878]

I really wouldn't worry too much. I have a Saturn sedan and I have (unfortunately) driven through blizzards just fine, and really, that doesn't happen too much. So I'm sure what ever vehicle you have will be just fine--just take it easy.

As for snow, I made it through two blizzards last Spring (2007), living alone with a small child and a newborn. After the first, I actually had difficulty getting out of the house (the first time that has ever happened!). If I can, you can too! (By the way, if the snow is really bad, they cancel school, so its not like you will have to drive through a blizzard. Somehow I got lucky and had to drive through two in one year...)

We have a Yooper Scooper, and it works wonders, although there has been some discussion in our family on whether the original business is still making them. Well, it did work wonders. We are unfortunately now in the land of what's-a-snow-shovel!