OT'ish: Moving to MICHIGAN..????????

[TheVictors]

So some on this board have met my lovely wife (clearly my BETTER half) and have met me in person, by text or on social media so I am asking for some discretion in so far as I am on this board without my wife posting or lurking (she did register on MGoBlog and was treated so shitty after her first post that she quit message boards shortly thereafter)....

The topic came up over the weekend when our son (The Official PSU Score Prediction Thread winner) was at his buddy's for a sleepover and my lovely better half turns to me and says, "I want to move out of Denver."

Not entirely out of the blue as many factors have recently caused us to revisit some things, including where we live. I sort of laugh and ask the logical next question, "...okay, so where?"

"Ann Arbor. I just love it there so much and love Michigan ...and don't tell me about the winters because I don't care and I've lived in brutal winters..." (or close to that).

She then proceeds to pull up a website she's clearly been on with Homes for Sale in Ann Arbor metro. Of course I told her that we're not living east of US23 or South of 94, so cut out those Ypsi listings but I have to say she's not kidding ...

So my question for the collective wisdom of the board is simply this -- for those of you who have moved back or moved away or moved from places like SoCal and other places back to the midwest - what advice, regrets, joys and all of the above do you suggest?

I realize this thread is opening me to a bunch of sarcasm, but I'm serious and am also reaching out to other friends who have - rather recently - moved to A2 from the Bay Area and Chapel Hill, respectively..

....So what say you, DSF M posters?

 

[tinselwolverine]

Would your sales/management territories be the same and would your employer be cool with it?

If so, you love Ann Arbor. I don't know that Ann Arbor winters are that much more brutal than Denver's.

I think you also have feelings for Denver too and spent part of your chdhood growing up there...and I don't know where your wife is from but you've said she's a Tigers and Red Wings fan...so I have a good guess.

So yeah, if it wouldn't effect your job and your wife and son want it...it sounds great.

Only please just don't buy the house that I grew up in (or the new structure there that has replaced it).

I'm planning to one day buy it for myself, and if you buy it, in ten or so years you're going to find yourself having some unwanted yet very hard to turn away houseguests showing up at your door.

 

[Monster]

I wish I could advise you. I'm actually pondering the same move. Wish it could be Ann Arbor, but most likely it'd be back north where I grew up. My wife is in love with the idea of AA and it would be my dream home. Oh well. Good luck!

 

[jever4321]

I think you will miss the mountains.. and the sunshine.

 

[TheVictors]

I wish I could advise you. I'm actually pondering the same move. Wish it could be Ann Arbor, but most likely it'd be back north where I grew up. My wife is in love with the idea of AA and it would be my dream home. Oh well. Good luck!

Where Up North, Monster..?

And Jever ...missing the SUN is my biggest worry (for me and the Mrs)

Tinsel ...obvious #1 question and something I'd have to explore. My boss is the most amazing guy ever and if nothing, would let me do it just for a 'transition' to A2..


Thanks to all so far - these are the things I am looking for input on..



(the last aspect of things is that my wife and I actually 'bonded' over being kids who were moved A LOT! I spent most of my childhood trying to get BACK to Colorado and did right after graduating UM. But ....I don't want to tear my son away from his life just because his mother and I are tired of the traffic and other 'qualities of life' in decline in Denver for she and I).

 

[Monster]

Where Up North, Monster..?

.

Near Cadillac, just south in Osceola County. Small village. Moving so far is a huge risk and would be a big culture change for my wife and son. Hell, I haven't even been back home since I left in '01. It's a tough decision. I'm sure that messes with you, too.

 

[Michlady]

I would love to stay here as on I'm tired of moving to either status to life separate from the job I lost. It really is more about what you make it in at least you're with your wife and son. It's not like me when I moved from LA to Ann Arbor and had to sell I go back to winter after 25 years away. You can still fun activities like going up north.

 

[jever4321]

Kids are resilient. We moved a year ago from the mid-west, where I lived for 25 years, to north east Florida. It didn't take long for my kids to make new friends. We all love it! we used to have anxiety about winter though. (Warm weather people) I'm pretty sure our kids are close in age.

 

[dubbsco]

Haven't left the state in my entire 30 years. Seems like that a lot of people I know who moved ended up coming back.

I have it in my life plans to head out to Florida at some point, but not until my loans are paid off (6ish years).

