From The London Times!!!!
Across the other side of the US, in the northern midwest "rust belt", lies Michigan, one of America's most troubled states. Its largest city, Detroit, is in profound decline and its leading industry, automobile manufacturing, is in crisis. Nevertheless, six of the state's 41 local realtor associations reported house-price rises last year and several were up more than 20 per cent, with the strongest region, Traverse City, achieving 44 per cent. That sort of growth won't be repeated but pockets of buoyancy remain.
Most notable is still Traverse City, a picturesque vacation spot and haven for hunting, sailing and other water sports 250 miles northwest of Detroit. (The young Ernest Hemingway used to spend summers nearby at his family's home on Walloon Lake.) The city itself, which straddles Grand Traverse Bay, an inlet of Lake Michigan, has only 14,500 inhabitants but the surrounding area brings the total closer to 140,000.
And that number is rising, says Kim Pontius of the Traverse Area Association of Realtors, who recently moved to the area herself from Indiana. "Our lifestyle is rural and coastal living on the bay is less hectic than on America's east or west coasts," she says. "Many auto workers know that their industry is no longer viable and are cashing out and moving here. Many buyers are industrial-belt people who prefer the midwest over Florida and the south-west. Many of them vacationed here, enjoyed the good quality of life and dreamed of one day living here permanently."
In addition to retirees, Pontius continues, "we attract fairly young entrepreneurial types who work for themselves or with a small group of like-minded people. They pick where they want to live and then find out how to make a living." Luxurious vacation homes sell for well into seven figures but modest family homes sell for $50,000 or less.
For the entire article. . . http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/84518476-749f-11dd-bc91-0000779fd18c.html?nclick_check=1