Why Do You Live In Michigan?

[pharoh]

because no one will move to florida with me

Screw that I'm packing my bags now........you comming TA?

[CandyQuackenbush]

Because this is where my parents made me, this is where Odims' parents made him, and this is where we can kind of afford to live.

Besides, we can't move outta state. He's got an Ex-wife to deal with.

[Gauge]

Screw that I'm packing my bags now........you comming TA?

yay!!!!! get ready TA, we can make it by tonight! *giggle*

[Guest Megalicious]

So .... What about you Troy?

[Homicidalheathen]

YAH, you started it....we wanna know! Why do you stay? (I hope its because he loves us that much)

[Fierce Critter]

It's so wrong and unfair to say things like "there's nothing good in Michigan" and "Michigan sucks" and generalizations like that.

I can understand if people just don't like the particular things Michigan has to offer. Particularly people who have been to and/or moved to the west coast who are really into city-living in areas like San Francisco, L.A., things like that. I can see where preferences would definitely dictate what a person does and does not like about a particular state.

I can't stand full-tilt city living. But I would never - NEVER - say that a state that's more focused on such living, such as Illinois or California or New York, sucks. It's just not my cup of tea, despite all the good things I know I'd find there.

Michigan, people, is beautiful. It still has pristine forests, particularly in the U.P. The lakes are breathtaking. The fauna is wonderful when you're lucky enough to encounter more than suburban squirrels. And the insects aren't scary. The grass is lush. The seasons are distinct and offer variety that can almost make it seem like you're living in 4 different temperate zones each year. The flora, including edible goods like apples, cherries & berries & vegetables, is sweet.

Yes, I'm talking mainly environmental here. When it comes to city life, I can see where more urban-prone folk wouldn't care for Michigan that much. There's not a ton, compared to places like Chicago, New York, heck - Atlanta even - to offer the major urban-ite.

But having just returned 1 year ago from living on a FUCKING COW PASTURE, I can say that if you look for the SIMPLE pleasures of city-life in Michigan, it is definitely there. Easy access to shopping, coffee shops, clubs in the city, a quick hop over the bridge to Canada, parties at friends' and aquaintances' homes, museums, the zoo, festivals & fairs galore.

If it weren't for the fucking depression making me want to hermit most of the time, we'd be too busy to manage with all there is to do compared to NC.

Does the economy suck? Definitely. Is that the fault of the state itself? Duh, no.

No, Michigan doesn't suck. Michigan is different. Viva la differance.

[Steven]

I love it here.

I love the trees, the seasons, the blue collar people.

I love the conie dog

the corner bars with too many cigarettes and people playing old school tunes over cold beer

and the big hill on Hines drive to go sledding on

I love seeing critters all over the place, and I love all the birds, especially the red bird.

I love the smell of Autum and the feel in the air as I walk around the apple orchards

and I love my little Detroit mexican joint that I go to on sundays after church where I get my carne asada and my Caldo de Rez.

and I love to go bike riding with Laura all around town and eventually end up at King Conewhere I end the day with a hot fudge peanut parfait.

I love the fact that there is NO sunset strip, no venice, no santa monica, no beverly hills, no westwood, no nothing that reeks of pre packaged product people.

and I love the fact that I can finnally....go to a football game again.

[HipsterDufus]

I don't really have any problem with Michigan; I just have grown to hate Grand Rapids. It feels like I'm trapped in this POS town with no real friends, prospects, or a way out. <shrug> If it were up to me, I'd have absolutely no problem moving to, say, Royal Oak. It's not Michigan that's the problem, it's my job, my house, and my lack of friends. Beyond that, life is just peachy in this little mitten.

[Fierce Critter]

Hipster - I can relate.

I've spent time in GR and other less urban places in Michigan.

I'd probably go as nuts as I did living in rural North Carolina.

I love the Traverse City area. And I love the U.P. But I couldn't live there year-round.

Not without a small plane flyer's license and my own little plane with which I could fly down to Detroit whenever whim hit me. And shyeaaaah - not gonna happen.

[slingerlandstyx]

and I love my little Detroit mexican joint that I go to on sundays after church where I get my carne asada and my Caldo de Rez.

Ever been to Las Brisas???

I'm here for the lakes. Big water sailing without the damaging rust effects from salt-water.

[LuluVox]

Initially I was here because my parents were, and I had lost my job and totaled my car within about a month of each other in Georgia, and had no other choice but to come and live with them in Michigan...I also needed out of a bad living situation, so in a weird way, getting laid off and having my car plowed into by a semi (I wasn't in it) was kind of a good thing. And now I'm here because that's where my friends and Drew are. (Well, I have friends in Georgia, too, but there's no Drew there.) I don't think we'll live here forever after we get married, though, but for now, it works.

[HipsterDufus]

Hipster - I can relate.

I've spent time in GR and other less urban places in Michigan.

I'd probably go as nuts as I did living in rural North Carolina.

I love the Traverse City area. And I love the U.P. But I couldn't live there year-round.

