Thinking of moving to Michigan

[Anakalia]

We moved to Michigan

I had another thread about vacationing in the U.P. but now we are considering just moving to Michigan.

We have some mountain land in WA state, about 30 acres with a pole barn on it we built ourselves, total value is probably something around $70,000 to $80,000 for land + barn. We have a 2017 Kubota excavator we could either keep or sell.

We have a 34 foot Pacific Seacraft sailboat moored on the coast. Other than that, we really only have the apartment we are renting month to month now and our two vehicles, two snowmobiles, two motorcycles, another trailer sailboat and a snowmobile trailer. Ok, we have a lot of stuff.

Michigan looks as cheap or cheaper than eastern Washington to buy a house or land or house + land, or more expensive house even on the waterfront. There is obviously the opportunity to sail and to snowmobile. As a bonus, if we had our 34 foot sailboat on the Great Lakes, we could take the canals and rivers on an adventure to the Gulf or the Atlantic in a month or two of water travel. This is very different from trying to get to the Atlantic or the Gulf from Seattle by water.

So we would want to have the 10 foot beam boat trailered to Michigan. I don't think you need escort cars for that beam, so maybe it could get done for $5,000 to $7000?

Everything else we could move ourselves.

Michigan does have an income tax. I need to look into things like ACA there and vehicle registrations.

It would be an adventure, but that makes it fun.

We made the move to MI a year ago from WI. Homesteading Property taxes saves about half. We also are boaters, and were 2 1/2 hours from our marina before. Now we are on Beaver island with our own deep water dock. We power boat but most here are sailors. Its a great spot: laid back, yet close enough to Little Traverse Bay, Mackinac Island, and the UP, not to mention the absolutely beautiful North Channel of Lake Huron. I am not familiar with property values in WA, but we found a great lakefront home with 300 feet of shoreline. We do not spend winters there even tough 350-400 do. It is a 15 minute flight to Charlevoix, MI and the mainland. Auto plates, and registration of boats and cars were about the same as WI. The real shocker was the auto insurance it was double WI rates. Homeowners and umbrella liability insurance was way cheaper, so it was still a win for us as we only have one car there. The State income tax is 0.5% less than WI. ACA insurance rates were comparable to WI.
Petoskey would be where we would look if we wanted to be on the mainland, or in the Manistique region if we wanted to be in the UP proper. Petoskey/Harbor Springs/Charlevoix, and Traverse City an hour South are all great . Some are more touristy than others.

 

[gordda40]

We have lived in Western Michigan for over 60 years and the winters can be very gloomy due to clouds and snow off Lake Michigan. We owned some property for a few years just a couple miles from Lake Michigan in Mackinac County in the eastern UP. It was beautiful, but it was a 30 mile drive minimum to a town of any substance.

My son did a stint working in the Menominee MI/Marinette WI area a couple summers ago and this might hold some promise. It is in what is known as the banana belt, where they get less snow than many places and because it is on the west side of Lake Michigan, more sun. It has some beautiful harbors and marinas right on the big lake and although two small towns, they have many services and you can take advantage of the tax advantages of both states.

Real estate both in the cities and in the many rural/river areas seemed very reasonable. The area has many waterfalls and nice parks. You can go north and you will run into the "mountains" of the Porcupines and Hurons. There are airports, like in Green Bay and Escanaba, that do provide service.

Supposedly, auto insurance is supposed to drop during the summer of 2020 due to reforms allowing people to choose their level of medical coverage. Here's hoping, because we do pay very high rates.

 

[trirod]

We early semi-retired to Traverse City last year. Love it here! Traverse City is expensive, but if you want some property somewhere a little more rural it gets cheap pretty quickly.

Winter: I don’t think we’ve hit single digits yet this winter, but it has been an unusually mild one. The lake does moderate the temperatures here so it tends not to get as cold at the “coast” than if you are further inland like in Gaylord. Plenty of snow though. Little over 100” so far this season, which is great if you like winter sports.

Auto insurance: this is due to get significantly cheaper come July 1 this year when you will be able to opt out of the Michigan Catastophic Claims Fund, which adds something like $330 a year to insurance rates, so that will help.

I like winter here but sunny days are few and far between, which would be a contrast with eastern WA. Summer is glorious. Fall is beautiful. Spring is meh - that’s the time of year to go traveling.

 

[trirod]

One thing to be aware of is that the Northwest lower-UP mentioned by other people is one of the more expensive areas to live..

We've been looking for a place in Glenn Arbor or "TC" (Traverse City) area for over 2 years, and almost every house we've seen is 20-40% higher than other places in the state. Property taxes in some cases are lower in Glenn Arbor, Empire or TC, but not always.

Cost of living (groceries, etc) is WAY higher. We visit TC/Glenn Arbor every couple of years, and costs for groceries is at least 20% and in some cases (meats, etc) MUCH higher than downstate..

