i’ve finished with the census, so back to unemployment. now the big life decisions come in.
i can stay where i am and go into big debt to fix a house that needs a lot of fixing or i can move.
if i move i would need or want the following:
a. i don’t drive so i would need a walkable town or one with good public transport.
b. i would like a beach (lake or ocean).
c. house prices that are around $100,000. us.
d. some where with not to many insects. the southeast is not an area i’m looking at. the bugs are just way too big!
i’m thinking great lakes area, upstate new york or the u.p. of michigan. i do like snow, so large amounts of snow are okay.
anyone have any suggestions of what towns/cities/villages i should take a look at? i would be traveling around septemberish to take a look at places to move to.
I’m in the UP, and there are plenty of places here that meet most of your criteria. My particular town is the largest in the UP, but still it:
is very walkable if you live in the central part of town. Public transportation is OK - there is a bus service, but the tend to only come every 30 minutes or so during peak times, far less than that at night/weekends. Still, my mother-in-law doesn’t drive, doesn’t live in the middle of town, and she does just fine with public transport. Taxis are plentiful and charge a flat rate of about $6 to go anywhere in town.
If you ride a bike, you can get from one edge of town to the other in about 15 minutes. Of course, that’s not always possible in the winter (though there are people who bike all year round. Crazy people.)
Gorgeous, gorgeous beaches. No problems there, unless you hate cold water.
If you’re not picky, you can find a house for WAY less than $100K. Heck, I just looked at Realtor.com, and there’s a house going for $30K in town. Not the greatest part of town (but not dangerous - no place is dangerous), and definitely a very small fixer-upper, but still… $30K. For $100K, you’ll find something pretty nice.
We do have bugs in the summer. Not so much in the winter. But if you’re in town they’re not bad at all - some mosquitoes and gnats in June, biting flies on beaches in the woods (but not the beaches in town), maybe some ants. I live in the woods and I rarely use bug spray when I’m outside. Inside bugs - roaches, etc - are not an issue unless you really go out of the way to be a pig.
Lots and lots of snow. But lots and lots to do in the snow as well - tons of skiing trails, winter festivals, etc. etc.
How about New Buffalo? Nice town in the low, Southwest corner of Michigan, on the lake. Nice climate - has all four seasons, not a lot of extremes in the weather.
And, I don’t know what your profession is, but there’s a high-speed Amtrak train that now runs all day to downtown Chicago.
My advice - don’t go into debt, particularly for a fixer-upper.
athena, i was looking at s.s.marie. looks like a nice city, superior is the only great lake i haven’t been to, but i kinda like it from what i’ve read. who wouldn’t? deepest and coldest of the 5 and it has quite the reputation. erie is the one i’m kinda “heh” on. i’ve liked ontario, huron, and michigan.
i was also thinking minominee. know anything about that town?
sateryn, new buffalo sounds intriging… i have relatives in the chicago area so that is a big possible. i’m off to poke around about house prices. i’m a general office kind of person. admin., receptionist, print/supply/mail room kinda person. dream job would be working at a museum.
i’m not going into debt for this house. it would take at least 100,000. to fix the house, not to mention somewhere to live for a year while it is being done.
when i win the lottery i would still move elsewhere, but be able to hold onto the house. not banking on the lottery though!
no, not too big. i’m in a big city now… phila. it is a nice city but i can’t afford to swap houses out in it. to get into a house in better shape would put me into the same type of debt that fixing it would.
so i figured if i had to move i may as well move near an ocean or lake.
You’ve picked 3 nice towns in the U.P. Pretty much all of these are going to have a lot of outdoor stuff to do, if that’s important to you. I have no clue on housing prices, but I’m assuming that’s easy enough to Google. I’d say it’s time for you to plan a road trip and check out the whole area.
I’m assuming you mean Menominee, right? Menominee MI & Marinette WI are essentially one city. They’re fairly close to the thriving Metropolis of Green Bay, so if getting to a larger town is of interest, that’s a good choice.
Sault Ste. Marie MI and Sault Ste. Marie Ontario are also right next to each other, but (of course) separated by the International Bridge. Sault Ste. Marie Ontario is much larger than Sault Ste. Marie Michigan. I’m not a huge fan of these cities, but granted, I haven’t spent much time in them. They seem a bit industrial to me, and there’s a few too many casinos.
Marquette’s a college town, but the college doesn’t dominate. Lots of festivals in the summer - food fests, art fests, beer fests, music fests, etc. Decent restaurants, cute downtown. Big hospital, if that’s important to you.
There’s a good series of articles on the UP at NPR here.
You want the South Suburbs of Chicago. You can find cheap homes in the South Suburbs, yes under 100K. Of course you have to be willing to live with African Americans.
As for the UP, c’mon folks, it’s beautiful from June - August and for a visit of less than a week any other times. It’s beautiful, I’ll give you, but it’s cold and snowy and not much to do other than look at the scenery.
Seriously, I’ve been in the UP in winter and you have to REALLY really, really, REALLY love the snow and cold to live there.
That said, it’s a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.
World class cross country skiing, including various highly-rated races
Decent downhill skiing (no, we can’t compete with real mountain skiing. But for the non-mountainous states, we do pretty well)
Amazing snowshoeing
Amazing snowmobiling
Dog-sled racing
Various festivals like the Snow Sculpture festival in Houghton
Ice Hockey, both for you to play and to watch
Small, cute towns to hang out it, none of which are affected by snow the way larger cities are. We know how to clear the roads and make it so you never have to be stuck home because the driving sucks.
Pretty decent live local music in the bars/restaurants
Affordable cabins to spend cozy snow-filled weekends in
I’m self-employed, work from home, and can live anywhere in the country. I seriously can’t think of a place I’d rather be than the UP (we’ve tried, trust me). I’m not the only one who thinks that way, either - many, many people I know who don’t live here have expressed envy that I’ve found a way to make a living up here, and ask me for advise on how to move here themselves - unless you’re in a select few professions, jobs up here are hard to come by.
So, just because YOU wouldn’t want to live here doesn’t mean that those of us who do are somehow crazy snow hermits. There’s plenty of stuff to do up here in the winter, assuming you’re not the type who hates the snow & cold (and not everyone does, trust me.)
South suburbs of Chicago? Now THERE’S a place I wouldn’t live if you paid me to. Or anywhere in or near Chicago, for that matter.
Doh, what am I saying?!? :smack: We’ve got too many tourists as it is. Forget my previous post, Markxxx is right, this place sucks in the winter, and the summer tends to be cold, rainy, and full of mosquitos. Please stay away.
the snow is one of the things i like. the longer the plants are under it the better. my allergies are a lot better in the winter.
philly is odd in snow… for some reason this city thinks it is l.a. and it doesn’t rain or snow. people freak out and can’t remember how to drive in it. really odd.
