Howdy! I am planning to move to the southeast part of Michigan around this new years. I am excited to get out of my state and see what other parts of the USA have to offer. But one thing that really worries me, and that I wanted to reach out about, is the winters in the north.
I’m moving from Texas, so for the most part, snow or ice is rare, and it usually meant the whole city shut down for a few days if it happened that year. And now I need to coordinate a moving truck up to Michigan, which from what I know, snow is to be expected? Do y’all have any tips for dealing with this?
I’ll also be moving into a suburb area, is there anything I need to know about that? I’ve heard shoveling snow is kinda important, is that true? How often do you need to shovel snow?
Thanks y’all
In terms of driving on snow and ice: pretend your grandma is sitting in the passenger seat holding an uncovered crock pot full of gravy, and you’ll be fine–try to avoid aggressive acceleration and braking. If you have the means, I highly recommend getting winter tires put on, it makes a big difference and will likely lessen the stress as you’re learning.
As others have said, we haven’t been getting as much snow, and the southern end even less. The thing you’ll want to watch out for is black ice, which can form even when there’s no snow (when the temps are below freezing). If you’re in an area that salts the roads regularly, it’s a lot less common (chat with a neighbor to find out).
In terms of shoveling, some people do it religiously and some don’t. It partly depends on what car you drive and how often you have people over. An inch doesn’t need shoveling, but if there’s more, consider shoveling at least a walking path to your door for package/pizza deliveries.
Unrelated to weather, but was confusing when I moved here: there are two colleges, both called Michigan, and they’re intense rivals. The only thing that unites them is their mutual hatred of Ohio State.
If you can avoid going out the first one or two heavy snows of the year, do it. We talk a good game about driving great on snow, but a lot of us forget between one season and the next.
If you’re moving somewhere fairly urban or in the suburbs, you won’t have to deal with much snow on the roads as we’ve got a lot of experience with snow and those plows will be out salting the night before and plowing at 4:30 AM. The further you are from the main roads, the later you’ll get plowed.
If you live in an apartment I’d expect the parking lots to be plowed as well as they can but of course a bunch of parked cars are hard to plow around.
Lately snow has been sparse. I think I only got out my blower twice the whole season. That’s very light compared to twenty, thirty years ago when snow would cover the ground in January and you wouldn’t see grass until late March. So if it’s a heavy year, watch out, but I’d say probably 2-4 times per month on average, usually clustered together into like a bad week or something.
Everyone else is giving you pretty good advice already. If you have questions once you get here you could always shoot me a message. Depending on where you end up in SE Michigan I would probably be able to give some recommendations on restaurants, venues, and businesses
Before you move probably look up Michigan Lefts and how to navigate them. When I moved here that was pretty confusing for me.
When it comes to snow, winter tires can be a godsend, but as others have said the snowfall the past couple years has been pretty light. Something my parents did when they were younger is go to a big empty parking lot when it had snowed lightly to learn what sliding feels like and how to correct it YMMV with that method.
Aside from that invest in a good coat, an ice scraper, and pair of winter shoes. When you have to travel in the winter bringing along an emergency blanket and any tools you might need to get unstuck, like sand or planks if you’re extra. Hope you enjoy Michigan!
honestly theres hardly been any snow the past few winters :/ who knows what it could be this year. city roads will be plowed, you will have to shovel your own driveway if you hope to drive out of it unless you hire a snow plow. if youre in a neighborhood like my parents, people may pitch in to get their driveways plowed by the same company for a better rate. shoveling sidewalks isnt mandatory but some people (me) consider it polite so people can use it. if you have a dog and are like my dad, you may also find yourself shoveling out little patches of grass for the dog to do their business.
In some places, shoveling your sidewalk is definitely mandatory. I think my neighborhood you have about 24 hours to do so. No idea what the consequences are for not doing it.
Probably your neighbor will help you out. I normally do both sides of my driveway all the way to the next driveway so doing half of their jobs if I’m out before them. If not I’d guess they hire someone and bill you.
I got a big snowblower and I’m really happy I did about 1-2 times per year, but mostly it’s overkill and a small one would be fine. I don’t shovel. That shit is a fucking workout and would give me a heart attack, I’m pretty sure. Probably the worst I’ve ever felt in my life is after shoveling 8" of snow off a driveway by hand.
SE Michigan isn’t nearly as bad as Northern Michigan as far as snow goes. A few inches usually doesn’t need shoveling, but a lot of people will do it to keep their driveways clear. Tire-tracks in snow will freeze into ice, making it harder to shovel later.
Growing up, we would almost never get snow-days off from school, even during a deep freeze + blizzard. Don’t expect things to shut down, and your boss will probably expect you to show up for work. Roads will get plowed and salted, but the first heavy snow causes driving problems until they clear it up. The last few years weren’t very bad for SE Michigan. Last winter, there were probably only a couple of mornings where I avoided the highway due to weather and the traffic problems it caused.
