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Sometimes I fantasize about coming back to Michigan but moving to the UP. I wonder how a LPer would be accepted? Probably not very much. I've spent my adult life on the west coast, would I be considered an outsider from being a LPer or being an out-of-stater? There's no way in h-e-double hockeysticks I'd ever step foot in the Lower Peninsula ever again. Never.
I'd love to live so close to the land. Winter is the best time for observing wildlife. Those tracks, are they bobcat, lynx, ect? Seeing a moose, I'd give anything to see a moose in the wild. I think I'd live a Jack London/Walden/Laura Ingalls Wilder lifestyle, only with a snowmobile instead of a sleigh.
If you are worried about fitting in, you might want to consider looking into one of the bigger towns in the UP, there are a lot of non-Yoopers in the bigger towns. Marquette, Sault Ste. Marie, and Houghton all have State Universities with plenty of downstate students, Sault Ste. Marie has a military presence with a Coast Guard base and the Army Corp of Engineers for the locks, and at least for the Sault and the St. Ignace area, there are a lot of downstate retirees and people with second homes in the area.
In the Sault area, I'd say there are PLENTY of people from downstate, and most people have at least some kind of connection to downstate. I'd think this would be even more true in Houghton and especially Marquette, as they are considered more "hip" and both have bigger colleges.
Sault Ste. Marie, MI is also across the river from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, a much bigger Canadian city which sends a lot of Canadian visitors into Sault Michigan each day. Gives the Sault a different feel.
I met the family who owns Copper World when I was in Calumet - very nice people.
I'd like to think that Calumet could become an artist's mecca someday, for me, as a writer - it's the perfect place to be. Hancock would fit this role as well, and I think it does have a community of artists of sorts.
OP - I wish you'd come back and share more stories - I wanna hear it all...lol.
I'm still entertaining the idea of going up there for a week in January, just to see what it's like in alll that snow.
All posts were of interest and added a lot to my understanding; in hopes that I can clarify some points - I am just now at an internet-capable house, in Laurium after spending a few months in Allouez/Mohawk living with someone who had internet with a 2003 desktop...yep, you can get Spotify and Craigslist to work, but that's about it
I want to address a few things that I hope I can clarify that were brought up, since I am very intent on creating a blog that really gets into finer detail of daily life, from my experience here (who knows? could become a reality show...).
On the positive, yes, people are nice...most service industries have very friendly and helpful staff and yes, by and large I have encountered friendly people in the most public places (gas stations, grocery store, hospitals, social services). This is not untrue; my question mainly goes to how the underbelly of Calumet/Laurium has affected the area and the types of folks I have come to know better than I'd like.
One main issue is there is a culture of drinking and drugs that is soaked into the community, particularly what is commonly known and referred to as the Fifth Street Crowd. This is not the main street, but the one where most of the neighborhood bars are located and the locals go every day. I worked at one of the toughest ones and learned a lot. I was welcomed; in fact, so welcomed I was asked to do drugs by a co-worker the first day
Sadly true is that the majority of men here think that proper hygiene is falling in a snow bank (winter) or taking a sauna and rinsing with lake water (summer); what is a toothbrush? They don't know. Hairbrush? No clue. Being on the "Island" is extremely isolating and there are lifers here who hate going across the bridge. They sit on the same barstools every day, during the day, sipping a $1 tap beer for an hour, hour by hour, every day, waiting for someone to win on the betting machines and buy them a drink or shot. All of the bars pay cash for lottery winners, even though not legal, as long as all in the bar are familiar faces. Also, when I bartended (tried my best, anyway) someone asked me for a spit cup. I said "A what?" Chewing tobacco is quite popular here...dentists are not
Drinking is a daily thing here and despite the limited income, people will drink like crazy when they get paid, save money by making homemade cigs from pipe tobacco and when they run out, they suffer until their next SSI/Disability check hits. Bars are in bad shape the last week of every month.
Most men are on SSI/disability or if they are working, they spend most money on drinking/drugs...the women have children with these guys and collect their benefits and these "couples" stay together for the scraps they can survive on together.
