[CYK]

I will be getting remarried and my soon to be wife and I are debating moving to Traverse City for a work opportunity

I was reaching out to this community to see what the consensus on the weather, living conditions, cost of living and median income is.

My research has given me a wide range of information. I am seeking some local expertise.


Thanks in advance!

[DTWflyer]

This tends to be a fairly regular question on this forum.

Traverse City is the largest city in Northern Lower Peninsula. Its the regional hub for all things including commerce, retail, medical, airport, arts/festivals. Its grown a lot over the past 20-30 years. Its got its own local economy but its dispropropriately influenced as a huge draw for tourism, leisure, vacation property owners, retirees, and seasonal residents.
Its increasily seen an influx of entrepreuners, small business owners, and the arts in the past decade.
However a lot of wealth is "imported" into the region, not organically made.

Its a beautiful region with tons of recreational opportunities year-round, heavily involving the water and woods.

Weather, its for the hardy. Summers are short, awesome, and incredible, but short. Fall is great, but short. Winter in most years starts to set-in with consistent snowfall / snowpack most years from late-Nov through end of March, sometimes mid-April. Springs are typically cool and wet, and consistency comfortable temps don't arrive until mid/late May.

Relatively high cost of living area in comparison to the average wages most employers pay. "half the pay for a view of the bay". Hard to say employment prospects as that is highly variable based on your industry/profession. Jobs heavily skew toward service industry/hospitality/tourism or the usual amount of medical/professional/municipal services. Not a lot of industrial/manufacturing jobs in the region or "corporate"/white collar type jobs. (unless you are 100% virtual / remote from elsewhere)

Some of the things to consider about the greater Traverse City region:
- Part of Michigan's "Gold coast" along Lake Michigan and adjacent island lakes
- Areas were originally settled for their vast natural resources and have been a vacation spot of those from Detroit area, Chicago area, and broader parts of the Midwest for over a century
- Endless amounts of natural beauty due to the water and woods
- Long, cold, snow winters (in most years) heavily influenced by lake-effect snow off of Lake Michigan
- Short "12-week" summers of warm and sunny weather, followed by a short but beautiful fall
- Full of some of the best ski and golf resorts in the Midwest
- "half the pay for a view of the bay" - as most professions pay a fraction of downstate for an area that has a proportionally high cost of living
- Rampant, generational poverty when you get away from the well-monied lakefront resorter homes and communities
- Economy that is heavily reliant upon the tourism / hospitality / service industry directly or indirectly from travel and vacation homeowners/renters
- Lack of affordable housing
- Underlying drug / addiction issues and other domestic issues in the local community that are all masked behind the in-your-face wealth and beauty of the region
- Lots of retirees and/or seasonal residents in the lakefront / waterfront homes
- Year round residents are hardy, salt-of-the-earth folks that love the outdoors and all northern Michigan has to offer

[CYK]

Thanks DTWflyer,

Are the road conditions pretty rough? We have small compact cars which are front wheel drive....just trying to plan in advanced for what to expect in terms of snow, and road conditions.

[DTWflyer]

Overall, roads get clearly pretty regularly and quickly after a snow event, but in the midst of a big snow event / lake effect squalls road conditions can get pretty poor, pretty quickly, and be highly variable even over the course of just a few miles.

Plenty of people get around just fine in small compacts, but your comfortable level will vary. A lot will depend on how far you have to drive/commute to/from work, if you have to absolutely drive in poor weather conditions, and how far away out in neighboring communities/townships/communities you reside.

If you live and work in TC proper, sure you could probably get away with driving that in the winter, and realizing you have have some crappy drives here or there.
If you live out in more rural parts or have consistently long drives in the winter, I'd recommend something with better ground clearance and probably something with AWD/4WD whether that be a truck / suv or something like a Subaru Outback

[beachmouse]

One advantage of small front wheel drive cars in icy or slippery conditions is that lighter vehicles typically have shorter stopping distances compared to the big beasts. I drove a Ford Escort in college and as long as you could wait to get out until after the plows came through, it was a surprisingly good car for Michigan winters.

[Bondurant]

Originally Posted by CYK

Thanks DTWflyer,

Are the road conditions pretty rough? We have small compact cars which are front wheel drive....just trying to plan in advanced for what to expect in terms of snow, and road conditions.

Towns in MI are generally well prepared for snow removal. Plenty of people make it fine through winters without 4-wheel drive vehicles. You could find yourself in complicated situation if you are driving during the storm or even after the roads are cleared if there was significant fall. Folks will vehicles that are better equipped will be better prepared. That said as someone that lived the majority of my life in the Midwest, having never owned a 4-wheel drive vehicle, I can count on one hand the number of times I have been compromised by the snow. Vehicles I have owned: Ford Tempo, Chevy Cavalier and VW Jetta.

[roadwarrior101]

I vacationed there in August 2018 and thought the area was incredible (I'm speaking as a Californian). I had previously had a picture of flat, boring farmland of the Midwest and this area really blew me away. The green rolling hills, picturesque vistas, turquoise blue waters of Lake Michigan and its inlets were all great. I liked the character of Traverse City and other small, nearby towns and was pleasantly surprised by its food scene. We went over to Sleeping Bear Dunes, did some wine tasting and other local activities. The wineries rivaled what we have here in California in terms of natural beauty, although not in terms of quality. LOL (some of the whites were drinkable though).

I could definitely see the appeal of buying a summer vacation home in that area and would strongly consider it myself, if I had the money and lived closer. I don't know about living there year-round, however. I don't think I could do the winters of the upper Midwest (not specific just to Traverse City), nor do I think the local job market would support the type of lifestyle I've grown accustomed to (this could be changing due to remote work). Would definitely love to go back and visit sometime in the future.