What it's Like to Retire in Manistee |
| Manistee, Michigan, is located at the mouth of the Manistee River on Lake Michigan, and is the county seat of Manistee County. The small town is a popular fishing, canoeing and tourist destination as it offers outdoor recreation, a historic downtown and is home to the SS City of Milwaukee, once a Great Lakes railroad car ferry, but now serves as a museum ship and is host to events on the waterfront. Other nearby attractions include Orchard Beach State Park, Manistee Golf and Country Club, and Little River Casino Resort. Picture of Bascule Bridge and river waterfront in downtown Manistee courtesy of Wikipedia and Decumanus; picture of Ramsdell Theatre in Manistee, Michigan, courtesy of Wikipedia and Doug Coldwell; picture of City of Milwaukee at berth in Manistee courtesy of Wikipedia and Julus Ascanius. |
| | |
|
Where to Retire in Manistee and Home Prices |
| Zillow reported the median home value in Manistee was $139,900 in late 2019, and called it a "Hot" market at this time. |
| | |
What is special about Manistee |
| Manistee is a waterfront community, with Manistee River offering fresh water fishing and flowing into Lake Michigan. The town boasts a marina, a lighthouse, a River Walk, beaches, a downtown that includes Victorian buildings, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. |
| | |
What is not special about Manistee |
| The small town of Manistee is isolated, with the nearest large city, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, over 100 miles away. Winters are long and cold with an average of 100 inches of snow annually. |
| | |
Who will like retirement in Manistee |
| Retirees who would like living in a small, walkable town that also offers beaches, and outdoor recreation may enjoy living in Manistee. The town also has a hospital, library, and an airport that provides flights to Chicago several times a day. |
| | |
Local economy is driven by |
| Manistee was once a booming logging center and later one of the leading shingle manufacturing towns. Today it is home to three salt factories located on Lake Manistee. But the main drivers of the economy are health care, and tourism. |
| | |
Climate and Physical Environment |
| Manistee experiences all four seasons, with January's average temperature 25 degrees and July's average 68 degrees. |
| | |
Restaurants & Cultural Scene |
| There are several restaurants in the town, and the cultural scene includes the Ramsdell Theatre which provides art and entertainment with music, dance and performances. |
| | |