Net, we've determined that "up north" is actually more expensive in a lot of different spending categories than living "downstate"..I've probably driven our real-estate agent looking for us up there absolutely bonkers, as we reject pretty much every listing she sends us on cost delta alone..we can't believe how "little" you can buy in TC or Glenn Arbor compared to even the "very, very nice" areas around the Detroit suburbs..

FWIW..

I haven’t really noticed groceries being any more expensive here in Traverse City vs. where I used to live (Toledo). The biggest grocery stores here are Costco, Walmart and meijer and I’m sure their prices are pretty much the same everywhere.

 

[Anakalia]

Spent years in Marinette. Pretty depressed economy and pretty depressing town IMHO. Menomonie MI is better but there is only one option for a sailboat and that is the one marina there. Nestegg Marina in Marinette is past a bridge that makes it very unhandy for sailboats. Escanaba is another one to check out if the West end is of interest.

 

[RetMD21]

We pay 1.5% for property tax. IDK if that's considered high. Auto insurance is expensive but partly that's due to a generous no fault system which is changing. Apparently there will be cheaper options. Traverse City is nice but it's been discovered and there are no bargains in town.

 

[Jerry1]

If it comes down to auto insurance being important (the cost), I would not discount it for the upcoming change. The change will put people in a situation where they will want to chose the higher liability option which won't be significantly different than it is now. I've been discussing this with my FA and he sent me a write up on this from a seminar he went to. PM me if you want me to send it to you.

 

[RobbieB]

Born and raised in Michigan (Detroit) during the "glory years" of the automobile industry, everyone was flush with dough. I got out when the tide started to change (1979) but all my buddies still live there. I like Michigan, always will, my home state. Going back this fall to visit my buddies and party hearty.

We did a family vacation to Traverse City when I was young in the fall and I got to miss some school. Stayed at the Traverse City Motel, right on the beach. Wonderful. The down side is there are no more smoked chubs from the lake and those were just magic!

 

[ckelly78z]

I'm not in Michigan, but Northern Ohio here, so similar weather. I can deal with cold temperatures, and snow, but what I truly hate is the accompanying wind/windchills that seem to find your face every morning leaving for work, and that dreary, overcast sky every afternoon/evening.

The best weather we have in January, and February is the morning after a big snowstorm when it is calm, and sunny....everything is sparkling (I can hear the neighbor close his car door from 1/4 mile away, and hear the woodpeckers pounding out their breakfast).

 

[oldtrig]

I married my wife who is from the UP of Michigan almost 50 years ago. She will tell you today that no way ever would she move back there. Winters way too cold.
Her brothers on the other hand have lived there for 60 plus years and no way would they move south.

Its all what you make of it. I loved the UP but only in the summer which don't last long.

I hate cold weather but I also hate the hot summers we have. If I had choose I would take the hot summers . Well about late September ask me again.

 

[oldtrig]

I'm not in Michigan, but Northern Ohio here, so similar weather. I can deal with cold temperatures, and snow, but what I truly hate is the accompanying wind/windchills that seem to find your face every morning leaving for work, and that dreary, overcast sky every afternoon/evening.

The best weather we have in January, and February is the morning after a big snowstorm when it is calm, and sunny....everything is sparkling (I can hear the neighbor close his car door from 1/4 mile away, and hear the woodpeckers pounding out their breakfast).

I am not sure the weather where you live is even close to Marquette Michigan. Try staying a winter there and get back with me. Cross the Mackinaw in Feb and you enter the true winter wonderland. Well, thats the way it was in 1970. I had laughed at a friend of mine who lived in Flint when he told me that the UP is nothing like lower Michigan. The joke was on me. I also spent 45 days at Goose Bay AFB in the winter of 1968 and was I ever ready to leave that place.

I would love to spend the 6 weeks of summer in the UP though lol

 

[yclipse]

A resident

I live in Marquette. Property taxes are well under 1% of home value here.

For someone with a boat of that size, I would consider Menominee or Escanaba for upper Lake Michigan, or the Cedarville - Les Cheneaux Islands area for upper Lake Huron and access to the St. Mary's River.

Cedarville is much more snowmobile-friendly in the winter, but remote, while Menominee is only an hour away from Green Bay, 2.5 hours from Milwaukee. Menominee is considered part of the U.P. "banana belt," with much less snowfall in winter.

 

[RAE]

I live in Marquette. Property taxes are well under 1% of home value here.

For someone with a boat of that size, I would consider Menominee or Escanaba for upper Lake Michigan, or the Cedarville - Les Cheneaux Islands area for upper Lake Huron and access to the St. Mary's River.

Cedarville is much more snowmobile-friendly in the winter, but remote, while Menominee is only an hour away from Green Bay, 2.5 hours from Milwaukee. Menominee is considered part of the U.P. "banana belt," with much less snowfall in winter.

