[knvelasquez]

looking for a fun place to live with lots of naturistic scenery. woods, hills, etc. want to fish all day long. have one small child. where to go???? origionally from chicago,il and thought about moving to wisconsin. Madison or milwaukee. what do you think

[Brother WilliamX]

Originally Posted by knvelasquez

looking for a fun place to live with lots of naturistic scenery. woods, hills, etc. want to fish all day long. have one small child. where to go???? origionally from chicago,il and thought about moving to wisconsin. Madison or milwaukee. what do you think

Knvelasquez. I have two homes that I own here in Michigan. One is here in the Metro Detroit area, due to the fact that fishing in Lake Erie is really goood during running season, and my other home is in Bay City just off of the Saginaw Bay. That's where my 37 footer is dry docked for the winter, but most of my friends is into ice fishing, and there's a small michigan community
called Anchor Bay fishing season is all year around.

So good luck with your pick.

[Piggy]

You should really consider Traverse City. It's pretty far to the north, but it's beautiful up there. There are plenty of smaller villages in the area too. The housing is very affordable, and everything you need is right there. The closer you get to Lake Michigan and the Grand Traverse Bay it starts getting a little more expensive, but you can go 20 min away and it's reasonable.

[Brother WilliamX]

Originally Posted by Piggy

You should really consider Traverse City. It's pretty far to the north, but it's beautiful up there. There are plenty of smaller villages in the area too. The housing is very affordable, and everything you need is right there. The closer you get to Lake Michigan and the Grand Traverse Bay it starts getting a little more expensive, but you can go 20 min away and it's reasonable.

Piggy Traverse City indeed is a nice Michigan town to visit or to live in. I enjoy visiting them small villages, especially right off of Lake Michigan, and the spring,summer, and fall is a beautiful sight to see. Most of the time I go up North I camp a few days and nights at Bear Lake near Petoskey. Good suggestion Piggy.

[superfly]

There are a ton of places in Northern Michigan that are great. I agree with Traverse City and Petoskey. Personally, I like Charlevoix myself.

[debbys_trip]

In the state of Michigan you can get to a lake anywheres in the state with a 20 minute drive. There are loads of great places to live from raw country living to big city living and everything in between. I love all the seasons we have here! Yes even the artic type winters. The higher up you go or closer to big lakes you go the more snow you have. So if you don't like winter much be careful of that. But it is a beautiful season! I may be a bit biased never having lived out of the state but once for a few weeks. I guess the biggest problem is having work that pays well. Every area seems to be different on that note. We have lived in some great communities but were unable to find good paying jobs that lasted. I still think we are very lucky in our state with public education although I think we are heading for very difficult times ahead with that. My children are now 13 and 16 and I am very thankful nearing the end of their public schooling. I am worried for the future kids there will be lots of cuts coming in the next few years. I still believe in our teachers though and understand that Michigan does have some of the higher paid ones. So though we may lose some I am sure lots will stay. I say as long as you can find the work you need, Michigan welcomes you!

[Catherine D]

Hi, I too am from the Chicago area. I didn't leave Chicago until I was 28 with two young boys. I raised the boys in a small town on the outskirts of the Kalamazoo/Portage area. We live on 10 acres on a small 150 acre lake (60 feet deep). it's the top of the aquifer and stocked yearly. Great schools, listed at the top in the state and not as cold as up north! As beautiful as it is up there, my father in-law used to have a home up on Lake MI in Harbor Springs, the winters are just too long! And a big plus is that it only take 2 hours and 15 minutes to get to Chicago. Also you can live rual and in 20 minutes have access to anything you need in town. Hope that helps!

One more thing....the only thing I don't like Besides having cold winters (because of lake effect, usually about 5 degrees warmer than Chicago), is the lake brings a lot of clouds, so it's gloomy. Those same clouds are why it's usually about 5 degrees warmer here in the winter than Chicago. Also it's usually about 5 degrees cooler here in the summer because of lack of pavement

[michiganmoon]

Originally Posted by knvelasquez

looking for a fun place to live with lots of naturistic scenery. woods, hills, etc. want to fish all day long. have one small child. where to go???? origionally from chicago,il and thought about moving to wisconsin. Madison or milwaukee. what do you think

I would recommend somewhere along Lake Michigan. Ludington Michigan is along Lake Michigan and Hamlin Lake - both great for fishing - plus there are plenty of nearby streams. There are also a lot of state forest and parks in the area. If you want a bit of a bigger city, check out Saint Joseph, Holland, Grand Haven or the Muskegon area.

[angelina1982]

what about lansing, or the east side?

[Angel Bear]

I'm partial to the Traverse City area. I have a cabin in the Boyne City area so I also love that area, including Charlevoix, Petoskey, and Harbor Springs. Northern Michigan is beautiful and you have lakes, skiing, and water sports