[Jacky_Pace]

Hello, I am a Las Vegas native and I am becoming increasingly concerned about the crime rates and terrible weather here (over 100 degrees more days than not it seems)

I have a few questions about the U.P.

I am planning to move to Escanaba when my lease is up in December... how well are the roads maintained, is winter travel recommended in a U-haul truck?

Which is the best route to drive?

How well is the town of Escanaba maintained? Do you frequently loose power?

How easy is it to find a rental home or apartment? I have no family or friends in this area, so I will need to find something before I move.

I truely appreciate any input and your answers to these questions. Thanks for the look and have a good one!

[mostie]

Sad to say, I only live around 50 miles from there, and as of yet, I've never been there (we've lived here for a year, now). I know that you take U.S. 2 E and 41 N out of here to get there, and I know that even in the winter, there is a lot of traffic. The best that I can tell you is my experience from having spent a winter here- they keep up the roads pretty well, because there is a lot of traffic. Well....for this area, haha. One thing, though, there are a lot of logging trucks that go through- my daughter went through Escanaba on her way to Nebraska last winter, at 2 in the morning- I took her to the bus stop when it was snowing and with snow on the ground- bus went on as usual. However, you're talking about a U-Haul- have you ever driven in the snow, before? Another thing, maybe there won't be a load of snow quite yet, I'm assuming you're talking about early December? I'm sure there are times that winter travel isn't recommended, so you might want to keep a close eye on the weather channel on your way. Coming all the way from Nevada, there will be other states that you will have to go through that will no doubt have snow....Colorado...Nebraska...Iowa...Wisconsin. When we came up here from Nebraska, we googled a map, and it took us through Iowa and Wisconsin- you would be going way out of your way to go through Michigan and up the bridge- and I don't think I would want to tackle the bridge in the winter, lol.

I'm not sure how well Escanaba is maintained, but my experience around here has been when there is a lot of snow on the ground, they are on it- I would guess it's the same in Escanaba. As for power outages, we never lost power at all last winter, again, I would assume that it would be the same there.

As for rentals, you can check their newspaper, The Daily Press

Hot-Ads Escanaba, MI

Hot-Ads Escanaba, MI

Rentals are pretty reasonable up here. You could also try Craigs list.

Have you ever been up here before? If you haven't, it might be a good idea to see if you could make it up for a few days, and see what it's like. I have to tell you, you will love it, lol.

Good luck to you, and I'm sure some other posters who actually live there will be on here eventually to answer your questions in greater detail!

[BoomRShine]

Escanaba, despite it being quite far north, doesn't receive an extreme amount of snow - approximately 49 inches per year, just a bit more than Detroit and even less than Ann Arbor. This is because it is on the western side of a Great Lake, vs. the eastern side, and thus doesn't receive a lot of lake effect snow.

I lived in Houghton, in the Upper Peninsula as well, for two years. Houghton receives more than four times as much snow - 207 inches per year. Despite this, and the fact that it is extremely hilly, travel in the winter was never much of an issue. However, I generally never ventured far from the city or the neighboring city of Hancock, but I did travel to the Lower Peninsula during the holidays.

[cmuguy25]

Originally Posted by Jacky_Pace

Hello, I am a Las Vegas native and I am becoming increasingly concerned about the crime rates and terrible weather here (over 100 degrees more days than not it seems)

I have a few questions about the U.P.

I am planning to move to Escanaba when my lease is up in December... how well are the roads maintained, is winter travel recommended in a U-haul truck?

Which is the best route to drive?

How well is the town of Escanaba maintained? Do you frequently loose power?

How easy is it to find a rental home or apartment? I have no family or friends in this area, so I will need to find something before I move.

I truely appreciate any input and your answers to these questions. Thanks for the look and have a good one!

Most of the roads in the UP are maintained well, as the area expects snow. As a previous poster said, Escanaba doesn't get the extreme snowfalls you will see north, in the Superior Snowbelt. For a U-Haul truck, is it ever recommended to move in the winter? Maybe in Vegas. Anytime you come to Michigan in December, you are going to risk bad weather. In December, you could have a light dusting of snow (or maybe no snow) or a foot, maybe two. Michigan is really unpredictable for December. (Probably not the answer you'd hope for, but just being honest.)

