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That's funny. I'm thinking of moving back but the amount of mosquitoes gives me pause. I sure don't miss the mosquitoes! But I do miss the lightning bugs.
I live in SE Michigan in a neighborhood that lies between a large, man made pond and a good sized woods and haven't seen a mosquito in several years. Seriously. I don't know why, but I'm not complaining.
I live in SE Michigan in a neighborhood that lies between a large, man made pond and a good sized woods and haven't seen a mosquito in several years. Seriously. I don't know why, but I'm not complaining.
They haven't been too bad this year. Just the last couple of days have I noticed them. We've had a really dry summer so far though.
The lightning bugs are off the charts this summer though. More than I've ever seen!
We have a mid sized crop of both lightening bugs and mosquitoes this year. A few years ago we had millions of lightening bugs. Interestingly many of them were way up high in the woods. They were spread out at all level from about a foot off the ground to about 80 feet up. Normally they stay close to the ground, maybe it was too crowded down there, but it sure looked awesome. We had people over to watch fireworks on the river for the 4th of July and several people liked the lightening bug show better (and the Trenton fireworks on the river are pretty awesome). I hope they grow more populous this year. The dense years are awesome.
We moved to the Phoenix area several years ago, partly to get away from the winters here in Michigan. Before the move, I was one of those people who complained from January through March about the weather and how life is too short to live somewhere with cold, partially gloomy winters with bare trees, etc., etc.. I can say that the best thing to come out of that brief relocation is that it cured me for once and for all of that attitude.
I moved to Phoenix with such a naive attitude about the Sunbelt. As a lifelong resident of the Upper Midwest I am embarrassed to say that it never occurred to me that there could be a down side to living somewhere that was sunny and generally warm to hot year round. The things I learned by living in Phoenix and have since picked up on in other Sunbelt cities that I've visited:
1.) Sunny every single day is actually not great. It is boring. Getting up at six am to find the laser beam sun already beating down for the 60th day in a row and knowing that it will not stop until 9 pm is not delightful, it gets grueling. It gets to the point where you actually dream of clouds and rain, and on the rare occasion when they arrive you find yourself outside taking pictures of them.
2.) I missed Michigan's flora more than I ever thought possible. There are areas in the Sunbelt where it isn't a vast, brown desert like Phoenix, it's true, but the flora somewhere like Florida is not remotely the same as what we have here and what has become a part of me over the years. The things we take for granted here-huge, leafy maple trees, green cornfields under a blue sky with puffy clouds in August, a golden wheat field with a backdrop of leaves starting to turn color in late September, a dense deciduous forest...I never knew how much I love those things until I left them behind. Heck, even the lush weed growth in the ditches along I-94 on the way home from the airport when we got back were a sight for sore eyes, and we weren't gone all that long.
3.) The traffic congestion and long lines that you encounter everywhere from the post office to Chili's when you live in an area where the supply of everything cannot keep up with the demand are truly depressing. It made me realize very quickly how much time I didn't waste sitting in traffic or standing in line before I moved. For me, that is a HUGE quality of life issue.
4.)Probably most important yet the least tangible: I had never lived somewhere where most of the people were from somewhere else, which is common in most of the popular areas of the Sunbelt. There is something about being surrounded by people who have shared a lifetime of common experiences with you. Weather, special events, local sports teams, vacation spots in the general region...it is just very comforting to be around people who "get" you and where you are coming from and know the things you are referring to immediately when you talk about them. A couple of people in Phoenix told me that it can be such a lonely place because the population is so transient and people just don't invest in relationships with their neighbors. I could definitely see that. People move there for often very superficial reasons and they don't have a lot of knowledge of the area nor care to. They move to sit in the sun under a palm tree and not have to shovel snow. To me, life is about so much more than those kinds of things. I'm not faulting someone for doing that, it just doesn't feel right for me. I learned the hard way after moving away from all of our family and friends that sitting by the pool under a palm tree doesn't mean jack when your family is back home, on a gloomy day in late March, having a birthday party or laughing and freezing their way through the first baseball game of the season. It's people, ultimately, that make life worth living, not weather or surroundings.
