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With a Beautiful Locale, Excellent Medical
Facilities, Outstanding Outdoor Recreation and a Lively Cultural Scene,
Traverse City, Michigan Beckons to Retirees
Cost of Living: Below the National Average
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Traverse City (population 15,000) is an idyllic waterfront
community located at the southern end of the West Bay of
majestic Grand Traverse Bay in northern Michigan. The
Ottawa and Chippewa once hunted here, and French explorers
traveled through the area in the 1700s, but Traverse City,
originally a sawmill town, was not established until 1852 and
was only accessible by water for years. While
still remote, today this picturesque Great Lakes hamlet beckons
to retirees in search of clean air, spectacular scenery, a low
crime rate, cooler weather, a reasonable cost of living and an
array of outdoor recreation. Lush forests, rolling
hills, beaches, cherry orchards, sunflower groves and vineyards
are all around, but Traverse City residents also enjoy a robust
arts and food scene with galleries, museums and restaurants
aplenty.
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In many ways, the best of two worlds can be
enjoyed here, and more and more retirees are noticing. In
fact, of the people who make this lovely bayside location their
home, 40% are age 45 or better. The cost of living is 5% below the national average.
The median home price is $165,000, down 5% from the
previous year, and there are real estate deals to be
had. The city has a variety of housing for
sale, including manufactured homes,
cottages, condos, town homes, Victorians and
Cape Cods, and a nice surprise is that waterfront homes, whether along
the southwest coast of Old Mission Peninsula or along
the shore of Boardman Lake, cost less than might be
expected. Attractive condominiums (all ages)
that front the lake are for sale in the low-to
mid-$100,000s, and beautiful, spacious detached
residences with private waterfront access can be found
for sale in the high-$100,000s to low-$200,000s.
Traverse City also has its share of historic homes,
many in the Queen Anne style, particularly along
Boardman Avenue and Washington Street. Late
19th-century mansions line Sixth Street (known as
"Silk Stocking Row") and include the 32-room
house built in 1893 by Traverse City founder Perry
Hannah. Renovated Victorians for sale in the
mid-$100,000s to high-$100,000s are not unusual.
Just up the road from Traverse City,
Grand Traverse Resort and Spa has been named by several
national publications as one of the nation's most
luxurious resorts. Real estate starts in the
high-$100,000s.
Single family home rental properties
generally cater to vacationers, but there are a few
apartment complexes. Arbors of Traverse has
upscale, all ages apartments with in-unit washers and
dryers and maple cabinetry. There is also a
putting green. Rents start at around $660 per
month and top out at $1,625 per month.
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Michigan is considered somewhat tax friendly for
retirees. Social Security is currently not taxed but will
be taxed at the standard income rate of 4.35% starting in
2012. Private pensions are exempt up
to $45,120 (individual filers) or $90,240 (married filing
jointly), and public pensions from some other states are
completely exempt. Regarding property taxes, homes
are assessed at 50% of fair market value, and there is a
homestead exemption for homeowners with less than $82,650 yearly
income. The annual taxes on a $165,000 home, excluding the
exemption, are roughly $1,950. The state also has a 6%
sales tax (food and prescriptions are exempt).
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Outdoor activities are much of the focus here,
but Traverse City is also home to sculptors, painters and
woodworkers, many of whom have their work displayed in one of
twenty-one local art galleries. There are also
thirteen museums, in town and in close proximity, including the
Bellaire Historical Museum, the Grand Traverse Art Center and
Gallery and the Grand Traverse Heritage Center. Numerous
performing arts companies, such as the Encore Society of Music,
which presents 35 concerts a year, and the Dennos Museum Center
Concert Series, which presents another 25 concerts a year, add
to the cultural scene. Wonderful Interlochen Center for
the Arts, one of the country's premier training enters for young
musicians, is 13 miles down the road and presents 750 concerts
and theater and dance productions annually. The Old Town
Playhouse, offering community theater, has been in business for
four decades, and the Traverse Symphony Orchestra presents seven
concerts each season. The 1891 City Opera House
was recently restored and is a popular venue for everything from
classical jazz ensembles to standup comics.
This area has more than 180 miles of shoreline and boasts 149 deep, crystal clear lakes. There
are dozens of beaches nearby, including one just west of downtown
Traverse City. Even during the height of the summer, it is
possible to find a long, secluded, sandy beach. Sleeping
Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is a wonderful state park, and
opportunities for scuba diving, deep water and stream fishing,
sailing, canoeing and kayaking or just beach combing are
everywhere. Fly Rod & Reel Magazine has
named Traverse City one of its "Top 12 Fishing Towns"
and dozens of fishing charters are in operation. Traverse City
also has more tall ships than any other U.S. port, and sailing
lessons are available. For recreation off the water, there are thirteen local,
private and public, golf courses. Winters bring snow
shoeing, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling and ice fishing.
This is an
interactive map. Click on the arrows in the upper left hand
corner to move the map to the East, West, North or South, and click on the +/- signs
(more than once if necessary) to zoom in
and out.
