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'Ditch Chicago - Come back to live in Michigan'

Hello West Michigan

That’s the message of a new advertising campaign running through the holiday season.

A group of West Michigan employers is behind the effort. More than forty business members make up the group called “Hello West Michigan.”

Its goal is to attract professionals to Grand Rapids, Holland, Muskegon, Battle Creek, and Kalamazoo.

The group’s executive director Cindy Brown says they know there are a lot of people outside of the area that want to come home.

“They just don’t really know how,” she said. "We have a lot of great things that are happening. We’re very humble, pretty quiet."

Brown says the ad campaign in Chicago will show people how and why they should consider moving back to Michigan.

Billboards will brag about better beaches, better beer, shorter commutes to work, even rent without ramen noodles.

“What they found from just talking to people that were relocating back to the area; everyone has a reason,” Brown said.

The $50,000 ad campaign will run through the holiday season.

 

Lindsey Smith is a Peabody Award-winning journalist currently leading the station's Amplify Team. She previously served as Michigan Public's Morning News Editor, Investigative Reporter and West Michigan Reporter.