[Brent85]

Originally Posted by Maven

I'm thinking of Midland as a retirement place with family near by. I haven't been able to find anything yet on gas/electric costs and general cost of living. Any other thoughts and observations on the Midland area would be helpful. I do know that most of the Drs. I will need will be in Bay City. I shall assume from what I read it's a "safe" area to go to? Thanks!

You'll like Midland. I've lived here my whole live, but have also visited most parts of the u.s. At 22 I think this is where I want to stay, not just because my friends and family are here, but the quality of life is good. It's known for being safe. Lately there's been a string of bank robberies, but nothing to worry about, and violent crime is virtually non existent. Also some call Midland the "city of churches". The main complaint from people here, is the lack of things to do. We have a mall, and many chain stores, restaurants, a movie theatre, art center, library, that you'll find anywhere else. The area by the mall is growing each year. Last year a new minor league baseball team started it's first season and tickets went fast. This is a family oriented town, you'll see families out riding bikes and doing things together. Also the nature center here is supposed to be expanding soon, I'm not sure what kind of things your interested in. By the tridge(where 3 rivers meet), there's music and festivals throughout the summer, a chili fesitval downtown. There's a dog park, a large community center, etc. The nice thing is it's right in the middle of the state, so going down state, or up north isn't a really long drive. There are many good neighborhoods, but a couple older run down ones too.

Cost of living is not much in my opinion, but much of Michigan is not expensive, and Midland's no different. If you rented an apartment, average would be $500-$600. A nice house can be had for $130,000. Sorry I don't know about the property tax, I haven't bought a house. Our electric/gas bill was around $200 last month I think, but it varies a little. We keep the temp at about 72.

[wanderer74]

Originally Posted by Maven

Can you give me an idea about property taxes and gas/electric rates?

Property tax rates vary depending on where you are, but generally Midland is fairly high. We are in Auburn, one of the small towns between Midland and Bay City, and taxes are high here also. We pay about $2200 a year; my sister in Midland pays more than we do. We keep our heat at 68 during the day and 60 at night, and our gas/electric bill for January was $322. (That's for gas heat, 1850 sq ft.)

Hope that helps!

Holly

[Driller1]

Originally Posted by Maven

I'm thinking of Midland as a retirement place with family near by. I haven't been able to find anything yet on gas/electric costs and general cost of living. Any other thoughts and observations on the Midland area would be helpful. I do know that most of the Drs. I will need will be in Bay City. I shall assume from what I read it's a "safe" area to go to? Thanks!

Are you thinking of living in the city, or townships?

[Maven]

Thanks driller1, my husband has contacted someone from there and they are sending his some stuff. It's always nice to here stuff from the "average guy".

[VM1138]

Bay City is the best mix of the tri-cities. But don't live IN the city. Taxes will kill you, and buying a house in the city limits locks you in there for good, you won't ever be able to sell it. So stick to apartments.

Bay City doesn't have quite the same shopping as Midland and Saginaw does, but you're within 15 minutes of both. You've got a hopping night life (and relatively safe) on Midland Street. The Riverwalk beats anything Midland or Saginaw has for a leisurely bike ride or walk, and the summer festivals beat out anything Saginaw or Midland has.

Living in South Monitor township is a good an area as any. You're only about 2-4 miles from the city limits, you get a nice mix of suburban/rural housing, quick access to I-75, and a golf course. SVSU is nearby as well.

The only areas you really need to look out for are on the East Side of town, and even those "bad areas" are pretty limited, a few blocks at most. And they're nothing like Saginaw, though some of the gangbangers there try. Most of the city is safe, and Bay City has bowlign alley's up the wazoo.

So if you're looking for bars (Bay City has the most per capita in the country or something like that), night life (Deja Vu strip club is close), and frequent spring and summer festivals, Bay City is the place for you. What it lacks (mainly, shopping) you can easily access within 15 minutes in either Midland or Saginaw.