While limited, there are certainly more job opportunities for men than women, by far, though you won't find the competition. If the guys can get by doing petty theft, drug deals and living off the baby-mama, they aren't looking for work. It is weird.
As for women, in this immediate area, the saying goes like this: "You don't have to wait for a girlfriend in Calumet; just wait your turn." Women are treated like dirt. I was caught in an abusive relationship and the police came more than once and even with a black eye and deep bruising (grab marks) on my arms, *I* was asked to leave because the guy knew both cops. Nice.
I'm out of that and staying with a friend who is so broke he rations toilet paper at the end of each month...but his house is paid for and he has cable and video games, so life is OK, even though he has to cab everywhere or walk.
Back to the Fifth Street Crowd...this assembly of the Walking Dead lives in the bars during the daytime watching TV - music is a big no-no. They want to watch TV; stuff like Bonanza and Andy Griffith show, etal (MeTV). If music is played, they grumble.
As for other work, I got lucky in having a few but the better jobs are always given to a relative or friend. If people didn't grow up with you, they will go with someone less qualified that has a familiar name or they know their family. I have decided to move back to WI and in the meantime, try to grit my teeth and stay busy.
The other option is the Apostolic, Lutheran or Catholic group, who do not mingle outside of non-church goers, so unless you are an active member of the church, you will not be welcome there, either.
Other locals who do not fit in either group stay isolated and eventually leave or stay busy without really making friends here. Once I quit the bar, those regular customers were no longer as friendly, believe me.
Sorry I am rambling in a few directions, but I wanted to give more detailed information.
Lastly, the idea that I ever came into town with the idea that back where I'm from we did things this way or that, well...I know better than that, plus I have visited the area annually since a child and I'm 45. I never knocked the food or the Finn pride or the simplicity with which people chose to live but it blows my mind that in this day and age, I can't find one person who has a bank card and fewer with internet; how they function is just amazingly sad.
The rejection I experienced is not something I courted; it is the result of not belonging in the drunk crowd or the church crowd and yes, it is that black and white. For women, black and blue and I am friendly with someone who is a social worker at the domestic violence shelter and she isn't from here but can't help because she can't get support from the police and courts and the people she tries to help really don't see anything wrong with how they live (DUI's, Domestic Violence, Rape, Theft).
Now that meth has entered the area, it's a matter of time before things really go crazy. Petty crimes are up.
Sure there are cheap houses but yes they are very expensive to heat. All utilities are expensive. Food is expensive (WalMart is off the island in Houghton). No public transportation so if you have no friends/family you are walking or cabbing and it is not cheap.
OK...any additional feedback or questions are welcome of course, though it may be awhile before I am back online...the person I am with seems to have anger issues too, i.e. I can't be on the computer if he doesn't think it's important, even though he does nothing but play video games all day anyway. Cannot wait to leave - Valentines Day and I am outta here!
Sometimes I fantasize about coming back to Michigan but moving to the UP. I wonder how a LPer would be accepted? Probably not very much. I've spent my adult life on the west coast, would I be considered an outsider from being a LPer or being an out-of-stater? There's no way in h-e-double hockeysticks I'd ever step foot in the Lower Peninsula ever again. Never.
I'd love to live so close to the land. Winter is the best time for observing wildlife. Those tracks, are they bobcat, lynx, ect? Seeing a moose, I'd give anything to see a moose in the wild. I think I'd live a Jack London/Walden/Laura Ingalls Wilder lifestyle, only with a snowmobile instead of a sleigh.
Seems a little weird to swear off setting foot in the entire LP. The whole thing? Or are you really just talking about the southern half? You wouldn't go to Sleeping Bear or Torch Lake? Those are some of the most beautiful places I've ever been.
Sorry, but for the drinking and drugs part...you just described about every small town in Michigan, if not the entire U.S. The same people going to the same bars day after day, and drugs are everywhere these days...not just in the U.P.
