Temperance — Monroe County is in Michigan, and Toledo is in Ohio. But the people have been intermingling since 1835, when the state of Ohio and the Michigan Territory fought a mostly bloodless war for the possession of the Glass City.
Residents of Monroe and Lucas counties are united in their way of life—a slow pace where everyone can raise children and embrace normalcy.
Monroe County, population 155,000, sits on the border, mere miles from Toledo. Carleton, at the top of the county, is almost exactly between Detroit and Toledo. But if county residents are looking for a night out in the city, they’re more like to drive south than north.
According to the Workforce Intelligence Network, Monroe County exported 14,530 workers to Wayne County and 11,388 workers to Lucas County in 2019. Most of the Lucas County commuters came from southern areas like Bedford Township. But given that Detroit is more than three times the size of Toledo, it is surprising that so many workers would head south on I-75.
Toledo has top employers, like Owens Corning, O-I, ProMedica, and Libbey, that pull in workers from Monroe. The Jeep and GM plants also compete for Detroit auto workers, but that’s not the only reason this county can feel more in Ohio’s orbit than Michigan’s.
The University of Toledo pulls in Michigan students by allowing Monroe County residents to pay in-state tuition. It’s a little over $12,000 a year before scholarships, $3,000 less than Eastern Michigan and $5,000 less than the University of Michigan. The choice is easy: Students here pick UT.
Toledo has other amenities that pull Monroe County in. Whether it’s the Mud Hens at Fifth Third Field, the Walleye at The Huntington Center, Promenade Park on the Maumee River, or nice shops and restaurants, you can spend a pleasant evening downtown, though that wasn’t as true 15 years ago.
Michigan is full of cities and towns with sports teams and fun storefronts, so why do Monroe County residents choose it over Detroit or Ann Arbor?
Toledo offers something that Ann Arbor and Detroit can’t: a small-town atmosphere.
Ann Arbor is smaller than Detroit, full of vibrant shops and exotic restaurants and jaded millennials. On paper it has a small-town appeal. But the avant-garde nature of the college town makes it unwelcoming for families. Dodging cannabis clouds gets tiring after a while.
Families are welcome in downtown Toledo. A new candy shop and a coffeehouse recently opened on Summit Street near The Imagination Station, a great children’s museum. Downtown is walkable and parking is easy. Every attraction is a few minutes away.
Light traffic is also a huge selling point for a night out in Toledo. On the busiest nights, fans can enjoy a Walleye game or a concert with 8,000 people packed into Huntington Center. Think you have to leave with two minutes left in the third period? No. I’ve never waited more than five minutes to get out and onto the highway.
Quaint and growing, this Rust Belt city has a small-town feel, which is why it suits Monroe County, with its own small towns like Dundee and Milan. Someone living in Erie can have chickens and goats on 10 acres, with a gun range back near his woods. But a Friday night pro baseball game is only a short drive away.
Toledo has its radicals, sure, but Michiganders know they are entering a city with a mood much like their own home. They feel as if they never crossed a border.
Noah Wing is a contributing writer for Michigan Enjoyer.
