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I grew up in Michigan and have lived most of my life here on and off.
I did leave in 2004 and lived in Nebraska and southern Ohio respectively.
Moving back I've been surprised by two things so far.
Its so expensive! My auto insurance has doubled, well I knew from visits that gas is easily 10cents a gallon more expensive. Property taxes are pretty high too.
And whats with using a credit card? Twice now I've been told that if I use a credit card I'll be charged a percentage rate for use. Sec of State was 3%? A restaurant (small, local) was 1.5%. Havent ever run into this before.
Humidity. Dang. Its barely been below 100%. I feel like I might as well move to Louisiana and beat the harsh winters
Most of the nation is having a rough transition as driving becomes unaffordable but the jobs are still in the suburbs. Subsidies and hidden costs vary by state. Other states have sky high parking, vehicle inspection, taxes, etc. We have high insurance.
I grew up in Michigan and have lived most of my life here on and off.
I did leave in 2004 and lived in Nebraska and southern Ohio respectively.
Moving back I've been surprised by two things so far.
Its so expensive! My auto insurance has doubled, well I knew from visits that gas is easily 10cents a gallon more expensive. Property taxes are pretty high too.
And whats with using a credit card? Twice now I've been told that if I use a credit card I'll be charged a percentage rate for use. Sec of State was 3%? A restaurant (small, local) was 1.5%. Havent ever run into this before.
Humidity. Dang. Its barely been below 100%. I feel like I might as well move to Louisiana and beat the harsh winters
And of course I can't get cable.
Michigan is notorious for being a bad state to drive in.......between the insurance/gas prices and the bad roads. When I lived in Petoskey gas prices were always among the highest anywhere in the country.
Where are you living in MI that you can't get cable? I'm a satellite man, myself. Sounds like that's your best bet.
Car insurance is high. We have the highest in the country.
Gas prices are below average for the country. However in Michigan it varies considerably from county to county. My local gas prices (Downriver - Wayne county) are usually as much as 20 cents lower than prices around myDad's house (Oakland County). However in Detroit (Wayne County) they are as much as 40 cents higher than in my area. There are states nearby that are cheaper, including Ohio (usually 10 to 20 cents cheaper than my local prices). It does not make a huge difference. Let's say you fill up once every other week and buy 20 gallons. 20 cents difference is $4 per tank. 26 fill ups would mean an extra $104 a year. If that is a shocking expenditure, then you probably have bigger concerns than 20 cents a gallon for gasoline.
Property taxes vary by area. It depends on a combination of the value of your home and the taxes (millage) approved by your community for things like schools, parks, fire and police facilities, community center, library, bike trails, etc. It can vary substantially. Places with good schools and good public safety tend to be higher. Since our home prices are considerably lower than most states with comparable opportunities and amenities, our actual property taxes tend to be lower. For example, for taxes, my house is assessed at $225,000 (half of what they estimate the value is). Therefore I pay property taxes based on that amount. If we still lived in California, our same house would be roughly $4 million to $8 million. Taxes on that would be considerably more than our taxes here even if the tax rate were lower (which it isn't). Some millage taxes are for your township or city, while others are for the county, or even the region. Thus, our millages include money to support the metropark system, money for the Detroit Institute of Art (but we get in for free!), road money, some county law enforcement money, I forget what all else.
All States tax you through combination of means. Michigan applies one combination, the state you came from has a different combination. Some states have no income tax, some states have high income tax, Michigan has a relatively low income tax. Some states have high sales tax, some states have no sales tax, Michigan has a relatively low sales tax (for state with sales tax). Some states charge a ton for vehicle registration, some charge next to nothing, I think Michigan is slightly higher than average. There are websites where you can view the overall tax burden. Michigan is slightly below the middle last I looked.
Within Michigan there are different taxes that may apply to you. If you work in Detroit, you pay a small income tax to the City. If you live in Detroit you pay the City a higher income tax. (Detroit property tax is also pretty high, and car insurance rates are super high).
Some states have toll roads all over the place. We do not have toll roads. So you toll cost here is $0, unless you live/work in a situation where you have to pay a toll for a bridge. I know of three bridges with tolls. You are not likely to ever encounter any of them on a daily basis, but it is possible.
In some areas, people choose to pay extra for private ambulance, security, and/or trash service. There are not too many of those here.
Some states most newer homes are in HOAs and you have to pay HOA fees. That is rare here. In California some locations also have to pay Mello Roos taxes(or fees). This pays for infrastructure in the subdivision. I am not sure if other states have this practice. Michigan does not.
Popular tourist destination states or cities typically have huge hotel taxes. I do to think we have huge hotel taxes. In fact I am not sure whether we have any such tax outside of Detroit.
Many things are definitely cheaper here than many places. The following link may be helpful to you. Some things are cheaper, some higher. Overall Michigan is 12% below the national average in cost. Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site
Part of whether you spend more or less depends heavily on your lifestyle. If you are into wildlife, camping, hunting canoeing, boating, fishing, ice skating, or simlar activities, it is a lot cheaper here because you do not have to go anywhere. Chances are pretty good you can do those things from your yard, or at least within 5 miles of your home.
IF laying on an ocean beach is your thing, well than it will be a lot more expensive to live here. If you like being hot - more expensive.
BTW the current humidity is unusual. In fact I think it may be unique.
