Hillsdale, Michigan. Three years ago or so when the missus and I moved to Michigan from Philadelphia, we wondered how we would manage. Not only is the state’s economy at a crawl, but to go from a big east coast city to a small rural town seemed to be almost dramatic. Hillsdale has no Macaroni Grill, Starbucks, or Restoration Hardware. Not to say that we consumed at these places back in Philadelphia (though the closest Trader Joes’ is seventy miles away). But relocating to a depressed agricultural town in an already depressed rust-belt state seemed to confirm the line I heard once at a church in Santee, California — “I can’t afford to live in the United States so I live in Tijuanna.” Was the same true for us in Hillsdale.
Now it turns out, thanks to this handy map from the New York Times (so it must be true), we made an upgrade. Here are some comparisons between Philadelphia and Hillsdale County:
Philadelphia
Rank 2,420 (out of 3,135) 2,183
Average Income $37,000 $42,000
College education 23% (of population) 14%
Unemployment 10.8% 9.5%
Life expectancy 75 77.6
Obesity 38% 40%
Hillsdale
Rank 2,183 (out of 3,135)
Average Income $42,000
College education 14%
Unemployment 9.5%
Life expectancy 77.6
Obesity 40%
Don’t ever bet against Michigan.
Yeahbut, there are no roads that go to Hillsdale.
John, not true. We have roads, just unpaved.
But come a little more west and you’ll find transformation (but keep in mind the exchange rate on the 2k peso continues to plummet):
Rank 711 (out of 3,135)
Average Income $51,000
College education 30.9%
Unemployment 6.5%
Life expectancy 79.6
Obesity 37%
Zrim, but still no Trader Joe’s.
Comments are closed.