[xfour]

Alpena is one of the areas we are looking to move to. Would love any information about the town, it's school system, things for teens to do for fun, and housing. Any and all comments welcome (both the good and the bad). Thank you.

[zthatzmanz28]

Alpena is a real northern town with urban desires. IIRC opening day deer season is a holiday. And most folks have a Snowmobile for the family's second car.

[michmoldman]

Northern Michigan is all about the laid back...slow paced life. If your going to live there, you MUST love nature and all she has to offer. If you have kids this is especially important, or they will get bored. Its a beautiful area with tons to do if you love the great outdoors!

[NATIVEYOOPER]

Ahh. Alpena. More than just a blink on the map when driving through. A forgotten (or less discovered) part of Michigans sunrise coast. Beautiful area and lots to do. A very small town with practically zero things for teens to do as compared to metropolis. But if the kids are geared more towards exploration and the outdoors it can be a perfect setting for them.

[scolls]

The great thing about growing up in northern Michigan is you can grow pot in the woods pretty much undetected. It takes some getting used to having a party in the woods. Nothing else for kids to do.

[michmoldman]

Originally Posted by scolls

The great thing about growing up in northern Michigan is you can grow pot in the woods pretty much undetected. It takes some getting used to having a party in the woods. Nothing else for kids to do.

Whats to do in the big cities? I am one to think the big city life can be worse off for a kid. More pressure from more kids to do not so good of things, more bars...more nightclubs. I guess you can always get drunk and get a tatoo on your behind...thats always fun.

[scolls]

Originally Posted by michmoldman

Whats to do in the big cities? I am one to think the big city life can be worse off for a kid. More pressure from more kids to do not so good of things, more bars...more nightclubs. I guess you can always get drunk and get a tatoo on your behind...thats always fun.

Are you really that naive to think there is no peer pressure, no bars, and no tattoo parlors in northern Michigan? In Roscommon, a town of less than 1,000 people, there are 4 bars. They also had tattoo artist somewhere because kids in school had them. Kids decided to grow pot in the woods and have parties in the woods. You think because it's a small town kids don't drink and do drugs? No wonder the drugs were such a problem up north, the parents were too naive.

My district spread as far east as St Helen. That's 15 miles away. If I have friends in St Helen, we can't just hang out after school. In the city all of your friends are near by. I was also surprised by the lack of parks. One baseball field in town that ended up getting destroyed when the county expanded the court house on it. The baseball field at the high school was fenced in and locked. I also can't remember how many times I wanted to go to the theater and see a movie. Nearest theater is 40 miles away. Where I live now within a one mile radius I have a pool, tennis courts, basketball courts, baseball fields, parks, golf course, gym and zoo. Within a five mile radius I have a mall, movie theater, bowling alley, water park, and more parks, golf courses, and sport leagues. Not too mention if I ever wanted to take my kids to a Tigers game it isn't an all day affair.

[michmoldman]

Originally Posted by scolls

Are you really that naive to think there is no peer pressure, no bars, and no tattoo parlors in northern Michigan? In Roscommon, a town of less than 1,000 people, there are 4 bars. They also had tattoo artist somewhere because kids in school had them. Kids decided to grow pot in the woods and have parties in the woods. You think because it's a small town kids don't drink and do drugs? No wonder the drugs were such a problem up north, the parents were too naive.

My district spread as far east as St Helen. That's 15 miles away. If I have friends in St Helen, we can't just hang out after school. In the city all of your friends are near by. I was also surprised by the lack of parks. One baseball field in town that ended up getting destroyed when the county expanded the court house on it. The baseball field at the high school was fenced in and locked. I also can't remember how many times I wanted to go to the theater and see a movie. Nearest theater is 40 miles away. Where I live now within a one mile radius I have a pool, tennis courts, basketball courts, baseball fields, parks, golf course, gym and zoo. Within a five mile radius I have a mall, movie theater, bowling alley, water park, and more parks, golf courses, and sport leagues. Not too mention if I ever wanted to take my kids to a Tigers game it isn't an all day affair.

Im just sayin...there is a lot more trouble to get into in a big city. Most bars in the smaller northern Michigan towns are filled with older people.

[xfour]

I grew up in a small town in Kansas. There was drinking on the farm, some kids smoked pot, and some of the girls got pregnant. I am not naive as to what small town living is like, I'm just curious as to what OTHER activities there are for teens and how people from the area think of the town of Alpena. How are the sports, bands, clubs, etc in the school? Is it a good school system, do the teachers seem to truly care and does the community support the school? With the recession, what is the atmosphere in the community, still able to hold its head up or soon to be completely boarded up? I don't expect to move somewhere and have Mayberry. I will be visiting soon enough, but it is always nice to hear from locals as to their thoughts. Thank you for all that have responded.

[mendelman]

Well, I was born and raised in Alpena, but have been away for about 14 years (1997 was the last year I lived there full time).

I was a teenager there and the activities I part took when not at work was generally biking and kayaking and hiking/exploring (especially once I got my car). The benefit is that there are two local live theaters that give opportunities for the interested children/teens the ability to audition/act. Also, there are numerous sport leagues (soccer, baseball, hockey) that kids can join. Additionally, there are two multi-screen first run movie theaters downtown which is nice.

As for the school district, its been awhile for me, but in the 1990s the teachers were mostly good and involved, but, as in most districts, there are those less than stellar teachers. I believed I got a quality education, although the AP options were limited by the time I graduated, but I presume they are better by now.

Really, if your family is outdoors oriented, don't need a Panera Bread and Gap every ten miles, then Alpena would be quite nice. Now, if you are moving there and have a good job too you should be pretty set since housing is really affordable in relation to income.