Moving South? It's not all it's cracked up to be (Detroit: transplants, job)

[dmetro]

I've been noticing lately that quite a lot of people have been leaving Michigan due to it's problems and many of them have been moving to the south: Georgia, North Carolina, Texas etc. Don't get me wrong, these are all fantastic places to live, and there's certainly a lot of economic growth there right now, but I just wanted to list a few problems that the south has of its own:

*Low High School Graduation Rates-

The eight states with the lowest graduation rates in the entire nation were all in the south. Here are the percentages of ninth graders in these states who graduated from high school:

South Carolina: 49.2%
Georgia: 53.6%
Florida: 55.7%
Tennessee: 56.7%
Alabama: 57.2%
Mississippi: 59.1%
Louisiana: 59.2%
North Carolina: 60.6%

Meanwhile, the high school graduation rate in Michigan was 71.5%, not the highest in the nation, but certianly higher than all of these states listed above.

*Large Percentage of Residents living in poverty:

A lot of states in the south also have poverty rates that are sky high, as listed below:

Mississippi: 18.2%
Kentucky: 15.6%
Alabama: 16.2%
Georgia: 13.1%
Arkansas: 15.6%
Louisiana: 17.3%
North Carolina: 14.4%
Texas: 16.5%

The poverty rate in Michigan was 12.2%, not perfect, but significantly lower than all of these.

*High Crime Rates:

Everyone know's that Detroit is quite dangerous. But the state of Michigan was not even in the top ten list for the most dangerous states in the country, which is listed below:

1. Nevada
2. New Mexico
3. Arizona
4. Maryland
5. Tennessee
6. South Carolina
7. Alaska
8. Florida
9. California
10. Louisiana

Michigan was number 11, but hey, it wasn't on the top 10

In conclusion, the message I wish to send is that no matter where you live, there will be problems. It's unavoidable, you just have to learn to deal with it. I'm not trying to say that the south is a bad region to live, I actually think it's very nice, I'm just saying that running away from your problems isn't always the right solution. So if you need to leave Michigan, fine. But please don't go whining to the rest of us about why you left.

[magellan]

Cue poverty map of the U.S.




But hey, as long as I can get a job there today, that's all that matters. Right?

[dmetro]

Originally Posted by magellan

Cue poverty map of the U.S.




But hey, as long as I can get a job there today, that's all that matters. Right?

I'm not saying that you shouldn't move there. If you want to, go ahead. All I'm trying to say is that no matter where you live, there will be problems. No one wants to admit it, but it's a simple fact of life.

[Rapunzll]

Originally Posted by dmetro

I'm not saying that you shouldn't move there. If you want to, go ahead. All I'm trying to say is that no matter where you live, there will be problems. No one wants to admit it, but it's a simple fact of life.

I think we're all grownups and know that no place is perfect, but there are a lot of places where the problems are smaller than what we are facing in MI at this point. I personally, don't have the patience to wait around. I've wasted enough time already.

[adler2u]

That map of poverty is for 2000, when Michigan reached its zenith, 7 years later it will look much different, we are the new hillbilly nation.

[OhioNative]

One thing to remember is that in the south, many of the states are really "two states in one." You have relatively affluent regions around the major cities like Charlotte, Atlanta, etc., filled with northern transplants and lots of money, with more rural surrounding areas that are more "southern" and poorer.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by adler2u

That map of poverty is for 2000, when Michigan reached its zenith, 7 years later it will look much different, we are the new hillbilly nation.

Sorry adler2u, but you're wrong. I already went through these exact same stats in a similar thread back a couple of months ago. In most of the counties in Michigan, the poverty rates have only shifted a percentage point or two upward since 2000 (like much of the country has), meaning all those pretty colors stayed virtually the same.

[ChairborneRanger]

I'd suggest caution in interpreting the high school graduation rates data. Typically, the data reflects graduation rates from public education systems. Because of "forced" integration, Southern states typically have many more students attending private high schools----and I suspect that if these numbers were added in----the graduation rates from high schools in the South might not be all that much different from other areas of the country. As an aside, the rationale for the existance of the "private" vs. "public" high school system(s) in the South is an entirely different question; that said, it is important to realize that there is an extensive "private" educational system in operation in the South.

[southernlady5464]

States fudging high school dropout rates or
States fudging high school dropout rates

Friday, June 24, 2005
States fudging high school dropout rates
By Kavan Peterson, Stateline.org Staff Writer

A new report on high school graduation rates sharply criticizes states for fudging statistics on dropouts and for setting "appallingly low" goals for boosting the number of students who get diplomas...

That tells me you can't trust statistics since you can make them report pretty much anything you want if you look hard enough.

Consider the amount of Amish in several states such as PA, OH, and others which do not allow ANY education beyond the 8th grade. Were those students counted in those numbers? Who knows. Liz

[adler2u]

I totaly disagre, the shift will not show up on stats this soon, 4 years ago arkansas and myrtle beach two places I have personaly seen, property was very low compared to today, and michigan was still in good times. the major shift has taken place in the last two to three years.
I don't agree that the colors are all the same.
Those colors are going to shift even more especially for michigan, you will see a poverty rate climb in southern michigan as well.