Leaving Michigan, Part 2

Moving to a new town is always exciting because it gives you the chance to have a “clean slate”.  I certainly did not run from a horrible past or anything like that when I left my beloved home state (Michigan), but I am enjoying the benefits of a new group of friends, a new program of study, new and exciting things to do, and a new perspective!

A bit back, a good friend of mine sent me this video:

Before moving a month ago, I had never lived anywhere outside of a 15-mile radius from Lansing, Michigan, and I have to say that it will always have a place in my heart. However, as I have said before and will surely say again, you cannot have a well-rounded set of experiences if you only see the world from one tiny part of it. 

There are two big problems that I have always had with Michigan: the attitude and the infrastructure.  As many people in the video pointed out,  it is hard to convince yourself to stay in a town where the business climate is terrible, where growth is almost discouraged, where failing businesses are forced back into the market again and again, and where basic shared properties like parks and recreational opportunities are lacking. What 20-something wants to live in a town that has no concert venues, only a few decent restaurants, an unemployment rate of around 13% (in a town that had a smaller variety of interesting and accessible opportunities than most metropolitan areas even in good economic times), schools with a poor reputation, grungy housing, no non-education-based sports team other than a minor league baseball team, a government that simply shuts down every time the state Democrats and Republicans cannot agree how to spend money, and an aging population that refuses to let go of a dying industry??

I did want to, and for a long time I did live in Lansing. Maybe I will go back one day. Something about Michigan stays with you for a very long time, I hear, and I believe it.  It is not that I want to be permanently separated from my first love, with its shining lakes, beautiful hills, fascinating scenery, vibrant culture, and brilliant minds. We just need a bit of a …break.

To me, you need to go elsewhere before you can truly gain perspective on where you came from. That is what brings me to Boston — perspective, among other things. Until it disappears, I will continue to be annoyed by the silly Michigan idea that in order to succeed as a state again, Michiganders need to keep the great minds in. (See my last Michigan post for more on that…) Until my mind is sufficiently enriched by outside experiences and until Michigan has something to offer me that is better than what is out here, I think I might be stuck on the outside for a while (and I am in no way sad about that).

I really do love Boston, and I see it as a tremendous opportunity. This town is so alive and so exciting, and it makes me feel those ways as well. I would be very happy to end up here, but that does not in any way mean that I did not gain something great from (and hopefully give something great back to) Michigan. I owe a good portion of my life so far to the place, after all!

So far, I am having a wonderful time in my new home. I am also looking forward to visiting Michigan in a few months. I go to football game-watching parties with the Boston Spartans crew, and I read wlns.com and lsj.com just to catch up. I read Facebook statuses from MSU students and even catch up on the State News sometimes. Heck, all of my roommates are (quite coincidentally) Michiganders who relocated for educational purposes.

Michigan is my birthplace, but I’ll be singing “Oh, Boston, you’re my town” with the rest of them for a while now, I suspect. Here is hoping that the future brings new and great things to the fantastic state of Michigan, even if I never find myself back for good. (I always feel a burst of pride when I see things like Ignite Lansing! being put on by those few, proud Lansing entrepreneurs that I miss so much! Hopefully that went very well. Spotlight Michigan appears to be back in the swing of things t00!)

(By the way, it’s funny to me that the video showed some shots of Old Town while playing “Under the Hedge” by Ted Leo. One of my favorite memories of Old Town was seeing Ted Leo + Pharmacists play at the Temple Club just before it went under…)