[Peaceakate]

My boyfriend got into Med school in East Lansing. He has asked me and I am considering the possibility of going with him. However, I am very happy where I am (great career job, excellent, close friends and I love the area - San Francisco - I'm also no spring chicken and therefore not as adaptable as I would like to be). But then I also love him. So...I'm trying to get a better idea of what I would be moving to...the weather, how cold is cold and for how long does it stay cold? Also, if anyone works in non-profits, how are they doing in Michigan? I saw on a post here that unemployment was at 12.5%, anyone have any ideas if there's jobs out there for non-profit managers/psychotherapists? Are there lovely places to hike near East Lansing? What do people do at the weekends, what sites/places are there to visit? Are there cute neighborhoods?

Thank you so much for any/all advice.

[skylinedrive]

Hi peaceakate,

I lived in East Lansing for a year, and in Michigan my whole life, so hopefully I can help with your questions! It starts to get cold usually in October (40s) and stays cold through April, sometimes May (40s). January and February are the worst months with temps in the 10s and 20s. We always get snow - how much varies from year to year. This year it seemed like we had a lot, and we got 6 inches in the second week of April (I live about an hour north of Detroit).

I am not sure about non-profits, but it's hard to get ANY job in Michigan right now. It's likely that you will find a few openings, but the competition is stiff right now as many people are looking for work.

East Lansing is a college town, so there are a lot of restaurants, clubs/bars, shopping, etc. The downtown area is pretty fun, plus Lansing is close with more activities. There are a few nice parks where you could hike/bike, you could also hike around the MSU campus. It's nice with a lot of sidewalks. On the weekends, my husband and I usually went shopping, went to out to eat, went to concerts, went to parks, etc. You can keep busy enough, but I'm sure it's nothing compared with what San Francisco has to offer! One nice thing is there are a lot of cool events on campus that the general public can attend.

If you are prepared to put up with noisy, messy, rude college kids, then living downtown East Lansing is nice because everything is within walking distance. However, if you'd rather live in a quieter, nicer neighborhood away from the parties and such, I would check out Okemos or Haslett. These are more family oriented communities.

Hope this helps! Good luck with your decision!

[MittenDweller82]

Originally Posted by Peaceakate

My boyfriend got into Med school in East Lansing. He has asked me and I am considering the possibility of going with him. However, I am very happy where I am (great career job, excellent, close friends and I love the area - San Francisco - I'm also no spring chicken and therefore not as adaptable as I would like to be). But then I also love him. So...I'm trying to get a better idea of what I would be moving to...the weather, how cold is cold and for how long does it stay cold? Also, if anyone works in non-profits, how are they doing in Michigan? I saw on a post here that unemployment was at 12.5%, anyone have any ideas if there's jobs out there for non-profit managers/psychotherapists? Are there lovely places to hike near East Lansing? What do people do at the weekends, what sites/places are there to visit? Are there cute neighborhoods?

Thank you so much for any/all advice.

Moving from San Fransisco to E. Lansing would be in short a massive shock in may ways, and I say this not to change your mind but to be honest. Non profit is a very tough field to be employed in right now in Michigan, I recently finished my masters in Sociology (2007) and job prospects have been for the most part-non existent. Culturally, East Lansing is no where near the same league as San Fran, completely different species. Sports bars , sports bars, and more sports bars are the rule of thumb in downtown EL and Lansing. If your looking for a chic tea/coffee shop with like minded intellecutals, then I would consider Ann Arbor (did I just say that!?)

The closest you could come to California hiking would be the Pinckney recreation area, which hosts a 20 mile mountain-biking trail, lots of hiking, lakes, etc...but again is much closer to Ann Arbor. If your really have nothing to do, the Upper Peninsula is about a 4.5 hour drive to the north with hundreds of remote miles of hiking and beautiful scenery. Its unfortunate your BF didn't choose UM, Ann Arbor has a large population of west coast transplants that have grown to like it there.

I hate being negative but I would feel bad if you made a 2500 mile mistake.
I have several friends who are Dental Students at UM ( I live in Ann Arbor) who are from the west coast, and their opinions of Michigan are mixed, but most are moving back after they are through with school. My advice: Take a trip out here and decide for yourself, but given your background, the cold dark winters of Michigan would seem difficult to swallow for you when your used to sunny mid 60's and happy people.