Not without a small plane flyer's license and my own little plane with which I could fly down to Detroit whenever whim hit me. And shyeaaaah - not gonna happen.

Heck, I love Detroit. I'd *rather* go there for a concert than Chicago, just because it's so much less insane. It's all a matter of circumstances that make me love/hate an area. I can get by easily with (sometimes) crummy weather if I've got good friends, a job that I like, and a liveable financial situation. There's a lot to like about Michigan and I'm not just saying that. I've been to London, Montreal, Toronto, New York City, and San Francisco. Let me tell you that, considering cost of living and natural beauty, Michigan has no problems keeping up with those places.

[Slept with ghost]

because its not ohio

[Guest Megalicious]

because its not ohio

[ManicQueen]

I like Michigan. I was born here and I'll die here. All of my family resides here so I'm not going anywhere.

I also have an ex who won't allow me to move out of state anyway, he's my daughters father.

[Homicidalheathen]

I had my car plowed into by a semi once, and I WAS in it. I couldn't leave AZ for a few years there because of physical therapy and the law suit.

Initially I was here because my parents were, and I had lost my job and totaled my car within about a month of each other in Georgia, and had no other choice but to come and live with them in Michigan...I also needed out of a bad living situation, so in a weird way, getting laid off and having my car plowed into by a semi (I wasn't in it) was kind of a good thing. And now I'm here because that's where my friends and Drew are. (Well, I have friends in Georgia, too, but there's no Drew there.) I don't think we'll live here forever after we get married, though, but for now, it works.

[Homicidalheathen]

because its not ohio

LMAO!!!!

[Troy Spiral (13)]

I like it here generally.

The media teaches us its only good in NY, LA and Chicago (maybe toronto or seattle)everywhere else sucks. NY/LA control the national media, (books, TV, Movies) they live there, the rest of the U.S. is just the crap they have to fly over. No reason to point out anything other than jokes and insults in our direction. Been this way for many generations.

The number of shows/books/movies based in LA/NY is staggering compared to how many people actually live there. If its not based in LA/NY there is someone in the story/movie that wants to leave the "shithole" they live in and move to LA/NY or some other BS. Pay close attention to all the stuff you see from now on. This NY-centric view of the universe is everywhere.

[HipsterDufus]

I like it here generally.

The media teaches us its only good in NY, LA and Chicago (maybe toronto or seattle)everywhere else sucks. NY/LA control the national media, (books, TV, Movies) they live there, the rest of the U.S. is just the crap they have to fly over. No reason to point out anything other than jokes and insults in our direction. Been this way for many generations.

The number of shows/books/movies based in LA/NY is staggering compared to how many people actually live there. If its not based in LA/NY there is someone in the story/movie that wants to leave the "shithole" they live in and move to LA/NY or some other BS. Pay close attention to all the stuff you see from now on. This NY-centric view of the universe is everywhere.

I've noticed this as well. Personally, I dislike completely urbanized areas like New York. Where you're surrounded by concrete and you can barely see the sky because the skyscrapers have blotted it all out. It's very claustrophobic feeling to me. I've been in cities that do a nicer job of integrating with their landscape and I can handle them a bit better (San Francisco and Montreal come to mind), but they still can't get rid of the pollution/smells/homelessness of a big city.

The unfortunate truth of the big city mentality is that if you want to "make it" as an artist or a musician, I do think that your odds are far better if you live in a bigger city where a "someone" can notice whatever you're doing. I think that finding a patron for your art would be a hell of a lot easier in NYC than Grand Rapids (especially if you want to do something "edgy").

Still, I pretty much live in the suburbs, even though my house is in the city of Grand Rapids. Besides all of the other factors that I've already brought up, I really like where I live and I like the relatively easy access to the natural parts of Michigan. It's nice having the breathing room of my own property.

[Rayne]

Honestly, the short answer ... because I am bound here by court order.

[JaneDead]

i honestly only stay here because of my family and friends. i would love to live somewhere else otherwise. i have lived elsewhere and i liked it but i missed the family and friends and so we came back.

and the trees. i love all the trees in michigan. when i moved i missed the damn trees and 94.7. though i don't even listen to the radio anymore now that i have sirius radio so 94.7 would not keep me here anymore.

[Rayne]

I had my car plowed into by a semi once, and I WAS in it. I couldn't leave AZ for a few years there because of physical therapy and the law suit.

You too, huh? Well, except mine happened in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

[sass_in_the_pants]

I live in MI because it is EXACTLY where I want to be.

I like my job, and my neighborhood, but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my friends and my family. I mean, seriously, what's the point of LEAVING the people that I love? Both my husband and I have received job offers out of state, and we've both refused, without hesitation and without remorse. If I have to leave here for employment purposes, I can tell you that they will drag me kicking and screaming.

[BlackHound]

I can't move out of the city yet.

[SpidersMoment]

Cuz i have no other choice. I do want to get out of here. and i will.....eventually.