[jeeg]

Originally Posted by ShermanJoe

What was it you didn't care for in the West Branch area?

Honestly I have nothing bad to say about the area. Like I said, the west side of the state is in my blood going back many generations.

The countryside around West Branch, Mio, Oscoda, Tawas was pretty, the people were certainly nice enough...... it just wasn't "home". I'm not a fan of Bay City or Saginaw and I don't like Lake Huron near as well as Lake Michigan and especially Lake Superior.

Just piddly personal stuff, nothing to deter anyone on this forum from giving that side of the state a closer look for themselves!

[Bluefly]

My one gripe with Escanaba is it's so auto-dependent. Its main downtown strip is even rather broad and impersonal, and beyond that it's just a sprawling mess of strip malls. It's a nice area and small, but was just built poorly back when we still thought depending on the automobile to buy a gallon of milk was a good idea.

[superyouper]

I have lived in Munising, Marquette, Shingleton, Escanaba and Illinois. Escanaba is my favorite town. It has all of the positives posted by others. It has a great hospital and is an hour from marquette which has the regional hospital. The winter's are milder than anywhere north. We had more snow last year than in the previous three years. Escanaba is a friendly town. We have the Bonifas center for cultural needs. . Ice fishing is great as well as summer fishing. Bays de Noc, have yellow perch,salmon,walleye, northern pike, bass, and all other fresh water species.

There are casinos throughout the Upper Peninsula as well as the Island Resort and Casino located 13 miles west of Escanaba. They have a great golf course as well as the Escanaba area. Green Bay, Wisconsin is only 115 miles south. Two hours to the Packer stadium.

The school system is comparable to any others in the state.

I am an Escanaba resident and damn proud of it.

[ShermanJoe]

Originally Posted by superyouper

I have lived in Munising, Marquette, Shingleton, Escanaba and Illinois. Escanaba is my favorite town. It has all of the positives posted by others. It has a great hospital and is an hour from marquette which has the regional hospital. The winter's are milder than anywhere north. We had more snow last year than in the previous three years. Escanaba is a friendly town. We have the Bonifas center for cultural needs. . Ice fishing is great as well as summer fishing. Bays de Noc, have yellow perch,salmon,walleye, northern pike, bass, and all other fresh water species.

There are casinos throughout the Upper Peninsula as well as the Island Resort and Casino located 13 miles west of Escanaba. They have a great golf course as well as the Escanaba area. Green Bay, Wisconsin is only 115 miles south. Two hours to the Packer stadium.

The school system is comparable to any others in the state.

I am an Escanaba resident and damn proud of it.

Thanks for the info. Could you tell me what sort of active indoor activities are available? Indoor pools, gyms or exercise facilities, indoor skating rinks, etc.?

[wigirl920]

Originally Posted by ShermanJoe

Thanks for the info. Could you tell me what sort of active indoor activities are available? Indoor pools, gyms or exercise facilities, indoor skating rinks, etc.?

There is a YMCA. YMCA of Delta County

[ShermanJoe]

Originally Posted by wigirl920

There is a YMCA. YMCA of Delta County

Thanks! Bonus points for Escanaba. I'd really hate to lose access to something like that when we move. We hope to spend time in that area this summer to get a better idea of what kind of fit Escanabe would be for us. Yay YMCA!

[cagey cretin]

There is an Ice rink in Wells and also a huge Paper Mill that is the driving force behind an otherwise weak economy. Quiet is a good way to describe Escanaba, nice folk that mind there own business. Having the UP as your back yard is great. I always loved going out to Sac Bay in Garden theres a little county park out there thats great for families. Gardening is big time and Escanaba has a very active community garden for people who live in town and dont have the room on their own property. Delta Area Transit is Delta counties Rural transportation and if you schedule ahead of time will come to your house and pick you up and drop you wherever you wnat at a reasonable cost.

I think property taxes are high in Michigan compared to what im now paying in another state but with real estate prices down i would think so are assesments. The only person I would think who wouldnt like Escanaba is someone looking for warm weather or a party town. The UP is truly Gods country.

[ShermanJoe]

Thanks cagey cretin....but where is Wells? I tried a city-data search and couldn't find it. I'll google.
Our property taxes are high here in Ohio, so at least I'm used to it.
We ate at a restaurant in Garden where we had our first ever curds. We're currently more in grits territory, so had never heard of that.

[cagey cretin]

Wells is the twonship or town immediately to the north of Escanaba. The only thing that really distinguishes it as not being a part of Escanaba is a sign. Wells got the Paper Mill many years ago because of its location on the river and privlidged tax deal.

I live in Indiana now and I have to say that the change in climate is extreme. This is tropical compared to the UP. It always seemed to me that the bitter harshness of winter subsided somewhere around Gaylord in the LP and South of Appleton in Wisconsin. North of those areas you go from summer to winter very quickly making for long winters.