[us2indaup]

Thanks, Jeeg. I'm glad to hear Torrid made it up here & is doing good.

[joemits]

torrid- if you have a nursing back ground then you must check out marquette. Marquette general hospital is in the top 100 heart institutes in th country. Marquette has as good, slightly cosmo vibe with the young professionals and the university --not a Soo wannbe city. Mqt is for all practical purposes the capital of the up.

[joemits]

torrid- marquette also has pioneer labs which designs, and manufactures medical insturments. very progrssive company that has over 100 employees and is growing. may be a good fit for your husband

[jeeg]

joemits - Torrid and I are neighbors in the Marquette area. She is pretty familiar with the Marquette area by now

[prestonMI]

Marquette, Escanaba or Houghton. If not these cities plan on working in a Pastie kitchen.

[escindamoonlight]

Pastie kitchen, and then only in the summer from july to aug. Marquette is still not as hot as some would have you believe. It is not that big of a town and the job market is not that hot and dropping also. Homes are of differant type many many old homes and the biggest renter is the 18 to 20 yo who wants to binge drink through class.
Animal house types.

[Herculesattack]

Torrid

I wish you the absolute best of luck. You really sound like you will fit right in in the U.P. and that you will enjoy it. I grew up in Escanaba, currently live in Georgia since 05.

My sister lived in the Marquette area during her college years and I spent alot of time up there. Its a lil bit of a faster environment than Escanaba, but nothing near the "fast" of a real city. I have been away for too long to know anything about the specific job market anymore, however my sister and her Boyfriend never seemed to have troubles getting employment, and secure employment at that. They only moved to Appleton WI from there about 6 months ago when they finished college, because they wanted a change of scenery.

They also lived in Negaunee for a majority of their time up there and enjoyed it. Its about 15 minutes or so out from Marquette, but if im not mistaken it is a little cheaper as far as rent and the sort vs Marquette. I would suggest checking it out!

As far as costs of things, once again ive been gone too long to remember. I still have family in Escanaba. This I can tell you, Gas is much more expensive (average of .25/g more than GA) I would say food is roughly the same. Milk is cheaper there than here ($4 a gallon in GA). Of course this probably means nothing in comparison to Ohio, but its all I can compare with for you.

Overall, the U.P. isnt bad. If you love the snow, the slow pace, the forrests and all that, youll do just fine up there. Jobs can be difficult, but that can happen nearly anywhere it seems. Its a great place to raise a family. At times it seems culturally behind by about 10 years, however Marquette might only be about 5 years behind. LOL


I wish you the best!!!

[merit1sje]

I own a piece of property just outside of St. Ignace, to the east of town. I love it so much, I hope to live out my last days there with my significant other. The people are friendly, homes and land are cheap(depending on what you are looking for)and the views are sweet.
Jobs on the other hand are mostly related to the tourist industry. I have been to alot of places in the U.P. and all of them, with the exception of a few, seemed to be self sustaining without visitors. Most places have some sort of employment opportunity. Be it retail work, commercial, education or industry. Problem is, you are competing with the individuals already there. If you can hold out for awhile, as mariatherese says, you'll do just fine.
Aside from that, if you have people shooting each other outside your frontdoor, it's time to move if you can and pray for those who can't. Most of the crime that I read in The St. Ignace News(I have a subscription)seems to be the ocassional drunk driver or drugs. Hey, at least people are happy! Seriously though, I have a small building on my property filled with some valuable things and I have yet to have a problem. I attribute that to the people who live there.
I don't think you could go wrong in moving to the U.P. It's for those who see something different in life. Good luck...........

[darstar]

Marquette County is the largest in the UP, as well as in the State as a whole. Jobs are more often where the bulk of the people are , and , thats the Marquette area. Its a big land, and , you can get lost very easly . There are many small towns, that have a drepressed job market, its always been that way. Give Marquette, your first look, don't waste your time, you could become discouraged. The other area is Iron Mountain, look there as a second choice. Then Hancock-Houghton area. These are the areas where the jobs are........." You can live anywhere in the world, if you want to, you will find a way".

[Torrid]

Hey everyone!!! I'm sorry it's been such a long time. Busy, busy As Jeegaroo said, we moved to the base in September. I can't say things have been OUTSTANDING BUT, they ARE better than living in Ohio. My fiance had a job 2-3 weeks after we moved here. And, I (after dragging my heels lol) called a place in my profession, had an interview and was hired the same day after a month of being here. Things could be better but, things COULD be a whooooooooole lot worse. Like, I could win the lottery LOL. My take on the area.......I love it, I love the snow (and, don't you dare laugh Jeeg! LOL), the people seem nosy but nice.....I don't like to drive in MQT during the day lol. People are always in a hurry. And, driving at night kinda sux cuz the headlights are so bright. I guess they have to be though, since it's sooooo dark at night here. The house we rented, unseen, is nice but I don't think we'll stay in it forever. It's nice enough but, our neighbors are kinda nit-picky. I think it's cuz we are still outsiders to them. We'd like to move to the Sands Twp. area. Or, somewhere closer to MQT. Not IN MQT cuz the rents are ridiculous lol. We've met some really cool people so far. I like all of my co-workers (with the exception of one.....whole nuther story). My fiance is currently laid off but, we knew that would happen once the construction jobs he was working ended and the snow started really flying. It's OK cuz his unemployment is the same as what he was making and, we're not spending any $$ on gas for him to get back and forth to work. We are STILL waiting to meet JEEG though LOL. I don't think this area isbehind in times at all. At least, it certainly compares to Ohio and New York. Some people have 'behind the times' attitudes but, I think it's kinda nice. We went to Michigamme for their first 'festival of trees'. It wasn't much, just a few shops and whatnot stayed open later. We spent hours at the museum talking with the owners. It was really nice. They offered us food and drink and talked our ears off lol. They are very excited about their 1900 American Metropolitan Steam Fire Engine. It was theirs, then they had to sell it. It's been around the country and they found it for sale again on EBay so, they bought it. They need donations, if'n you're interested in sending one lol. Here's a pic of it.....isn't it cute?!?!?! Hehehe. Anywho, I will try to be more productive around these parts again I hope everyone is doing well, had a nice Christmas and has a very Happy and Healthy New Year. Talk with yas soon