[darstar]

Originally Posted by joemits

I live here in Mqt and the city has a very good vibe too it. Glad you enjoyed your trip. I think though the realtors are hurting the city though as I agree that they are asking too much for housing. Greed I guess but this will cause young families to move outside the city etc.. On a good note housing is stable in the city and is a safe buy

The problem is labor costs. Regardless of where you buy or build, there is little difference in how long it takes to complete a home. Atlest here in Marquette home values are stable . The speck build market has slowed, but new builds are holding up ok. Building permit apps have slowed a lot last month, not sure why......everyone is busy , as always this time of year. The City just keeps growing, improving, restoring, one of the reasons the job market is still up. The future looks bright for Marquette, as I see it anyway.Doing my part...everyday.

[darstar]

The highlands have lots of hardwoods mixed in. The lake shores have the most conifers along with birch. In the interior of the U.P. there are cedar swamps. Most of the old growth white pine have been cut over, the tree that once was most dominate in all of northern Michigan. What remains of the big trees resides in protected lands. Logging is one of our biggest industries still after all these years of clear cutting......trees grow back...slowly.... my favorite tree is the hemlock...especially in winter laden with snow. Thankfully they grow almost anywhere in rocky soil, which we have in abundance here in the western U.P.

[michmoldman]

Originally Posted by darstar

Well, now you know what I have been saying on these Michigan threads for so long. It really IS the place to be in the Mid-West..... glad to hear you have reset your priorities further north.

I always wondered if what you said were true...or just because you lived there. Not that you would lie, but most people always build up there home town. You were right on with all your positive posts Darstar! The only thing that may derail our new plans is home prices. We also picked up a few real-estate books just over the bridge here in lower MI. Most of the houses are absolutely amazing, huge, beautiful and with lots of land...for the price of a small house in Marquette. My wife and I believe if we were meant to live in the U.P then things will work themselves out.

[darstar]

Originally Posted by michmoldman

I always wondered if what you said were true...or just because you lived there. Not that you would lie, but most people always build up there home town. You were right on with all your positive posts Darstar! The only thing that may derail our new plans is home prices. We also picked up a few real-estate books just over the bridge here in lower MI. Most of the houses are absolutely amazing, huge, beautiful and with lots of land...for the price of a small house in Marquette. My wife and I believe if we were meant to live in the U.P then things will work themselves out.

We subscribe to the " meant to be" Scenario also, always have. However, we ( me especially) , have found that when I want something, really want it...I always found a way to do it or get it. There was also over the years the " be careful what you wish for thing", but , we won't talk about that here.....lol.
Should you be serious about moving here, I am sure there are ways. Wish I had known you were visiting, I could have given you some local knoweledge.
There are places just outside Marquette that are more affordable, also less taxes, example is Sands Township, just 4-5 mile drive to downtown. What I regret now is that I waited so long to move here, it was much futher down on my bucket list than it should have been.

[michmoldman]

Originally Posted by darstar

We subscribe to the " meant to be" Scenario also, always have. However, we ( me especially) , have found that when I want something, really want it...I always found a way to do it or get it. There was also over the years the " be careful what you wish for thing", but , we won't talk about that here.....lol.
Should you be serious about moving here, I am sure there are ways. Wish I had known you were visiting, I could have given you some local knoweledge.
There are places just outside Marquette that are more affordable, also less taxes, example is Sands Township, just 4-5 mile drive to downtown. What I regret now is that I waited so long to move here, it was much futher down on my bucket list than it should have been.

Any info you can give me on the areas around Marquette would be helpful. If we did move there my wife is in the medical field so would like to be around 15-20 min. away. We prefer to be in wooded area and secluded. We are not big into sub-divisions. We are also the same as you...we want something and we find a way to get it. I could easily live in Marquette....my wife I am a bit worried about since she loves warmer weather, but she seems pretty firm...right now...lol!

[joemits]

michmoldman-- have you checked out for sale by owner Home of FSBO ~ For Sale By Owner: Buy and Sell Real Estate. darstar is right about our homes keeping their value. I just think that the realtors tend to inflate said price and thus drive people further into the outskirts or burbs ie.. townships. etc..

[michmoldman]

Originally Posted by joemits

michmoldman-- have you checked out for sale by owner Home of FSBO ~ For Sale By Owner: Buy and Sell Real Estate. darstar is right about our homes keeping their value. I just think that the realtors tend to inflate said price and thus drive people further into the outskirts or burbs ie.. townships. etc..

Ok thanks!

[darstar]

Originally Posted by michmoldman

Any info you can give me on the areas around Marquette would be helpful. If we did move there my wife is in the medical field so would like to be around 15-20 min. away. We prefer to be in wooded area and secluded. We are not big into sub-divisions. We are also the same as you...we want something and we find a way to get it. I could easily live in Marquette....my wife I am a bit worried about since she loves warmer weather, but she seems pretty firm...right now...lol!

Almost all the younger couples we know have a similar path up here.Wife works at the Hospital or in the medical complex.Husband makes less and is in the trades or what ever he wants to do....just so they can live in the U.P. The medical field is our second largest employer I think in Marquette County. Lots of folks around us are retired or self employed, comfortable, but not rich by any means. This is a very much a middle class town, with a strong work ethic.
Its nice to live in a place where there is also some culture and lots of emphasis on higher learning with NMU so much a part of the infrastructure. I have never lived in a place with so many young people, year round , involved in outdoor activities, summer sking, surffing,biking,kayacking,running...everyone is mobile on the streets...its a nice thing to see.
I will work on more info that might be helpful to you. What is your timeline ?

[michmoldman]

Originally Posted by darstar

Almost all the younger couples we know have a similar path up here.Wife works at the Hospital or in the medical complex.Husband makes less and is in the trades or what ever he wants to do....just so they can live in the U.P. The medical field is our second largest employer I think in Marquette County. Lots of folks around us are retired or self employed, comfortable, but not rich by any means. This is a very much a middle class town, with a strong work ethic.
Its nice to live in a place where there is also some culture and lots of emphasis on higher learning with NMU so much a part of the infrastructure. I have never lived in a place with so many young people, year round , involved in outdoor activities, summer sking, surffing,biking,kayacking,running...everyone is mobile on the streets...its a nice thing to see.
I will work on more info that might be helpful to you. What is your timeline ?

Well, we are gonna take our time to make sure its exactly what we want. Again....we also love northern lower, there are a ton of homes for sale that are bigger...better and lots cheaper! Right now I can tell you we have seen a hundred amazing homes in northern lower that we love and could easily afford but only 1 or 2 in the Marquette area we could afford, but nowhere near as nice as northern lower. I guess it all depends on what kind of salary my wife would get up there for jobs in her field. I would say 1 to 2 years unless something incredible came up job wise for my wife. I would slowly have to phase in my home business, and hope part of it could go up there.

[danielj72]

Originally Posted by UKUKUK

Just a random question, does the western or eastern UP have the most evergreen trees?

I kind of think the amount of evergreens is nearly the same. The biggest difference between the eastern and western UP is the rocky landscape.The west has it, while the east does not with a few exceptions. The eastern UP is much more flat as well, more swamp. Even though I lived in the eastern UP for nearly 10 years, I would have to say the west is nicer, better scenery and the economy over there is better. If I move north again (which im considering) I will either go to northwest lower Michigan or to the western UP. Central Michigan is just too agricultural for me, and the economic situation here is no better than the north. The best thing I can say for where I am now is at least its not the paved over parking lot called southeast Michigan. I think Id leap from the Mackinaw bridge before I would live down there.