Traverse City, MI

Vito

Well-known Member
Does anyone live in this town or close to it?
I would like a opinion on it as far as safety, quality of life etc. Reason I ask is my youngest soon got accepted to Great Lakes Maritime Academy and he wants to tour it.

Thanks for your help

Vito
 
Congratulations to your son on his acceptance to the academy! I don't think you'll find a finer city of similar size anywhere. It's a safe place to live and there are many options for entertainment. Fishing and boating in the summer, skiing and snowmobiling in the winter. Lots of wineries in the area if you're into that. A bit touristy, but a great place just the same.
 
Beautiful area. Charlevoix is a neat town too. Not very far. Just better like snow in the winter. Think they average about 130 inches. Lake Charlevoix was developed back when back when wooden ships sailed the Great Lakes. During a storm after being damaged they would sail in from Lake Michigan thinking it would be shallow and could repair the boat. Not so, a lot sank in the lake. It's over 100 feet deep. Some of the buildings in town were built from salvaged ship lumber. Used to be a bar in town the windows were from a ship, along with the bar you sat at was part of the deck, foot rest at the bar was the side rail from one. The whole west side of the state has a lot to see and do, especially that North West side. Someone on here lives not too far from there, he'll probably post more. I have a lot of relatives in the Kalkaska, Bellaire area. Aunt and Uncle had a dairy farm there.

This is for Traverse City.

Greatest Midwest Town, Midwest Living
Top 100 Best Small Towns, Livability.com
25 Best Small US Cities to Spend the Weekend, Thrillist
Top 20 Small Towns to Visit, Smithsonian.com
Must See American Cities, Horizon Travel Magazine
Destination on the Rise, TripAdvisor
Up-and-Coming Food City, Cond Nast Traveler
14 Best Beach Towns in America, Thrillist
One of 5 Midwestern Small Towns to Visit Now, Fodor's
One of 7 Top Wine Regions to Watch, Touring & Tasting
One of America's Favorite Towns, Travel + Leisure
America's Most Scenic Waterside Drives, Travel + Leisure
Michigan's Three Best Beach Towns, Coastal Living
Top 10 Things for Families to Do in Michigan, Trekaroo.com
Top 7 Beer Destinations in North America, The Travel Channel
One of America's five top foodie towns, Bon Apptit
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore: The Most Beautiful Place in America, Good Morning America Viewers
Top Midwest Travel Spots, TripAdvisor
Top 10 Places to Enjoy Local Wines, USA Today
One of 3 Emerging Beer Towns, Draft Magazine
25 Coolest Midwest Vacation Spots, Midwest Living
Ten Great Boating Towns, BoatUS Magazine
Top 10 Beach Towns in America, AOL Travel New
 
(quoted from post at 09:53:26 01/26/23) Does anyone live in this town or close to it?
I would like a opinion on it as far as safety, quality of life etc. Reason I ask is my youngest soon got accepted to Great Lakes Maritime Academy and he wants to tour it.

Thanks for your help

Vito
Frankenmuth MI is also worth the trip.
 
Its about the nicest and safest town in Michigan. Town will get a little crowded in the summer, especially during The National Cherry Festival, but other that that a beautiful place to be.
 
I don't live there, but we go there as often as we can. Tell your son to take his bicycle. There are beautiful trails along the water front and all over the area. Absolutely beautiful area. Always something going on in the area. Except for the summer tourist traffic, you'd about have to be dead not to love the area and everything about it.

We pull in a TV station from there. From the news, not much in the way of crime for the population of the area. Funny thing is, when I was a kid, if somebody said ''You're gonna drive me to Traverse City'', it meant they were driving you crazy. There was a state mental hospital there and that was about all they were known for. I believe that facility is luxury condos now.

I know I said area a lot, but that's how you have to look at it, the whole Grand Traverse Bay region. The town is nice, but all along the lake shore, around the bay, up through the Tunnel of Trees, it's all indescribably beautiful. If there's ever a minute that a person is bored there, you're just not trying.

This post was edited by rrlund on 01/26/2023 at 07:38 am.
 
In past years we enjoyed visits to my sister and BIL in Traverse City. My sister taught music in the public schools and they both worked summers at Interlochen Center for the Arts.
It is a very nice area and has a multitude of activities to be involved in.
My sister and BIL divorced and she later married the builder/owner of the Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise in Travers City. They sold and moved to Ft Meyers, Fla.
 
[b:654c4848f0][i:654c4848f0]youngest son got accepted to Great Lakes Maritime Academy[/i:654c4848f0][/b:654c4848f0]

Congratulations to him!

You gonna let him take the classic Ford truck?
 
I have lived there since 1986. Agree with everything that has been said. Definitely a tourist area in the summer, and surrounding area population is growing fast. Housing is pricy, both purchases and rent. Affected by lake effect snow in winter.
 
Great replies. Only bad thing is I get to go up there next month which probably isnt the nicest time of year for the area. We were actually kind of surprised by his acceptance to that school. They only admit 60 students a year due to the size of their training vessel. We are committed to Maine Maritime but can change that easily enough. In the end it comes down to his decision. As I always say we have the easy part as parents all we have to do is send the check! Lol

Thanks again

Vito
 
only been there as a tourist and it was a good trip. lots of wineries in the area and a couple nice antique stores one of which i should have bought an apple picker at.

to keep this post tractor related ;) there is (was a few years ago anyway) a neat little dairy/ice cream shop west of town. farm is right next door and you can sit outside and look at the farm and cows in the pasture while you eat. That was 6ish years ago??? hopefully its still there. seems like they had a JD tractor pulling a flat wagon with green chop on it for the herd.

I cannot imagine being there in the winter.... waaaaaaaaaaaaaay tooooo cold for me... northern Indiana is too cold.
 
From Traverse City your only about an hour or a bit more to the bridge with a few things along the way to see. I've never really been to TC proper though have been in the area a few times. Mostly to load or unload equipment.
 
Yep, only negative is the high prices for property/housing and the summer traffic can be really bad especially when they start doing road construction...Dunno' how gas prices compare...
 
I've lived just south of Traverse City in Kingsley my whole life, and worked in Traverse City my whole adult life. Completely agree with everything that's already been mentioned about the beauty, lots of activities, high housing costs, and relatively low crime. Congrats on the acceptance to the Maritime Academy, it has a stellar reputation as well.
 
Congrats to your son! I have clients in TC and have time there each summer for my entire life. TC is a very lefty area but I never let that bother me. I would not want to live there but it is a nice place to visit. Safety? There are a lot of homeless there. I have never had or heard of an incident but like most cities, I would not go wandering around secluded places.
 
Spring, summer and fall are pleasant and beautiful, winters are harsh.

Are you thinking the school's location or distance from home could be a potentially deal breaker or is your son just wanting to find out what he will need to attend school there? Like many large companies and other branches of the military, turning down a new assignment because of the location could hurt a new recruit's career.
 
He was accepted , we didnt really except it, and will be considering attending the academy after the tour which the school said is best to do in April. It is approximately 15 hours, via car, from home. He is admitted to Maine Maritime also which is 5 1/2 hours from our house via car. We are trying to base the schools on merit as opposed to distance.


Vito
 

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