MSU Red Cedar Message Board

You think that the 75 or so miles Lansing is north of chicago is good for another 1.5 hours of sun in the summer?

(it's not...but those 6 minutes would be totally worth this kind of move)

That doesn't affect how much daylight you get. If when on the clock you get daylight is important, then mid michigan is the place for you.

I think his larger point is that people who are able to make a good income (like pharma reps and medical supply reps) aren't leaving, even if a promotion is available in another market. If you compare what house you can purchase in West Michigan for $300k, and then factor in that these jobs tend to pay well enough that you have money left over for a boat, ski trips, and perhaps a condo in Florida, the quality of life is superior to simply moving to a large market and seeing all your money going towards housing costs.

I was simply pointing out some facts that called into question the points being made. Nowhere did I say chicago was better.

I'm sure there's data out there to show who is leaving the state and who isn't. The migration by education level at the link below seem to indicate that Michigan does a decent job of keeping educated people at home, but doesn't lure any educated people to the state from elsewhere.

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/cgi/cgi_census_BrainDrain_Slides_2010_374832_7.pdf

Having a degree only tells part of the story. People with good jobs aren't leaving in droves by any means...it's the people who are uneducated/unskilled, or educated people who can't get good jobs here.

And as pointed out before, the reason there aren't people moving here for the "good jobs" is that the people that have them never leave, and never give them up. With a stagnant population, there's limited room for growth in most industries.

Missing my point, I like what I do, I like my career. What I don't like is that the upward movement seems to have stalled here, and I'm being pissy about the idea that if I had stayed in my previous office I'd be making 10-15k more per year. I've lived all around the country and decided to move back bc we wanted to be near family when we had kids and my wife got a crazy good job here. I feel like I can't switch companies bc we are one of the only ones that do what we do in the state, kind of a niche thing. It's be stupid of me to leave but I'm still bitter about feeling under compensated for what I do.

Sorry to hear things are getting you down, OP. I'm in a similar boat - I lived in Cleveland for 2 years (hence the screen name that I'm forever stuck with...a cross I bare...) and absolutely hated it. Hated the job, hated the college I worked for, and hated the Cleveland area even more (no offense intended to the native Clevelanders/adopted Clevelanders!) - when I got the chance to move back home to SW Michigan, I was all over it. Got in the car and never looked back. Now that I'm back, I'm starting to feel a little trapped in the job I'm in - don't get me wrong, I love the school I work for and I love the work I do, but like you, I really don't feel like there is any way for me to move up in the world where I'm at. I guess for now, my major comfort is that I love my area of the state and I'm enjoying what I do. Long-term goals are starting to be a bit of a cause for concern, but I'll enjoy myself for a little while longer before I start tackling those.

haha - I used to think that way, but I'm gonna tell you dude, not sure what your definition of "bank" is, but with healthcare costs and the costs of raising a family, you better have two million "banked" if you think you are just going to be able to retire or walk away from your job once you have a wife and kids. Maybe you will be one of those people that can still live on the cheap and do it for less, but spending does have a way of trending (way) upward with a wife and kids, let me tell you.

Where you gunna get 10% in this day/age my friend? I'll hang up and listen.

Wait, so you're going to wait to have kids AFTER you retire at the worst in 10 years? How old are you?

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