Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Michigan sucks, i cant wait to leave.
Winters get harder and harder by the year.
I am sick of being on anti-depressants all winter long.
I am young, ready to see the sun, and am ready to start living my life all year rough, not just 3 months out of the year!
People like you are not leaving fast enough. If you can only be outside when it's 75 and up and humid then you should not delay. Go, go now. Don't wait. Things are so much more perfect in other states and it is so much warmer you can sleep on a beach until you find a job. There is so much more here and if your on anti depressants because of weather, your going to be on them somewhere else for another reason. Anyone who lives in this state and makes no effort to enjoy more than summer has nobody to blame but themselves.
But maybe youre right, maybe people should leave MI and its 13% unemployment to go to your areas in North Carolina, and their economic boom of only 11% unemployment.
I have to chime in on that statement there.
I currently live in Allen Park. I have lived in Michigan since 1995. I got into my latest job back in 2007. I was trying to better myself and better my wages and put myself into a more secure position. Part of it was a leap of faith due to that this is a contract position with working towards getting hired in by this big company.
Fast forward to now.
In Sept I (along with every other contractor) received a pay cut. The big company cut out "billing rate". A month or so ago they dropped a new bombshell. We have to take almost almost 20 days off for the second and third quarter this year. Factor in we get 10 days of vacation time accrued, this is more cutting into our paycheck.
I have been sending out resumes since Sept. I get no responses. Alot of times when I inquire into these positions where I could have been considered before, I don't have enough qualifications to be considered. There has been quite a few times where I met 9 out of 10 qualifications but that 10th one bit me in the back side.
Yes, I do see a small handful of jobs in my field in this area but its a case of who you know, not what you know.
Now that I set the stage....
I am beginning to think it may be time to give up on Michigan. Part of the problem is my wife doesn't want to go due to her dad and sister living here.
I always tell her "I think they would rather have us living farther away getting good pay than sitting here getting chump change and potentially without a job".
For my field, it seems like the best places to be are Virginia, Washington DC, North Carolina.
I see sooooooooooooooo much more jobs in North Carolina in my field than I do here in the metro Detroit area.
After working the last 6mo in retail, I can definitely say the economic situation is not as bad as the media makes it out to be either and I don't live or work in the northern suburbs.
And it really depends on your point of view.
Out of all of our friends in the age ranges of 34-50, I am the only one who lost their full time corporate job in the last 1.5yrs. No one else has lost their job and only two have taken pay cuts (but they make really good money so it's not a drastic decrease for them).
Working as a cashier has given me a whole new perspective on things. I posted about this in the MI forum and someone mentioned the use of credit cards, but I can attest to the fact that our cash business has increased substantially since last fall and we get 80% cash and debit card transactions. People are still working and if yesterday was any indication, a lot of stay at home moms are still staying at home and coming out to spend money now that the kids are out of school.
Drive by any mall during the day or drive by the popular restaurants on a weeknight.....you'll see there is no shortage of people out and about. They may not be spending as much as a few years ago, but they are sure as heck spending!
Not everything is about the Big 3 and their troubles and even is 2 out of 10 people aren't working right now (at the most), 8 of them still are.
I currently live in Allen Park. I have lived in Michigan since 1995. I got into my latest job back in 2007. I was trying to better myself and better my wages and put myself into a more secure position. Part of it was a leap of faith due to that this is a contract position with working towards getting hired in by this big company.
Fast forward to now.
In Sept I (along with every other contractor) received a pay cut. The big company cut out "billing rate". A month or so ago they dropped a new bombshell. We have to take almost almost 20 days off for the second and third quarter this year. Factor in we get 10 days of vacation time accrued, this is more cutting into our paycheck.
I have been sending out resumes since Sept. I get no responses. Alot of times when I inquire into these positions where I could have been considered before, I don't have enough qualifications to be considered. There has been quite a few times where I met 9 out of 10 qualifications but that 10th one bit me in the back side.
Yes, I do see a small handful of jobs in my field in this area but its a case of who you know, not what you know.
Now that I set the stage....
I am beginning to think it may be time to give up on Michigan. Part of the problem is my wife doesn't want to go due to her dad and sister living here.
I always tell her "I think they would rather have us living farther away getting good pay than sitting here getting chump change and potentially without a job".
For my field, it seems like the best places to be are Virginia, Washington DC, North Carolina.
I see sooooooooooooooo much more jobs in North Carolina in my field than I do here in the metro Detroit area.
Why do you think the Economy is Michigan is so bad? I know Granholm is incompetent, but the taxes, deficits, etc are still much better in Michigan than in places like Cali, NY and NJ. Do you think it can be turned around if the GOP wins the Governor's race in 2010? From what I know, Michigan is not in as bad a position structurally as the above states (and other solid blue states like Mass).