Not to sound preachy, just adding my $.02 to this thread. I can honestly say that that move taught me a LOT about life and about myself. I am in love with Michigan now and I don't expect the affair to end anytime soon.
I was driving from Traverse City back to Grand Rapids this past weekend and was so mesmerized by all the wildflowers growing along the highway. I've obviously noticed them before but it just struck me as pretty amazing. I too remember being in Colorado for a week last year and missing all the flora and trees.
I have a friend from high school (near Lansing) who moved to Oklahoma about 10 years ago and when she comes back here she can't get over how tall the trees are. Like she doesn't remember them being that tall when she was growing up. She's awestruck now.
We have a mid sized crop of both lightening bugs and mosquitoes this year. A few years ago we had millions of lightening bugs. Interestingly many of them were way up high in the woods. They were spread out at all level from about a foot off the ground to about 80 feet up. Normally they stay close to the ground, maybe it was too crowded down there, but it sure looked awesome. We had people over to watch fireworks on the river for the 4th of July and several people liked the lightening bug show better (and the Trenton fireworks on the river are pretty awesome). I hope they grow more populous this year. The dense years are awesome.
I think it's funny that my kids can catch lightning bugs but one little bug or spider in their rooms and they're petrified.
And our daughter is working at a job in the Mountain West (very close to Idaho, actually) for the summer and absolutely hates that part of the country. She is counting the days until she can come home to SE Michigan.
Different strokes for different folks, right? And thank God, because if everyone liked the same thing it would get pretty crowded.
Very close to Idaho is a large chunk of real estate. And there are some areas of the west I would not move; either. I picked ID cause it was densely populated, a very red state, plenty of wildlife (four-legged wildlife not the two-legged kind that runs around Detroit), mountains to camp in, forests to get lost in, and clean.
However, I left MI and found the country of Laos to be a better choice than MI (at least the people were nicer), then I ended up transferring jobs and moved back to the USA and ended up in TN, and to my dismay, back in the dredges of SE MI, having a great time working in Detroit (Sar).
But many are not strong or mature enough to move away from where they were raised and some do but find they have to run back. Possibly, the time I spent in the military, primarily 'Nam, helped me to see there are better places.
Someone will always remain, but many will leave. However, I will never change my mind about MI and in particular Detroit. One reason might be cause of growing up in Detroit when it was a great city After the military and coming home, it had turned into a pit full of vipers. And then coming back in 2005 for three years, made me understand totally how Detroit ended up as a city that is in dire need of urban renewal (atomic blast comes to my mind)
Only things that that area has that are worthwhile, in my opinion, is National Coney Island (and I can still order via the internet if in need of a fix), and Greenfield Village (and have been there many times so I can get over not seeing it again).
But I wish you the best since someone has to stay (I think).
I really try hard not to bash places because no place is perfect and I personally don't care if someone likes another state better or not but this has gone far enough.
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Originally Posted by f5fstop
Very close to Idaho is a large chunk of real estate. And there are some areas of the west I would not move; either. I picked ID cause it was densely populated, a very red state, plenty of wildlife (four-legged wildlife not the two-legged kind that runs around Detroit), mountains to camp in, forests to get lost in, and clean.
Explain what you mean by this . And all of that stuff you described is also in Michigan except MI doesn't have as many mountains and isn't a deep red state like ID. And did you just call Idaho a densely populated state? The largest city there (Boise) is even less dense than Kalamazoo. And the entire state has less people than Wayne Co alone.
Quote:
Only things that that area has that are worthwhile, in my opinion, is National Coney Island (and I can still order via the internet if in need of a fix), and Greenfield Village (and have been there many times so I can get over not seeing it again).
Lol yea, because Idaho has soooo much more to offer than Michigan . I'm pretty sure Grand Rapids has more amenities then Boise. And outside of outdoor activities... Detroit has more amenities then the entire state of Idaho. And if we need hunting, camping, ect up north is a short trip away but STILL in Michigan.
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But I wish you the best since someone has to stay (I think).