We are going into fall which is the cost awesome time of year. Fall here is not only our best season, it is better than fall in pretty much anywhere else. Among other things, the weather is usually perfect for backyard bonfires. Plus there is no humidity to speak of.
Winter can be hard. It is not all that cold and snowy unless you are in the UP, it is just long and dark. To make up for it part of the summer gets around 15 or 16 hours of daylight. Get out in the sun all you can now. When winter comes, whenever it is sunny, get out in the sun. Also go to Georgia, or South Carolina or Florida (or California) for a week in February.
We moved back to Michigan after a 15 year hiatus to Pennsylvania and Florida. Been back home about a year now.
Winter didn't bother me, because honestly I had missed the seasons in Florida. Spring, summer, and fall - all so beautiful I can't pick a favorite.
I love the Oakland County Farmer's Market, the easy drive to the lakes (which I missed horribly in PA), good shopping options close by (everything from Somerset Mall to thrift stores), and frequent locally owned spots as often as I can.
Detroit! Oh Detroit is coming back! A city with depth and texture and so close we can touch it.
But.
The price of insurance is high because of a wacky law, unique to Michigan, that covers uninsured drivers for life if they are injured, or some such thing. WJR really campaigned against this last winter but clearly nothing has changed.
Gas? I've gone hybrid.
The roads have always been a horror show, but it's worse now that I know that other locations with bad winters (Vermont, NY State, PA, Quebec, etc.) actually maintain their roads properly. And in Michigan the answer is "It's always been like that," or "Well it's our winters." No, I dare say it's probably decades of mismanagement. I'd love to see some forensic accounting of road $$ in Michigan for, oh, say the last 40 years.
As an educator, I'm appalled at the decline in Michigan's school ranking nationally since I departed. Keeping a close eye there, and trying to figure out all the prevailing issues.
I grew up in Michigan and have lived most of my life here on and off.
I did leave in 2004 and lived in Nebraska and southern Ohio respectively.
Moving back I've been surprised by two things so far.
Its so expensive! My auto insurance has doubled, well I knew from visits that gas is easily 10cents a gallon more expensive. Property taxes are pretty high too.
And whats with using a credit card? Twice now I've been told that if I use a credit card I'll be charged a percentage rate for use. Sec of State was 3%? A restaurant (small, local) was 1.5%. Havent ever run into this before.
Humidity. Dang. Its barely been below 100%. I feel like I might as well move to Louisiana and beat the harsh winters
And of course I can't get cable.
The humidity this year has been insane, but our averages are actually on par with a lot of the south. We are a humid, muggy state.
I grew up in Michigan and have lived most of my life here on and off.
I did leave in 2004 and lived in Nebraska and southern Ohio respectively.
Moving back I've been surprised by two things so far.
Its so expensive! My auto insurance has doubled, well I knew from visits that gas is easily 10cents a gallon more expensive. Property taxes are pretty high too.
And whats with using a credit card? Twice now I've been told that if I use a credit card I'll be charged a percentage rate for use. Sec of State was 3%? A restaurant (small, local) was 1.5%. Havent ever run into this before.
Humidity. Dang. Its barely been below 100%. I feel like I might as well move to Louisiana and beat the harsh winters
And of course I can't get cable.
Michigan has the highest car insurance rates in the US. , I would think the state would want to work on the Why.
The thing is that with the credit cards is that businesses get charged a fee for when the card is swiped. So, some businesses try to pass the cost on to the consumer. (The majority of places that charge are gas stations, because their profit margin is so small, and the SoS. I can't think of anywhere else that does, except our local rec authority. I was surprised that OP said a restaurant charged the fee because that is really rare!)
I read the other day that Kroger isn't going to take Visa anymore because it's just too expensive to process their cards. However, digging a bit deeper, apparently, that's only in California (but it may expand to other states).
But yeah, Michigan gas prices/insurance are expensive. Be forewarned, mentally prepare now for the crazy car registration renewal prices as well. Apparently, the money will be used to "fix the roads!" We shall see.
(Even though we knew that our car renewal was going up, we were still shocked at how much it was to renew our plates this year.)
Depending on the area you live, you just might want to get an antenna and call it good. When we lived in Canton/Rochester Hills, getting an antenna worked out really well for meeting our television needs. Here in South Lyon, not so much. In the end, we cut the cable, ditched the antenna, and went with Netflix/Amazon. Works out a lot better (and we watch less television.)
And yeah - gas prices in SE Michigan are VERY dependent on your location. You can easily see gas prices drop as you get out of more "exclusive" (expensive) areas. And like ColdJensen said, it depends on what city/county you are in. Macomb/Wayne tend to be cheaper than Oakland. In my immediate area, Northville (wayne county, uber expensive area to live) tends to be on par with South Lyon (western most part of Oakland county and is more isolated). Still both are cheaper than Ann Arbor tends to be (which is 20 minutes from my location). However, if I were to go into Farmington Hills/Southfield, then gas prices would be cheaper.
Anyway - at least the humidity seems to be gone for now and the weather was just beautiful (and a lot cooler) yesterday!
Michigan has the highest car insurance rates in the US. , I would think the state would want to work on the Why.
The "why" is the state.
1 - No fault states are the most expensive to insure in, period.
2 - Michigan has you pay into the MCCA every year, almost $200/car/year.
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