Traverse City is the largest city in northern Michigan with a 2008 population estimated at 14,516. It’s an affordable place for residents with a 2009 cost of living index 14% below the US average. The estimated median house or condo value in 2008 was $173,501 (up from $123,800 in 2000). The real estate market features a wide variety of properties for sale with over 1,000 home and condo's and over 1,000 lots available.
Traverse City offers a wide variety of recreational activities. Local attractions include fishing, rivers, lakes, sand dunes, biking, snowmobiling and wineries. This beautiful area has many scenic drives along the shoreline and inland and the bay provides good boating and fishing. Five sandy public beaches and a small harbor can be found around the town itself. There are 36 area golf area courses, a number of which have national reputations. Traverse City is part of Michigan's Golf Coast, a region selected by Golf Magazine as one of the top six golf destinations in the country. Traverse City golf includes designs by Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Tom Weiskopf.