If you could move your family anywhere, where would you live and why?

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We live north of Detroit, but my dream is to move to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, my Michigan. We have our eyes on a lovely place in the Keweenaw Peninsula on the shores of Lake Superior. Hopefully, we will be able to move by the end of the year. I love the UP and am an ambassador of Lake Superior. My heart is yearning for the sounds of the lake, the peace of the area and feeling the hand of God on me when I am there.

Years ago I wrote my feelings and thoughts of the most beautiful of the Great Lakes. It was published in Lake Superior Magazine.

Can you tell I’m homesick?
 
I think I’m a New Yorker for life.

I’ve been around the country and I just don’t fit in anywhere else. Sure, there are some beautiful places with better weather, but there is no suffering in those places. Everything is just perfect, the lawns are trim, the houses big and pretty, the streets are smooth, the traffic flows, it’s easy to park, taxes are low, the people are overly friendly, etc., etc…

But I think being a lifelong New Yorker has turned me into a masochist. I need the challenges and I need to suffer and I can do that in abundance living here. The traffic is terrible, the streets are like the surface of the moon, the taxes and cost of living are ridiculous, the subways are jammed, the houses are small, the people can be tough, real and gritty and very diverse, and generally, life is quite hectic. But IMHO, it’s all worth it. The food, entertainment, the nightlife, the arts, the education, the architecture, the Churches and the diversity of thought are all second to none here.

So call me crazy, but I think I’m in heaven!😃
 
pensmama87 said:
I live in Pennsylvania and love it. Four seasons, none of them very harsh, beautiful woods and Hills/mountains (I don’t like flat land…it feels desolate to me). Abundant natural resources, low chance of major natural disasters. Low cost of living (though you pay both state and local income tax).

The people are very kind and neighborly. Lots of Catholics.

People may make jokes about Appalachia but it really is lovely country. And far enough north there’s little worry about bugs and snakes, which is important to me. 😉 I like to vacation further south but I couldn’t live there just because of the creepy crawlies.
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I have heard really good things about PA. A couple of different people I know say they would move there in a heartbeat.

The low chance of natural disasters is important. I have lived in earthquake country but other than that, I have not had to deal with flooding, tornadoes or hurricanes. That is a concern.

Funny, where we live now, there are really no bugs, snakes or anything. Just deer and birds in my yard. We don’t have fleas or ticks in our yard either.

I bet the food there is good, too.
 
EveningSkye111 said:
We live north of Detroit, but my dream is to move to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, my Michigan. We have our eyes on a lovely place in the Keweenaw Peninsula on the shores of Lake Superior. Hopefully, we will be able to move by the end of the year. I love the UP and am an ambassador of Lake Superior. My heart is yearning for the sounds of the lake, the peace of the area and feeling the hand of God on me when I am there.

Years ago I wrote my feelings and thoughts of the most beautiful of the Great Lakes. It was published in Lake Superior Magazine.

Can you tell I’m homesick?
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You are so lucky to have a place you want to go home to!!!

What is the weather like? I’m sure the winters are cold.

What does an ambassador of Lake Superior do?
 
jimcav said:
I think I’m a New Yorker for life.

I’ve been around the country and I just don’t fit in anywhere else. Sure, there are some beautiful places with better weather, but there is no suffering in those places. Everything is just perfect, the lawns are trim, the houses big and pretty, the streets are smooth, the traffic flows, it’s easy to park, taxes are low, the people are overly friendly, etc., etc…

But I think being a lifelong New Yorker has turned me into a masochist. I need the challenges and I need to suffer and I can do that in abundance living here. The traffic is terrible, the streets are like the surface of the moon, the taxes and cost of living are ridiculous, the subways are jammed, the houses are small, the people can be tough, real and gritty and very diverse, and generally, life is quite hectic. But IMHO, it’s all worth it. The food, entertainment, the nightlife, the arts, the education, the architecture, the Churches and the diversity of thought are all second to none here.

So call me crazy, but I think I’m in heaven!😃
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My family is from New York and I wish they never moved away. (We left when I was a baby). My relatives would never even think about moving away from Long Island.

Frankly, for the crumb cake, pizza and Italian food I would put up with all the traffic, noise and pot holes, too!

