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Just Don't Take My Word For It

By Jennifer Allen

Real Estate Broker/Owner with C21 Northland

February 09, 2010 05:41 AM

If you are a regular Ask the Realtor reader, or know me personally, you have heard my fervent declarations that Northern Michigan in general, and Traverse City in particular, is The Greatest Place on Earth. And I'm not just talking about the real estate.
Well, word is getting out.
CNN/Money magazine has recently named Traverse City Number 3 of the 25 Best Places to Retire in the United States.
Residents enjoy miles of sandy beaches on both the Great Lake and many smaller ones. But this place is no backwater. Munson Medical Center is ranked among the 100 top hospitals in the country, and the area is a hotbed for the arts. The Traverse City Film Festival draws film buffs from around the country, the Dennos Museum Center houses one of the largest collections of Inuit art, and the nearby Interlochen Center for the Arts hosts hundreds of concerts, art exhibits, and theatrical and dance productions each year.
They don't even touch on the four seasons of outdoor recreation available; the fantastic boating, golfing, biking, sailing, skiing, hunting, fishing, swimming, or hiking. The strong local school systems and the low crime rate aren't even touched upon. There is no mention about the healthy religious communities that grace our area, nor the continued local investments preserving natural public spaces. And how about our fantastic food?!
Actually, Money magazine is only the most recent publication to highlight the Grand Traverse area. Traverse City made the NY Times' list ranking the Top 100 Places to Retire. USA WEEKEND's MoneySmart magazine mentions Traverse City in its Top 5 Places to Retire. So does U.S. News & World Report - twice - in their Ten Great Places to Retire for Wine Lovers and Ten Affordable Places to Retire compilations.
Field & Stream magazine lists Traverse City as the 3rd Best Fishing Town in America, saying, "Between May and October, there is no consistently better place to be fishing in America than Traverse City, Michigan." And that was before the World-Record Brown Trout and pending World-Record Musky was caught in the area this year!
Fly Rod & Reel lists Traverse City in their Top 12 Fly-Fishing Retirement Towns. Forbes magazine lists Traverse City among the top Cheap Places to Live Rich (2006). TopRetirements.com highlights Traverse City, as does Relocate-America.com. Even the AARP lists TC as one of the Best Places to Live if You're 50+.
Now I am admittedly biased. My beautiful wife and I are both natives of Traverse City, and now our three kids are too. I would put Traverse City up against any place as a Top Place to Raise a Family.
Plus, the Grand Traverse area is currently one of the best bets for real estate investment in the United States. Prices are still very affordable compared to other markets around the country of similar caliber, and Traverse City continues to enjoy insulation from the most severe economic difficulties that threaten much of the rest of our state.
MSNBC's Today Show recently highlighted the Top 12 Emerging Real Estate Markets, and Saginaw, Lansing, and Grand Rapids all made that list. A quick review of the market data shows Traverse City to be considerably stronger than any of those three Michigan areas. If you watch the video clip closely and review the figures, many of the other "emerging" markets have simply stopped plummeting so rapidly, whereas the Michigan markets are actually showing marked signs of growth.
CNN/Money Magazine's recent recognition of Traverse City is sure to boost some local egos (besides my own), but more importantly it is a reaffirmation of what many of us have grown to know in our bones. Traverse City is a first-class community to call home, with many of the benefits and amenities of much larger metropolitan areas, but without many of the difficulties faced by most major cities in America.
I can get as frustrated by the changes wrought by the influx of new residents to our area as the next person, but the bottom line is that when compared with almost everywhere else, Traverse City is an outstanding place to live, work, recreate, raise a family, or retire. The Grand Traverse area boasts high-caliber professionals in almost every category that you generally don't find in a community of this size - from doctors to teachers, accountants to florists - considering it is a hundred miles to the nearest "metropolitan area." And that says nothing about all of the other benefits of culture and community that we enjoy on a daily basis.
Next time you are driving along the Grandview Parkway, take a moment to gaze out over the Grand Traverse Bay and be thankful for whatever decision or destiny has brought you to The Greatest Place on Earth.
There, I said it again...
All the best,