Best Route to Drive? Do you mean from Vegas? I would just do a simple google search, or follow a GPS. That's a long trip to drive. In Escanaba, US-2 and 41 run through it, these would be two of the main roads in the UP. Location wise in the UP, Escanaba is great.

I've visited Escanaba many times and have friends that live there, never heard of any problems with maintenance or power issues. I wouldn't worry much about that.

As for a rental, I'm not from the area, but a quick search on craigslist brought up a few rentals. Maybe a local can chim in with rental advice and availability.

Good luck!

[Jacky_Pace]

Thank you all for the advise!!! I know winter travel is not the best, that's just when my lease is up and Vegas is one of those cities that can trap you here, it knows you have cash in your pocket and tries to keep it within the city! Sounds rediculous but I've met sooo many people that came here for vacation then got stuck here and now they just live here, my family included I suppose I will just try to wait out the winter here in Vegas, I don't think I can afford to move into a six month rental then moive 2000 miles tho I HAVE TO GET OUT OF THIS HORRIBE TOWN!!!! It's a nice place to visit (2 days tops) but not to live. I have never visited Escanaba or Michigan at all.... my husband is from Illinois and the top of Wisconsin so he will be driving, I will be on sedatives (not really) because I can't even handle being in the car when it's raining... I have major panic attacks! I lived in Asheville, NC during one of their worst winters and moved because I couldn't handle driving in the snow and constant power outages. Power was out for 3 days and in some places they had no power for weeks that's why I asked about that, poor maintaince in NC! I love the snow and cold so no issue there thank you for all your info!

[michigan83]

Originally Posted by Jacky_Pace

Thank you all for the advise!!! I know winter travel is not the best, that's just when my lease is up and Vegas is one of those cities that can trap you here, it knows you have cash in your pocket and tries to keep it within the city! Sounds rediculous but I've met sooo many people that came here for vacation then got stuck here and now they just live here, my family included I suppose I will just try to wait out the winter here in Vegas, I don't think I can afford to move into a six month rental then moive 2000 miles tho I HAVE TO GET OUT OF THIS HORRIBE TOWN!!!! It's a nice place to visit (2 days tops) but not to live. I have never visited Escanaba or Michigan at all.... my husband is from Illinois and the top of Wisconsin so he will be driving, I will be on sedatives (not really) because I can't even handle being in the car when it's raining... I have major panic attacks! I lived in Asheville, NC during one of their worst winters and moved because I couldn't handle driving in the snow and constant power outages. Power was out for 3 days and in some places they had no power for weeks that's why I asked about that, poor maintaince in NC! I love the snow and cold so no issue there thank you for all your info!

If it was me, I would not wait 6 months to move just because of potential for bad weather. It sounds like December is the right time for you to move, even though it is not the best time of year weather-wise. Why not just plan for the trip to take extra time? If there is bad weather, you can stay an extra night in a hotel somewhere along the way. Regardless of what kind of weather occurs, the roads will get cleared in a day or two. They always do. And then you can continue on your trip.

Maybe I can't relate because I have always lived in a place that gets snow, but I don't agree that you should let it prevent you from moving in December. Just take your time and be extra cautious, and don't be afraid to get off the road if there is snow in the forecast. Heck, there is a decent chance there won't even be any snow in Escanaba in December. I would hate to see you waste money on a 6 month lease just because of snow.

As for your bad experience in Ashville, it will not be like that in Escanaba. Michigan is properly equipped to handle the snow.

[Jacky_Pace]

Looking forwad to the trip! Thanks for the help!

[mostie]

Lol, you sound like me- I'm originally from California, and I've lived in snowy places now for seven years- and I'm STILL a weenie when it comes to driving in it, lol.

[ktyprsn]

December is going to be better for travel than February. In December the snow "usually" has not had a chance to pile up yet and especially if you came in early December it's still early in the winter season that you should have the fewest issues relating to a winter trip in this region. As a previous poster said, you can always stop if the weather gets bad and continue your trip after a storm.

I don't know about Escanaba in particular, but where I've been there are not excessive power outages.

[Polymorphist]

I went the opposite direction when I moved, from Michigan to Seattle, in the month of January. Driving was fine for me until I hit Wyoming, had terrible winds and then serious icing conditions from Utah to Cheyenne which caused me to stop, so watch the forecast in that area before you leave if you decide to take I-80. Otherwise, you'll have to drive a southern route and come north which will take longer.