[wanderer74]

Another helpful link for comparing cost of living:
Cost of Living Calculator - CBsalary.com

We are thinking of moving *back* to Texas - and according to that COL calculator, we could take a pay cut of almost 10% to have an equal standard of living. I'm guessing that would mean it would cost about 10% more in the opposite direction from TX to MI.

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by wanderer74

Another helpful link for comparing cost of living:
Cost of Living Calculator - CBsalary.com

We are thinking of moving *back* to Texas - and according to that COL calculator, we could take a pay cut of almost 10% to have an equal standard of living. I'm guessing that would mean it would cost about 10% more in the opposite direction from TX to MI.

GOod find. That is about as close as I have found for a COL calculator. Having lived in West Michigan then moved out to Maine and now coming back home to the Ludington area, I know what the costs are in each area already and this is the ONE online that nailed it. Maine to Michigan I can take a 12% pay cut to maintain the same standard of living. Bonus is that we EACH are getting a 30% increase in pay.

[mstengle]

You should check out Canton, less expensive and traffic not as horrible as Novi. Alot of house for the money. Novi is too congested.

[cardwellave]

Canton IS cheaper, albeit VERY congested (especially Ford Rd) and pretty "cold". Modern suburb for sure. There's lots of great restaurants and stores out there though. Pretty much anything you want.

[daisy10]

SweetBeth:

If you do decide to buy, you'll get an incredible deal here, the downside is property values keep declining here so your "incredible deal" now may not be so incredible in the near future. Only buy if your going to ride it out and stay in MI for any length of time.

We bought in Northville over a year ago and we did get a great deal, paid $430,000 in Northville for a 4 bedroom, 4.5 bath home (the builder agreed to finish the basement for us as part of our deal). A year prior people in our sub paid in the low to mid 500,000 for their homes and guess what, now the houses are being listed in the mid to high $300,000 - low $400,000 range. My advise, please be careful if you buy.

[malamute]

Originally Posted by SweetBeth

My Husband and I are considering an offer and a move to Michigan. Most people are discouraging moves to Michigan because of the Job Market and Housing Problems.(??) We are considering the Novi and Commerce Township areas. Would anyone recommend an appropriate salary expectation for a middle class family? I am a stay at home mom with two little ones. We are not sure about the cost of living difference. (vs. Texas)

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated. (No matter what )

I'm living in Texas but not a part of Texas with low taxes, the property taxes in this part are very high and easily beat out the Michigan income tax.

I also think it has to do with other factors, but a lot of Michigan and Texas are comparable -- you might have heating bills in Michigan but in many parts of Texas you're going to have air conditioning bills. Property taxes in Michigan are lower but there is a state income tax.

Between Texas and Michigan it's not too drastic a difference like it would be with California or Connecticut.

[bluebird39]

I live in Northern MI (Low Penn.), but have a brother in the Dallas area, and possibly parents soon there too. My parents will probably chose Texas over Michigan. I think it's cheaper in Texas, but IMO, I'd rather live in Michigan. Real estate will be a better investment in Texas for sure. If you're renting here in MI, that won't be a problem. Michigan will be a big shock culturally for you coming from Texas. I've also lived in Louisiana and Oregon. Oregon became too expensive for us to live and raise a family. Michigan is a very expensive place to drive, believe it or not. That was a huge surprise to us. There's very high registration, and license fees. Insurance, even in a very rural area is over twice what we paid in Oregon. I know my family pays a ton less, although sales tax in Louisiana is extremely high. Food and medicine are exempt from sales tax here, which is nice (although Oregon had no sales tax, but a very high income tax). I know property taxes are higher here in Michigan than in Texas or Louisiana.

Heating costs are high during the winter, but I know my relatives pay just as much to run the AC in the summer in Dallas. It's very cloudy and days are very short here in the winter, so that may be something to consider. I moved from Oregon, so it wasn't a huge surprise to me, but I had a very hard time adjusting to that when I moved from Louisiana to Oregon many years ago. With little ones, cabin fever can be a real issue up here in the winter. Luckily, my kids are in school now, and that helps.

HTH

[SweetBeth]

Bluebird 39 mentioned culture shock. I would love to know more about that. Any good replacement for y'all. Any thoughts on religious differences? I grew up in a strong Christian Family.

I am also glad to read that food is not taxed, that is huge for me. I love to prepare meals from scratch.