Funny, where we live the lawns are perfectly manicured (and so are the people), the houses are large and pretty, they maintain the roads really well, parking is abundant, taxes are low…but the people are not friendly. Well, I guess it’s not that their not friendly but being Catholic we are outsiders.

Mu husband and I dream of living where people are warm and friendly. And we dream of our favorite sandwich shop in Syosset, Village Hero. 🙂
 
bitterhope said:
Italy is ok. I probably would have enjoyed it much more if I spoke the language. South America was amazing. My husband and I toss around the possibility of retiring there. We lived in Colombia and Peru. Actually all of Central America is stunningly beautiful but dangerous in most areas. I do miss Costa Rica the most though.
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Aren’t there a lot of ex-pats in Costa Rica? What about health care?
 
Why does it have to be the US?

I’d happily move my family overseas in an instant if it was feasible. Ireland, Malta, Spain, maybe Italy…it’s something I’d love to do eventually.

There is literally no place else in the US I would move to besides the state I live in now.

Despite it’s political leanings…I absolutely love Massachusetts. I love the fact that it’s a small state but there is so much packed in one place to do.

I love the ocean, the mountains in NH, that I’m driving distance from some of the best cities in the world.
We have the best schools, the best colleges, the best hospitals and the best history in the entire country.

Plus…in my career field there is literally no better place in the world to be for work. I can’t wait to graduate because I could walk into a full time job with outstanding pay within weeks of graduation.

I’ve lived in 4 other states in my life and they were nice…but my husband and I will always love our home state.

It’s just too bad we are so darn liberal.
 
Kelfa28 said:
Why does it have to be the US?

I’d happily move my family overseas in an instant if it was feasible. Ireland, Malta, Spain, maybe Italy…it’s something I’d love to do eventually.

There is literally no place else in the US I would move to besides the state I live in now.

Despite it’s political leanings…I absolutely love Massachusetts. I love the fact that it’s a small state but there is so much packed in one place to do.

I love the ocean, the mountains in NH, that I’m driving distance from some of the best cities in the world.
We have the best schools, the best colleges, the best hospitals and the best history in the entire country.

Plus…in my career field there is literally no better place in the world to be for work. I can’t wait to graduate because I could walk into a full time job with outstanding pay within weeks of graduation.

I’ve lived in 4 other states in my life and they were nice…but my husband and I will always love our home state.

It’s just too bad we are so darn liberal.
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I agree, those countries you mentioned would be wonderful places to live. However, for employment and family reasons, we would need to stay in the states.

Good ol’ Massachusetts, I love New England! Spent several summers in New Hampshire as well.

I have heard it is hard to make friends if one is not from there. Most have been born and raised in Mass. and have family and friends already established. Have you had that experience?
 
EveningSkye111 said:
We live north of Detroit, but my dream is to move to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, my Michigan. We have our eyes on a lovely place in the Keweenaw Peninsula on the shores of Lake Superior. Hopefully, we will be able to move by the end of the year. I love the UP and am an ambassador of Lake Superior. My heart is yearning for the sounds of the lake, the peace of the area and feeling the hand of God on me when I am there.

Years ago I wrote my feelings and thoughts of the most beautiful of the Great Lakes. It was published in Lake Superior Magazine.

Can you tell I’m homesick?
Click to expand...
Can I be your neighbor? 👍
 
lax16 said:
I agree, those countries you mentioned would be wonderful places to live. However, for employment and family reasons, we would need to stay in the states.

Good ol’ Massachusetts, I love New England! Spent several summers in New Hampshire as well.

I have heard it is hard to make friends if one is not from there. Most have been born and raised in Mass. and have family and friends already established. Have you had that experience?
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That is interesting you ask. I don’t have many friends who came to Massachusetts from other states.

I have friends that grew up in Massachusetts as kids but moved to other states for college and their twenties and then came home later to raise their families.

I have plenty of friends and family members that moved away…and they live all across the country. The rest are Massachusetts lifers.

Yeah…the two downsides to my state are the fact that we are the most liberal state in the country and the weather is annoying and completely unpredictable.
 
lax16 said:
My sons tell me that’s where they would go if they could.

Have you ever been there? I would love to visit.
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How could this place not be Xanadu? 100% Catholic and home of malted balls? Shoot.

Best island ever?