Why do you think the Economy is Michigan is so bad? I know Granholm is incompetent, but the taxes, deficits, etc are still much better in Michigan than in places like Cali, NY and NJ. Do you think it can be turned around if the GOP wins the Governor's race in 2010? From what I know, Michigan is not in as bad a position structurally as the above states (and other solid blue states like Mass).
I think it is bad when I was downtown at Cobo Hall for a career fair and there was over 5000 people to talk to 60 companies. I think it is bad when I send out resumes for almost two years and get no bites. I think it is bad when I do a comparison on Dice.com and Indeed.com of the amount of open jobs for someone in my field. Michigan is lagging pretty far behind in the job market for my field.
I think it is bad when I was downtown at Cobo Hall for a career fair and there was over 5000 people to talk to 60 companies. I think it is bad when I send out resumes for almost two years and get no bites. I think it is bad when I do a comparison on Dice.com and Indeed.com of the amount of open jobs for someone in my field. Michigan is lagging pretty far behind in the job market for my field.
I know that the MI Economy is bad, but I was curious as to why in light of the fact that its business climate (taxes, deficits, spending, etc) does not seem THAT bad (as far as I can tell). Looking at California, you can see why they are hurting as they tax, regulate and spend way too much and have way too many Government employees. I'm assuming there's more to it than the Auto industry, which has been hurting for a while.
I know that the MI Economy is bad, but I was curious as to why in light of the fact that its business climate (taxes, deficits, spending, etc) does not seem THAT bad (as far as I can tell). Looking at California, you can see why they are hurting as they tax, regulate and spend way too much and have way too many Government employees. I'm assuming there's more to it than the Auto industry, which has been hurting for a while.
I just know that for all the resumes I had sent out, in reality if things were in better shape than they were, I should have gotten alot more bites than I actually have got.
Yes, I am one of the fortunate ones who still does have a job and I am thankful for that.
But, on the other side of the coin....
- I am in reality not getting paid any better than I was at my previous job
- I am now getting my hours cut by having to take mandatory days off and I only have so much vacation time
- I want to better my life and my families life by getting paid what I deserve, paying off old debts, ect
- I have a son that is two years away from graduating high school. At this rate, the idea of helping him pay for school is only a dream.
- Yeah, I'll admit it, part of it is to buy certain things that some could consider toys but I want to be able to do it the right way.... not through going out and getting a credit card, ect. You know what I mean?
Unfortunately it seems this state revolves around the auto industry. The guys who were/are running GM have been off track for a long time. With how big GM was, Toyota was selling as much if not more at one time. Something is wrong with that. Now that the auto industry is in the tank, so seemingly goes the rest of the state.
Have you ever rode Glamis sand dunes? Imperial dunes? Gordons well? Glamis is the Mecca of ATV Duners.
No, but I've seen some YouTube videos Those dunes are really impressive, and huge.
You were just the first person I've ever heard who wanted to move because there weren't enough dunes in Michigan, that's all I was saying. I've always thought of Michigan as one of the best states for dunes (which it is!). But you're right, if you want really serious dune riding, those places would be better.
No, but I've seen some YouTube videos Those dunes are really impressive, and huge.
You were just the first person I've ever heard who wanted to move because there weren't enough dunes in Michigan, that's all I was saying. I've always thought of Michigan as one of the best states for dunes (which it is!). But you're right, if you want really serious dune riding, those places would be better.
Thats not the only reason i want to move....haha.
Depression gets worse and worse every winter. My job is hanging on by a thread......the company i work for is hanging on by a thread. No way will i find another job around here if i lose my job here.
Yes, it is bad here and yes, it is a beautiful state. The people who complain here about Michigan are expressing their feelings. The people who challenge those feelings need to be a little more patient before telling them to get out. I love this state and the four seasons (although I am growing tired of five month winters), but, if one does not have a 'decent' paying job and healthcare, it does not matter how many beautiful lakes, hunting, fishing, camping, ATV trails, snowmobiling, fruit stands, etc there are. If you cannot afford to participate in these activities, whats the sense of pretending it is all good? I, like many others, have been unemployed since September last year. I send out resumes every single day and get nothing in return. My resume is professionaly done, I have two college degree's in engineering and still I sit wondering how much longer I'll be unemployed and why I think anything positive will change here. Jenny tells all that windmills are Michigans future. I pray people are smarter than her and realize that will not put 850,000 people to work - making a decent salary in order to afford to live here. In Europe, they are taking them down because they realize how inefficient they really are. Nuclear powerplants are going up and thousands of people are employed building and maintaining them. Gee, why aren't we doing that??? I am positive things will get better, but that is years away I'm afraid. In the meantime, I, like many others, will be forced to leave. I think many who post here are making less money then they once did and are equally unhappy, or are retired, drawing a pension so this mess really doesn't affect them as much, thus making it easier to give advise and boast how great it is here. I hope people start doing their homework before voting and that Michigan recovers soon.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Those dunes are really impressive, and huge. 
