[Zenstyle]

This isn't Calumet-specific…but I've often wondered why the U.P. doesn't vie for the Winter Olympics. Yes, I know there's inadequate infrastructure. But wouldn't it be just the thing for the locals to have a massive influx of internationals move in, if only for a few weeks? The how-ya-gonna-keep-'em-down-on-the-farm phenomenon.
"Ah, so this is how modern people live!"

[NorthStarDelight]

Originally Posted by BlueWindRider

This actually describes exactly what I'm doing. I just rented a place for the winter in Houghton so I can scout around for property. I haven't ruled out Marquette either so will be checking it out as well. Have an occupation I can telecommute but money isn't an issue, largely because I'm single and have no dependents, which makes it far more doable. I don't really care much about culture: I usually create my own in terms of finding like-minded people to hang with. Being originally from the Midwest, I have some familiarity with the region and have visited the UP a number of times.

Currently, I live out West and am a massive snow lover and avid XC and back country skier (as well as mountain biker, which the UP is also known for). That's the major draw for me, as well as reasonable real estate, another big draw. But I also know the associated hassles with living in deep snow and cold and not sure I can hack it. We'll see. It's a lot colder in the UP than where I do most of my mountain skiing. At least here i get to come home to moderate temps and dry streets at the end of the day. In the UP, it's 24/7 cold and snow and driving on winter roads, which can be exhausting. On the other hand, I won't have to drive four hours round trip to go XC skiing in the UP. More like four minutes. That's a huge draw for me, enough that I'm willing to put up with the harsher conditions. And being able to buy a house that's three to four times cheaper there than here leaves me plenty of reserve funds to pay for the high heating bills and other associated costs.

At least, this is my plan - anyone with any input feel free to chime in. I'm totally winging it.

Will be happy to provide occasional reports to anyone interested. And thinking about creating a blog to document my adventure, so I'll post a link here if it happens. Will be arriving there the first week of October. I reserve the right to change my mind about living up there too - I'm not entering into this lightly. Have awakened a couple times in the wee hours lately thinking "What the heck have I got myself into!?" Glad to hear others say that Houghton is a lot more vibrant than the rest of the Keewenaw - that's what my research has shown too, and from what I remember when I last visited there a few years ago.

Regarding the OP's comments, I'd say some of what they are describing is going on everywhere - it certainly is in the college town in which I live, and I'm not talking about students. In the last five years, there has been a significant decline in the life quality for many people here, so in my opinion some of what is happening in the Keewenaw is probably related to the national economic climate. But I can also imagine that places like Calumet have been struggling a lot longer. It goes with the territory in remote places like that.

I'd like to say that I'm very interested in hearing reports from you, especially as we move into the winter months. I think it's awesome you're doing this, and in a way so you can back out if you decide it's not right for you.

Wishing you the best of luck in your new venture.

[NorthStarDelight]

Originally Posted by Nephler

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.

I think that's very true. A lot of what people say about "not fitting in" and being "rejected" can be said for many, many areas of the country - both rural and urban. I have a good friend that's moved back to his hometown in central GA, and despite being from there, he just hasn't found a way to fit in, hasn't been able to make new friends, etc - and I think a lot of it has to do with attitude. I think if one was to do things such as volunteer, make an effort to meet like-minded individuals and not imposing your way of doing things upon others, it's possible to make a go of it in a place like the Keweenaw. Or anywhere else new, for that matter.

As for me, I happen to like that laid-back, outdoorsy lifestyle they have up there - saunas and all. And the snow, don't get me started on that..lol.

[Luzette]

Originally Posted by Nephler

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.

I agree with what you've said as it applies to anyone who moves to an area expecting locals to adapt to them instead of the other way around. However, the people I spoke of in my post weren't in that category. I think there is a misconception about the LP. The northern lower or any of our rural areas are not like the big cities in the southeast corner of the state. The UP isn't the only part of Michigan where there is small town life and outright isolation if one wants it.

[ram2]

Originally Posted by Zenstyle

But wouldn't it be just the thing for the locals to have a massive influx of internationals move in, if only for a few weeks?

That is happening right now at Michigan Tech - all of the foreign grad students are moving in.

[leroythelion]

Originally Posted by Zenstyle

This isn't Calumet-specific…but I've often wondered why the U.P. doesn't vie for the Winter Olympics. Yes, I know there's inadequate infrastructure. But wouldn't it be just the thing for the locals to have a massive influx of internationals move in, if only for a few weeks? The how-ya-gonna-keep-'em-down-on-the-farm phenomenon.
"Ah, so this is how modern people live!"

Winter Olympic sites need real mountains at least somewhere in the same vicinity.

[NorthStarDelight]

Originally Posted by ram2

That is happening right now at Michigan Tech - all of the foreign grad students are moving in.

Are they moving in for good, or just staying for the duration of their undergrad / graduate education?

One thing I'm unable to understand in the process of my research is the population numbers of Houghton. According to the 2010 census, the population of Houghton proper is 7700, and if you look at the age breakdown, a huge percentage of those are in the 18-24 age bracket. So I'm assuming the the students, or most of them anyhow, are counted as city residents. The student enrollment is around 7000, plus another 1000 people employed by MTU, so that alone would push the population of Houghton above 8000. So what gives? If MTU were to be spirited away to another location, exactly how many residents of Houghton would remain? Not too many, I'm afraid.

However, the population of the Keweenaw is a bit over 36,000, spread out along the various villages and townships along the peninsula, with many of the high-end homes located on isolated rural tracts (and on the lakeshore of course). I hate to think what the oil or propane bill would be those in large houses. The villages of Calumet and Laurium seem to have the cheapest and most houses for sale, which makes me think a lot of people wish to get out of those towns, but the population of the Keweenaw is gaining overall, albeit at a slow, gradual pace.

[michigan83]

Originally Posted by Luzette

I agree with what you've said as it applies to anyone who moves to an area expecting locals to adapt to them instead of the other way around. However, the people I spoke of in my post weren't in that category. I think there is a misconception about the LP. The northern lower or any of our rural areas are not like the big cities in the southeast corner of the state. The UP isn't the only part of Michigan where there is small town life and outright isolation if one wants it.

I am also a little confused when people think they need to move to the U.P. to "get away from it all." There are places all over this state where that can be done.

[walker46]

Here's another story in the Free Press today, front page no less, that describes a bit how life is up around the Calumet area in the Keweenaw Peninsula, And it's got nothing to do with snow or long winters:

John Carlisle: Ghosts, a haunted woods and precious rocks in the U.P.

[IheartWA]

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.