What I love about Michigan!

mariatherese · 10-19-2006, 01:42 AM

Michigan is surrounded by the world's largest source of fresh water!

Not many people on this earth get to experience living around so much freshwater! And those that do live near the ocean generally don't live near so much wilderness. In the US, we tend to think of ocean properties and coastal towns as being expensive and highly developed. Not in Michigan... where the lakes are like oceans! I grew up in the Upper Peninsula and I feel truly blessed to be a Michigander! And yes, i love winter, too! :)

Some facts:

-The Great Lakes are the largest group of fresh water lakes on Earth... we have 20% of the world's freshwater!
-The combined surface area of the great lakes is larger than the states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire combined.
-The world's largest freshwater dunes line Lake Michigan.
-Michigan has the longest freshwater shoreline in the United States
-A person in Michigan is never more than 85 miles from open Great Lakes water and is never more than 6 miles from a natural water source.
-We have 11,037 inland lakes.

**Corlyx** · 10-19-2006, 03:11 AM

Never been to Michigan myself, but I also love the great lakes. There's definitely no shortage of lakes here in MN.

I live in Duluth, but I've heard the UP is beautiful and gets much more snow each winter than we do.

I get to look out at Lake Superior every day from my living room and you just don't realize how cool it is to live here until you see the tourists clammoring to get to the lift bridge to watch the ships pass through.

mariatherese · 10-19-2006, 10:22 AM

Gotta love those tourists, eh?

I've never been to Minnesota, but I hear it is beautiful there, too! A good friend of mine lives in Rochester and works at the Mayo Clinic. I have always heard that Minneapolis is a rad town.

I hope to visit every state someday!

grammyof4 · 10-20-2006, 10:54 AM

I have been to the UP. Very nice area. My Dad's family is from Bay City. We camped there a few years ago. Bay City has a great camp ground.
My Dad grew up in Pontiac and that's where my Grandmother lived until she moved here. Because my Dad worked for Ford, I spent early years living in Dearborn and Livonia. I have very pleasant memories of that area, but it's been a very long time since I've been back. I read so many bad stats. Would I even recognize Pontiac or the Detroit suburbs anymore? Would it break my heart?

mariatherese · 10-20-2006, 12:48 PM

It would break your heart.

Except Dearborn and Livonia are OK I guess.... but probably a lot more developed than you remember. Pontiac and Detroit are pretty run-down.

I don't know- I'm a Yooper, so Michigan to me doesn't mean the overpopulated SE area. It means the woods up north!

grammyof4 · 10-20-2006, 01:19 PM

That shows you how old I am. There were still woods in Pontiac when I'd visit in the summers.

**T.S.** · 12-30-2006, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mariatherese

Michigan is surrounded by the world's largest source of fresh water!

Not many people on this earth get to experience living around so much freshwater! And those that do live near the ocean generally don't live near so much wilderness. In the US, we tend to think of ocean properties and coastal towns as being expensive and highly developed. Not in Michigan... where the lakes are like oceans! I grew up in the Upper Peninsula and I feel truly blessed to be a Michigander! And yes, i love winter, too! :)

Some facts:

-The Great Lakes are the largest group of fresh water lakes on Earth... we have 20% of the world's freshwater!
-The combined surface area of the great lakes is larger than the states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire combined.
-The world's largest freshwater dunes line Lake Michigan.
-Michigan has the longest freshwater shoreline in the United States
-A person in Michigan is never more than 85 miles from open Great Lakes water and is never more than 6 miles from a natural water source.
-We have 11,037 inland lakes.

Nice post.

I didn't realize that Michigan came so close to Minnesota with the number of lakes. Minnesota has 11,842 lakes over 10 acres in size. I didn't even realize lakes are so rare in other parts of the country until I moved away to North Carolina. I might look into buying some land in the Upper Peninsula someday for a place to get away from everything once in awhile.

**Wyody** · 01-24-2007, 11:49 PM

Michigan - a beautiful state. Cherries all over the north. Warren Dunes over on Lake Michigan - you can body-surf the waves or grab a cafeteria-tray or waxed-cardboard and surf the dunes!
Nascar south - near Brooklyn.
A 15-mile chain of lakes near Coldwater with fishing-derbies every winter.
Allen MI, near Coldwater, is a town full of antique-shops.
Hillsdale College - one of the most famous colleges full or rich folks from all over the world - coexisting with the locals.
Hillsdale is also the site of the first officially recorded streaking in the '70's.
Niles and Holland are beautiful - Holland being the site of the annual Tulip Festival.
Traverse Bay on Lake Michigan for a fantastic romantic or shopping get-away.
Grayling and Kalkaska in the north for fantastic camping in the forests.
And then, of course, that magical land known as the U.P. Lush and beautiful much of the year. Snow-covered, cold and somewhat isolated in winter.
Michigan's economy goes back and forth - but if you can get past that then Moving to Michigan can bring you a lifetime of enjoyment.

