[toejamfootball]

Hi, I moved out to Phoenix Arizona from Grand Rapids in November. At first I didn't mind it out here but then after a few months... I couldn't stop thinking about how much I want to move back to MI.. I wake up here get ready for work go outside and see the same looking tan buildings, strange bushes they call trees, Cars with no rust, Walls that block off my view of houses, Clear skys (ALL THE TIME, I AM SORRY BUT SUN ALL OF THE TIME IS NOT GREAT) and it hasn't rained in two months.

Of course I thought it might be like this when I moved here, I moved for the jobs and because my brother lived here but, I can't do it anymore. I already bought my ticket for Michigan. I will be leaving in June. Even if I can't find a job I would rather be homeless at home then rich somewhere else.

I can't wait to go to the lake and roll around in some grass under a big shaded tree.

P.S. Sorry for the bad grammar.

P.S.S

People in Michigan now, It may seem like it sucks and nothing happens there but trust me, you don't know how good it is.

[Sparrow_temp]

Eh -- not buying all of the nostalgia for Michigan. Sure you can be homesick for any area but I'd much rather have endless clear sunny skies than endless cloud cover and snow. If you don't think the winters in MI are bad -- you must have lived in a very limited part of the state which is not in the snow belt. If you're complaining about the wind in the desert SW then just picture the same wind in the Michigan winter when wind chills are -20+ and snow is blowing/drifting rather than sand.

Even during the best part of the year -- the summer -- there's still the darn insects which ruin it. I swear a mosquito/deerfly/blackfly zooms in on me within minutes of hitting the outdoors. Summer also happens to be road construction season -- detours/traffic backups everywhere.

Michigan has lakes and cheap housing. That's about all I can think of which is positive at the moment.

[cowcat]

I suppose it's all perspective, because I have friends in FL and AZ miserable right now.

Starting in March, FL gets miserably humid and by May it starts getting unbearable. Yeah, it's great for 5 months/year during November to April, but it's just as great in MI for 5 months from April to June and September to November. July and August aren't too bad either, especially up north.

AZ, you basically have 4 weeks per year when you're not blasting air or heat. At least in FL, you can lay off the a/c and heat once it cools down in winter. In AZ you have a two week transition each fall and spring but that's it. Most people turn on their heat a couple weeks after blasting their air each fall and vice-versa in the spring. It's the price of living in a desert with clear skys. People were just not made to live in deserts; we just made it possible with aqueducts, heat, and a/c.

So don't buy the nostalgia, but there are plenty of people who don't mind snow and actually like grass and seasons. You just can't tell on here as every MI malcontent seems to voice their opinions drowning out the very few happy people who post on here. I guess the rest are enjoying their lives too much to post on here.

[toejamfootball]

Originally Posted by cowcat

I suppose it's all perspective, because I have friends in FL and AZ miserable right now.

Starting in March, FL gets miserably humid and by May it starts getting unbearable. Yeah, it's great for 5 months/year during November to April, but it's just as great in MI for 5 months from April to June and September to November. July and August aren't too bad either, especially up north.

AZ, you basically have 4 weeks per year when you're not blasting air or heat. At least in FL, you can lay off the a/c and heat once it cools down in winter. In AZ you have a two week transition each fall and spring but that's it. Most people turn on their heat a couple weeks after blasting their air each fall and vice-versa in the spring. It's the price of living in a desert with clear skys. People were just not made to live in deserts; we just made it possible with aqueducts, heat, and a/c.

So don't buy the nostalgia, but there are plenty of people who don't mind snow and actually like grass and seasons. You just can't tell on here as every MI malcontent seems to voice their opinions drowning out the very few happy people who post on here. I guess the rest are enjoying their lives too much to post on here.

Agreed, Clear and Sunny is nice but not ALL the time, I never seemed to have any problems with Bugs in the summer or Snow in the Winter. At least Michigan feels alive to me, not like the Desert which doesn't in the slightest.

Anyways to each his/her own.

BTW I grew up in Oceana county so I know how the Winters can be.

[suydam]

We travel to Tennessee every year in the spring. It's cloudy and 43 degrees in michigan and it'll be sunny and 78 in Tennessee. For a few weeks, that time of year, Michigan really sucks.

On those nice days, like last night at Comerica Park, when the sun is shining and breeze is blowing and it's 65 degrees out, I don't think I'd rather be anywhere but Michigan.

[Sparrow_temp]

I've spent over 40 years in MI -- some in Northern MI, some in GR, some in Lansing, and some in the western UP. My jaded viewpoint probably comes from just not living anywhere else. I've got an interview for a job in Las Cruses, NM and doubt I'll really miss MI that much if I get the job except for family left behind here. I enjoyed the winters as a kid in MI but have apparently outgrown them....

My escape plans from MI just involved NM and was kind of surprised the original poster was coming from Albuquerque, NM.

[Manox]

Make sure to visit Sante Fe and Taos, New Mexico. They are very enchanting parts of the state. Never been to Las Crusas though. I wish you well. After a few months there you will start to miss the Mitten.

[detshen]

Originally Posted by Sparrow_temp

I've spent over 40 years in MI -- some in Northern MI, some in GR, some in Lansing, and some in the western UP. My jaded viewpoint probably comes from just not living anywhere else. I've got an interview for a job in Las Cruses, NM and doubt I'll really miss MI that much if I get the job except for family left behind here. I enjoyed the winters as a kid in MI but have apparently outgrown them....

My escape plans from MI just involved NM and was kind of surprised the original poster was coming from Albuquerque, NM.

I think that's common. I thought I hated Michigan and winter(I'm in Detroit though, Northern MI winter probably wouldn't work for me) until I moved to California. Now, people look at me like I'm nuts when I say how much I like Michigan, even the weather. I get so thrilled every time it rains, and thunderstorms are heaven to me after living in SoCal which is desert.

You might miss it more than you think. It's nice to live other places though, so good luck on your move.

[TaxBait]

Originally Posted by cardwellave

...It's always comforting to cross the border from Ohio and see Ohios blacktopped, smooth roads, and clean new highway signs with curved, white painted rounded posts, give way to our rough roads and old faded highway signs. (Has anyone ever noticed this?)

What signs? Everything is blurry and my teeth rattle when I drive in MI.

[MIhome]

Where you live and call home is a perspective you have on self happiness,and a comfort zone.It's all in how you see it,or want to see it.Some people find the desert's of the southwest pristine,other's find it a barren wasteland....I agree with the latter....But all opinion's aside,People will alway's connect and compare,past and future situation's on "home".What it was,what it might be,or what it could be.Most of the post's on here are all people who,in these hard day's remember the good...a snow day from school,hiking the lakeshore,or camping in a place where the "allow campfire's because it not so dry you'll torch 5,000 acres with a spark".No one can make an argument for Michigan against someone who has their mind made up that they are happy in their "home".It is what it is.