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Old 12-17-2013, 10:33 AM
 
Location: On the brink of WWIII
21,088 posts, read 29,046,806 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RaceGrl View Post

To answer your other question, it is not important to be very close to commercial / retail. The only retail we go to often here is for groceries, which is why I'm hoping to find a good organic food market. We are spoiled here in NC with all the great local food markets and parks. We find ourselves going to parks a couple times a week because our son loves playing outside. I have a feeling that might change though due to the cold weather in MI.

And yes, budget is 350K.
We were in Johnston County (Clayton) and Harnett County (Lillington) near Fort Bragg.

I would serious look at South Lyons, Lyon Township and even Green Oaks / Hamburg area.

Winter = PARKA and toboggan..And not the North Carolina HAT, but the MIchigan sled...
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Old 12-17-2013, 10:41 AM
 
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There are some older neighborhoods in both Northville and Novi that were built in the late 60's or 70's. These subs tend to have larger lots and are generally cheaper than the newer construction. Of course some of these houses can still look like they have not been updated since they were built!
Good Luck.
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Old 12-17-2013, 11:16 AM
 
2,041 posts, read 1,831,486 times
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Default Their house will be on the market next spring

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Originally Posted by zthatzmanz28 View Post
I would think the OPs criteria of NON SNOBBY would rule out Bloomfield, West Bloomfield, and Farmington Hills. Unless my cousins have moved out of Farmington Hills and took snobbery with them...

Your cousins don't like it here any more. They miss the "old days." They are contemplating a move to another suburb.
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Old 12-17-2013, 03:47 PM
 
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To clarify for the OP; I`m told it used to be stodgier here in the old days. I wouldn't have liked it.
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Old 12-21-2013, 11:44 AM
 
25 posts, read 35,706 times
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I've lived in Michigan all of my life. I grew up in Northville - if you don't want snobby, do NOT move there. It's one of the more wealthy areas and the prices of the homes there reflect that fact. My family did not have money, but we lived with my grandparents who built the house we lived in growing up. It was a painful social scene for me with everyone focused on money and who your parents were in the community. Not pleasant.

I've since lived in Jackson, Plymouth, Wixom, West Bloomfield and Livonia.

We bought our first house in West Bloomfield 2 years ago and *hated* it. I consider it snobby, but we were in the south eastern part of it. I'm not sure about further north....nonetheless, if you want a shorter commute, further north might add a lot of drive time with all the windy roads around the lakes. The traffic sucks there. My husband and I got cut off in traffic and/or honked at on a daily basis (NOT exaggerating) and we are not bad drivers lol. You don't realize how that kind of low level stress grinds on you until you get out of that environment. I found people to be less friendly and more rude out there too in businesses and just everyday interactions. I also have a middle school age child and the schools in WB were middle of the road. I wasn't really impressed. He started to get very insecure this year in the middle school, telling me he felt invisible and like nobody likes him. He said he needed all this expensive stuff like the newest iphone, games etc. to try and fit in. I thought its probably just the age, but worried it might also be the focus on money/wealth in the community. Just my experience -YMMV.

We recently moved to Livonia after searching for a home in Farmington Hills. We looked in FH two years ago too before settling on West Bloomfield, because pretty much all of the houses we looked at in FH were in bad shape. Let me just say that I LOVE Livonia. It is so family friendly, lower taxes, less snobby and just generally has a more home town feel and sense of community IMO. The houses we looked at were almost all much nicer and in better shape than those in Farmington and for less money. My husband's commute is only like 10 minutes and I'm still at 20 minutes, which is the same as it was for me in WB. I work in Southfield. Oh, and I don't think I've been honked at since we moved here like 6 weeks ago! It feels like people drive a little slower which is kind of annoying, BUT I'm guessing its because I got used to the crazy driving from before. The people are very friendly in businesses, just walking down the street, etc. We recently transferred our son to the public schools in Livonia, and although it hasn't been long, he seems much happier here. He had his first band concert the other night and was so happy and excited. Other kids were talking to him and he seemed so comfortable - night and day from what I observed at his school in WB. He even raised his hand when the teacher asked who wanted to perform a music solo! He seems much more confident and tells me he's happy. I'm hoping this continues.

All this to say though, it really depends on your family's preferences. Any way you can rent for awhile to get a feel for the areas?
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Old 12-21-2013, 01:51 PM
 
1,613 posts, read 2,404,107 times
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Livonia schools are only average, though. They aren't really a problem district, but have been trending downward over the years. If I had kids, I would be cautious.

And Livonia borders crappy areas. Redford and Detroit have issues, and these issues are probably starting to seep into Livonia. Plymouth Rd. in Livonia close to Redford looks kind of crappy lately (or has it always looked like that?)?

Parts of Livonia near I-696 are fine, though, and look typical nicer suburban. Basically I might consider West Livonia, but not East Livonia.
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Old 12-21-2013, 02:14 PM
 
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Sure, Livonia is not upscale. I think the northwestern part is better in that respect, but then you are pretty much next to Northville so what's the difference? I think it all depends on what type of area feels right for someone and their family, fits their lifestyle and what they are used to, etc. Someone who grew up in a lower income, more run down area might think livonia was snobby! It depends on your life context. I thought the OP didn't want snobby.....to me, many of the cities mentioned like WB, Northville, Novi etc. are a bit stuffy.

