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Here is the plan. My girlfriend an i are planning on building our dream home on a small allsports lake just north of Lewiston. We enjoy, boating , dirtbiking and snowmobiling and every chance we get we spend it at the cabin that is currently on the property. We have a house in SCS, and i work in OH and we really want to live up there. She is a financial adviser for a larger finance company and i'm a design/engineer in the auto industry. Together we make a very comfortable living, we both know that if we move up there we will have to live on a quarter of what we do now. When we make the move all the toys will be paid for , no vehicle payments and hopefully we can get down to a smaller house payment. The question is how hard will it be to make a combined income of $40-50k a year up there? She is hopefully going to be able to stay in the finance biz and i will try to do some short term contract work (design) if i can find some. I'd like to try and get a small snowmobile/atv/dirtbike repair thing going out of the garage. But if i can't get this stuff going , what is up there? I here the oil companies pay pretty good. How do i find info on that ? is it hard to get into? Any other decent paying jobs up there ? ($15-20 an hour)We probably won't complete the move for 3-4 years. We will start this year with some of the smaller things that we can pay cash for...well,septic,garages etc. And hopefully i can stay at my current gig for at least a year or two after we make the move, just to pad the savings account etc. But i am concerned on how tough it will be after we have to rely on the jobs up there to live.
My advice is to not move unless you have a job waiting for you. They can be hard to find around here (Lewiston). It's do-able, I think to live on that around here, but it really helps to have wood heat, and a fuel efficient car. Gaylord is the closest place to get some of yoru basic necessities, such as clothes, shoes, household stuff. Lewiston is pretty limited in what we can get here, but it has what you need to survive.
There are quite a few government jobs up here, and lots of small industry. It's a nice place to live, far away from the rat race. BTW, what's SCS?
Lewiston has a great school system, as does Johanesburg. I don't know if that's an issue, but Atlanta schools aren't that great, from what I've heard.
Good luck! It's a lot different around here in the "off season" than it is during summer. Living here and making a living often means working really hard when everyone else plays, so it's a whole new ball game. It's very quiet around here during winter months week-day. You get to know EVRYONE in town fast!
Good luck in whatever you decide to do.... here's a little perspective...
It will be a huge culture shock when you move up here. If you truly enjoy the hobbies you have described and decide to live a much quieter life than what you are currently used to, you will be fine. But, one of my biggest complaints about living up north is that, unless you hunt, fish or drink (a lot!) there is not a heck of a lot to do up here, except in the summer months. We also enjoy ATVing, but find it hard to scrape time from our busy work week (trying to make ends meet is fun... I have a college education and am working a minimum wage job) to enjoy this hobby. Take time before making the leap to seriously think about what is most important to you... sure, it's nice to visit up north, but will you be able to stomach the "quiet" full-time? For me, this is a big "no"... I can't wait to escape... but for others, it's paradise.
I live in Petoskey.....moved here from Atlanta, Georgia last June. I am a native Michigander, originally from Detroit.
I'm in healthcare, and can live and work pretty much anywhere I want. I chose Northern Michigan because I've been coming up here since I was a kid and have dreamed of living here ever since. The region, particularly the coastal stretches, is hands down one of the most beautiful areas in the United States, and I know because I've been pretty much everywhere within our borders.
The one thing that concerned me about moving here was the lack of social scene in comparison to the big cities, but it hasn't really been an issue. If I feel like doing something that requires going to Detroit or Chicago they're both within a few hours drive, so I just go. There's still a good bit of stuff to do in Petoskey, especially the new Odawa casino, which has big name concerts, a nightclub, and a fancy restaurant. Lewiston, however, is more remote, and you would likely be doing a good bit of your activities in Gaylord, which is the closest town with any retail outlets or numerous eateries. Lewiston also gets colder than the coastal towns due to being so far inland and away from the temperature modifying Great Lakes. All of us get a ton of snow in winter regardless, which doesn't bother me at all, as I have really enjoyed the invigoration of having 4 distinct seasons in comparison to the more mundane weather in the south. All of the seasons up here have a certain magic to them, at least to me. Summer is obviously the most preferred, and with good reason.......simply spectacular in every way.
All that said, I echo the suggestion of those who say you need to have solid employment in place before moving here. Michigan's unemployment issues are no secret to anyone, and it is not easy to make a living up north unless you have something long term and stable like I do. There is a lot of competition for the limited number of jobs that are available, which is why I was so thrilled to pull it off.
