[magellan]

Originally Posted by Giesela

Last.......June? we stopped at Whitefish point and RAN back to car. We were covered in mosquito's. Even with rain jackets on etc. it was just nerve wracking to have so many following you around in a big cloud.

We must've gotten lucky timing wise.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by yoopertransplant

Perhaps I can help the OP better than most others here. I am (basically) a lifelong Southerner (born and raised in Florida) now living in...Gwinn, Michigan (of all places). While I have no experiences with mobility issues, I have plenty of experience with winters here in Gwinn. Allow me to say that nobody has exaggerated anything here. If anything, I think some might have sugarcoated it a little. We get TONS of snow here. We also regularly experience bone-numbingly cold nights AND days. It's not all that uncommon to go a couple weeks at a time without climbing above 0 degrees.


Having said all that, those are actually the reasons we moved here! Yep, we're crazy Southerners who were sick and tired of the heat and humidity of the South and we were prepared to make a BIG change. Rather than griping about how hot and humid it was down South, we decided to take a proactive approach and get the heck outta there. So we did. We moved here April 1, 2016. And we have never regretted it for a minute. We absolutely LOVE it here!


To address your concerns about heating costs, I will simply say that we have UPPCO (you mentioned them) and rarely see a gas bill over $100 in the winter ($30-$40 in the summer). Again, we're from Florida. If WE can handle the cold without feeling a need to crank our heat up to 90 in the winter, most others can, too. Honestly, we USUALLY keep our thermostat set at around 70 to 72 degrees and we are very comfortable. Having said that, we did wrap our windows this past winter. We are heading into our third winter currently and have no plans to wrap our windows this year. That could change if we end up having an insanely cold winter, but we're not expecting that this year.

Some have mentioned the cost of car insurance here and I will not lie, it's not cheap. Ours basically doubled from what we were paying in Florida. We don't have a new vehicle (and we also don't have full coverage, which we really should) and we pay around $100 per month. It's nothing too excessive, but definitely something to consider. Also, some have mentioned gas prices and that is also not cheap here. It's currently around $2.92 for regular unleaded.

I have also noticed some here mentioning the fact that housing is typically cheaper here than what you're probably paying. That is also very true. Depending on WHERE you would like to live in the area it can be dirt cheap. I'm about to drop a bomb that many in the Yooper threads consider to be liken to that of vulgarity. We actually live on the former K.I. Sawyer AFB (it's technically about 7 or 8 miles from Gwinn, but we do have a Gwinn address) and allow me to tell you that it is NOTHING like the threads here on city-data claim. From what I have gathered, it truly was a very shady place to live just a few years ago. I can assure you that is not the case today. IF you choose to go that route, I would highly recommend renting through MACASU. That's who we rent from and they are truly great people to deal with. We live in a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom townhouse. It's a full two-story and it also has a full basement and a garage. Our rent is $400 a month and includes water and snow removal for that great price!


These townhouses are in very good condition and come with hardwood floors. Obviously, you would not want (or need) a 3/2 if it's just you and your wife. The stairs would probably prove to be problematic for your wife. I believe the one bedroom apartments/townhouses have the bedroom on the first floor. In fact, they most likely don't have a second floor (unless they also come with basements?). If this interests you at all, I would recommend calling MACASU and talking to the manager, Scott. Again, this post will probably be met with plenty of ridicule from those who have heard of the problems the old AFB used to face. I would simply suggest you consider the source/s. Those people don't live here - I do. I would never move my family to a dangerous place. Nor would I recommend it to you and your wife if that were the case.


Another thing I feel the need to mention is something that has not been brought up by anybody else. There are things you simply can't measure or account for - things like Yooper hospitality. Having lived in the South the majority of my life (I'm 42 years-old), I can say that Southern hospitality is very much alive and well. I can also say that it doesn't hold a candle to what you will experience if you move to ANY place in the U.P. In fact, I am literally in the process of writing a book on that very subject. I am expecting to have the book finished within a matter of days. It will be released on Amazon as soon as it has been edited. I felt the need to write this book because my wife and I were truly blown away by the level of hospitality, generosity, and just overall kindness we have received from Yoopers over the course of the past 2 1/2 years of living here in Marquette county.


Just a quick glimpse into some of the stories this book contains: Complete strangers have helped us MANY times since moving here. We also had a couple I had never met loan us there Ford Explorer for SIX MONTHS when our truck had broken down for the umpteenth time in the span of a year. My wife had only met the wife half of the couple a handful of times. Neither of us had ever met the husband. We also had numerous people GIVE us furniture when we first arrived here in 2016. The book contains DOZENS of stories like those. I also received permission to use the full names of everybody that has helped us since moving here. I realize the average American would find these stories a little too incredible to actually be credible otherwise. This is in no way an advertisement for the book. I simply felt compelled to mention the intangibles that weren't discussed here. As I said, you can't put a price tag on things like hospitality, generosity, and kindness. And I feel they are definitely worth taking into consideration before making such a life altering move.


Judging by your most recent replies, it sounds as if you've decided against moving here. I won't try to talk you (or anybody else) into moving to the U.P. if it isn't something you have a strong desire to do. I will, however, do my level best to help you make an informed decision about a place in which you have interest. The fishing is phenomenal here. Ice fishing is even better, in my opinion. I have no boat. Perhaps if I ever buy one my opinion will change. As of now, though, I am definitely bigger on ice fishing. As some have mentioned, the mosquitoes are INSANE here in the summer. You don't have to worry about them at all during the winter.

I'm sure there are tons of things I'm forgetting to tell you about this great place. If you have any questions at all, feel free to ask. My family and I are absolutely obsessed with the U.P. Winter is our favorite season, by far! If you were able to handle winters in Maine, these will be very comparable. Oh yeah, I almost forgot...some have mentioned snow tires and I fully agree! Our first truck (the one that kept breaking down) was a 2WD Chevrolet Suburban. It did GREAT in the snow and ice. But we DID have snow tires on it. We've since bought a 4WD Ford Explorer (not the one we borrowed from the couple mentioned) and it also has snow tires. A brand new set of snow tires will last you several years here (even if you leave them on all year, as we do) due to the AWESOMELY cool summers. Also as some have mentioned, it's no big deal to have frost in the middle of July or even August. We have had plenty of July and August HIGHS in the 50s and low 60s!

I apologize for the lengthy response. I just wanted to address many different topics and answer as many questions as possible in one reply. I also apologize for any grammatical errors. It is currently 4:00 A.M. and I am exhausted. I hope you take the time to read all this before making a decision on whether or not to move here. It truly is a wonderful place to live. Best of luck in whatever you choose!

What a great story. You can share the name of the book on here after it's released (I won't tell anyone) . I'm sure there will be many fans.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by yoopertransplant

Thank you very much, magellan. I will definitely come back and share the title when it's released. Are links permitted? If so, I will share the link as soon as it's released. I have a quick (and stupid) question for you...how in the world do I edit my post here? I must be overlooking it, but I see no place to edit posts.

It's been a long time since I joined but I think you have to have a certain number of posts before you can edit? Maybe 10?

Links to things for sale are prohibited but if you give the title I'm sure people will find it.