And as far as commute, South Lyon is way too far to stay within 30 minutes of Southfield. I commuted from Wixom to Southfield for 3 years and I *hated* it. I-696 during rush hour sucks. It took me over an hour a lot of the time to get home. If work hours are non-traditional though, and the OP doesn't mind driving that many miles, it could work.
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Old 12-21-2013, 08:20 PM
 
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Waterford has many nice parts and it is surrounded by so many lakes. People there are not snobby.
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Old 12-21-2013, 09:37 PM
 
Location: Farmington Hills, MI
70 posts, read 143,733 times
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For the OP, I think Farmington City, southern Farmington Hills, or northern Livonia sound right for you. In my personal opinion and through experience, snobbyness is primarily north of 13 mile Rd (Then into WB). South of 13, for the most part, neighbors get along and people are generally respectful to others. As for your food preferences, Farmington City has a Farmers&Artisans market every week from about March-November. Lots of local growers there. There's also numerous options for grocery stores in the area that satisfy organic needs.

Most of the homes in all three cities are well established. By that I mean very few cookie-cutter neighborhoods. A lot of the neighborhoods in these areas were built from the 50s through the 80s. And Farmington City satifies a historical need if you want that. Lots of homes in Farmington from the 20s and 30s. Another plus for these three cities is lot size. When these neighborhoods were built, they weren't tract housing. Most homes have nice sized back yards. A lot of homes between 5 mile and 9 mile between Middlebelt and Farmington Rd already have large garages or pole barns in the yard. Farmington Hills and Livonia both have good parks systems. Lots of park space in both cities. Livonia has Rotary Park and Farmington Hills has Heritage Park if you like nature. Both cities also have free access sports parks.

Schools are also good in the area too. I would place Livonia Public Schools above Clarenceville (Make sure you don't buy in that district as is serves both Livonia and the Hills...And Detroit...) and I would put Farmington Public above Livonia. I would say Livonia Schools are average and Farmington schools are good. Then you have Novi that's really good. You can still find semi-new constructions in the area too. There's a fair amount of gentrification going on. New, unique homes popping up in those old neighborhoods.

If you look further west though, you may be able to get a larger lot in one of the townships. Sometimes you can get old farm house lots and that would give you more than enough room for a pole barn, but then you'd be trading off for commute time.
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Old 12-22-2013, 07:12 AM
 
2,210 posts, read 3,469,839 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimmy252 View Post
For the OP, I think Farmington City, southern Farmington Hills, or northern Livonia sound right for you. In my personal opinion and through experience, snobbyness is primarily north of 13 mile Rd (Then into WB). South of 13, for the most part, neighbors get along and people are generally respectful to others. As for your food preferences, Farmington City has a Farmers&Artisans market every week from about March-November. Lots of local growers there. There's also numerous options for grocery stores in the area that satisfy organic needs.

Most of the homes in all three cities are well established. By that I mean very few cookie-cutter neighborhoods. A lot of the neighborhoods in these areas were built from the 50s through the 80s. And Farmington City satifies a historical need if you want that. Lots of homes in Farmington from the 20s and 30s. Another plus for these three cities is lot size. When these neighborhoods were built, they weren't tract housing. Most homes have nice sized back yards. A lot of homes between 5 mile and 9 mile between Middlebelt and Farmington Rd already have large garages or pole barns in the yard. Farmington Hills and Livonia both have good parks systems. Lots of park space in both cities. Livonia has Rotary Park and Farmington Hills has Heritage Park if you like nature. Both cities also have free access sports parks.

Schools are also good in the area too. I would place Livonia Public Schools above Clarenceville (Make sure you don't buy in that district as is serves both Livonia and the Hills...And Detroit...) and I would put Farmington Public above Livonia. I would say Livonia Schools are average and Farmington schools are good. Then you have Novi that's really good. You can still find semi-new constructions in the area too. There's a fair amount of gentrification going on. New, unique homes popping up in those old neighborhoods.

If you look further west though, you may be able to get a larger lot in one of the townships. Sometimes you can get old farm house lots and that would give you more than enough room for a pole barn, but then you'd be trading off for commute time.
Clarenceville feeds from parts of Livonia, Farmington and Redford. It is not a good district and should be avoided. Many of the Livonia/Farmington homes on large lots are in the Clarenceville district. You can still find homes in NE Livonia that have large lots and are in Livonia schools, but that area is the most run down part of Livonia. I wouldn't feel comfortable investing in a home there. Pawn shops and check cashing stores are starting to creep into the area, which is never a good sign.

Livonia schools are OK, but have been trending downward as someone mentioned. There is a big difference between the 3 high schools - Stevenson is considered the best, Franklin the worst - so a lot depends on where you are located. And of course it all comes down to personal preference. With the variety in the burbs around here, I think renting for a year to get a feel for the area is a great idea.

And yes, people in Redford think Livonia is snobby. Its all relative.
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