I wanted to add one more thing: I am 38, single, and am currently renting a condo here in Petoskey. As much as I love Michigan, there is no way I am buying a home here until I know without question I am going to be here for the long haul. This has nothing to do with my wanting to be here or being able to afford a home, but everything to do with the economy and the terrible seller's market within the housing industry in this state. My goal has always been to get married and raise a family here, and that still rings true, but until those things happen it makes no sense for me to shackle myself to a house that I will never be able to sell should I decide in the future that I want to move on. Lots of people keep telling me I need to invest in a house and stop throwing my money away on rent, but doesn't it seem riskier to put myself in a position where I stand to lose tons more? With the way things are here now, I actually like the feeling of being free from mortgages, maintenence, property tax, and the fear of having to try and sell the place eventually . I know a lot of people will disagree with this perspective, but for now I think it's the best path for me. I guess my point would be to use extreme caution before purchasing a home in Michigan right now. You need a solid job, and a vision for the future. I really hope the day comes when I can buy a house here and contribute more to Michigans recovery, but now just isn't the time for me.
DO NOT MOVE TILL YOU AND YOUR GF HAVE JOBS WAITING HERE FOR YOU!!!!!! There really is not any work here, and if you can find it, it surely will not be anywhere's near 15-20.00 hour. I hope you have no big debt when you make the move, because it will be a big struggle to stay a float even with double income. The schools here are for the most part very good. We all SUPPORT the sports that our children thrive in. It is very pretty here but the season fairy gets confused and seems to not be sure on when one ends and next begins!!! lol!!! Best of luck to you both. Just be very careful and do your research first.
I am 24, living in Traverse City, and make $50-60K annually. I just have an associate's degree from college. I live on my own and do very well and have everything a guy could want at my age. I did not come from a family with much money. I was able to get a good job in the telecommunications industry. You just have to really look. There are good opportunities out there, if you look very hard. Quality of life is good up here, Natural Beauty is spectacular. However, winters are long, cold, and boring unless you can really get out and enjoy them.
Sometimes you just have to think outside the box. There are a lot of people I know and work with that are holding jobs outside the field they were trained in and doing quite well. I was lucky and have a good paying job in the wood panel industry. I have worked skilled trades all my adult life, and have never had a problem finding work. Back in the seventies I worked as a journeyman power lineman and there was major cutbacks, I had to look at doing something else to make ends meet. I turned to industrial electrician as my trade. You may have to do the same, but you would be no different than thousands of other people in the state. If you want it bad enough go for it. Living here is the best thing my family ever did. The peace and tranquility we feel here is awesome. But, we don't require any formal kind of nightlife. We are perfectly happy with the country life style. We have no problem at all to travel twenty miles to do our major shopping. Yes the winters here are long and cold. But if you like to ski, snowmobile, ice fish, this is the place for you. Summers here are great. Maybe a week out of the summer it might get VERY hot, but for the most part it is comfortable all summer. Fall here is my favorite time of the year. Colors are awesome, and it is the time when things start to quiet down before the winter months. From the sounds of it you love the outdoors. And up here you would have so many places to go and things to see it would keep you busy for a long time. The casinos are not far off if you want to have a night out, and Traverse City is a great place to spend some time. I hope you find what you are looking for.
We live in northern lower Michigan just south of Alpena in a small village called Ossineke. We used to live in Joburg (Johannesburg) and frankly, had I not grown up in Alpena I probably wouldn't have survived! I miss Joburg, especially Paul's Pub and their spectacular cream of mushroom soup (you gotta try it!)
Our lifestyle is a culture shock to out of towners, they make me feel like I should be in a museum.......think back to mid to late 1800's! We do things on a daily basis that most out of towners look forward to doing for a week in the summer, then can't wait to get back to 'civilization.' Chopping wood, hauling water, planting and harvesting all season long, then canning, freezing and preserving, getting up at 5 am to start laundry so it can be hung outside to dry before nightfall, cooking dinner over an open fire, stuff like that. Though we have modern conveniences like a computer (obviously, haha), tv, microwave oven, we live frugally and as cheaply as possible. Doing alot of hard work really does pay off!
As I mentioned, the winters.......I have snowshoes and they can be a blast, especially after the snow falls all night long. You can see things that 'city slickers' only dream about! Oh, and don't forget the northern lights. With little to no light pollution up here, it's a grand show.
Experiencing a summer here can be a bit deceiving for most people. That's what happened to my better half, one of those previously mentioned 'city slickers' who commuted to work 2 hours every day, living in a small apartment, making some $30-40/hour doing design. Then the cutbacks came. And he decided it was time to move up here for good. Thinking he'd 'live the easy life,' as he put it.
Nope.
He's gone from sitting in an office in front of a computer to being a lumberjack/mechanic/construction worker/maintenance/go-fer. He lands temporary design jobs here and there, and stays current with his skills by using autocad and unigraphics on a regular basis to just design something to build.
Oddly enough, he says he's never been happier! So, it's possible to make it up here. You just have to really and truly want to do the work and downgrade your lifestyle somewhat.
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