Am I dreaming, or is it possible in SE Michigan?

[Torn December]

Originally Posted by DTWflyer

You might be able to find something like that along the St. Clair river off of M-29. I'd look at places around Algonac, Marine City, and Saint Clair.

I drive up there every so often and its a beautiful area (other than the power plants near St. Clair).

I have no idea what real estate prices are for waterfront property but there does appear to be some larger lots in places that back up on the river.

This area may be more like 45-60 minutes from Warren. However, if you are retiring from the military, perhaps there are some jobs at Selfridge ANG?

Very helpful DTWflyer! Really appreciated!

[Torn December]

Originally Posted by snoopygirlmi

There are also opportunities to be by the water in Northern Oakland County. Waterford/Lake Orion/West Bloomfield. However, you won't get the acreage that you want and prices tend to be more expensive.

Maybe Clarkston or Holly (I'm not too familiar w/those two areas, but they are more rural than the first 3).

Finding exactly what I want might not be possible, but compromising is the name of the game I suppose. There are other cities and states that we could retire to, but SE Michigan just happens to be the halfway point between both of our families! Unfortunately, SE Michigan appears to be a little more difficult than other areas to find a piece of decent sized land, on the water, and also close enough to the city areas (Warren vicinities) for employment and night life. Thank you Snoppygirlmi!

[Torn December]

Originally Posted by Marty711

DTWFlyer and snoopygirlmi make some real good suggestions.

M-29 is one of my favorite drives in the state. The problem is most of the lots are pretty small and the largest ones tend to be closer to the power plants and oil refineries. You have to go off of there to find more room. There are some rivers and canals in that area that connect to St. Clair and would offer you more land but either way, you'd be pushing that commute.

I thought about suggesting Oakland County but between the lack of acreage and a tough commute, I'm not sure it would work for you. I'd imagine that commute would get real bad during rush hour. If you can avoid that, it might be worth it. An advantage of coming from North Macomb, Lapeer or St. Clair Counties is that your commute will be much easier as there's not as much traffic going south from those areas.

Bottom line, I'm not sure its possible to have 10-30 acres of waterfront land within 45 minutes of Warren. You'll have to make a sacrifice somewhere, either giving up the commute, the acreage or the water.

All of these pinpointed locations have been making my searches 10 x's better! Thanks again, Marty! And you're right, Warren might not be the only city for DOD job searching. I just started there because of my government job searches of the area firs. There's always luck in timing and hiring! I'll find out soon.

[Torn December]

Originally Posted by Cliffie

I would steer clear of Lake St. Clair -- it is croggled with homes and businesses. 45 minutes away, to the West, is Lakeland, MI -- just what it sounds like, zillions of lakes and lots of elbow room. There are similarly large places available in nearby Pinckney, Brighton, and so forth. Hop on I-96 and you'll be back in Warren within the hour.

I kind of like the sound of Lakeland, MI. I'll definitely check that out. It's not the same as the big retirement dream of being right on the Great Lakes, but can't always have the cake and icing, when you're really shooting for one specific geographic area for a very specific reason! Hey, thanks Cliffie!

[Torn December]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

You could always go for a cottage up the lake Huron coastline. Lexington Heights perhaps. Than buy some acreage inland a bit, to do your thing on.

That's not a bad idea, Tiger Beer! Seriously! Could end up with a place on the water and then after some financial shifting/saving, eventually grab a spot of land further up North for getting away. Thanks for sharing that!

-T

[Torn December]

Originally Posted by Bpobill

Being 45 minutes to Warren is going to limit you. As other have mentioned north Macomb county will be your best bang for the buck for acreage and pricing. Look in Romeo and Bruce twp. That will keep you close to M53 and keep your commute as short as possible. Once you head west or East you wont have any other freeways unless you go very far east and hit I-94. Another option that someone pointed out is a cottage along lake Huron. Prices in the thumb haven't quite recovered like SE Michigan so you can save a few bucks there. If you buy a cottage towards the top of the thumb like Caseville, you can get there via Van Dyke which isn't a bad drive. I would keep Lake Saint Clair off your radar, because you will be hard pressed to find a decent sized lot there.

Loved the cottage idea! I actually like St. Claire Shores too, as far as researching it online. Crime rate, beautiful, and on the water! But, like you said, we did not find anything over an acre (most under) and a few we did find that was at least 3 acres was rather unique lots or outrageously priced. I do appreciate the time you took to respond to my post, Bpobill!!!

[ViperPilot]

First of all congrats on the retirement.....I'm retiring from the Air Force after 22 years myself and moving back to SE Michigan this summer.........I'm sure you're already looking on USAJobs.gov....Selfridge and Battle Creek are two areas that might hire if you're looking for DOD/Govt/GS type jobs.....hopefully the sequester goes away and the hiring freeze with it....

Best of luck!

[Torn December]

Originally Posted by DTWflyer

You might be able to find something like that along the St. Clair river off of M-29. I'd look at places around Algonac, Marine City, and Saint Clair.

Thank you very much for the response. I wrote this a few months back after just starting my account and completely forgot my password. Thanks for taking the time out. I hit the map and found Algonac --seems like a unique position and I did find some land.

V/R,

-Tom

[Torn December]

Originally Posted by ViperPilot

First of all congrats on the retirement.....I'm retiring from the Air Force after 22 years myself and moving back to SE Michigan this summer.........I'm sure you're already looking on USAJobs.gov....Selfridge and Battle Creek are two areas that might hire if you're looking for DOD/Govt/GS type jobs.....hopefully the sequester goes away and the hiring freeze with it....

Best of luck!

Hey, ViperPilot --sorry it took so long to respond. In my haste for retirement preparation, I had to finish school while working the job. BUSY! And I lost my password and time to research! I'm finished with school so will begin massive planning now. But thank you very much for the congratulations and definitely sending the same right back at you! Great job, AF! I would imagine you're settling into the SE Michigan right now, or you are on your way back July or August.

I've been all over USAJobs just keeping track of several areas that I am still considering for retirement. But you mentioning Selfridge and Battle Creek are brand new to me! THANK YOU! I'll find them on Google Map and do some city-data research as well. Really appreciate you taking the time out to help a fellow serviceman.

Wishing you all of the best with your move back to MI and hope your retirement is happy, healthy, and successful!

V/R,

-T