[Bydand]

Originally Posted by krock1dk

The only reason I would ever consider moving back to Michigan is if I met a girl there or got a job there. But so far leaving Michigan was a good decision. Sorry to hear about the state's severe ills.

Sometimes the best thing to do is get away for a long time, sometimes never to return. I left for many years, but always end up back in MI.

[SpaceGhost79]

Originally Posted by magellan

Here's some good news: Michigan has now left the "top 10 states for foreclosures" list. We're number #11.

That's probably only because they're running out of homes to foreclose in this state

[krock1dk]

Originally Posted by mackinac81

Really? I didn't realize it either. Good for him for promoting his (and our) home state!

Whats all this talk about Tim Allen promoting his 'home' state? He was born in Colorado. And lived in Michigan only thru his college years. And then moved to California when he became a comic and entered the Hollywood scene. He has next to nothing to do with the Wolverine state, so I dont know what the talk is about. Living in s state for a few years does not constitute it being their 'home' state.

[zthatzmanz28]

Originally Posted by SpaceGhost79

That's probably only because they're running out of homes to foreclose in this state

OUCH....honesty will get you nowhere...

[Sparrow_temp]

Keep in mind that Michigan is not homogeneous. There's a huge difference from Lansing south -- north to Mackinac --- and the UP. I suppose you can put Detroit in its own category too.

You won't see many people except those in the southern part of the state having second houses. All of the wealth/employment was created in this part of the state. The remainder of the state got trickled on. Manufacturing jobs in the northern part of the state paid less than half of those downstate for the same work with workers in the same union. The UP got even less benefit but had mining/forestry/shipping. I think most in the UP relate more to WI than the rest of MI.

The problem with MI is that as a whole it has a lot going for it but the geography/culture separate most of the population/wealth from the natural beauty. This is not the case in all states. The larger cities in the southern part of the state really have no advantage over cities in other states and now have a lot less going for them with the decline of the auto industry.

Michigan's weather is less than ideal except during the summer. I've seen it snow 11 mo's out of the year in MI with July being the only exception. My grandfather claimed he saw it snow in July once in MI and I didn't doubt him.

We have a similar number of cloudy days/days of sunshine as Seattle, WA which is below the national average even during the summer. Check the Traverse City, MI vs Seattle, WA charts on this website. And on top of it -- there's more snow, more wind, and basically more extreme/variable weather. Sure, some people like this but most don't. It's a contributing factor to why people leave the state for other climates and why MI doesn't attract more people.

The economy will always be the number one driver. If things somehow picked up in MI more than the rest of the nation -- people would come back. I don't really see how that would happen though. Parts of the state are going to be hurting for a very long time.

[mackinac81]

Originally posted by krock1dk
Whats all this talk about Tim Allen promoting his 'home' state? He was born in Colorado. And lived in Michigan only thru his college years. And then moved to California when he became a comic and entered the Hollywood scene. He has next to nothing to do with the Wolverine state, so I dont know what the talk is about. Living in s state for a few years does not constitute it being their 'home' state.

Really? I thought he was born and raised here. My bad...

[mackinac81]

Originally posted by Indentured Servant
Even during the BEST of economic times, people in the State of Michigan were beating up on Detroit and using all sorts of pejoratives to define the area. They did that here in Michigan and when they traveled, they would spread those negative perceptions around to anyone who would listen. In other words, the people of the state of Michigan have been terrible ambassadors for the state. People did not think that bashing Detroit would eventually impact them….outside of Detroit. However, Detroit is the symbol of Michigan outside of Michigan, like it or not. That is what people think about when they think of Michigan, who lives outside the Great Lakes area. So in bashing Detroit, people bashed Michigan to potential investors and residents, to potential talented workers….etc.

When I live in Atlanta, everyone seemed to be ambassadors for the city or workers for the chamber of commerce. Despite Atlanta, at that time, having a poverty rate in the top 10, it also had a crime and murder rate right up there with Detroit. It has some very deplorable looking housing projects as well. Hell, they even had the infamous child killings as part of its history. Yet, people in Georgia and Atlanta handled the cities problems a lot different than Michiganders handled the problems of its largest city. People in Atlanta, including the media and citizens, kept the focus on the positive. In Michigan, the media and the residents keep the focus on the negative. Someone forget to tell the people of Michigan about the power of positive thinking and positive suggestions. Michigan has no self confidence or swagger about itself, while places like Atlanta does……AND IT MAKES THE PLACE ATTRACTIVE!!! News flash….confidence and swagger ATTRACTS while self depreciation and a hung head is UNATTRACTIVE. Its human nature 101. Michigan should take the course.

You have a great point here. This fall I'll be heading to North Carolina to teach. But whenever I run into someone and I mention that I'm moving, they act as if I'm moving out of purgatory. Then they launch into somthing about how winter is better (Don't mind MI winters) people are friendlier (they're friendly here) and there's more stuff to do (really? ) Even if the economy were okay, I think I'd get the same reactions.

I'll like North Carolina, and I'm thankful for the job, but I'm going to REALLY miss Michigan, and I'm sad to have to leave. When I get down there, I'll be a one man marketing campaign for vacationing in Michigan, doing my part to change people's perception of the place.

[michiganbob]

Originally Posted by krock1dk

Whats all this talk about Tim Allen promoting his 'home' state? He was born in Colorado. And lived in Michigan only thru his college years. And then moved to California when he became a comic and entered the Hollywood scene. He has next to nothing to do with the Wolverine state, so I dont know what the talk is about. Living in s state for a few years does not constitute it being their 'home' state.

According to his bio on Wikipedia, Allen move to Michigan when he was 13, attend Western Michigan for a while, but then worked in the Detroit area for a number of years before moving to California. An exact date is not given for his departure, but it appears that he spent a good dozen years here.

Tim has always been a big supporter of the state and if he wants to lend his voice to those great Pure Michigan commercials, then I really don't care where he was born or exactly how many minutes he lived here. If he calls it home--even half-heartedly--then I'll take it. At this point, we need all the help we can get.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by michiganbob

According to his bio on Wikipedia, Allen move to Michigan when he was 13, attend Western Michigan for a while, but then worked in the Detroit area for a number of years before moving to California. An exact date is not given for his departure, but it appears that he spent a good dozen years here.

Tim has always been a big supporter of the state and if he wants to lend his voice to those great Pure Michigan commercials, then I really don't care where he was born or exactly how many minutes he lived here. If he calls it home--even half-heartedly--then I'll take it. At this point, we need all the help we can get.

Agreed. His whole Home Improvement show was "based" in Detroit. He talked about Detroit all the time, wore Michigan college sweatshirts, and portrayed Michigan as their home. When Grand Rapids held its West Michigan Grand Prix, he raced in it a couple of times. If he wants to claim Michigan as his "home state", why not.

Are we going to start requiring blood tests before we allow people to call Michigan their "home" now?

[sunshine girl2]

I agree with the people who posted that many Michigan residents are very negative about their own state. Since moving here from Florida for a great job a few months ago, every time anyone sees my driver's license and finds out I just moved from Florida, they say "Why on earth did you come back HERE?" After SO many people saying that to me, it's hard not to wonder the same thing. I've had to defend my decision to move here so much, and that's just to Michigan residents.

My informal survey of non-Michigan residents indicates that the weather, the horribly bad roads, longstanding unemployment issues, the Detroit mess (and the leadership behaving so strangely), and the impression that Michigan is lacking metropolitan sophistication are the biggest negatives. Remember, I'm just relaying a summary of what I heard from my non-Michigan friends... so don't shoot the messenger, please!