GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (June 9, 2014) — The Terry family is moving to Michigan, part of a growing trend that’s a sign the state’s economic rebound.
Monday was moving day for the Terry family, who are originally from Salt Lake City but have lived in Phoenix, Ariz., for the past two years.
Last summer Jake Terry got an internship at Amway, and the family lived in West Michigan for three months. They say they fell in love and when Amway officially offered him a job it became a no brainer to move here.
“It seemed like as far what we could get paid in Michigan … it was more financially responsible to come here pick a home here and grow our family,” said Natalie Terry.
Cheryl Buckley with Corrigan Moving Systems says her company is getting more people interested in coming to Michigan, particularly West Michigan.
“After the real estate market fell apart, we watched our business, the relocation business, really fall off about 30 to 40 percent in some areas.”
Buckley says while Michigan residents tend to hire local moving companies, whether they’re moving somewhere else in the state or to another state, moving companies still move more residents out of state than in. That being said, Buckley says this year Corrigan has seen a 10 percent increase over last year.
“For 16 years we experienced more outbound out of Michigan than inbound, so this is huge for Michigan,” she said.
For the first time in 16 years, Michigan is on the “balanced” list of the United Van Lines Migration Study, which means there was the same number of people moving in as moving out of the state in 2013.
“We’re continuing to attract more business,” said Buckley. “The businesses here are healthier, they’re doing better, they’re hiring people.”
That’s growth that’s been a long time coming, as more families like the Terrys begin to settle into life in West Michigan.
“It’s just great here,” Terry said. “The colors and the outdoors, everybody is outdoors. It’s a small town feel with a big town atmosphere. We love that about the area, too.”
Buckley says Corrigan’s peak season is from Memorial Day to Labor Day weekend, when they’ll see about 70 percent of their volume.
