Now he's going sheet Wyoming and South Dakota. Brutal.

"I spent nearly every spare minute researching the perfect U.P. town in which to move my family. Rather than being bitter about our opportunities out West, we chose instead to look at it a little more optimistically. When one door closes, another one opens. Wyoming and South Dakota were not where we were destined to live. Looking back, we are thankful for that because we now know it was a blessing in disguise."

Oh sweet summer child, he doesn't realize what a blessing it is that nobody knows about the Yoop.

I'm not crying, you're crying.

"Another aspect I felt should be included in this book, one that was actually suggested by my wife, is the number of events here that are put on by people, businesses, churches, or towns and cities. We realize just about every city or town in this country has events geared towards bringing people together and getting crowds out in droves for holidays and other celebrations. What we think makes the U.P. different from most other places, is the fact that there are so many different events that offer freebies.

The South has some of the most impressive 4th of July fireworks displays in the country. Where we are from is no different than other parts of the South. They even have entertainment and tons of booths for vendors to sell hot dogs, drinks, ice cream, and just about everything you could possibly imagine. Notice I said those items are sold. No freebies at the 4th of July festivities in the South.

Before I come off sounding like a beggar, I assure you that's not the case. We don't judge a place based solely on what they will give us for free. It's just very difficult not to notice (and appreciate) a place that does offer things free of charge. Many people truly can't afford to buy every member of their family a burger and fries, but they still want to take the little ones to watch the fireworks. We have had to witness heartbroken kids being told their parents didn't have the money to buy them a burger or soda. Those of you who have had the misfortune of overhearing a conversation like that know firsthand what I'm talking about when I say it's painful to witness.

One of the first big events we attended up here was the U.P. 200 Sled Dog Race in Marquette.
We had been dreaming of going to that since we first started researching a potential move to the U.P. Again, we're from Florida so that was a big deal to us. Upon arriving at the Marquette Welcome Center, we were immediately greeted by one of the people helping with the festivities.

He informed us that they were giving away pizza, sodas, hot chocolate, and other refreshments inside.

It had been our plan to follow up the race by going out to dinner afterward. Needless to say,
when our kids heard there was pizza inside, we decided to forgo the restaurant after the race and we all had pizza instead.

My wife and I were both a little baffled that food from a local pizza place was provided at no cost. Things like that just don't happen down South. The coolest part about the whole situation was that nobody was made to feel like they were a charity case for eating free pizza. After all, how can a person look down their nose at another while they are gorging themselves on free food? We saw people in there from all walks of life and none of them were paying for their pizza and drinks.

That trip to the sled dog race marked nearly a year that we had been living in the U.P. Again, our agreement before coming here was that we would head back to Florida if my wife wasn't happy after one year. On the way home that night I asked her if she had given any more thought to staying up here or if she would rather head back to Florida in less than two months. The look on her face still pains me to this day. It was as if she had just been punched in the stomach. She was worried that I was wanting to move back to Florida. I assured her that was not the case.

As I told her, I just needed to know how to plan for our immediate future. Once again, she assured me that her mind had been made up since our first full day of being here. This is our home. This will always be our home."

A story submitted by another fellow:

“After an amazing Fourth of July weekend, Madelyn [Luke's wife] and I were driving back to Traverse City when we decided to stop by Hog Island Country Store in Naubinway along U.S. 2 in the U.P. We heated some pasties and grabbed some pop and homemade honey. As we were checking out, Tom (one of the owners) mentioned that they don't take debit cards. I was trying to figure out how much cash I had when he said we could send him a check to cover everything.

Realizing I actually didn't have any cash on me, or in the car, I asked him if he minded if I sent him a check for four dollars over the amount if he was willing to give us four dollars in change for bridge fare, to which he acquiesced.” “The next thing I know, Tom is taking out the entire amount of our bill, plus bridge fare, OUT OF HIS OWN WALLET, which is when I realized that it wasn't the store that was spotting us; he was lending us his own money.”

“Needless to say, he's being reimbursed for the bill and he's gained a customer for life, and I encourage every one of you to stop there and buy a pasty (which are delicious) or whatever, if for no other reason than the fact that he and his wife deserve the business. I love the U.P.”

----

Author commentary:

"Luke Londo's story was originally written on July 6, 2015. It has since garnered many “likes” and comments from people all over the country. Through further digging in the comments section of his story, I learned (from Luke) that Tom actually loves when people go into his store and ask about this particular story. Deep down, I think Tom gets a kick out of people making a big deal out of something he would do for just about anybody."

"FULL DISCLOSURE: I would like to point out that I readily admit the U.P. is NOT for everyone. A person who prefers big city life (those people do exist) would most likely be miserable in a place like the U.P. With a population of just over 21,000 people, Marquette is actually the “big city” north of the Mackinac Bridge. For that reason alone, many would be turned off by living here. Personally, I think that is one of the biggest draws to the peninsula, but I am a small town kind of guy."

Gotta agree. Though I think it's worth pointing out that it might be even more extreme than he mentions.

The 10th most populated place has 5k people. The 20th, only 1800.

