[MTUCache]

Three months on here in Chicago, and while things could certainly be better they're already astronomically better than they were in Detroit. Sticker-shock on the housing prices was an understatement. Taxes are pretty high, but other than that I'm pretty satisfied here. We haven't gotten back to Michigan yet, but I'm looking forward to making a trek home in a few weeks to visit the friends and family who are sticking it out.

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by MTUCache

Three months on here in Chicago, and while things could certainly be better they're already astronomically better than they were in Detroit. Sticker-shock on the housing prices was an understatement. Taxes are pretty high, but other than that I'm pretty satisfied here. We haven't gotten back to Michigan yet, but I'm looking forward to making a trek home in a few weeks to visit the friends and family who are sticking it out.

Oh yeah, as much as I love Michigan, if I had to be in a big city it would be Chicago over Detroit any day of the week. Housing prices will make you pucker a bit though .

[electric_lady]

Colorado is full of Michiganders. I lived in Denver and Aspen, and you could pretty much count on 1 out of 5 people being from Metro Detroit.

[fallingwater]

Originally Posted by kimba01

I Thing is, I don't feel depressed-I feel lost.

Does that lost feeling ever go away?

Wow, you described exactly how I feel! Im constantly asked if Im depressed. No, its not depression but well...I couldnt exactly say what it is. Now, I know...Im lost. Yep, that is the feeling.

[preferentialtreatment]

And i was wondering why so few cars on the streets?Anyone have any information on how many people are leaving this state on a daily basis.I think that too is schewed like the official unemployment figures.

[fallingwater]

Originally Posted by preferentialtreatment

And i was wondering why so few cars on the streets?Anyone have any information on how many people are leaving this state on a daily basis.I think that too is schewed like the official unemployment figures.

Not sure. I have found any real info on the internet. You can trust the unemployment figures because they only count people that are still collecting benefits. They say the rate is around 15% but I believe the true unemployment rate is much higher than that. I do know that in our last year in Michigan, my son's classroom has a dramatic drop in enrollment. He started the year with 27 classmates and finished with about 20. That was just in his classroom. The coming and going of classmates made the school year somewhat stressful.

[preferentialtreatment]

Originally Posted by fallingwater

Not sure. I have found any real info on the internet. You can trust the unemployment figures because they only count people that are still collecting benefits. They say the rate is around 15% but I believe the true unemployment rate is much higher than that. I do know that in our last year in Michigan, my son's classroom has a dramatic drop in enrollment. He started the year with 27 classmates and finished with about 20. That was just in his classroom. The coming and going of classmates made the school year somewhat stressful.

Yeah that`s what my nephew is reporting to me too.Honestly since i have been in this state for 15 years,i never seen such a drop in traffic.I was blaming it on the oil prices,but hell even back in 2004-2005 it was damn crazy.I think it`s important to know as being left in obscurity doesn`t help.

[Bydand]

You are in the wrong part of the state then. Traffic was crazy all summer, and so far it hasn't slowed down a bit here. Granted it isn't like big city traffic, but it shouldn't be giving the size of the place. It is busier than a population of 9000 would indicate. The school system my kids are in is growing as well. All the other ones in the area are having small drops in enrollment, but ours has gained students the last few years. We gained 80 this year over last so far which is a 5% increase in size.

[odinloki1]

Originally Posted by wanderer74

I grew up in MI and moved to Texas for 8 years. Got homesick and moved back to MI - was there for 6 years and in that time my husband was unemployed for a total of a year and a half. I went back to school and finished my BA last year and still couldn't find a full-time job. I couldn't even get interviews! Seven months after finishing my degree I *finally* got a local interview and job offer - for a minimum wage part time job. After talking about it every spring/summer I finally decided to come back down to TX (Dallas/Ft Worth) and see if I can get a job here, since I still have friends and connections here. I've been here 5 days and have already had 5 job interviews! I've talked with two placement agencies here and they are surprised that nobody has hired me yet because they say my skills are so advanced, and I fully expect that within the next couple weeks I'll have a job offer and be able to move down here officially.

After being in MI for 6 years and finding it impossible to get a job, I was finding it really hard to believe that it would be any better anywhere else and was starting to question whether or not I even had enough qualifications to get hired. Being down here has been AMAZING for my self-esteem. People here are telling me that the economy is slowing down here, and since I lived here in the past I can see the signs of slowdown myself, but the economy is SO MUCH better here it's unreal. It's not perfect down here, but there sure are a lot more jobs.

They're desperate for teachers down here and I'm thinking that I may try to go for alternative certification to teach next year. North Carolina needs a lot of teachers too - at least a couple people that I graduated with in MI have gotten teaching jobs there.

Me and many of my friends did what you are going through. It burned most of us out. A lot of these states are short on teachers for a reason. They treat their teachers like crap. Be careful the job you take.

After four years of desert hell in Tucson I switched careers, I'm in school in Illinois and will be back in Michigan by 2011

If you like Michigan, don't move to AZ, its the exact opposite.

[TheCatWishedThatItWasABee]

I'm originally from Harbor Springs, I went to school at MSU and GVSU...and then I moved to Liverpool, UK.