Moving to Michigan........

[yankee jigger]

   Hey all,
  I dont post on here much,a couple things here and dere from Chicago but love bass fishing,especially smallmouth.
  Anyway,the wife and i have been kicking around some ideas since our last tax bill(cook county)and decided with the prices of houses and low taxes in Michigan,it might be an idea to maybe make a move in the next 5 years.
   Im 38,a line technician,mechanical and electrical for a major Chicago food company and shes a teacher.Im 38 and shes 36 tommorrow and a special ed teacher with a masters degree.
   I live for fishing and hunting as do my 2 boys.My wife loves to sit outside and read and as long as im happy,shes happy.
   I know the auto industry really put a bad taste in a lot of peoples mouth and i sympathize with you guys that got screwed.
  Just need some thoughts and suggestions.
      Thanks,
       Brian
     Brookfield,Illinois

[motocross269]

There will be high demand for a Special Ed teacher with a Masters in quite a few school districts in Michigan...With your background you should be able to find something also....
If I had to do it all over again...I would start looking on the North east side of the state...(Alpena area)..The cost of living and housing is pretty reasonable up there and the Hunting and fishing is awesome...The North west Side of the state (Traverse city area) is awesome but the cost of housing and living is off the charts...

[fasttrack]

I may be a little bias, but the Greater Grand Rapids/Holland area is worth looking at. Not without our share of economic issues like most places, but better than much of the state. Nice mix of city and country. Good fishing/hunting nearby or within a reasonalble commute. Housing prices are good and should stay down for a while yet (I'm an appraiser). Some good school systems. Close to nicest beaches, etc in midwest. Listen to me, I sound like a chamber of commerce spokesman!

Marc
Byron Center, MI

[thedude]

i grew up in lake county indiana and lived there for a while after college... you will be shocked at the home prices in west michign LOL i thought they were low 5 years ago.... they've dropped another 20% since then.

the west side is a nice place to be, however  good luck finding a job. Teachers in MI got it pretty good compared to a lot of other states, but there is a LONG waiting list for any teaching job. Maybe special ed is a niche, but you have to figure that every person i know that is a teacher is currently getting their masters or already has it and the rest are laid off. If there is a niche - my guess is that in 5 years it will be filled. There are a lot of desperate people out there right now.

[Dan]

I always advised any of my student teachers to always get special education certification. You are simply more marketable. Teaching jobs aren't easy to come by, but if you are willing to move to where the job is there are openings that do occur. I would highly recommend the west side harbor towns. Grand Haven is growing and has probably hired more teachers in the last few years that any district that I know of around here. School districts in the state have been cutting budgets before this economic down turn and it just keeps getting worse. Areas like Grand Haven, Ludington, etc. have high SEVs and are in somewhat better shape. The same holds true for the Traverse area. It's a high growth area and that's where the new jobs will be. There is lots of places outside of Traverse within easy driving distance that you could find affordable housing.
Any of these towns would be great towns to live in or just outside of.
A nice town to live in or near would be Cadillac. You're right in the heart of some great fishing and hunting areas. In an hours time, you can be on any of a number of great smallmouth lakes. You also have two pretty good ones in your backyard there.
Right now is a great time to be making sure you are looking hard for a teaching job. Over the summer changes occur, fence setting retirees make the leap of faith and districts are up against a hiring deadline with school about to begin.
In education 90% of the staff has at least a Masters. If you're going to work on a Masters though make sure it's in Special Education and ends up with an endorsement. I had four and never had to worry about a lay off.
You'll like Michigan.

[yankee jigger]

Thanks for the replies guys.
   My wife is the one with the Masters in Special Ed with 10 years experience.My high school tried to put me in Special Ed.,long story.
   What we are looking to do is put this city life behind us in the next 5-10 years.I dont care about what job i have to do but with 20 years in the electrical/mechanical field,maybe i could get on somewhere at some decent pay.Hell,if i have to manage a McDonalds ill do that.
  At the end of the day,i want to be able to walk out my door and hunt or fish or just sit on the back porch and look at the woods.
  This 3 to 4 weeks in between fishing sucks and is not the way to go thru life.
  To sum it up,when my time on earth ends,i dont want to lay there and ask,What if?

[Dan]

Your wife may want to consider retirement. Does she have enough years in Illinois to be vested. Could she double up with a retirement from both states? Something to think about. She would want 20 years in MI, I would think, to retire with much.