Assuming we have to factor in realistic conditions in the equation (scarcity of work, average salary, home cost, etc), I probably would not go anywhere.

Living in MD, all my favorite sports teams are right here. The weather is a great mix of somewhat snowy winters and hot summers. I can be in the mountains are beach in 2 hours. Lots of culture between Baltimore and DC. The economy in MD/DC/VA is so incredibly buffered due to the presence of the federal government that you really don’t have to deal with the effects of a economic downturn the way everyone else does in the country. As a business owner in the intelligence community where cost of living is high but salaries are on average very high, picking other nice places wouldn’t make sense given you generally don’t do this sort of work everywhere.

The downside is of course the people running the state since, oh around the time Charles Carroll of Carrollton was alive, are generally incompetent and mind-numbingly liberal, as are the residents who keep electing them. Very secular, wordly, selfish people.

Not to cast stones, just an observation. I have my faults too; for example, I have a habit of overgeneralizing and bad mouthing people I’ve never met on religious websites. Ah well, more’s the pity.

But hey - our roads and education system are killer; thank you, Rain Tax!
 
If cost were absolutely no object, to the point where I didn’t have to work, I’d spend a lot of time in the adirondack mountains of New York.

What the Adirondacks have that, say, the Rockies do not, is a whole slew of magnificent, deep blue lakes so clean that many homes are watered with unfiltered lake water. On an august day, when, say, Lake George has been baking all summer and the water is like 70 degrees, there is no more beautiful spot on planet earth than right there, floating in the lake. It is heaven, come down and kiss the face of earth.

(It was also minus 15 degrees there 2 weeks ago). If cost were no object, I’m going somewhere warm in the winter.
 
lax16 said:
You are so lucky to have a place you want to go home to!!!

What is the weather like? I’m sure the winters are cold.

What does an ambassador of Lake Superior do?
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The winters can be a wee bit brutal, but I don’t mind. Back in the late 70’s we had a 400" snowfall one year, a record that still remains.

Stewards of Lake Superior do whatever they are able to do to help protect the lake and it’s environs. Hubby and I are Camp Hosts with the Michigan DNR and camp around Superior often. We have programs with campers to stress the importance of caring for our natural resources. We offer classes about this amazing body of water and we also celebrate Lake Superior Day, the third Sunday of every July. It’s important to do what we can. God gave us this beauty, we must take care of His creation. We pick up trash and keep people from their destructive habits as best we can. You wouldn’t believe what adults and kids can do! 😦

The area is rich in history, natural beauty, copper and so much else! Plus, I have a secret thimbleberry patch! How about that? One-half pint of thimbleberry jam can set you back around $20.00.

My family history goes way back in the UP. I can trace them to about 1845 and my great-grandmother (my namesake!!!) and great-grandfather are buried there. They came from eastern Quebec during the copper rush at that time.

I could go on for hours! You are more than welcome to come by for dinner sometime! We’ll leave the light on! 🙂
 
EveningSkye111 said:
The winters can be a wee bit brutal, but I don’t mind. Back in the late 70’s we had a 400" snowfall one year, a record that still remains.

Stewards of Lake Superior do whatever they are able to do to help protect the lake and it’s environs. Hubby and I are Camp Hosts with the Michigan DNR and camp around Superior often. We have programs with campers to stress the importance of caring for our natural resources. We offer classes about this amazing body of water and we also celebrate Lake Superior Day, the third Sunday of every July. It’s important to do what we can. God gave us this beauty, we must take care of His creation. We pick up trash and keep people from their destructive habits as best we can. You wouldn’t believe what adults and kids can do! 😦

The area is rich in history, natural beauty, copper and so much else! Plus, I have a secret thimbleberry patch! How about that? One-half pint of thimbleberry jam can set you back around $20.00.

My family history goes way back in the UP. I can trace them to about 1845 and my great-grandmother (my namesake!!!) and great-grandfather are buried there. They came from eastern Quebec during the copper rush at that time.

I could go on for hours! You are more than welcome to come by for dinner sometime! We’ll leave the light on! 🙂
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That is really neat! I have never heard of thimbleberries. I’ll have to look that up!

Well, we will just have to make our way there one of these days. You can give me the inside scoop of where to camp and the sights to see.

You’ve officially piqued my curiosity. Thanks! 🙂
 
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