Thanks to its extensive network of bays and
rivers, the Traverse City area had its own water-based highway
system long before the advent of motorized transportation, and
vigilant lighthouses still stand as a reminder of a maritime
past. One of the most picturesque is the Old Mission Point
Lighthouse, built in 1870 to warn ships away from the dangerous
shoals extending into Grand Traverse Bay. Today this
lighthouse is the centerpiece of a pretty park with popular
beaches and abundant hiking and skiing trails, and it is worth
the drive to see it. Traverse City also has its share of
sunken shipwrecks, but most of these can only be reached by boat
and with SCUBA gear.
Traverse City is known as the Cherry Capital of
the World (there are acres and acres of cherry orchards here,
the first one being planted in 1852), and the National Cherry
Festival is the event. It runs for eight days every
July and features parades, contests, music, food, games, a
street sale and an annual air show that features the U.S. Navy
Blue Angels every other year. Throughout July and
early August roadside stands and markets sprout up across the
countryside selling cartons of sweet, dark cherries.
There are two Native
American casinos
nearby, and on those cold winter days (and there will be many),
wonderful Horizon Books, northern Michigan's largest independent
bookstore, offers two roaring fireplaces, three floors, 100,000
titles and musical guests. Residents also enjoy the
week-long Traverse City Film Festival, as well as the
Kalkaska Winterfest in January, the Mesick Mushroom Festival in
May, the National Trout Festival in April, the Empire Anchor
Days in mid-July and the Sleeping Bear Dunegrass and Blues
Festival in early August. Nearly two dozen
wineries dot the area and most offer wine-tastings, a great way
to spend a weekend afternoon (or two). The
wonderful Downtown Farmers' Market operates between
Cass and Union Streets each Saturday from May through October.
And recently, Traverse City has been gaining recognition
as a foodie destination with local restaurants serving up some
very tasty fare, particularly fish dishes and fruit pies.
The Bay Area Transit Authority (BATA) offers
local bus service (the full fare is $1.50, but seniors ride for $.75)
BATA also offers on-demand, curb-to-curb services, and buses are
equipped with wheelchair lifts.
Shopping is more than adequate (there are box
stores and a Wal-Mart). In fact, Traverse City serves as the
area's retail hub. The Front Street shopping district has
been extensively restored, and shops, restaurants and galleries
make creative use of the Victorian buildings they occupy.
The Village at Grand Traverse Commons is a 63-acre site that
was once the Northern Michigan Mental Health Asylum.
Today, it is undergoing an urban redevelopment and has acres of
green spaces, and parks, pedestrian friendly walkways, an historic
arboretum and century-old
Victorian-Italianate architecture. With concerts,
shopping, festivals, restaurants, markets and even residential
real estate
for sale, this interesting village is a fun place to be.
Health care is provided through Munson Medical
Center, a teaching hospital with 365 beds, 3 locations and 350
doctors practicing in more than 40 areas of medicine.
It is accredited by the Joint Commission and is a Level II trauma center. It is also award-winning in clinical
excellence, patient safety, cardiac care, stroke care and
emergency medicine and has been named on of the top 50 hospitals
in the nation for three years in a row. Both Medicare and
Medicaid patients are accepted.
The Traverse City Convention and Visitors Bureau
is a great place to volunteer and currently has 85 volunteers
who staff the Visitors' Center desk. Other volunteer
opportunities include working at the various museums, at the
library and with the local school system.
The city has a Meals on Wheels program, an RSVP
chapter (Retired Seniors Volunteer Program), a Senior Companion
Program and a Senior
Nutrition Program. The Traverse
City
Senior
Center
is very active and has 100
programs (social, wellness, exercise, educational, etc.), as well as
a busy travel club, and is for people age 50+. Northwestern
Michigan
College's
LIFE Academy offers classes
designed just for the age 50+ set. The Traverse Area
Library has Internet access and a good selection of programs,
including its National Writers Series in which nationally
recognized authors discuss their work and sign books.
Traverse City has cold winters and warm summers, typical of
northern Michigan's climate. Lake-effect snow is
common, and snow can fall as late as May or as early as
September. Roughly 90 inches of it falls each
winter, with January's temperature dipping into the teens.
Summers are cool and crisp, with temperatures topping out in the
high-70s. Falls linger and are simply spectacular,
with many tourists coming just to revel in the exquisite
colors. Air quality and water quality both
exceed the national averages. The sun shines 163
days of the year.
An appealing destination, Traverse City has its
drawbacks, too. Obviously, the winters are long and cold, and
during the summer, tourists
flock to town. Traffic can be a particular headache during this time of the year.
Despite these downsides, Traverse City has a lot to offer at
a reasonable price. The natural beauty is striking;
waterfront homes do not cost an arm and a leg; senior programs
are strong, and the medical facility is top-notch. For
people in search of a cooler retirement destination, this
Michigan hamlet is at the top of the list.
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