[jaruhu]

Here's my thing! I was born, in Grand Rapids,long time ago...left to Chicago,Il. in 1967. Now we're retiring, and are thinking of the beauty, and solitude, of Michigan, again,which was why we left,in the first place!!!! The solitude, anyway: )...then looking, in northern Mich. has left us totally bewildered...Love, Love, traverse City then ,cheboygan, then, Kalkaska,area... took a trip up there.All have fabulas real-estate homes,and acreage,....Someone, suggested, WHY??? i'm saying, mansions, farms, soo reasonable...Checked out sex offenders, up there.....OH MY GOSH.....It's a mess!! It puts, chicago, Detroit, and other big cities, look like angel towns..You cannot believe, the offenders in cheboygan.. Its NUTS... They must all gather together! THEN, no-one mentions,the black bear, up there. Who's gonna take thier children, to live in a place, where, you cannot trust, you'll run into bear, if you step outside...... we're so diaapointed.. Our dreams of long walks, gardening, bike riding,are NOT gonna happen up north,Michigan. As beautiful, as it is, if you'll not be running from bears, you'll be hiding out from sex -offenders......;( sad in Illinois )

[zthatzmanz28]

This may sound rhetorical, but what was the question?

[Luzette]

I've never checked statistics on sex offenders, but I would say if Cheboygan is especially bad then look more to Traverse City. I wouldn't worry so much about black bears because there are a lot of areas where this really isn't a big issue up here. I've never seen a bear in the woods in my entire life, and I'm no spring chicken anymore.

[detwahDJ]

Not many bears around in 1967? I thought they were always there. One was seen recently in north Grand Rapids area.
Sex offenders running loose? General population has increased, and maybe there is more attention on the problem than there used to be. Sounds like an overreaction, but I haven't done any homework on that.
I'm a bit puzzled by the post.

[darstar]

Why are you not considering upperMichigan ? We are due north of Chicago. The lifestyle here is great, and almost crime free.Check out Marquette, we have it all, along with good medical .The best part is Lake Superior, just one more cove, beach, around all the bends It's a place like no other.

[Retroit]

Hate to disappoint you, but the perverts are everywhere. Maybe living in a place with a bunch of them will force you to exercise your supervisory role as a parent better than living in a place where you think they do not exist.

[JGatti]

Am I the only one who smells BS? What is the point of this post? Your not going to leave Chicago that has 2568 registered sex offenders compared to 61 in Cheboygan? And you fear black bear? This post cannot be serious. Michigan DNR says there are between 15,000 and 19,000 black bear in all of Michigan, with 90% living in the U.P 90%! So how many does that leave in lower Michigan? I've been going up north most of my life and have never....... EVER seen a black bear in the wild. Here is a little tid bit on black bears for ya.

Do black bear present any danger to people?
Black bear are shy by nature. If you were hiking through the woods, a bear would most likely hear you or pick up your scent and run off before you even knew it was there. Bear have a natural fear of humans and it is best if that fear remains intact. If we leave foods accessible to bear, they may overcome their fear of humans in order to take advantage of it. Bear that learn to associate food with humans can be dangerous. People must act responsibly when living or vacationing in bear country, and know what activities are likely to attract bear. Prevention is the key to avoiding people-bear conflicts.

From 2001 -2010 Cheboygan had 0 murder, vs Chicago 6,437
Rapes Cheboygan 41, vs Chicago 18,599
Robberies- Cheboygan 5 vs Chicago- 310,000 +
Assaults- Cheboygan- 53 vs Chicago 252,000 +

We could get into the per person argument, but I'd feel safer in ANY northern Michigan town over Chicago any day of the week. Would prefer living in them too. Enjoy staying in Illinois.

[darstar]

It's like apples and oranges, just how do you relate Any big city with the north woods ?

[michigan83]

Originally Posted by jaruhu

Here's my thing! I was born, in Grand Rapids,long time ago...left to Chicago,Il. in 1967. Now we're retiring, and are thinking of the beauty, and solitude, of Michigan, again,which was why we left,in the first place!!!! The solitude, anyway: )...then looking, in northern Mich. has left us totally bewildered...Love, Love, traverse City then ,cheboygan, then, Kalkaska,area... took a trip up there.All have fabulas real-estate homes,and acreage,....Someone, suggested, WHY??? i'm saying, mansions, farms, soo reasonable...Checked out sex offenders, up there.....OH MY GOSH.....It's a mess!! It puts, chicago, Detroit, and other big cities, look like angel towns..You cannot believe, the offenders in cheboygan.. Its NUTS... They must all gather together! THEN, no-one mentions,the black bear, up there. Who's gonna take thier children, to live in a place, where, you cannot trust, you'll run into bear, if you step outside...... we're so diaapointed.. Our dreams of long walks, gardening, bike riding,are NOT gonna happen up north,Michigan. As beautiful, as it is, if you'll not be running from bears, you'll be hiding out from sex -offenders......;( sad in Illinois )

I cannot take anyone seriously who is this terrible at writing. Please learn how to use a comma correctly.

[MUTGR]

I think I'd take my chances with the bears and sex offenders in Northern Michigan compared to the traffic and crime in Chicago. My goodness. 50 shot in a single weekend. Roving gangs of thugs attacking people downtown. Don't even mention the traffic!

I'd say the odds are in your favor in Northern Michigan.

You get out of that mess and who knows, maybe you'll achieve a little more clarity of thought.