[jaynarie]

Originally Posted by whiterose1964

I see that it's been several years since you posted this, but I think you could still give me some valuable information.
My son and I are thinking about moving to either the mid to western part of North Carolina or west or south west of Michigan. I do my job from home, but my son is interested in taking some glass blowing classes.
What is my main problem is trying to figure out which areas have the most wholesome environment. I've read some pretty poor things about Michigan, the weather, the crime, the poor economy to name a few.
On the other hand, I've also read that people in Michigan are some of the nicest in the country.
If you could give me any insight on where are some of the more desirable areas/towns to live in Michigan, that would help me out quite a bit when we do make the trip to see for ourselves what the state is really like.
From what I have been able to find, parts of Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo might be what we're looking for.
Thanks for any help you can offer.

I'm from Southeastern Michigan, so I can't give guidance regarding GR or Kzoo. I also know nothing about glass blowing/artisan work.

That said, MOST of Michigan is very nice. With the exception of Saginaw, Detroit, and Flint (and a handful of adjacent urban towns like Hamtramck), you will find nice communities with low crime rates and good schools. Even the cities have nice areas where people are trying to restore. Michigan is not Detroit, and even Detroit isn't terrible like the press portrays it. Is there crime? Yes. Is there blight? Yes. However, that is not the whole story.

When comparing, I can only attest to the areas I know- in North Carolina, Northern Mecklenburg County, Iredell Count, Cabarrus County, and Rowan County. This is north and northeast of Charlotte. In Michigan, I grew up in the Flint area, so Genesee, Lapeer, Oakland, Shiawassee, Tuscola, and southern Saginaw counties are all areas I'm very familiar with.
Crime- it is very relative. If I decide to walk around in the north side of Flint, I'm putting myself at risk. Downtown Flint? a much lower risk. Davison? (suburb of Flint) Pretty much no risk. Same goes with North Carolina. Salisbury? some risk. Statesville? some risk. Mooresville? practically no risk.
Homes- Michigan- you will typically find older construction for the most part. The population has been declining for decades. You will find new subdivisions in the suburbs, but the majority of homes are 1960s and older. You will find the cost of purchasing or renting a home is significantly less than North Carolina. NC- depending on where you are, some homes will be older construction (Salisbury, Statesville), while other areas are primarily newer construction (Mooresville, Concord). Price can vary between counties. The house I just sold in NC for $130,000 would have gotten me maybe $90,000 here- and only because it was built in 1999.
Schools- whether K-12 or university, Michigan has them beat. NC does have more technology in the classrooms and their class sizes are slightly smaller. Michigan has a lot more support staff, much better facilities, a better standardized testing program, and less of a 'teach to the test' mentality.
Cost of living- Taking extreme weather out of the equation, they are close to a draw. In my opinion, Michigan gets a very slight edge.
Employment- North Carolina wins here, but not by a terrible amount. Of course, this depends on your field. I'm a teacher. Currently in NC, things are not booming like they were. People are getting laid off and there is a lot more competition for jobs. However, when my principal posted my job this summer, she received around 200 applicants. I applied to one district in Michigan that received over 6000. LOW hundreds would be normal in NC (if they even get to 100), and MI is in the thousands.

[warren zee]

NC is an over rated, hot state, with a horrible educational system (public school, K-12) and a worse attitude toward newcomers.

I am new to Ohio and I've traveled through MI. Beautiful state with friendly and well educated people.

NC? Average to less than average state with a real distaste for "outsiders". They are also really Christian Fundamentalist in their orientation and perspective.

My recommendation? "Pure Michagan".

[Heather67]

NC is an over rated, hot state, with a horrible educational system (public school, K-12) and a worse attitude toward newcomers.

I've moved with my family from MI to NC a while back. The parts of NC I've lived in are reasonably welcoming (Greensboro, Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill). But I'm afraid I have to agree with the rest of warren zee's comment. If you don't mind heat, and your son is out of the K-12 system, there's a lot to like here. There are a number of artisan groups in central NC and the mountains. While pottery is the big thing, I wouldn't be surprised to find glass blowing as well.

If your son is still in school and you don't mind cold, MI might be a better bet. I've been in both NC and MI schools, and I've had family that taught in both systems. MI has better trained teachers and stronger standards. And MI's lakes aren't orange. (Seriously--NC has a lot of red clay and it gets washed into a lot of the so-called lakes, turning them orange and kinda slimy. Ugh.)

I'm in the process of looking for work in MI, myself, so I guess that tells you which one I prefer. I don't have kids in school (or at all), but I hate the heat and miss the lakes. And my remaining family is all in MI now.

[dragon_fly_12]

Originally Posted by warren zee

NC is an over rated, hot state, with a horrible educational system (public school, K-12) and a worse attitude toward newcomers.

I am new to Ohio and I've traveled through MI. Beautiful state with friendly and well educated people.

NC? Average to less than average state with a real distaste for "outsiders". They are also really Christian Fundamentalist in their orientation and perspective.

My recommendation? "Pure Michagan".

Absolutely agree with that. Moved to NC in 2009 and happily moved out of NC in 2012.