All posts were of interest and added a lot to my understanding; in hopes that I can clarify some points - I am just now at an internet-capable house, in Laurium after spending a few months in Allouez/Mohawk living with someone who had internet with a 2003 desktop...yep, you can get Spotify and Craigslist to work, but that's about it
I want to address a few things that I hope I can clarify that were brought up, since I am very intent on creating a blog that really gets into finer detail of daily life, from my experience here (who knows? could become a reality show...).
On the positive, yes, people are nice...most service industries have very friendly and helpful staff and yes, by and large I have encountered friendly people in the most public places (gas stations, grocery store, hospitals, social services). This is not untrue; my question mainly goes to how the underbelly of Calumet/Laurium has affected the area and the types of folks I have come to know better than I'd like.
One main issue is there is a culture of drinking and drugs that is soaked into the community, particularly what is commonly known and referred to as the Fifth Street Crowd. This is not the main street, but the one where most of the neighborhood bars are located and the locals go every day. I worked at one of the toughest ones and learned a lot. I was welcomed; in fact, so welcomed I was asked to do drugs by a co-worker the first day
Sadly true is that the majority of men here think that proper hygiene is falling in a snow bank (winter) or taking a sauna and rinsing with lake water (summer); what is a toothbrush? They don't know. Hairbrush? No clue. Being on the "Island" is extremely isolating and there are lifers here who hate going across the bridge. They sit on the same barstools every day, during the day, sipping a $1 tap beer for an hour, hour by hour, every day, waiting for someone to win on the betting machines and buy them a drink or shot. All of the bars pay cash for lottery winners, even though not legal, as long as all in the bar are familiar faces. Also, when I bartended (tried my best, anyway) someone asked me for a spit cup. I said "A what?" Chewing tobacco is quite popular here...dentists are not
Drinking is a daily thing here and despite the limited income, people will drink like crazy when they get paid, save money by making homemade cigs from pipe tobacco and when they run out, they suffer until their next SSI/Disability check hits. Bars are in bad shape the last week of every month.
Most men are on SSI/disability or if they are working, they spend most money on drinking/drugs...the women have children with these guys and collect their benefits and these "couples" stay together for the scraps they can survive on together.
While limited, there are certainly more job opportunities for men than women, by far, though you won't find the competition. If the guys can get by doing petty theft, drug deals and living off the baby-mama, they aren't looking for work. It is weird.
As for women, in this immediate area, the saying goes like this: "You don't have to wait for a girlfriend in Calumet; just wait your turn." Women are treated like dirt. I was caught in an abusive relationship and the police came more than once and even with a black eye and deep bruising (grab marks) on my arms, *I* was asked to leave because the guy knew both cops. Nice.
I'm out of that and staying with a friend who is so broke he rations toilet paper at the end of each month...but his house is paid for and he has cable and video games, so life is OK, even though he has to cab everywhere or walk.
Back to the Fifth Street Crowd...this assembly of the Walking Dead lives in the bars during the daytime watching TV - music is a big no-no. They want to watch TV; stuff like Bonanza and Andy Griffith show, etal (MeTV). If music is played, they grumble.
As for other work, I got lucky in having a few but the better jobs are always given to a relative or friend. If people didn't grow up with you, they will go with someone less qualified that has a familiar name or they know their family. I have decided to move back to WI and in the meantime, try to grit my teeth and stay busy.
The other option is the Apostolic, Lutheran or Catholic group, who do not mingle outside of non-church goers, so unless you are an active member of the church, you will not be welcome there, either.
Other locals who do not fit in either group stay isolated and eventually leave or stay busy without really making friends here. Once I quit the bar, those regular customers were no longer as friendly, believe me.
Sorry I am rambling in a few directions, but I wanted to give more detailed information.
Lastly, the idea that I ever came into town with the idea that back where I'm from we did things this way or that, well...I know better than that, plus I have visited the area annually since a child and I'm 45. I never knocked the food or the Finn pride or the simplicity with which people chose to live but it blows my mind that in this day and age, I can't find one person who has a bank card and fewer with internet; how they function is just amazingly sad.
The rejection I experienced is not something I courted; it is the result of not belonging in the drunk crowd or the church crowd and yes, it is that black and white. For women, black and blue and I am friendly with someone who is a social worker at the domestic violence shelter and she isn't from here but can't help because she can't get support from the police and courts and the people she tries to help really don't see anything wrong with how they live (DUI's, Domestic Violence, Rape, Theft).
