[anesbit]

H'lo!

My wife and I have been looking for a while now at various places to make our next move, Marquette being among them. My in-laws lived for a while in the Gladstone and Escanaba areas, so I'm relatively familiar with the climate, size, etc.
Any info on the area would be appreciated. We currently have a four-year old son and are a young family, intent on having one more child. We live in Northern California (don't think surfers and Hollywood) up in the Sierra Nevadas, and so are accustomed to small town living and lots of snow. A specific question I have regards paddling in Lake Superior: Is it advisable to boat around to the few islands surrounding Marquette, etc.? Also, what's the job market looking like currently? Are there available retail spaces, and/or, how conducive is the town to new start-ups? I've done quite a bit of research, but am sure there'll be more questions to come....

Thanks!

[boner]

I swam for the first time in Lake Superior last year. Nothing like treading water 1/4 mile out from pictured Rocks taking in the scenery. Im not sure about paddling which I think means kayaking or canoeing. I do know that in the Southern UP around where your inlaws used to live there is an actual kayaking route being put together. These are places you can stop and camp or rest if you are canoeing. Mainly around big and little Bay De Noc and the Garden and Stonington peninsulas. The only way I heard about it was going to the delta county parks meeting out on SAC bay 8 or so years ago and they were talking about land grants and such to make it happen. They might already have such a thing in Marquette but I wouldnt know about that.

I would trust the Economy in Marquette better than most other places in the UP but I suppose it depends on what your start up is. I dont know about the availabilty of space

[anesbit]

Excellent, and thanks for the reply! We'll be visiting the area sometime this spring, and moving is still probably a year and a half out.

So to re-cap, the only canoeing/ kayaking you know of takes place in the southern U.P. Does that mean it's disallowed otherwise?

[michmoldman]

Its allowed pretty much anywhere I would imagine. In Lake Superior...you just have to use common scense because waves can kick up at any time. This is the Pictured Rocks National Lake shore East of Marquette, and probably one of the more saught after kayak destinations in the Mid-west....if not the U.S. I would think, With miles upon miles of stunning views.

[Nephler]

About the only place you can't paddle in the UP is where there is no water, really. I've never seen anywhere you couldn't.

[joemits]

Originally Posted by anesbit

So to re-cap, the only canoeing/ kayaking you know of takes place in the southern U.P. Does that mean it's disallowed otherwise?

No kayaking is very popular throughout the U.P. Marquette is building a new launching site downtown in the Founders landing area

Originally Posted by anesbit

Is it advisable to boat around to the few islands surrounding Marquette, etc.?

I go out to the islands off of Pres Isle in mqt quite a bit.

Originally Posted by anesbit

Are there available retail spaces, and/or, how conducive is the town to new start-ups

Here are a couple of links that might show you some of the upcoming new retail spaces.
Waterfront Condos & Commercial Space | The Landing | Marquette
Veridea Group | Real Estate and Commercial Development in Marquette, Michigan. check out the "bakery project" in that last link. There is some contact info there as well.

[anesbit]

Thanks all for the replies!

michmoldman & Nephler: 'preciate the info and the pics; I would have suspected that to be the case.

joemits: I don't know how I didn't come across those sites in the course of my searching, but thank you, that's quite helpful.


So, an additional question or two:
What's the music scene like in Marquette? I've seen that there are several music stores, ample hosting venues, and a blues festival, among other things. But what's the make-up of the scene stylistically, demographically, etc.?
Also, I've seen several spots where the biking trail system has been referenced positively, yet I can't seem to find specific descriptions regarding its scale and scope. For instance, could one conceivably bike anywhere in town on a combination of bike paths and roads? Are there any city statutes, etc., preventing bicyclists from co-habitating the roads?

Thanks all for so far being so accommodating to my seemingly tertiary questions. We do plan on paying a visit sometime this spring.

[joemits]

The make up of Mqt's music scene is influenced by having a university in town. (n.m.u. 10,000 aprox students). That being said Mqt music scene will range from the Marquette symphony Orchestra Marquette Symphony Orchestra Homepage to it's Hiawatha music fest (bluegrass) Hiawatha Music Co-op. For a smaller area, Marquette offers quite a bit for the preforming arts. A recent hit though was the closure of the popular night club called Up front. My understanding was that the wealthy absentee owner (Chicago area) decided to close and do some "remodeling." The place was beautiful and did not need any major stuff done to it, and I am hoping for someone with local ties to open it back up. I am convinced that will happen at some point.
Biking~ mqt recently passed a "complete streets" ordinance to encourage more bike usage. They have been adding ride share to some of the roads and there is an extensive bike path system in place. The Iron ore heritage trail (48 mile trail) is in the process of connecting mqt to the towns of Ishpeming and Negaunee. Iron Ore Heritage. There is a bike culture in Marquette even in the winter! Bike Marquette | Road and Mountain Biking in the Upper Peninsula and Marquette has won some recent awards for its biking culture.
League of American Bicyclists * Bicycle Friendly Community Campaign
2009 bike mag listed marquette the no 1 place to ride and live.
Here is a city link to some recent awards you may or may not have seen, hope all this helps.
City of Marquette, MI - Awards & Recognitions

[anesbit]

Excellent! Thanks for the info.