Good advice. I grew up in Manistique, and now live in the Western U.P.. The Menominee County area is not going to be very good for snowmobiling in most winters..........they only get a fraction of the snowfall that places near Lake Superior get, as you say. If the OP wants good snowmobiling and pretty good boating, I would still consider the Houghton County area. The Portage Canal would provide pretty good boating opportunities near Lake Superior, and you probably can't beat that area for high snowfall and good snowmobiling. He will need to be prepared for very long winters, though, and a relatively short boating season, if any area near Lake Superior is chosen. Personally, the long, cold, dreary U.P. winters are not my cup of tea anymore, which is why we head south for a while now in the winter.

 

[Fermion]

Thanks for all the replies but after adding up the costs and hassle of moving everything, I think we are staying in Washington state for now. It was always going to be a hard choice to leave the mountains for the lakes.

 

[Jerry1]

Personally, I think a wise choice. Those northern winters are rough. I bought my current home (South East MI) from a couple who built a house and moved to the UP. They were at least in their 70’s but I think early 80’s. They did it because that’s where they grew up and where family are but still, I’d be hard pressed to make that choice.

Maybe you can rent a boat or hook up with someone here and do some sailing. The lakes in the summer really are fantastic.

 

[Rianne]

Lived in Portage/Kalamazoo are for 9 years. Loved living in a vacation state. Lake Michigan is beautiful but has a dangerous undertow. IMO, I'll never forget the winter wonderland, snow like powder, incredible walks in the woods. We had wild turkey and deer in the front yard at night. Highways can be dangerous, 131 N/S had many car pile ups in the winter. Spring filled with fruit stands, blueberries, cherries, strawberries to die for. I was sad to move to Illinois. We lost $60K on the sale of our house in 2012.

No reason to leave the state to vacation. All the great places already mentioned in the posts.

 

[kingkarmann]

We lived in Green Bay back when Bart Starr was coaching. That was awhile ago!
I traveled for the now defunct Shopko Dept. Stores and went to the U.P. at least once a week visiting the stores in Marquette, Escanaba and Iron Mountain. I found it a truly beautiful area of the country and yes, I remember brutal and snowy winters but would not hesitate to live there if the opportunity presented itself. That's saying something, especially coming from a Buckeye!
On a separate note, I do recall the U.P. wanting to succeed from the union becoming the state of Superior. Is that still a thing?

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

On a separate note, I do recall the U.P. wanting to succeed from the union becoming the state of Superior. Is that still a thing?

Not secession from the Union! Just from Michigan, and they would become the 51st State.

I don't think it is under current agitation, but we'd welcome them (back) with open arms!

 

[kingkarmann]

Not secession from the Union! Just from Michigan, and they would become the 51st State.

I don't think it is under current agitation, but we'd welcome them (back) with open arms!

My Bad
and thanks for the history lesson!

 

[imnontrad]

I lived in the UP for a few years. Yes, beautiful scenery. But also high unemployment, a lot of "we've always done it that way, plus alcohol problems and medical care is probably less than you'd want.

For the boat - I imagine it will cost a lot more than $7,000. Plus in order to keep out unwanted "guests", there may be a restriction on bringing in a boat that has been in the ocean. It might be easier to sell the boat and then buy another in MI.

 

[Koogie]

I also spent 45 days at Goose Bay AFB in the winter of 1968 and was I ever ready to leave that place.

As they say in Labrador, summer will be on a Tuesday this year !

 

[RE2Boys]

Instead of Michigan, consider the short area of PA that borders Lake Erie. PA does not tax SS. IRA or 401k monies, but does have property taxes. There is a casino near Erie, so there would be a property tax rebate. You are close to NY, the Burgh, and Cleveland for cheap air flights, and lots of good medical care. Property is not out of sight either, unless you buy a vineyard.

And the area averages about 100 inches of snow per year regularly beating Michigan metro areas. https://goldensnowglobe.com/current-top-10-snowiest-cities/ Downhill skiing close by in NY fed by lake effect snow. Pushed several inches of snow off the driveway this morning, and the next week looks great for collecting sap for maple syrup.

 

[oldtrig]

As they say in Labrador, summer will be on a Tuesday this year !

The winter of 68 at the Goose was one to remember. I was sent there for those 45 ( November and December ) days from Puerto Rico. Before that Guam for 6 months and Thailand for 3 months. Also 8 months in Amarillo TX. What a difference in weather this was. The last stop was K I Sawyer in the UP of Michigan. What a tour.

 

[GravitySucks]

Check out Upstate NY.
Only an hour drive from Lake Ontario to the Adirondack Mountains. World class snow mobileing on the Rug Hill plateau

 

[COcheesehead]

My neighbor in Colorado moved here from Traverse City. They were there two years and had enough. They said they got tired of trying to jam everything into 4 months of good weather. The winters got to them and they are from Chicago.