The Thumb got a lot cooler over the last decade
I grew up just west of the Forgotten Coast area, and “The Thumb” (as it’s usually called) was often the butt of jokes. It still is sometimes, but those jokes are wrong…it’s getting a lot cooler over here.
When I was growing up the Thumb was the butt of a lot of jokes…but times have changed and the joke’s on anyone still sleeping on what’s going on in the Thumb!
Our infrastructure is fantastic and our property prices are far more affordable than most of Michigan’s coastline (for now). If you’re an investor or developer looking for a growing area, a creative looking for a fantastic home base, a nature lover who wants easy access to water & wildlife, or just looking for a relaxed lifestyle for you or your family, Michigan’s Forgotten Coast just may be for you!
Affordable Living on Michigan's Forgotten Coast
There are many ways living on Michigan’s Forgotten Coast can save you money…but there are also a ton of things to do here!
Let your money go further while living the lake life.
When we first moved here, we were a bit taken aback on how inexpensive certain things were here. It’s not quite what it was 10 years ago, but it’s still an inexpensive place to live.
Housing costs may be the biggest and most noticeable cost savings. Not just housing itself, but insurance, taxes, etc all tend to be lower on Michigan’s Forgotten Coast.
You can keep food costs down here too. There are no Whole Foods or boutique grocery stores. There are plenty of roadside farm stands and farmers markets. Our summers & soil are perfect for gardening at home. Canning & preserving are commonplace in the area. You can buy meat in bulk, fresh from the farm around the corner. It’s takes a little while to adjust and learn how to take advantage of some of these things, but once you get into it there’s no going back. You can’t beat that “fresh from next door” food.
Part of what helps keep down the cost of living is that there aren’t a lot of high priced activities to spend your money on. Going out tends to be a much more reasonable proposition here. It’s unlikely you’re going to drop over $100 on dinner & drinks in a night out for two. You’re not going to lay down $500 on a family outing to the ball game on a regular basis. Personally, we save that money so we can do fancy things when we travel. We hunker down and get work done when we’re at home and we live large when we explore other communities…or at least larger than we could if we had the living expenses of those communities.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t fun things to do here!
There are a ton of FREE outdoor activities like biking, hiking, paddlesports, birding, stargazing, fishing, etc. We’ve always had great historical museums like the Frank Murphy Museum, Thumb Octagon Barn, Port Austin History Center, Marlette Train Depot, and many more! Find out more about local beaches, parks, campgrounds, and other outdoor activities here.
Beyond those activities, the area has embraced arts and culture much more over the last decade. It’s common to find live music in several communities during summer weekends. We have art fairs and festivals. We have large scale barn art projects from renowned artists, and smaller scale community placemaking arts projects. It’s getting cooler here all the time!!
Walkable Communities of Michigan's Forgotten Coast
Walk or bike to most everything you need in the communities of Michigan’s Forgotten Coast.
Leave your car in the driveway, walkability is a huge benefit of life here.
Walk or bike to most everything you need. The grocery store, hardware store, boutiques, restaurants, bars, dr. offices, gym, yoga studio, the library, city hall, beaches, parks, schools, churches, and most other things you might need are just blocks away in the cities & villages of Michigan’s Forgotten Coast!
Many of our small cities and villages have dedicated walking & bike trails through the community or into natural areas surrounding it. Some even have trails that lead all the way to another community!
Safe & Sound on Michigan's Forgotten Coast
Help is just around the corner in the cities and villages of Michigan’s Forgotten Coast.
No need to worry, help is just around the corner.
The communities on Michigan’s Forgotten Coast are prepared to help in an emergency but they’re also well equipped for the day to day medical needs of the citizens.
A very important part of our communities are our well equipped and well trained volunteer fire fighters who are ready to jump into action whenever they’re called to duty. Be it a car accident, medical emergency, or barn fire in the dead of winter. These folks are heroes in our communities.
We have the kind of local policing that engages our communities. The kind where the officers live with us and know our citizens. I’ve lived in many places where this is not the case and I must say it’s one of my favorite things about the area.
We have a hospitals and doctors offices in most of our communities or nearby.
Many of our communities also have dentists, opticians, and other healthcare professionals.
If we have some sort of issue, everything we need to solve it is right around the corner!
High Speed Broadband & Infrastructure
The cities & villages of Michigan’s Forgotten Coast have great infrastructure just waiting for you!
The infrastructure on Michigan’s Forgotten Coast is ready.
Many rural areas don’t have great access to broadband, but we do. Being digital workers, that was extremely important to us when we moved to the area. Our cities and villages are well connected. We were one of the 1st places in the country to have lit fiber in the ground!
One of the local communities (Sebewaing) has its own village owned ISP and also provides energy to its citizens. Even though we have strong storms & winds in our area, we’ve never lost power at our house. Not once. The outlying communities have, but in our small city, we haven’t in 10 years.
Our city also processes our own drinking water and waste water. Most of the water processing plants in the area are under capacity, so we have lots of room to grow!
Community Connection on Michigan's Forgotten Coast
In the cities and villages of Michigan’s Forgotten Coast you can watch your tax dollars at work as the DPW works on cleaning the streets, fixing the sewer, planting trees, or building a new park for the citizens. It’s right there, every day. You can see it.
Feel the connection to your city or village itself.
You can watch your tax dollars at work as the DPW works on cleaning the streets, fixing the sewer, planting trees, or building a new park for the citizens. It’s right there, every day. You can see it.
You can also very easily interact with your local government. The mayor lives a couple blocks up the street. A couple city councilmen live within two blocks and the rest are within about 10 blocks. They’re available to the citizens and take our concerns to heart.
The ability to be part of the civic and non-profit organizations is another way to be directly involved with and take pride in the community in which you live.