I did listen to shortwave radio, as a hobby several years ago. Michigan is far from an ideal place for a permanent HF feed, because reception certainly will depend on time of day and condition of the atmosphere. OTOH, it should be possible to receive Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific communication (depending on time of day.)
Having a good antenna, away from sources of noise, makes a lot of difference. For good ssb reception you like to have stable oscillators; a 100 Hz frequency shift is very noticable.