[heidi777]

Originally Posted by Cliffie

Right by Jonesville, and of course glamorous Moscow, MI.

thanks . . . my niece and grandnephews are up in Soo St. Marie. I have never been anywhere else in Michigan. . .

[heidi777]

Originally Posted by WheredoIlive?

LOL

I guess I will be better off becuase I am used to being poor and living on nothing. I know how to make 10 different kinds of cabbage soup, find best food pantry, make pin money on the internet...etc.

All the rich people used to different lifestyle, having to come down a few notches, will have it tougher I think.

OMG that is so true. I think it is possible to make a good life even if you don't have much money.

[heidi777]

Originally Posted by WheredoIlive?

Vermont always sounded interesting to me. Has that whole art thing going and more it seems. I probably will be staying in Michigan unless God presents me a new place to go. But I will think about this one. Vermont is a nice state from what I know about it.

I really fell in love with Vermont when I was going up all the time (from NY) to see my Dad. My friend Barbara made me think of you because she lived in senior housing (she was not disabled, tho) but she was so ACTIVE and so involved and always looking in on other seniors, volunteering and working so many different odd jobs. Bennington was one of the quaintest, nicest small towns (to me it was a small town) I have ever been to. I found the people friendly and nice and good and true when you got to know them a bit. People generally just need a chance to warm up anywhere.

Negative things can be said about anyplace, really, but I always had good experiences in Vermont and I was a true "flatlander". I wish you the best of luck whever you go.

[heidi777]

Originally Posted by WheredoIlive?

Vermont always sounded interesting to me. Has that whole art thing going and more it seems. I probably will be staying in Michigan unless God presents me a new place to go. But I will think about this one. Vermont is a nice state from what I know about it.

Vermont does have that whole art thing going on. I was going up there on a regular basis (at least 1x a month for about 4 years to see my Dad in the Vermont Veterans Home) and saw it in all seasons - just beautiful and nice people. Beautiful welcoming churches, too.

As another poster pointed out - more and more of us will have to buckle down and live on much less. I have a feeling you'll be fine wherever you land.

[PineHallGirl]

Being poor (and by all accounts, we are poor) is alot easier on the pocket book in other states, Vermont would be the last place we would move to. Vermont will tax the shirt right off your back...I remember vehicle inspection was a big deal there. No loud mufflers...which would rule out 90% of the drivers here in Michigan! Vermont is an elitist state. We had to live there and live a day-to-day existence to come to that conclusion.
When you visit the beautiful state of Vermont, you are in awe of it's quaintness and nice people in the old country stores...but LIVING there is a horse of a different color.

Yes, no one place can be all negative or all positive. Vermont just wasn't our bowl of Ben & Jerry's! Eight years of living there was enough. We were just elated to see the "Welcome to Michigan" billboard...HOME again.

[planthappy]

Originally Posted by zthatzmanz28

hehehehe...the 28 is the HAVOLINE RACE car..DAVEY ALLISON...

I too have been here in michigan since 1960...all the way through 2009.

I was here when the blizzard came.

I was here when Chrysler originated the BAILOUT

I was here when Chrysler took the bailout and bought JAPANESE steel and decimated the US STEEL industry--Like GM is doing now with the $1 billion spent in SOUTH AMERICA---I WILL NEVER BUY GM AGAIN.

I was here when Michigan first talked about diversifying from the auto industry

When Engler drove his OLDSMOBILE until he got elected..

Yes, I was here for the riots of 67...the day MIchigan's reality changed

I was here when Coleman Young disbanded S T R E S S and the streets of Detroit were never safe again.

I remember Governor Milliken start the shut down of MENTAL HEALTH and SOCIAL SERVICES and 1000s being hurt

I remember thinking in 1982 when McLouth STeel shut down and I lost my job, I would always be here in Michigan

I remember the 1990s when I couldn't find a job that allowed me to own a house or pay for an apartment moving back home to go to college to get a degree so I could have a house or pay for an apartment.

I remember graduating EMU 1995 and barely finding a job with my 4 year degree as a teacher

I remember the late 1990s when 100s of teachers were going to TEXAS, SOuth CArolina and Florida because the schools here were hurting so bad and bleeding $$

I remember taking teaching jobs where no one else wanted to go--DETROIT, PONTIAC, LOCK UP, RESIDENTIAL....

ow I will remember all this and more when I pack my bags, load my 1995 Chevy truck (the 2008 was repo'd last month) and head out to North CArolina for work..

So you see PLANTHAPPY, I do not need to ask my parents, or grandparents, because life for them was so much better than it is for me now.

Except when my dad retired from the steel mill and was told he had NO PENSION after 35 years of service because the government allowed the corporatio to stop funding it and eve BORROW against it as the industry sank and the mill was NEVER upgraded--BUT WHY WOULD HE OR ANY OTHER MANAGEMENT staff need a PENSION--but the CEO and the BOARD sure took their $5-10 MILLION payday

I even believe house speaker ANDY DILLION walked away with his own GOLDEN PARACHUTE and the mill collapsed.

I was there, like FOREST GUMP, for every historic change MICHIGAN edured from 1960-2009.

I did not mean to sound like a smart a** and apologize if I did. I hope things turn around for you and you find a good life in NC.

[heidi777]

Originally Posted by PineHallGirl

Being poor (and by all accounts, we are poor) is alot easier on the pocket book in other states, Vermont would be the last place we would move to. Vermont will tax the shirt right off your back...I remember vehicle inspection was a big deal there. No loud mufflers...which would rule out 90% of the drivers here in Michigan! Vermont is an elitist state. We had to live there and live a day-to-day existence to come to that conclusion.
When you visit the beautiful state of Vermont, you are in awe of it's quaintness and nice people in the old country stores...but LIVING there is a horse of a different color.

Yes, no one place can be all negative or all positive. Vermont just wasn't our bowl of Ben & Jerry's! Eight years of living there was enough. We were just elated to see the "Welcome to Michigan" billboard...HOME again.

I have never lived there but my friend's income was so limited - perhaps she would have been fine wherever she landed with her positive attitude, helping hand and resourceful nature. I surely see Vermont through her eyes . . . did not realize it was elitist. I definitely did not experience it that way.

I grew up poor in NYC (Staten Island) so that is my basis of comparison.

[PineHallGirl]

Originally Posted by heidi777

I have never lived there but my friend's income was so limited - perhaps she would have been fine wherever she landed with her positive attitude, helping hand and resourceful nature. I surely see Vermont through her eyes . . . did not realize it was elitist. I definitely did not experience it that way.

I grew up poor in NYC (Staten Island) so that is my basis of comparison.

Heidi, your friend sounds like a gem of a person, and so do you!

I think it is all in the eyes of the beholder...you can make yourself sick about a certain situation OR you can try to make the best of it...It just wasn't the place for us so we got new jobs in Michigan, packed our belongings, put our horses in the horse trailer and headed home. My husbands father lives there, so we get to visit...which is much better for us than living there.

[heidi777]

Originally Posted by PineHallGirl

Heidi, your friend sounds like a gem of a person, and so do you!

I think it is all in the eyes of the beholder...you can make yourself sick about a certain situation OR you can try to make the best of it...It just wasn't the place for us so we got new jobs in Michigan, packed our belongings, put our horses in the horse trailer and headed home. My husbands father lives there, so we get to visit...which is much better for us than living there.

Thank you, PineHallGirl

[Cliffie]

Originally Posted by heidi777

OMG that is so true. I think it is possible to make a good life even if you don't have much money.

I'd say it's EASIER to live a good life without much money. It forces you to keep things simple, depend on yourself, and do the kind of planning ahead that keeps your life under control.