How is life in Michigan? Where should I be looking to live? I may have an opportunity to move out there for work, so I'm trying to get a feel for it. I'd be covering a territory of Michigan and Northern Ohio, so I have free reign to live anywhere in the area. I have a young family, so safety is top priority, but we'd also like to be close enough to a some action (restaurants, bars etc.). I'm coming from Northern NJ and know nothing about Michigan. All I read is it's very cold and tons of construction. Ann Arbour seems like a cool place, but I don't know for sure. Would love to hear some feedback from people that live there.
I believe Ann Arbor is the nicest part, according to a waitress near Grattan. Grattan raceway, if youre racing, is fun but technical. I had fun there. Track is run in both directions.
Ann Arbor is nice but super expensive and may not be for everyone. It's for sure not for me. Too liberal and boarder line hipster.. and expensive (worth mentioning twice) Traverse City is fantastic and pretty low cost. But your at the top of the state so seeing your accounts in NE Ohio would be a 4 hr drive. Some nice places west of Grand Rapids near Lake Michigan are great too. All depends on what you want around you and what your budget is. I'm in the Meteo Detroit area... North and boarding rural. I'd move to Traverse City tomorrow if my family and wife's family were not down here. Most of the state is very very safe outside of Flint, Detroit, some parts of Saginaw and some parts of Grand Rapids. But overall very safe state as the high crime rate is isolated to a few small spots.
Yea, everything peakpowersports said is spot on. Michigan is rough in January and February, (cold, sloppy, and depressing) but the spring and fall are some of the nicest weather you will find anywhere in the country IMO. The beaches of Lake Michigan are awesome for family weekend getaways.
Thanks, some good info. What are some decent metro Detroit suburbs? Traverse city looks great, but that may be a bit too far north.
I live in Canton. It's about 15 minutes east of Ann arbor. At one point it was the 19th safest city in the country or something, which means it's pretty boring. Plymouth, Northville, South Lyon, and Novi are other nice cities to raise a family near me. They're all kind of boring, though.
Coming from NJ, any of them would be an improvement. Not my side of the state so i will defer to the "thumb area" people. But yes it can be colder than NJ and the roads suck giant donkey balls. They probably just dumped Hoffa in one back in the day. Taxes will be 1 million percent better than in NJ.
Depends what's your suburb budget and idea? You talking a 9000sf lot and a house or more like an acre and a house... or more like 5 acres and a house? Suburban Detroit is super segregated and the people and income literally change by 100s of thousands at a stop sign. You want more urban or more 'basic white bitch' type stuff.
Boring is OK, as long as there are some things to do within a 15 to 20 min drive. As much as I'd love to move to the middle of nowhere, the wife will probably be staying home with the baby for the duration of our stay in the state so she needs some stuff to do. I should have mentioned we will most likely rent, because the job will be a 3 to 5 year gig.
Michigan is nice, but fuck the east side. Crowded as all get out, Asshole drivers (capital A), and shitty roads to boot. So, just like NJ. West siiIIIIde >gang sign< is where it’s at; nicer roads, nicer people (many Dutch descendants), and less traffic. Plus, two race tracks near GR (Grattan and Gingernan). And if you ride dirt bikes, plenty of nice off-road trails located around two hours north of GR. Property taxes are reasonable, decent selection of beer, and more than a few good orthopedic surgeons, too.
Yes, But from Metro Detroit... Gingerman is 2.25 hours Grattan is 2.5 hours Mid Ohio is 2.5 hours Nelson Ledges is 3 hours Pitt Race is 3.5 hours And we have cheap flights from Metro Airport to NJMP and VIR. Honestly, though I'd move to Grand rapids or holland if I could.
Parts of lower Michigan are pretty cool for 9 months or so. The UP is the shit. I love it up there. Michigan is one of the most beautiful states in the 50. Easily top five.
Ah, thanks for reminding me. Flying out of GRR is a cakewalk, from ticketing all the way through TSA. I’ve yet to catch shade from anyone working at that airport. Detroit, on the other hand - good thing it’s a fun free zone. If I lived on the east side and frequently travelled by air, I’d do the drive to GRR along with the connecting flight two-step just to avoid that hole.
The Dundee area seemed like a decent place south of Ann Arbor. Spent a couple weeks in the area back in April for work. About half-way between Ann Arbor and Toledo.
Thanks for the insights. How bad is the weather? I understand Jan / Feb are pretty miserable, but how is the rest of the year? Is winter a 7 month affair ie, Oct through April? Assuming the winter is extensive how are the heating costs?