Everyones leaving, Where you all going? (Detroit, Grand Rapids: relocating, health insurance, debt)

[magellan]

Originally Posted by mifubar

memphis, what a great town, michigan sure has nothing to compare to the citys of the south, be sure to go and have some fried pickles at bb kings place on biels street. the only other place better to be is the french quarter or big easy, and all the music and food.
also long lines but graceland is a fun trip, I am not a big elvis fan, but I took my wife and we had fun.
Also many civil war battle sites. Tenn, is truly a great state. and memphis is a fun town.
I have been all over michigan and nothing there is as fun as where the blues rain as king. thank you very much.

Beat it troll (mifubar). Hanging out with a bunch of drunks stumbling over each other is fun for about a night or two. After that, parties over said the girl.

[Sociologist]

I still dont understand the humanistic approach to "more equals more" and expensive equals better. A home is a comfortable, affordable space that you enjoy and can afford. Furthermore the prospect of scrapping to pay a 350k mortgage while not living. (Ofcourse you have the house, empty of furniture and a 15 year old car), is completely insane. Compared to the rest of the western world we have the highest debt/income ratio, and the least amount of savings. Clearly we are consumed with the image of acceptance among our peers and friends. I can travel to the NW, have a vacation, come back home and pay 750 a month for my place and know that I still can afford to live a good life. I agree totally with the lure of living in areas that boast natural beauty, but it is humanity that makes that prospect very overrated. I stopped riding the stress boat long ago and don't plan to return. Hopping across country to see your pay increase 20k and suddenly realizing it really is eaten up by the increased cost of eggs and milk is silly.

[linda37]

We for one will not live in a car with our two little ones and a dog. We will be moving to Texas.We finished school and can't find sht here. In my career I will be making $2-$3 more hubby will make $5more. Housing is cheaper,granted no state tx and taxes on houses are higher.Schools are cheaper,people are nicer,way of living is better. Because my little ones are under 5yrs old and we don't have to worry about selling our home. It is a perfect opt to get the heck out of Mich. It will take Mich at least 10yrs to get out of this slump. 4yrs for Jenny to get out of office,4yrs for new Gov to fix Jenny's problems then 2yrs to slowly crawl out of it. That's to long to wait and we're done with school now want to use our skills and live.
Good luck to the ones that are staying and God speed to the ones that are leaving.
Linda

[TracyLynnS]

My husband lost his job of 17 years in a car dealership service department. The 2nd generation inherited daddy's multiple car dealerships and promptly mis-managed everyone of them out of business. We tried to relocate outside of MI but during our job hunt, my husband accidentally snagged a great position in Ann Arbor. Now, the commute is 3 hours a day round trip and our house is up for sale so we can move closer to work. Blah......

[bwcsmith]

Originally Posted by sunchzer0

Hi, I'm a Journeyman Electrician here in MI and I can't seem to find any work. I have a lot of other friends in the trades that are having the same problem. And I've noticed a lot of people moving out of dodge before this economy gets any worse. Don't get me wrong, I love MI, was born and raised, but I can't stand the struggles anymore. My question is where are you all going? Tell me your story to help me write mine. Where you moved to or are planning to move. What you do for a living. Whats the job/housing outlook where your going? Cost of living etc. Thanks for your help in finding my family a better life. Any information is helpful.

Just moved to Portland, OR with spouse and child.
No family out here.

Beautiful, but very liberal.
We are an hour east of the coast (gorgeous) and an hour west of Mt. Hood (gorgeous, gorgeous).
Spouse got out of automotive (engineering) to go into heavy trucking engineering.
Took the leap, as we felt led to do so. God provides!

Cost of living is higher, housing is expensive and you get NO yard!

There is a variety of homeless people out here, no kidding.

But the suburbs are nice. Reminds me of a mixture of Livonia, Novi, Ann Arbor in a way, if that makes any sense.

All the best.

[misucks]

The more I read in these "leaving MI" threads, the more I see the same people bashing others for wanting a better life, outside of MI. What right do you have to tell others how horrible they are for doing what's best for their family? If you are happy here.. GREAT! My family moved back to MI when I was 12 from NV. At that time my father was brick layer/ construction worker in Las Vegas. And whats now one of the largest growing cities with over 1000 ppl per mo. moving there, was NOT a growing city in 1988! At that time Flint was where our extended family was, and ties to the big 3 which was hiring at the time. My parents also assumed this was a better place to raise 3 girls than "sin city". HA! I live just outside the Flint city limit, where crime data says we rate a 2 and the national average is a 5... I live 1 mile from the city, which has a 6 crime rating! I have even seen a person being shot at while driving home from the gas station! Why is the crime so high here now... NO JOBS. Everything else is a result of the poor economy. The cost of living in a low crime area are the same as living in another state where the states average is low in crime, not just the way out in nowwhere town you have to live in here!
We are out of here by summer next year. If you have seen my other posts from today, you will know we are going to FL. I just joined today, but have been reading these forums for almost a year now. When you can look in local newspapers and there are several hundred to several thousand jobs in any given area in FL, and only 50-100 in 30 miles of your own city... I work as a pt. coordinator for a dental office. After my co. downsized and closed several offices in 2005, it took me over a year to get another job in the same field. (with 7 yrs exp. I am making LESS than the first year I worked in this field) This was after 100 resumes (even to co. not hiring) dozens of interviews, the ones I managed to get, tough when they let you know at least 50 ppl applied for the 1 job opening they have, plus 20 working interviews...etc. Everyone I know, in very different fields, was employed in 2 weeks or less in FL. And my husband who wants nothing more than to get his Teaching Degree from UM, (finally?) what kind of future do he and other teachers have here with the constant layoffs?????
I love MI, my twin sis is here as well as ALL of my family and friends. We have a family cabin up by alpena near a beautiful clear lake... still its not enough to keep us here to sink....

[terrie07]

i understand misucks i want to leave for lack of good jobs myself

i have 10 years in at my job so at some point i'll get a pension but i am only 31 and i am maxed out low 30's i need a change of pace and since there are no jobs here my only option is to relocate

i dont get people who jump on others for wanting a better quality of life either

i am looking into florida, north carolina lots of jobs

good luck to u

[misucks]

thanks terrie07. not sure why some people are getting so offensive. The office I work for has offices in Naples and Cape Coral. They are looking into an office in Tampa. The FL offices pay MUCH more for the same positions with less exp. than I already have. Its a no brainer. Thanks for the support. Good luck with your choice of places for a quality life for you! you can only go up!

[missymomof3]

My husband is a electritian apprentice and works for Gaylor that has offices in a few places but is out of Indianapolis. They do commercial/industrial and my husband has never been laid off. They have offices in Indiana, Ohio(I think), Charlotte, NC and Phoenix AZ. Those of you looking for work give them a look!

[Wabbit]

Basically there are three types of people who post on this forum.
There are the positive people who love Michigan and do their best to stick it out in a tough economy.
Their are the people who would chose to stay in Michigan if they could
but have to leave to support their families.
Then there are the stone cold losers who cherish the fact that Michigan is experiencing a tough time so they have a scapegoat for their miserable lives. These are the people who are always 'going to move' 'can't wait to move' 'If only, we could move' Etc.
Let's be honest. You people aren't going anywhere.
I wish you would. I'd gladly push your 'grapes of wrath' dust bowl buggy
across the border to one of the glorious 49 states you're always talking about, but I have a feeling we're stuck with you.
Prove me wrong.