[Indentured Servant]

Originally Posted by Edgefield D

I guess my post kind of sounded like I was calling it small...I didn't really mean it quite like that. But, there would be a noticeable difference between a city of 1.6 million and one of 15 thousand. I would think the OP probably has things that are most important to her. She would just need to decide what those are.

You mean a metro of 1.6 million vs a metro of 144,000. Still a big difference but you were comparing a metro are to a city and not metro to metro.

That said.....for me not having a major airport would be an issue, unless you do not travel that much.

[MsVaslovik]

I grew up in Michigan. Went back there twice since leaving. It did not end well. There are no jobs there, and the state government is totally clueless.

Move to Tennessee.

The ONLY good thing I can remember about growing up in Michigan was that CKLW Windsor Ontario, The Big 8, was on our radio all day every day. It was the soundtrack of my youth. God bless Rosalie Trombley

[MS313]

Originally Posted by MsVaslovik

I grew up in Michigan. Went back there twice since leaving. It did not end well. There are no jobs there, and the state government is totally clueless.

Move to Tennessee.

The ONLY good thing I can remember about growing up in Michigan was that CKLW Windsor Ontario, The Big 8, was on our radio all day every day. It was the soundtrack of my youth. God bless Rosalie Trombley

Tennessee unemployment rate: 4.5%
Michigan unemployment rate: 4.8%
National unemployment rate: 5.0%

Tennessee household income: $44,361
Michigan household income: $49,847

Tennessee GDP: $272.305
Michigan GDP: $414.113
source: department of numbers.
Yea... I doubt you will do that much better in Tennessee unless they have a field more tailored to your career.

BTW this thread is 3 years old... I'm sure he made up his mind by now.

[Serious Conversation]

FWIW, I'm from east Tennessee and have had three friends, all in tech, move to Michigan because they couldn't find decent employment in Tennessee. The worst offer was double the TN salary - one guy is nearly triple.

[Bimmerfanboy]

I'd definitely go for Nashville or Knoxville over Traverse City. The former two are at least bigger cities with more to do (although they pale in comparison to cities along the coast or Chicago).

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by Bimmerfanboy

I'd definitely go for Nashville or Knoxville over Traverse City. The former two are at least bigger cities with more to do (although they pale in comparison to cities along the coast or Chicago).

There's no comparison between the two. Traverse City metro is around 150k - Knoxville is 1m, Nashville about 2m.

For me, it doesn't make sense to live in TN. Try as I might - I can't find anything there paying worth a crap. A few years ago, I had an interview with UT-Knoxville for the lead position for IT support for the whole Knoxville campus. This was a lead tech (no management responsibility - but last in line technically) that paid...$12.38/hr. I live in Indiana (RTW, not a high wage state) and the Aldi near me starts around that now.

One of the people I mentioned earlier has an MS in CS and had four years of development experience. Salary here? $35k. Salary in Ann Arbor? Six figures.

I also think Knoxville punches well below its weight for metros its size. It has the university, and nothing else really. Greenville, SC is a far superior metro around the same size not that far away. I lived in Des Moines and it had a big city feel Knoxville can't match. I've only been to GR a few times, but thought it was better too

[newdixiegirl]

Originally Posted by MS313

Tennessee unemployment rate: 4.5%
Michigan unemployment rate: 4.8%
National unemployment rate: 5.0%

Tennessee household income: $44,361
Michigan household income: $49,847

Tennessee GDP: $272.305
Michigan GDP: $414.113
source: department of numbers.
Yea... I doubt you will do that much better in Tennessee unless they have a field more tailored to your career.

BTW this thread is 3 years old... I'm sure he made up his mind by now.

Well, it depends on where in Michigan and where in Tennessee one lives, and it depends on one's definition of "doing better."

Lived in Metro Detroit for 14 years; couldn't wait to get out. I've lived in Nashville for almost 5 years, and, yes, it was challenging for ME to get a decently paying position in my field (my ex-husband, in comparison, with 2 STEM master's degrees, earns more money here than he's ever earned). But I feel MUCH happier here. I find people are so much more forthcoming to outsiders than I found them to be in Michigan (not from there originally). And, funnily enough, though I'm now further away from my family, who mostly reside in Toronto, I feel less cut off here than I did in Detroit.

Sometimes, we have to look beyond data to make a sound decision.

[MS313]

Originally Posted by newdixiegirl

Well, it depends on where in Michigan and where in Tennessee one lives, and it depends on one's definition of "doing better."

Lived in Metro Detroit for 14 years; couldn't wait to get out. I've lived in Nashville for almost 5 years, and, yes, it was challenging for ME to get a decently paying position in my field (my ex-husband, in comparison, with 2 STEM master's degrees, earns more money here than he's ever earned). But I feel MUCH happier here. I find people are so much more forthcoming to outsiders than I found them to be in Michigan (not from there originally). And, funnily enough, though I'm now further away from my family, who mostly reside in Toronto, I feel less cut off here than I did in Detroit.

Sometimes, we have to look beyond data to make a sound decision.

That's true it does depend. You'll have much more opportunities in Nashville than Traverse City.

I agree we do have to look beyond data if you want to make a personal decision. SF looks good on paper but I wouldn't want to live there. As long as you are happy with your decision that's the only thing that matters . It's when people make false statements then I have a problem.

[newdixiegirl]

Originally Posted by MS313

That's true it does depend. You'll have much more opportunities in Nashville than Traverse City.

I agree we do have to look beyond data if you want to make a personal decision. SF looks good on paper but I wouldn't want to live there. As long as you are happy with your decision that's the only thing that matters . It's when people make false statements then I have a problem.

NOTHING wrong with Traverse City, though. Winter aside, it's one of the few places in Michigan I'd consider living in IF a decently-paying job was there for me. Beautiful city.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by newdixiegirl

NOTHING wrong with Traverse City, though. Winter aside, it's one of the few places in Michigan I'd consider living in IF a decently-paying job was there for me. Beautiful city.

Traverse City is a great place but the employment base is just not there to support a large workforce. It's fantastic to retire to and vacation to, but it lacks a lot of amenities (and some people like that slower pace). Transferring there for work is chancy because you might be getting the only J.O.B. in your field. If things don't work out with that employer..

Personally I wouldn't live in a metro of less than 1.2 - 1.5 Million people. Economies become a lot more diverse once you get above that mark, even the Detroit metro economy is way more diverse than much of the country.

I love visiting Nashville and think it's definitely a boomtown, but spending more than 2 days there and I can TELL it's different from Michigan. Country music in every grocery store, gas station, elevator, rest stop, restaurant and office building is enough to make me want to jump in front of a bus (while a country song is playing).

I've only driven through Knoxville so I can't really say. It reminds me of Louisville, KY. I always get those two mixed up, except there's a big pyramid in one of their downtowns?