Yea someone has to stay, there has to be a few people left in Michigan... or maybe like idk 10 million people vs 1.6 million in ID. Yea, despite the many issues in MI... ID is more empty and irreverent on the national and world stage than Michigan will ever be.
I left MI in 1998 and just moved back in June. I lived in NH and Florida while I was gone. I HATED Florida. I even tried it twice (SW and Panhandle). Both times I went for a job. There isn't enough money in this world to try Florida again. It's hot, everyone is a transplant, and it is boring if you don't worship the beach. New Hampshire was a different story. I loved it and miss it. It is a beautiful state, and the people are great. When I was ready to leave Florida this last time, I thought long and hard about going back to New Hampshire or choosing to move home to Michigan. I work from home now, so a job was not a factor.
For many years, when I would come home to visit my family and friends in MI all I noticed was how the area I grew up in deteriorated. I didn't consider how much I missed my family. Nor did I consider finding another area in MI to live in.
The downside to moving back to NH was no family and the cost of living. I have friends there, but that isn't the same come holidays. The cost of living certainly was not going to change.
My youngest son checked out MSU last year, and he decided this is where he wanted to go. So, due to this, Michigan's low cost of living, and family and friends, we moved home. This is his first time living in MI, and he is growing to like it. He is bored to a point, but that is because he has not had the opportunity to find friends yet. I am sure he will be fine when school starts.
I am happy with my decision. My rent is over 200 dollars cheaper. My family is close, but not too close (100 miles). I also enjoy the area I chose (Lansing suburb). The people around here have been pretty friendly so far. I am not worried about winter. I still dealt with it 13 of the 19 years I was gone while living in NH. I want to go to NH, I can find a cheap flight out of Detroit (My parents live 5 miles or so from the airport).
But many are not strong or mature enough to move away from where they were raised and some do but find they have to run back. Possibly, the time I spent in the military, primarily 'Nam, helped me to see there are better places.
It doesn't come down to strength or maturity, it comes down to personal preference, that's all. I have an uncle who grew up in Ohio who abandoned his wife and kids and fled to Arizona, never to return. That required neither strength nor maturity, in fact it showed a pathetic lack of both. Our daughter is in Wyoming, specifically, and she doesn't care for the harsh, volatile weather or the isolation and lack of amenities as compared to home. Missing family is only part of the equation.
As an American, I thank you for your service to our country. It couldn't have been easy in Viet Nam, I have an uncle who went and it was extremely hard on him. I hope you get the respect and appreciation that you deserve for your service.
I really try hard not to bash places because no place is perfect and I personally don't care if someone likes another state better or not but this has gone far enough.
Explain what you mean by this . And all of that stuff you described is also in Michigan except MI doesn't have as many mountains and isn't a deep red state like ID. And did you just call Idaho a densely populated state? The largest city there (Boise) is even less dense than Kalamazoo. And the entire state has less people than Wayne Co alone.
Lol yea, because Idaho has soooo much more to offer than Michigan . I'm pretty sure Grand Rapids has more amenities then Boise. And outside of outdoor activities... Detroit has more amenities then the entire state of Idaho. And if we need hunting, camping, ect up north is a short trip away but STILL in Michigan.
Yea someone has to stay, there has to be a few people left in Michigan... or maybe like idk 10 million people vs 1.6 million in ID. Yea, despite the many issues in MI... ID is more empty and irreverent on the national and world stage than Michigan will ever be.
I think the Grand Rapids metro area has more people than the entire state of Idaho.
But I guess if you refer to your fellow human beings as two-legged animals, you probably prefer to be around fewer of them.
With that being said, @f5fstop please stop with your thinly veiled racism, thanks. Please do not post comments like that again on this forum.
You're fine MS313.
Last edited by magellan; 07-13-2017 at 09:48 AM..
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).
. And all of that stuff you described is also in Michigan except MI doesn't have as many mountains and isn't a deep red state like ID. And did you just call Idaho a densely populated state? The largest city there (Boise) is even less dense than Kalamazoo. And the entire state has less people than Wayne Co alone. 