Bangor township is another option, but one I would avoid. Essexeville is a bit farther away on the other side (East side) of town, but it's high-end and expensive. I would stay away from Auburn as it is smack dab in the middle of nowhere and has absolutely nothing to do as well as no jobs of significance. While Saginaw is sinking, Midland is stable as always, and Bay City is a city on the rise. It's steadily being cleaned up, and turned into a "mini-Midland" with new buildings, organizations, and cleanups taking place.

[wanderer74]

Originally Posted by VM1138

Bay City is the best mix of the tri-cities. But don't live IN the city. Taxes will kill you, and buying a house in the city limits locks you in there for good, you won't ever be able to sell it. So stick to apartments.

<snip>
Bangor township is another option, but one I would avoid. Essexeville is a bit farther away on the other side (East side) of town, but it's high-end and expensive. I would stay away from Auburn as it is smack dab in the middle of nowhere and has absolutely nothing to do as well as no jobs of significance. While Saginaw is sinking, Midland is stable as always, and Bay City is a city on the rise. It's steadily being cleaned up, and turned into a "mini-Midland" with new buildings, organizations, and cleanups taking place.

If Midland is "stable as always" and Bay City is becoming a "mini Midland", why not just recommend Midland? By the way, I live in Auburn and actually I think this is a great place to live. If I want nightlife, I only have to drive 15 minutes or so, but my neighborhood is safe and quiet. It's a great place for raising kids because everybody knows everybody and there's no real crime to speak of. My only real complaint about it is that it's not very diverse. Auburn to me is not in the 'middle of nowhere' but is rather the opposite; I am an equal distance from each of the Tri-Cities without having the crime of Saginaw, the blue collar character of Bay City or the high price (and slight snob factor) of Midland.

[kimnjim]

I thought the Freeland idea the best I saw so far. It's close to Bay Rd., where the action is, and safer. Growing up around Midland/Mt. Pleasant, I was always impressed by the nightly "CrimeStoppers" message about a "drive-by shooting on the such-and-such block in Saginaw". I think Midland would be too far, and not really worth the drive. I never cared much for the town, and there was always the "Dow" attitude. I went to Bullock Creek, so we were Midland's black sheep. Besides, if you are going to go THAT far from Saginaw and commute, you might as well go the extra 20 miles, and go to CMU in Mt. Pleasant. I live on the west side of the state now, so not totally sure how things are there at present, but sounds like it is about the same from the other posts I saw.

[Tiger Beer]

Very interesting. I was born in Midland, but didn't grow up there. Always been a bit curious of my birth city.

BAY CITY...what's up with all of the bars and nightlife? Where do the people come from? Why is it like that? I don't think of Bay City as a big college town, or really ANY reason whatsoever for it to be like that...what makes it like that?

ALso, as another Midland/Bay City question...are there a few ASIAN RESTAURANTS around in the area? Or Mexican even? Just curious as to the ethnic eateries in the area...

[jrmontag]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

Very interesting. I was born in Midland, but didn't grow up there. Always been a bit curious of my birth city.

BAY CITY...what's up with all of the bars and nightlife? Where do the people come from? Why is it like that? I don't think of Bay City as a big college town, or really ANY reason whatsoever for it to be like that...what makes it like that?

ALso, as another Midland/Bay City question...are there a few ASIAN RESTAURANTS around in the area? Or Mexican even? Just curious as to the ethnic eateries in the area...

Yeah there are a lot of Mexican restaurants in the Tri-City area. In Midland there's a Japanese steakhouse, Mongolian BBQ, Thai restaurant (sadly the ONLY one in the Tri-Cities), and several Chinese take-out type places....oh, and an Indian restaurant too I believe. There's also an Arabic deli-type place in Saginaw.

Only thing is there's only one of everything for the most part in the area, unlike Detroit. If you don't like the food at these places then you're going to have to travel a couple hours to get it somewhere else since there's just not that many options. It's definitely progressing though.