Are neighbors super friendly?

[khfar]

Originally Posted by SweetBeth

Bluebird 39 mentioned culture shock. I would love to know more about that. Any good replacement for y'all. Any thoughts on religious differences? I grew up in a strong Christian Family.

I am also glad to read that food is not taxed, that is huge for me. I love to prepare meals from scratch.

Are neighbors super friendly?

Culture shock was huge for me. HUGE. I don't want anyone to take this the wrong way, so please don't. This is just what I noticed the most when I moved here.

1. The people. People are different than Texans. You know how most Texas women love to get dressed to the nines, have big hair, etc.? You're not going to see that as much up here. Of course you will see your share, but not like in Texas - especially Houston or Dallas. You will also notice that people are much less friendly, in retail environments. I was so used to chatting up the checkers at the grocery store, or having sales people say hello to me and ask me if I needed any help. That is not very likely here. People seem to keep to themselves a little more. I have two friends from Michigan that live in Dallas, and they agreed with me on that one. I've gotten more used to it, and of course there are exceptions.

2. Things to do. We lived in the city of Dallas. It was all hustle and bustle and lively. Depending on which area you live in, you're not going to find that here. The good news is, there are tons of things to do within the state. We are constantly planning little mini-trips to different places.
A lot of people tell us to take in a Tigers or Lions game. We just don't really see that as much fun, since we're life long Cowboys, Rangers, etc. fans. We do like the DIA (museum). It's really nice. I like to go to Royal Oak or Birmingham a lot, too. I think they have better restaurants (most of the suburbs are chain restaurants). And do check out the downtown area of Detroit. A lot of people will tell you to stay away, which I think is a shame. It's beautiful.

3. Food. I don't care what ANYONE says, the food here is just not that great. Well, to a Texan, at least. Unless you like On the Border for Mexican food, you're going to have to make your own. Because the kind of Mex we are used to is just not the same up here. Trust me on that. We've been EVERYWHERE to try it out! I just make it, now. And this is going to sound stupid, but fast food is lame (which might actually be good, since my husband's cholesteral went down this year). McDonald's, Wendy's, Taco Bell, Arby's, Burger King...that's about it. I miss Whataburger and Chick-fil-A like crazy!

4. Neighbors. I think this will really just depend on your neighborhood, and the time of the year you move here. My neighborhood becomes very lively in the warmer months. Yes, we have some neighbors that never come out, and keep totally to themselves. But for the most part, people have been very friendly. You will likely not see many neighbors during the winter, because well...who the heck wants to be outside when there's a foot of snow on the ground?!!

5. Religious differences. I don't know what denomination you are, but I can't think of why you would have a problem being a Christian here. You won't find as many Baptist or Church of Christ churches, but there are a lot of Methodist, Presby, etc. My area (W. Bloomfield) has a very large Jewish population, but I haven't noticed anyone asking or caring about religion.

The best thing for me, was joining a gym. The winter was brutal, and we didn't enjoy it at all. Getting out and getting a good workout really lifted my spirits. I also take the kids up there to the pool as much as possible in the summer. If you have kids, get involved in anything with their schools, community, etc. It is the easiest and fastest way to meet people. Having friends helps immensely when you are new to an area!

[SweetBeth]

Khfar, that was great information!!

Yes, the big hair. I am semi guilty. I do love my hairspray. I'm sure I could let go, with a great haircut. ha!

It is nice to know up front that we will not have some of our favorite fast food places. Little bits of information like that do help. I lived in Houston after college for some time and the restaurants were incredible. My husband and I dated in Houston, so I think we enjoyed some of the best. Maybe nothing will compare to that.

We always seek out little hole-in-the-wall places in any town. It seems like there is one in every place. Any recommendations???

My husband loves college football, esp. the Big Twelve. That will be a shock for him, not to have games televised on major networks and results.

I am not at all surprised by the whole mexican food issue. Nothing seems to compare with Texas. We will certainly have to trade recipes!!

I can completely understand why neighbors are not super friendly during winter. My husband and I are very social and we love shooting the breeze with our neighbors. We have tons of neighbors that walk dogs and stroll their kids after work. We have other neighbors that will bring over their latest food network creation to share. I will miss that a lot, I'm sure.

I am curious about one thing in particular, will we say.....Water or Wadder??