 

[Michchamp]

Vic, I guess it's less important now that your son is a little older, but we've found it's really tough being so far from relatives. If you guys have family (that you can stand being around) in Michigan, that seems to tip the scales in my opinion.

I plan to move back... eventually. Unfortunately with the balance still remaining on my student loans, and two kids, I don't have a lot of flexibility in terms of taking a pay cut or hanging out a shingle and starting my own practice right now. and when I was seriously looking for a new job there wasn't a lot in Michigan, as very little in the area i specialize in.

over the next couple decades, the south & coasts are going to get a lot less habitable due to climate change... upper midwest is going to be where it's at: temperate climate, plenty of freshwater, no hurricanes or flooding...

 

[Gulo Blue]

I would be interested in hearing comparisons of Chapel Hill to Ann Arbor. I think they have a similar feel to them, but I haven't lived in Chapel Hill.

 

[byco42]

I would be interested in hearing comparisons of Chapel Hill to Ann Arbor. I think they have a similar feel to them, but I haven't lived in Chapel Hill.

Visited CH once. Once. AA is miles better.

 

[TheVictors]

Hadn't really thought about climate change that way, MC ...although the Mrs has no interest in SoCal (she spent some time as a kid there) and neither one of us wants to live in Arizona ...both places the easiest for me because my job would not change at all. And my wife is a lake/boat type and absolutely LOVED our week in Northport this summer. That said, she has been to MICHIGAN a number of times now and even over Thanksgiving/OSU game weekend trips, the weather has been idyllic. The thing that sticks in my mind was moving to TC in 1985 as a 7th grader and being horribly depressed as it was cloudy for the first two months we lived there, or so it seemed.

As for Denver, they are saying that it's now up to 10,000 people/month moving to Colorado (and I have heard 18,000) and it's getting pretty bad. Traffic to the mountains is making spending any time up there prohibitive. Road rage reports are up 350% over two years ago and the growth is unsustainable.

So I'm trying to be thoughtful and careful here ...I think some of the motivation to move is borne of anger and frustration at what's happened over the past two years or so.

I'm also very sensitive towards our son and uprooting him. To that end, in my wife's "plan," we wait until he's transitioning between Elementary and Middle School ...and my wife has a guaranteed teaching job in the AA schools if she wants it.

We have a connection.. ;-)

 

[thewolverines24]

My wife keeps bringing up moving to Ann Arbor and she is getting more and more serious about it. I'm playing the waiting game to see how truly serious she is.

 

[byco42]

Overall Charlotte is a great place (the past few days not withstanding). It's one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S. Were I to relocate to MI it would be Mid-MI area in the sticks with a mule, a musket and a mountain bike. Actually, I am here now for the week.

 

[Gulo Blue]

Overall Charlotte is a great place (the past few days not withstanding). It's one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S. Were I to relocate to MI it would be Mid-MI area in the sticks with a mule, a musket and a mountain bike. Actually, I am here now for the week.

You like Charlotte, but not Chapel Hill?

edit: Sorry...going off topic. I mentioned Chapel Hill because Vic knows people that made the Chapel Hill to Ann Arbor move and I've heard comparisons and they appear to fit. But I've only visited (several times), I never lived there live the people Vic knows.

 

[byco42]

You like Charlotte, but not Chapel Hill?

edit: Sorry...going off topic. I mentioned Chapel Hill because Vic knows people that made the Chapel Hill to Ann Arbor move and I've heard comparisons and they appear to fit. But I've only visited (several times), I never lived there live the people Vic knows.

Admittedly, I was there for only a day around the UNC Campus and the area. Yes, I really like Charlotte.

 

[Monster]

My wife keeps bringing up moving to Ann Arbor and she is getting more and more serious about it. I'm playing the waiting game to see how truly serious she is.

If I ever move there, the first investment is season tickets to football and basketball. My wife would kill me, but it'd be worth it.

 

[byco42]

If I ever move there, the first investment is season tickets to football and basketball. My wife would kill me, but it'd be worth it.

You'd make the time to attend every event?

 

[Monster]

You'd make the time to attend every event?

Well, if I'm in AA, would I rather spend 3+ hours at home watching the game or sitting on a couch? I mean, if I'm going to be watching anyway, why not actually be there?