20 Michigan Towns That Don’t Sound Like They’re From MI
Moving to Michigan was a trip, and not just for the culture shock of HOW different the state was, but how people around here pronounce things. Sault Ste. Marie? Dowagiac? Mackinac? How drunk were the people who named these places?
Clearly, though, they're all Pure Michigan, and when you see them, and hear them, you KNOW exactly where you are. But there are some places in the state that, when you hear where you are, might make you question if you're in the right place. These are the 10 Michigan towns that do NOT sound like they're from Michigan.
I did a lot of research before writing this, and curating this list, for the record, and had to learn a lot about Michigan history. First thing's first, Michigan (especially up north and in the U.P.) has a very strong French and Indigenous history. Of course, when North America was being colonized by Europe, France laid claim to much of what is now Canada. But fur trading of course brought them across the Great lakes from time to time, and influenced culture here.
As for the Indigenous cultures, you have the "Three Fires," Odawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi. So native names will heavily influence towns, villages and cities as well.
So considering those rich cultures in the state, anything remotely close to any of them, is unequivocally Michigander.
But Michigan is a melting pot of other cultures as well, with so many different groups of people moving here for the work in the manufacturing industry, the logging industry, and the mining industry up north.
So what's left, then, that sounds SO out of place in a state where so MUCH is accepted in our melting pot of a state? Well, there's definitely some towns in the state that will make you wonder... am I in the right place?
20 Michigan Towns That Don't Sound Like They're From MI
Gallery Credit: Google Earth
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