10-19-2006, 01:42 AM	#1 (permalink)
mariatherese Junior Member Join Date: Oct 19th, 2006 Location: Detroit Posts: 34	What I love about Michigan! Michigan is surrounded by the world's largest source of fresh water! Not many people on this earth get to experience living around so much freshwater! And those that do live near the ocean generally don't live near so much wilderness. In the US, we tend to think of ocean properties and coastal towns as being expensive and highly developed. Not in Michigan... where the lakes are like oceans! I grew up in the Upper Peninsula and I feel truly blessed to be a Michigander! And yes, i love winter, too! :) Some facts: -The Great Lakes are the largest group of fresh water lakes on Earth... we have 20% of the world's freshwater! -The combined surface area of the great lakes is larger than the states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire combined. -The world's largest freshwater dunes line Lake Michigan. -Michigan has the longest freshwater shoreline in the United States -A person in Michigan is never more than 85 miles from open Great Lakes water and is never more than 6 miles from a natural water source. -We have 11,037 inland lakes.

10-19-2006, 03:11 AM	#2 (permalink)
Corlyx Junior Member Join Date: Oct 14th, 2006 Location: Duluth, MN Posts: 95	RE: What I love about Michigan! Never been to Michigan myself, but I also love the great lakes. There's definitely no shortage of lakes here in MN. I live in Duluth, but I've heard the UP is beautiful and gets much more snow each winter than we do. I get to look out at Lake Superior every day from my living room and you just don't realize how cool it is to live here until you see the tourists clammoring to get to the lift bridge to watch the ships pass through.

10-19-2006, 10:22 AM	#3 (permalink)
mariatherese Junior Member Join Date: Oct 19th, 2006 Location: Detroit Posts: 34	RE: What I love about Michigan! Gotta love those tourists, eh? I've never been to Minnesota, but I hear it is beautiful there, too! A good friend of mine lives in Rochester and works at the Mayo Clinic. I have always heard that Minneapolis is a rad town. I hope to visit every state someday!

01-24-2007, 11:49 PM	#8 (permalink)
Wyody arrgh, me buckoes Join Date: Jan 14th, 2007 Posts: 2,146	Re: What I love about Michigan! Michigan - a beautiful state. Cherries all over the north. Warren Dunes over on Lake Michigan - you can body-surf the waves or grab a cafeteria-tray or waxed-cardboard and surf the dunes! Nascar south - near Brooklyn. A 15-mile chain of lakes near Coldwater with fishing-derbies every winter. Allen MI, near Coldwater, is a town full of antique-shops. Hillsdale College - one of the most famous colleges full or rich folks from all over the world - coexisting with the locals. Hillsdale is also the site of the first officially recorded streaking in the '70's. Niles and Holland are beautiful - Holland being the site of the annual Tulip Festival. Traverse Bay on Lake Michigan for a fantastic romantic or shopping get-away. Grayling and Kalkaska in the north for fantastic camping in the forests. And then, of course, that magical land known as the U.P. Lush and beautiful much of the year. Snow-covered, cold and somewhat isolated in winter. Michigan's economy goes back and forth - but if you can get past that then Moving to Michigan can bring you a lifetime of enjoyment.

10-20-2006, 10:54 AM	#4 (permalink)
grammyof4 Newbie Join Date: Oct 19th, 2006 Posts: 15	I have been to the UP. Very nice area. My Dad's family is from Bay City. We camped there a few years ago. Bay City has a great camp ground. My Dad grew up in Pontiac and that's where my Grandmother lived until she moved here. Because my Dad worked for Ford, I spent early years living in Dearborn and Livonia. I have very pleasant memories of that area, but it's been a very long time since I've been back. I read so many bad stats. Would I even recognize Pontiac or the Detroit suburbs anymore? Would it break my heart?

10-20-2006, 12:48 PM	#5 (permalink)
mariatherese Junior Member Join Date: Oct 19th, 2006 Location: Detroit Posts: 34	It would break your heart. Except Dearborn and Livonia are OK I guess.... but probably a lot more developed than you remember. Pontiac and Detroit are pretty run-down. I don't know- I'm a Yooper, so Michigan to me doesn't mean the overpopulated SE area. It means the woods up north!

10-20-2006, 01:19 PM	#6 (permalink)
grammyof4 Newbie Join Date: Oct 19th, 2006 Posts: 15	That shows you how old I am. There were still woods in Pontiac when I'd visit in the summers.