[redwingsfan19]

Originally Posted by jiffin4java

"...it's Armageddon mostly in the minds of a few malcontents who lost their $70/hour custodial engineering job."

I wholeheartedly disagree! My husband and I BOTH worked at a factory pulling 12 hour shifts to make a meager $12/hr and it wasn't enough. We're both college educated and were STILL unable to find decent jobs that we could support our growing family on. We live very simple lives, so it's not that we weren't willing to give up those extras...there were no extras. We were forced to leave and at that time there were many people I knew who were having the same problems. Some stayed because they weren't willing to leave the place they loved. That's a personal choice and there's nothing wrong with that. But my family was one who chose to leave because the struggle was not worth it. We were not willing to settle into a life of struggling to make ends meet with a very low-paying job when we clearly had the experience and education to do better. (That's not to say factory work is terrible, it's just not for everyone.) So if you're one who's lucky enough to have a stable income and can stay, great. But don't be a jerk to those of us who weren't so lucky. Michigan is still home.

Amen to that!! We also had to leave the state 3 months ago to survive with our young family. Michigan will always be my home. Someday I hope to buy a nice home and be close to family and friends once again.

[MIhome]

Originally Posted by Cliffie

Personally, I think the Great Lakes State with its beautiful setting, tourist opportunities, thousands of people eager for work, several different promising industry bases (NOT the Big Three) as well as some great farmland has MUCH more potential than a neon-blinking oasis in the middle of a vast desert, in an otherwise almost-uninhabited, unfarmable state, ruled without pity by Wayne Newton.

It may have,but the bottom line is without the right people to steer it in that direction,it will never happen,more ideological patronage to a subserveant master my friend.Vegas is what it is because the decision was made to be the biggest mecca for entertainment venue in the world,and,with proper planning and fundamentally sound investors,i.e.corporations with big money,they achieved that goal,and they are consistantly growing in all aspects.You cannot even put Michigan on a scale with vegas money wise,it's suicide.Scenery,yes Michigan has Vegas beat hands down,unless it's July and your poolside at the hardrock or the Palms.Vegas has put key player's in place for their growth spurt they continue to keep it rolling.I get guys out here to work from back home,they get jaw dropped when they see a 5 billion dollar project,or a 9 billion dollar project,these projects cost more than most state economies.Honestley if an outfit moved into Michigan and said "hey we want to build a 7.5 billion dollar project"What would you say,now what would you do,that it all sounds good,but lansing see's this cash cow and has to have their piece,for their wonderful social programs and such,so much to the point that the company says F@#k it,we'll take this to ohio or indiana,what would you do?Would you oppose this?Or sit idially by?This is why building is constant out here,politics are left out in the cold,period.As to the previous scenaro happening,it won't.Lansing has proven it's incompetence to the country,and as such,it will continue to be this way until the lansing trash and close minded idiot's have been run out.Say what you want or what you will.

[jiffin4java]

Originally Posted by redwingsfan19

Amen to that!! We also had to leave the state 3 months ago to survive with our young family. Michigan will always be my home. Someday I hope to buy a nice home and be close to family and friends once again.

My whole side of my family still lives in MI and my husband's lives in CA. We're currently stuck in TX until my husband finishes school.....again. It's hard to make the decision to leave all you know and start over, but for some people it's necessary. My expectation of being able to be near family is pretty low. We're thinking maybe somewhere halfway between. LOL! Could you imagine making those decisions without the internet to help you scout out new opportunities and help keep you connected to home? I would think more people would stay if it wasn't so easy to leave (not to mean leaving family and the place you grew up is easy). You know? I know people did it, but I'm sure families didn't move around nearly as much as today. Just my thought.

[Cliffie]

Yeah, it's funny how advances in technology seem to force us to run around like headless chickens instead of letting us take life easier, the way we always dreamed.

[jiffin4java]

Well, I can't say I run around like a headless chicken. I could have stayed and let us lose our house and everything else. Hell, without that technology there's no way my husband would've been given the opportunity to become an air traffic controller, as he's always wanted. I also wouldn't be able to stay home with my kids either. I work from home and I couldn't do that without technology either. Hell, I coulda just moved in with my mother and had her deal with my problems. Wouldn't that be great? It's a double edged sword.