[Bydand]

Originally Posted by crunchtime

Move to Arizona. We are hurting for good teachers.

She would rather take a job as a teachers aide and wait, than move out of state. They are doing fine where they are, and there is no reason for them to pull stakes and run away to a location she and her husband wouldn't like (neither of them do well in the heat at all).

[mewith3]

The fact is that Michigan COlleges and Universities graduate more teachers per captita than most states. There are very very few teaching jobs and many many degreed teachers.

Teachers would do better in many other states. There are other places less flat than ohio that have beautiful lakes, besides Michigan.

Marketing jobs can alsobe found in many areas. A place to consider maybe

WI - the Milwaukee area has a lot to offer and similar to Michigan excpet more jobs

[magellan]

Originally Posted by mewith3

The fact is that Michigan COlleges and Universities graduate more teachers per captita than most states. There are very very few teaching jobs and many many degreed teachers.

Teachers would do better in many other states. There are other places less flat than ohio that have beautiful lakes, besides Michigan.

Marketing jobs can alsobe found in many areas. A place to consider maybe

WI - the Milwaukee area has a lot to offer and similar to Michigan excpet more jobs

Maybe Madision, but certainly not Milwaukee. It's losing population and jobs much like Detroit is.

[littlekittens]

Beautiful state, mostly friendly people and jobs are at a premium. Gas prices, auto insurance, property taxes, state income tax, sales tax, are all among the highest in the good old USA. State government spends funding it does not have due to the job losses. In Nov the entire state gets to vote on reducing the size of MI gov and rolling back their salaries 25%. So why do you thing another 30,000 folks left Mi in Jun 2008. The MI economy is already in a depression. You might want to log onto the Detroit News, Saginaw News, Bay City News, Travis City and get a feel for whats going on in the state and you could also look at job opportunities. When jobs open there are hundreds sometimes thousands applying. Good look and hope you make the right decision.

[SHELLEY/RDH]

If you are able to find work then it is Gods country. I had to leave in '05 but would do anything to go back someday. Our dream spot would be north of grand rapids. You can work in GR and not have to drive too far N to get a large chunk of land to yourself, and water nearby usually. The salmon run is always fun. I have family up near Newaygo that moved there from Toledo. They are snow birds so there only there for nine months but their time there keeps getting extended as they get older.
Anyway I wish you luck and envy you if you can make it happen.

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by littlekittens

Beautiful state, mostly friendly people and jobs are at a premium. Gas prices, auto insurance, property taxes, state income tax, sales tax, are all among the highest in the good old USA. State government spends funding it does not have due to the job losses. In Nov the entire state gets to vote on reducing the size of MI gov and rolling back their salaries 25%. So why do you thing another 30,000 folks left Mi in Jun 2008. The MI economy is already in a depression. You might want to log onto the Detroit News, Saginaw News, Bay City News, Travis City and get a feel for whats going on in the state and you could also look at job opportunities. When jobs open there are hundreds sometimes thousands applying. Good look and hope you make the right decision.

Where to start??

Gas Prices are actually about the middle of the road same as auto insurance, property taxes, state income tax, and sales tax. They are not the highest in the nation for any of them.
The State of Michigan is ranked #27 (1 the highest burden 50 the lowest) for tax burden at 9.4% of income. The national average is 9.7%.
Michigan ranks 40th for state income tax level and 32nd for tax collections.
Sales tax we are #4 nationally. Not the highest, but close
Property tax for both state level and local level puts us at #15 nationally. High, but not the highest.
The above figures are the latest released form the Tax foundation: The Tax Foundation - Tax Research Areas > Michigan
Gas prices are the highest in the nation? Really/ tell that to somebody in California and don't forget to mention how much we are paying here. Be prepared for them to laugh right in your face and prove you wrong. Here is a link to a gas price map: USA National Gas Temperature Map We are high, but far from being the highest.

I would LOVE to see where you got the figure of 30,000 leaving in June of 2008, could you post that link please? thousands of applicants for job openings? What jobs are those for? Another link would be handy as well for that claim.

[mewith3]

Originally Posted by magellan

Maybe Madision, but certainly not Milwaukee. It's losing population and jobs much like Detroit is.

Milwaukee is doing better than here, our company also had a plant in Milwaukee area and each person got a job in the same area, can't say that for here. Madison is even better, but most places are.

[mrthemike]

We just moved to metro detroit. Rochester Hills to be exact and we love it here.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by mewith3

Milwaukee is doing better than here, our company also had a plant in Milwaukee area and each person got a job in the same area, can't say that for here. Madison is even better, but most places are.

True, maybe not as bad as Detroit. But certainly not doing well.

About 50,000 jobs lost since 2000, and still trending downward:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3053/...0df00c9b_o.jpg

Bureau of Labor Statistics Data

Madison has actually gained about 30,000 jobs since 2000 (probably transplants from Milwaukee).

http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/servlet/Surv...a_tool=XGtable

Madison is a beautiful city, and I'd choose it over Milwaukee for sure.

[Coldjensens]

The 30,000 people leaving was the figure of the total population decline for 2007. Perhaps the poster learned about this in June and so assumed that it was for June alone. Since the figure includes births and deaths, plus everyone who moved here from elsewhere, the net number of people who left is somewhat higher, but not hugely higher. That is not a huge number of people leaving, but it is ominous because it is unusual to have anything but an increase in population.

I am laughing at the highest gas prices. I spend half of my time in Southern California. Gas costs 20 to 70 cents more per gallon there (it varies). Milk costs 50 cents to over a dollar more. A cheapo hotel is pushing $100/night compared to as low as $32 in Michigan. A house in CA still costs over $500,000 compared to $1 in Michigan (more realistically $180,000 buys you a really nice house here.

Some things in Michigan are surprisingly more expensive. Basic labor is considerably higher here. Construction workers charge three times more an hour in general. Services in general are more expensive. Prices for used cars have come down more than they have here. Utilities are about the same as far as I can tell. It is hard to compare since usage is so different. Lawn care is not affordable here except for the wealthy. Thee it is almost free. (We paid about $15/month. The same company handled dozens of lawns in our neighborhood, so it was economical for them).

Property taxes are the same or higher there for a new house, but low if you owned your house for a long time. It is locked in at the purchase price/value. We paid less than $3,000/year in property tax in CA on a house that we sold for more than twice what out house here is valued at. However we pay four or five times more in property tax. On the other hand, the guy that bought our house pays about the same tax there that we pay here.

The biggest difference is real estate and space. Real estate is far far cheaper here and you get a lot more room. Here we were easily able to afford an acre of land that would have cost millions there.

By the way, lower end jobs have dried up there as well. I have a friend who is skilled in several trades. Two years ago he could pick where he wanted to work and what he wanted to do. Now he stands in line at 5:30 a.m. each morning to see if he is going to get any work each day (generally at minimum wage).