Good Luck with your decision!

[cbmsu01]

Originally Posted by MittenDweller82

Moving from San Fransisco to E. Lansing would be in short a massive shock in may ways, and I say this not to change your mind but to be honest. Non profit is a very tough field to be employed in right now in Michigan, I recently finished my masters in Sociology (2007) and job prospects have been for the most part-non existent. Culturally, East Lansing is no where near the same league as San Fran, completely different species. Sports bars , sports bars, and more sports bars are the rule of thumb in downtown EL and Lansing. If your looking for a chic tea/coffee shop with like minded intellecutals, then I would consider Ann Arbor (did I just say that!?)

The closest you could come to California hiking would be the Pinckney recreation area, which hosts a 20 mile mountain-biking trail, lots of hiking, lakes, etc...but again is much closer to Ann Arbor. If your really have nothing to do, the Upper Peninsula is about a 4.5 hour drive to the north with hundreds of remote miles of hiking and beautiful scenery. Its unfortunate your BF didn't choose UM, Ann Arbor has a large population of west coast transplants that have grown to like it there.

I hate being negative but I would feel bad if you made a 2500 mile mistake.
I have several friends who are Dental Students at UM ( I live in Ann Arbor) who are from the west coast, and their opinions of Michigan are mixed, but most are moving back after they are through with school. My advice: Take a trip out here and decide for yourself, but given your background, the cold dark winters of Michigan would seem difficult to swallow for you when your used to sunny mid 60's and happy people.

Good Luck with your decision!

It's quite obvious where you went to school.

The weather and the job situation might be a problem. There are a lot of coffee shops (remember that East Lansing is where Biggby Coffee is headquartered, so it's not like the area is a stranger to that type of thing) for "like-minded intellectuals" (even though the OP never gives any indication of wanting this) in East Lansing, sushi places, independent shops, etc. Obviously it's not on the same scale as San Francisco, but not much is. There aren't really as many sports bars as you might think - and sports bars are everywhere, including Ann Arbor and San Francisco (I've been to them in all three cities.)

There are a fair number of local hiking options, such as Lake Lansing Park North, the River Trail, or I think even things out by the Aquatic Center. Obviously there isn't the topography that you have in California, but there's a lot of nature available in the northern part of the state.

As for the job situation, I'll say this - it's better in East Lansing than it is in most places in Michigan, but it's still worse than most of the country. If the OP decides to move, I would not do it without securing a job first (well, if the OP cares about this,) because it might be difficult. But jobs are scarce everywhere these days.

As for culture shock - it might be somewhat of one, but I think it would probably be less of one than for a majority of mid-size city areas. East Lansing is staunchly blue-stateish, progressive, and educated. It is, however, a college town - complete with wild parties and the like, so if that's not the OP's thing, it might be a good idea to avoid areas with high undergraduate student densities. Student-town relations haven't been too good, but it seems like they finally might be improving. It also can be a little boring, but if the OP needs to get away to a big city sometime, Chicago is only a 3.5-hour drive.

The weather can be cold in the winter (usually 20s and 30s, with lots of clouds and fairly frequent snowfall, although it can sometimes get colder and sometimes be milder as well.) Springtime usually is in the 40s, 50s and 60s, summers are 70s and 80s (and occasionally 90s) with some humidity, and fall is once again usually in the 40s, 50s, and 60s.

Finally, to the OP - I would agree with you here to check out the area, since it may or may not be favorable. But I felt I should offer a clear picture of what things are like in East Lansing.

[chance2jump]

Very honestly, you need to know how you can deal with not having the sunshine for several months out of the year. The cold is bitter come Jan/Feb, and the driving conditions are just as bad if you're not used to them. I have a good friend that came to MSU to finish her masters, originally from southern Cali. She can't stand the cold and the cloudiness, but her biggest beef with MI was the humidity. You all don't have it out there like the Midwest has. Culturely, MSU/E Lansing/Lansing leaves A LOT to be desired. I grew up 15mins down the road from MSU. I didn't realize how much the Lansing area lacks in culture until I moved away. The state does offer some exceptional outdoors activities, though, and I love northern MI.

[YAZ]

Don't wear maize & blue.