Furthermore, the total population in these towns only comes out to 134k, with the UP's population comprising 302k people total. Most people here live in unincorporated areas.

Most of these small towns, by the way, have their own grocery stores. Folks will often ask "don't you need to drive really far for necessities?" when they find out I live here. I tell them that I walk to the grocery store located right down the street from my home. They serve as a life blood not only for their own communities, but as a source of essentials for those out in the boonies.

The U.P. challenges common misconceptions with its self-sufficiency, demonstrating that even in smaller communities, residents can enjoy both convenience and a close-knit, slow-paced way of life.

"The job market is also reason for concern. It's not that there are no jobs here because there certainly are. Like most other places in the U.S., though, they are in fairly short supply and the best ones tend to be snatched up quickly after becoming available. Again, though, times are tough all over. The U.P. is far from the only place struggling in that arena. Also, many of the jobs that are available are not exactly the highest paying. That certainly isn't something that's unique to the U.P., but it is something to consider before moving here. It's a great idea to research employment opportunities before moving ANYWHERE.

While we are on the subject of the job market, I also think it's important to note one of the positives about life in the U.P. One thing we have going for us, is the fact that a person (or family) can live very comfortably on a modest salary here. The cost of living is much lower than most other places."

Here, our author hints at one of the core, foundation messages of this channel: it's much easier to afford a house as a janitor in a small town than it is to do so as a six figure salaryman in a large metro area. https://t.me/TheDailyPoor/127

"Tom Downey writes:

'Years ago while on a trip to Marquette, I had a wonderful meal at a local restaurant; a steak with a whiskey creme sauce. Four years later I returned in hopes of having that meal again. Sadly, they had removed it from the menu. I inquired if it was still possible to get the meal. They said it was, but it would take a bit of time. Happy, I bought a drink and settled in.'

'Turns out they sent one of the kitchen staff out to the store to collect the needed items for the dish, including the steak itself! They charged me $12 for the meal and gave me my glass of wine for free...because I had to wait. Needless to say, they got a huge tip!'"

Can confirm that this sort of thing is normal up here. I arrived at a restaurant in Marenisco, MI. It was a few minutes from closing time, unbeknownst to me. The owner told me "we were about to close, but we'll stay open for you." I had a ribeye steak meal. It was $12. Like Tom, I also left a fairly sizable tip.

“We were Yoopers in our late '40s on our way to visit family in Lansing. Around about the Cheboygan area, we had a blow out on one of our tires. A man came out of his house to help. After seeing the problem, he took a tire off of his car and put it on ours so Dad could get into town to get a tire.”

🤯

Another one that's very similar:

“I have actually had a couple of experiences with Yooper hospitality. I traveled to Grand Marais to let the kiddos play in the park on the beach and when we went back to the car the battery was dead. It was a Saturday evening and the store was closed by then. Someone from town meandered by and asked if he could be of any help. We told him what was going on and he said that the owner of the hardware store was in eating dinner at Superior Brewing but that he would go talk with him.

After the store owner finished dinner he came over and told us he was currently out of car batteries and a new shipment was being delivered on Monday. We figured we were in big trouble now. Then he said he had just placed a new battery in his vehicle and he thought it might be the same size as what we needed and he would sell it to us. Sure enough, it was! He took the battery out of his car and helped us install it in our car. Gotta love the people of Grand Marais!”

"While scouring social media in search of stories of Yooper hospitality, a number of people responded and asked if I was aware of what Elmer's County Market (a grocery store in Escanaba) does for visiting high school football teams when they travel to Escanaba for a game or match. Apparently, Elmer's feeds the entire team and coaching staff food from their deli. Obviously, this is incredibly hospitable and generous of the folks at Elmer's, and very worthy of mention here.

Elmer Dagenais opened his first grocery store in 1945. Since then, Elmer's has remained a family owned business dedicated to serving the community of Escanaba. Mike Dagenais, the current President of Elmer's began feeding long distance opposing football teams eleven years ago and is proud to continue that today. Elmer's is able to do this with the help of the Escanaba Fan Club.

Dagenais said he began doing this over a decade ago when his son was a freshman on the Escanaba football team. The 'Eskymos' had played a game out of town and the team wasn't able to get any food after the game. Dagenais was not happy about his son and his son's teammates having to go hungry, so he decided he would not let that happen to teams who traveled long distances to play his son's team.

A new tradition was bom in Escanaba. One that Eskymo opponents are sure to appreciate for years to come, thanks to Elmer's County Market and the Escanaba Fan Club."

“Joey and I have chickens and ducks. We live on the outskirts of town, so that's allowed where we are. Joey works pretty much all day, so I'm here with the babe. There is a man who has been pulling into our driveway, not knocking or anything, but dropping off a bag each time. It's always food for our chickens in the bags. Never got a chance to get his name or phone number to really thank him. But people do that kind of thing around here.”

Based and barter-pilled:

"Most of us are familiar with the concept of bartering. In the U.P., it's oftentimes a way of life. In fact, my wife and I have done far more bartering in our time here than we have in our entire lives in Florida. Again, we've been here less than three years."

This book was truly a joy to read.

If you enjoyed any of these stories, please consider picking up a copy.