SW Michigan: 'Best of both worlds'
TweetBeaches, festivals and farms are luring Marian Cioe from the streets of Chicago to Michigan’s southwestern shore. Forty-five years after first visiting Southwest Michigan on a business trip, the 66-year-old nurse plans to “live happily ever after” in the Great Lakes State.
Cioe is just part of a real estate trend that has set Southwest Michigan apart from the rest of the state, where home sales and property values tanked in the last four years. Cioe, who plans to retire in about two years, is in the process of closing on a home near the lake in Southwest Michigan. Cioe plans to phase out of her five-bedroom Chicago home and into a two-bedroom Union Pier cottage gradually, visiting a couple of weekends a month.
“I think when the market changes, a lot of the places in Michigan are going to sell again. There’s nothing wrong with the properties, it’s the market,” Cioe says. “Might as well get the best of the best while I can.”
A beautiful lakefront and plenty of room to grow are among the advantages Southwest Michigan has used to weather Michigan’s economic transition and the national recession.
Property values increased in Berrien (5 percent) and Cass (2 percent) counties from 2007 to 2011 — at a time when the state lost 20 percent of its property value, or more than $180 billion. However, this lightly populated area, near Interstate 94, Chicago, and the Indiana Turnpike, had a low baseline of property values to begin with, W.E. Upjohn Institute regional analyst Brad Watts explained.
“When you expand and open one or two facilities, it’s going to look like a huge increase,” Watts said.
Still, the growth counts for something in the eyes of area businesses and local residents. Wendy Dant Chesser, president of the economic development group Cornerstone Alliance, said companies in the area have become stronger and those that had to lay off workers before are starting to rehire. Food processing and tool-and-die manufacturing have led the way for industrial growth, while a growing number social and entertainment attractions have helped residential growth, Dant Chesser explained.
Union Pier Mi - News
Cioe, who plans to retire in about two years, is in the process of closing on a home near the lake in Southwest Michigan. Cioe plans to phase out of her five-bedroom Chicago home and into a two-bedroom Union Pier cottage gradually, visiting a couple of
Metra's $7 Weekend Pass: Weekend passes are good for unlimited rides on both Saturday and Sunday for all stations. Weekend parking is available at all stations. Note: Boat taxis are available from Union Station to Navy Pier and/or the museum campus and
It's a blend of Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Syrah; available at tasting rooms in Paw Paw, Dundee, Frankenmuth and Union Pier. Other special releases are the Founder's Red, $8, a proprietary dry red blend of Chancellor, Cabernet Franc,
CHICAGO CHILDREN'S MUSEUM: Navy Pier, 700 E. Grand Ave., Chicago, (312) 527-1000: “Michael's Museum: A Curious Collection of Tiny Treasures” fosters the art of collecting and features nearly 100 collections of tiny objects including miniatures,
Pier 6, Atlantic Avenue and Furman Street, brooklynbridgepark.org; free. 'Heartbeat of Bulgaria' (Sunday) The folk music of Bulgaria will be performed by a trio consisting of the singer and kaval (a type of flute) player Theodosii Spassov;
Tiramisù Mom: Long Weekend in Union Pier, Michigan
We officially became a biking family with the installation of a bike rack and our new bikes were put to good use on the lovely backroads of Union Pier, New Buffalo and Lakeside. On one long bike ride, a deer that I thought was simply a large lawn statue, sprung to life and darted in front of my path. Chiara yelled "Horsey!" - thinking it was a horse, it was that big.
Proof that Union Pier, MI is the center of the world: 
union pier, mi is heat and impatience!!!
Volunteering on the designs for dignity kitchen walk in union pier MI. This sweet little home is my station. 
Off to Union Pier, MI for some tasties. @
Driving to the Designs for Dignity Kitchen walk. 15998 Red Arrow Highway Union Pier MI.