"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.