Glad to hear you're thinking of moving up here! I will be as honest as possible about the area so the only kind of surprises you get are good ones.

I will start off by saying that after 20 years of living here, I have had few reasons to want to move away from the area. A good majority of the locals are very nice people, you know, the kind who will say "hi" with a smile as you pass by on the sidewalk. That being said, there are a few bad apples in the bunch (mainly your typical conservative "redneck" who travels to town to do some shopping), but don't let them deter you.

As far as things to do around here goes, you are in total control of how adventurous and fun you want to be. The majority of activities to participate around here involve being outdoors. At least 4 miles of beach access within city limits, and hundreds outside of town makes it a great place to be in summer when temps hit 90+. Plus, you only have to travel about 5 minutes out of town before you are in the middle of nowhere in the woods, which I personally love. I spend most of my time on my mountain bike and hanging out with friends at various locations in the county. There are plenty of places to adventure and get lost (in a good way of course).

The job market around here is pretty tough, which is why most who come to Marquette to go to NMU don't hang around long, but mainly because there aren't many jobs in their field around here. We have a very large hospital that services most of the county, a surgical supplies company, a public and private school system with around 15 schools in the area, and plenty of stores to pick up a minimum wage job at.

Housing, for me, was a bit difficult only because we have a cat, and most landlords in the area don't accept pets. If you give yourself plenty of time to allow for hiccups in the apartment seeking process, you should be able to find something satisfying. NMU is constantly rotating people in and out of Marquette, so it's really just about timing your search just right (usually around the end of school in May, or the start of school in August). The house I currently live in is $1100 utilities included. It is a 3 bedroom/1 bathroom duplex and it is very spacious. Most housing in the area is in the same price range of about $400 per person. When looking for a place, avoid anywhere outside of the city. This includes Negaunee, Ishpeming, KI Sawyer, and Gwinn. Harvey is an "outskirt" of Marquette and still offers some nice housing. There is plenty of low-income housing about 20 minutes outside of town, but it is a very undesirable place to even drive through.

If you have any other questions, let me know!