Regret moving from California to Michigan? (Detroit, Ann Arbor: best towns, home, job outlook)

[jazlaumir]

Hello,

I am in the process of moving to Ann Arbor Michigan and am very nervous about this move. Just a big change..Can anyone tell me your experience if you've moved from California to Michigan? Any regrets? How have you accustomed to the weather? Are the summers very humid? Has your quality of life improved or do you miss California?

[skyl4rk]

I'm not from California, but Ann Arbor is a great place, you will have plenty of opportunity to have fun there. One of the best towns in the midwest.

[jazlaumir]

Thank you for your encouraging words Everyone has been so helpful and positive about Ann Arbor, just want to get some additional views from others that have made the move from California as well.

Don't mean to be such a worry wart, I have a new job, new place, a teenage 18 year old who can't see leaving LA, a daughter who is leaving home for college (UMich) and then there's the weather ..

I will have a hard time if my 18 year old stays in LA.

[redford dude]

I have never lived in California but have been to LA a few times. I am sure you will find A Squared, as they like to call it sometimes, to be a wonderful place. It is very vibrant and full of life so you and your kids will have no problem there.

A friend of mine lived in Cali for 15 years and moved back here about five years ago. He misses the weather and some other things but seems happy enough to be back.

Summers really aren't that humid here except maybe in July mostly. It's tolerable, not as oppressive as Florida say, by any means.

I don't think you have anything to worry about and will be pleasantly surprised. Good luck.

[UKUKUK]

Imagine California but with 4 seasons, friendly Midwest charm, and 1/5 the price and you have Ann Arbor.

You don't have the beach and ocean, so what? It's still got a liberal atmosphere, fun people, and it's a much nicer living on a fixed salary.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by UKUKUK

Imagine California but with 4 seasons, friendly Midwest charm, and 1/5 the price and you have Ann Arbor.

You don't have the beach and ocean, so what? It's still got a liberal atmosphere, fun people, and it's a much nicer living on a fixed salary.

I was just going to say that Ann Arbor is just like Berkeley, but the only difference is that it is in Michigan.

[jazlaumir]

I can't say enough about the encouragement that I receive from my new soon to be Michigan friends about my upcoming move. I know my questions might drive some crazy but you have all been so patient and gracious in answering them!

[UKUKUK]

It's not a problem! We always welcome new, fresh, positive attitudes as the doom and gloomers take flight. It's the first step towards change and I think I speak for everyone here when I say we're glad someone else gets to be a part of it with us.

[yoopergal]

I'm from Michigan and my advice would be don't move here unless you are okay with harsh, brutally cold winters that last from November until April. Michigan's economy and job outlook is so bad right now, the joke is "Will the last one out of Michigan please turn off the lights?" The state is in the midst of a depression/recession and doesn't even have the lovely climate California has to make it better.

The plus side is that there is lots to do in Ann Arbor, and the summers and falls are nice.

[canudigit]

Originally Posted by yoopergal

I'm from Michigan and my advice would be don't move here unless you are okay with harsh, brutally cold winters that last from November until April. Michigan's economy and job outlook is so bad right now, the joke is "Will the last one out of Michigan please turn off the lights?" The state is in the midst of a depression/recession and doesn't even have the lovely climate California has to make it better.

The plus side is that there is lots to do in Ann Arbor, and the summers and falls are nice.

We moved back to Michigan from Phoenix last year. I realize that Phoenix isn't in California, but I just wanted to say that we personally are doing much, much better economically here, so don't necessarily believe all of the doom and gloom stuff that people say about our great state. Ann Arbor particularly has withstood the recession nicely, because an entity like U of M can hold its own during down times and the fact that such a nationally respected school is there also keeps other businesses in AA, so things aren't nearly as bad as people from other parts of the state assume them to be. I am an RN and I have a terrific job in AA, my husband also has a great job here in SE Michigan, housing prices are low, other cost of living indicators are lower here than in many other states, and you have beautiful scenery in the form of the Great Lakes, as well as many, many inland lakes and gorgeous, green, rolling terrain. AA is a fun town with a million and one things to do, and Metro Detroit, with its major league sports, shopping, and museums, is only less than an hour away. And, if you get the urge to visit a really big city, Chicago is only about four hours from AA via I-94.

I think you will like it here. I know that we do!

ETA: The pp who stated that Michigan has "harsh, brutally cold winters that last from November to April" is not correct about the AA area. I presume by her name that she is from the Upper Peninsula ("Yooper" is a slang term for someone from the UP), and the difference between their winters and ours here in the southern most reaches of the state are like night and day. To give you an example, it was warm (daytime temps in the 60s) and sunny here well into early November last year and by early April everything was green and temps were often in the 60s and 70s. And even during the peak of our winter season, January and February, we rarely have anything that could be referred to as harsh or brutal. Only twice this past winter did we get enough snow to actually shovel (more than two inches is our criteria for shoveling). Most of the time it is just cold and partly cloudy, although we do actually get many blindingly sunny days in the middle of winter. Please don't let horror stories about our winters bother you, they are generally highly exaggerated. There is also a lot of skiing in Michigan, which is a plus, although we obviously don't have the kinds of mountains that you find out west. Today it is perfectly gorgeous here: sunny with a projected high of 85 degrees and low humidity. I think that you will be pleasantly surprised. : )