Living in Michigan

I heard that also and didnt believe it so after some quick googling i found it to be true. Part of the Quadtard Ban Act of 2013. Section 4. Says all quadtards are illegal to operate anywhere north of Lansing.

 

That's a bummer, because those trails up there are fantastic. One of the Michigan snowmobile brochures claimed that there were 5000 miles of trails in the state.

 

Yea i know, just trails for 2 and 3 wheeled machines and sleds. Women, children, and pee pee tuckers will have to adapt.

 

FWIW- formerly NNJ resident who's married to a former Mi. resident, don't do it!!!

Mi. is a pretty State, no doubt, but man, unlike NJ everything seems to be a 30 minute (minimum!!!) drive away. My wife and her family ALL seem to average 20-30k miles per yr.....it's crazy.

I don't know where your job is going to take you most often but her family is located in the northern portion of Oakland County (Lake Orion/Oxford/Clarkston) and it is very nice area, imho.

If being on the western part of the State is an option, Holland is REALLY nice area and the lake views are stunning, so much so that you'll be shocked a lake can be that gorgeous.

If Mi, didn't get so damned cold I would have seriously considered it when I retired.

 

I grew up in "What Happened?" You know right across the Southfield fwy from "Run for your life Honkey"

Good times

 

I won't say "no" taste, but those white wheels...

 

I was going to make a recommendation but saw NJ and hesitated but here it is with cafeats.

My brother lives in Brighton. To me it is yuppy hell on steriods. To you it might be to country. However it has a lot of stuff and a thing that might matter to you....it is on the US23/I96 junction. So access to Detriot, south on 23 to Ohio, not far from I94 and I75 (kind of, look at a map to see my point). Safe and a bit pricy but no crazy high. Good schools etc. 20 minutes or so from A2 and 40 to Detriot so while there is not stuff like big cities right there you are close. Also if you head north US23 is your path. Might be worth a look depending on how big city you are.

Personally I go once a year for an event at Grattan and otherwise find the place deplorable. Good to see my brother and nephews but otherwise I will stay in the land of cousin marryin'. Though be sure to tell your friends how horrible it is here and they nor their kin nor well anyone should move here.

 

Oh and as to A2 everyone should go in the couple weeks before school starts and University of Michigan and before it gets cold to watch the freak show....quite impressive last time I saw it. Mostly harmless as long as you don't get infected by the mutations.

 

Eddie did you move? I though you were over by me in the "McMansion" area?

 

Got to love Arabs Enjoying Nature those @#$#@ used to come out and get a beat down by the locals for leaving their fenced preserve every few years. Used to cut the fence and go skate boarding in the off season in there....oh wait go through a cut in the fence. Kensington was cool then though (decades ago) as were almost all the Metro Parks. One was a gun and knife club but it has been so long I cannot recall the name, think it was down river which SUCKS.

 

When I lived there going to school I was in 'starter homes for young white professionals.' I'd say that map is pretty accurate.

 

For the original poster, A2 = Ann Arbor.

So what are your requirements for a home and budget? What do you want / need in a neighborhood? Let me know and I'm sure myself and the other MI peeps can hone in on a couple areas. I like the Mc-Mansion area, espically the northern side of it as you can get a place on a few acres. Close to the lake, close to good food and shopping.

 

Shoot, you're right. Totally read that map too quick.

 

WTF are you blithering on about. Clearly you are just spouting some BS you think you know. Ann Arbor is fine. It has some affluence but isn't overly pretentious like some other rich cities. Yes if you are a country bumkin you may feel out of place but then again they'd probably feel out of place anywhere other than sippin moonshine in the holler. It can be expensive but you can practically wear jeans and T shirt to any place, since it is a college town after all. I would bet though that compared to the east coast it's relatively affordable. You can also find more affordable housing in most directions out. I prefer it in the summer when most students are gone but it's not horrible during the school year. Since it's a college town there is plenty to do with quite a variety. The nice thing about Ann Arbor area is that it's far enough away from the Detroit suburb sprawl that you don't feel like it's mile after mile of city. Inside and near the circling freeways is packed. Outside you have quite a bit of open space. I would think using 23 to get south to Ohio is ideal and 94 to get east is decent until you hit I-275. Then it's a cluster F from there to anywhere. There is probably a higher ratio of Prius and hybrids than most places but it is SE Mich so there are still plenty of trucks and SUVs. I've realized that all drivers everywhere are bad. Maybe Germans are OK.

 

If your moving here and have to travel for work a fair amount by plane then Grand Rapids or metro Detroit areas are the best bet. The GR airport has flights that connect to many cities but the airport is small, nice, and easy compared to the DTW airport. The Midland Bay City airport is small and has similar flights in and out like GR and is far enough from Detroit (about 120 miles north) to have less traffic etc.

Traverse City is 90 miles from where we are and has the closest Costco. The TC airport has flights to many cities and is a small friendly airport. The population is about 15K with great summer sports with all of the lakes but it does get a lot of snow. There are many ski resorts nearby and in general it's a very nice city but is extremely left liberal.

We're in Topinabee and we get decent snow (avg. 115 inches) but many other areas get more. In MI we have things called snow belt areas. For instance Gaylord 40 miles south of us gets much more snow than we do. Big Rapids where I went to college is about 60 miles north of Grand Rapids and in the snow belt and gets a lot more snow than Grand Rapids.

To summarize, to be in a smaller population base but still with a vibrant, fun, and nice metro area Grand Rapids is the first place I would look.

 

FERRIS STATE ALUMNI IN DA HOUSE!

 

Same here!

 

Hell yes!

I need me an olive burger and beer from Schubergs ASAP dammit.

 

Lots of great feedback here. I keep seeing Grand Rapids pop up, but that may a bit too far north. Most of the business is in Detroit, but I will need to travel to Grand Rapids and northern Ohio as well. There will be a once or twice a month trip to Cincinnati, so airport proximity is needed. I'm in northwest jersey now so it's fairly rural, but if we make the move we will probably end up wanting to be closer to a small city for things to do etc.

 

Hmmm - are there different rules for the Ottawa national forest? I see a ton of ATV's out in the woods when I'm bird hunting