Now that meth has entered the area, it's a matter of time before things really go crazy. Petty crimes are up.
Sure there are cheap houses but yes they are very expensive to heat. All utilities are expensive. Food is expensive (WalMart is off the island in Houghton). No public transportation so if you have no friends/family you are walking or cabbing and it is not cheap.
OK...any additional feedback or questions are welcome of course, though it may be awhile before I am back online...the person I am with seems to have anger issues too, i.e. I can't be on the computer if he doesn't think it's important, even though he does nothing but play video games all day anyway. Cannot wait to leave - Valentines Day and I am outta here!
FreeSpirited1
Sounds very sad all the way around. Good luck to you.
A lot of it has to do with attitude. If you move to an area that has a different life style, as much of the north western UP has, and you're from down state or city, then expect your new town to be like where you left or try changing the way life is there, then you will be rejected. You need to want that newer life style. When talking with some of the locals the worst things you could say is, "well back in (name any city) we did it this way". Any statement like that will get you nowhere but pushed out. My wife is from the UP, and I've know most the towns and back roads like the back of my hand, and never once have I run across an unfriendly local. Again, moving to a small UP town is a whole different life style for most, and you must want to live that life.
This reasoning gets brought up a lot when people talk about moving anywhere rural or smaller or with a largely stationary population.
While I believe the above true, I don't believe it is entirely right. While it may be obnoxious to constantly go on and one about how the place that you came from is better, and I get that someone who truly did that a lot for an extended period of time would not make a lot of friends; from another perspective this is nothing more than not allowing someone new into the fold simply because they have different or new ideas.
So one can easily envision someone from a more modern area moving to one that has seen few new people or or growth in a long time, trying diplomatically and non obnoxiously to bring new ideas in, or heck just be themselves, someone who likes to tinker with new ideas, or not go to church or fill in the blank, and is perfectly acceptable, but which would be different enough for a small insular community to not be accepted.
I.e., what the above is saying by "you must want to live that life" isn't so much that you must like snow and cold weather and hunting and pick up trucks, but you shouldn't want to change things, even for the better, because your an outsider, you can't move to one of these places and be yourself, you have to conform or they won't accept you. And that's just the same old BS. Humans are a [pack/tribal species and our species requires that new outsiders fit themselves in by mimicing the group. Once a culture has established itself it can be extremely hard to change. If the group doesn't believe in baths, working, or treating women well, don't show up all clean and shiny with an obey the law strong work ethic and expect people to love you, especially if you aren't kin. Anyone ever watch Justified?
I'm a little disturbed to hear about the OP's description though as I wouldn't associate this behavior with Finnish. But of course that emigration and culture was a long time ago and perhaps its not surprising to hear how it has eroded over very long hard times.
I loved Northern Exposure the tv series. I would love to live in a small town like it. Hollywood loves to populate places like Calumet with "characters". Unfortunately the reality is usually grimmer.
We have a summer winter home (Houghton area) there and we love it when we are there, 12 months would be tough. It's very peaceful and we have 25 acres of land and no one to bother us, except the occasional cow that wanders into our yard for a drink of the pond!
Seems a little weird to swear off setting foot in the entire LP. The whole thing? Or are you really just talking about the southern half? You wouldn't go to Sleeping Bear or Torch Lake? Those are some of the most beautiful places I've ever been.
Yes, the entire LP. Did my time in the LP (I'm from Sagnasty...) Once you cross the bridge, it's just like another world.
Yes, the entire LP. Did my time in the LP (I'm from Sagnasty...) Once you cross the bridge, it's just like another world.
What does being from Saginaw have to do with not setting foot in the LP again? Have you ever been to the NW side of the LP? This area is NOTHING like downstate, and is amazingly beautiful...which may be an understatement. I'm very just curious as to why you would'nt even want to venture into these parts? The Eastern side near Tawas is nothing to sneeze at either. Gorgeous over there!!
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OP here - thank you for the great posts!
