New Lincoln Park job-young family neighborhoods? (Detroit, Canton: crime rates, houses, established neighborhood)

[Samantha7V]

My husband is considering a job offer in Lincoln Park. We are in Livingston county now and absolutely love it here but we always wanted to have a home that was close to his work. Currently he drives about 1 hour to Northville with terrible traffic. We really want to have a drive under 30 minutes.

We have two young toddlers and want a walkable established neighborhood with great public schools. I stay home so I like to have a lot of activities to do with the kids and get involved with a new church.

What would be neighborhoods to look at that are within 30min drive of Lincoln Park? We really do not like the newer suburbs that are bumper to bumper cars like Novi/Northville or Canton. I would prefer a city that has some downtown walkable areas with festivals and markets like what we have now. And decent home options less than $230k for a family home.

[fallingwater]

Originally Posted by Samantha7V

My husband is considering a job offer in Lincoln Park. We are in Livingston county now and absolutely love it here but we always wanted to have a home that was close to his work. Currently he drives about 1 hour to Northville with terrible traffic. We really want to have a drive under 30 minutes.

We have two young toddlers and want a walkable established neighborhood with great public schools. I stay home so I like to have a lot of activities to do with the kids and get involved with a new church.

What would be neighborhoods to look at that are within 30min drive of Lincoln Park? We really do not like the newer suburbs that are bumper to bumper cars like Novi/Northville or Canton. I would prefer a city that has some downtown walkable areas with festivals and markets like what we have now. And decent home options less than $230k for a family home.

Look at the city of Trenton. I believe they still host the Art fair in the summer. The schools are pretty decent, walkable neighborhoods and close to Woodhaven with lots of shopping. Woodhaven might also be a good option but I am unsure of how the schools are now. The downriver area definitely has a more blue collar vibe.

Then there is Grosse Ile, one of my favorite communities. It is on an island with easy access. Great schools but the housing tends to be high.You can also check out Wyandotte. It has a cute downtown and more churches than any other city in the area. As far as schools go I would rank them as Grosse Ile, Trenton and then Wyandotte.

[Coldjensens]

trenton is prbably a great choice for you. Wyandotte has a better downtown (much better), but the schools are not great. Trenton has decent schools kind of a boring downtwon, but you can always just jump over to Wyandotte.

Grosse ile is awesome for families who are looking for a throwback type of community. Simple test, if you like Birmingham, Novi or Roshester Hills, grosse Ile is not for you.

GI does nto have much of a downtown. It is more about nature/open space and water. There is a street of businesses and it cn be pleasant to walk along but your options are not very exciting a bakery, starbucks inside kroger, playy witht he kids at playscape, grab a coney at island coney and go sit on the overlook dock maybe grab a quiche at the B & B. - you have now covered pretty much all of our downtown. GI has tons of bikining/walking trails, lots of wooded open space, and a lot of community ameneties, some of the best schools in the state, usually the lowest crime rates in Michigan, outstanding public safetyand great community atmosphere, esepcially if you get involved in something. What we do no have: shopping, movie theater, traffic, nighlife, diversity, newness/shiney, library and indoor pool. All of these things are available to GI residents in nearby communities (we share a library with other cities and share a health facility with flatrock), but not on the islands.

Houses are pricier than other downriver communities, but in the same ballpark as Northville. taxes can be significant, the community is very supportive of the schools.

[Samantha7V]

Thanks! I will look at Trenton and Grosse Ile. I never would have thought of Grosse Ile. What are thoughts on Grosse Pointe Woods? I liked the school ratings and there seemed to be plenty of homes in our budget. It says that it's 23 minutes from Lincoln Park on google but maybe it's much longer with traffic? I'm guessing taxes are high there.

Wyandotte homes look really affordable for the size! The school ratings make me nervous though so we would have to calculate in possibility of private schools.

[Coldjensens]

Grosse Pointe woods is pretty distant from Lincoln Park. It is on the other side of Detroit. A doable commute but why?


Grosse Ile is the nicest community to raise a family in all of Detroit Metro IMO. At least we chose it after spending two years investigating every community within a reasonable commute to the airport. The downsides of GI are if you like/need shopping centers or nightclubs within 5 minutes, price/taxes, and if you fear water trees or wild animals, or if you are looking for new/trendy plastic and chrome type of community (e.g. Brimingham, Rochester Hills, Novi) - Grosse Ile is kind of the opposite of that. The schools are really outstanding. The high school turns out superstars in sports, academics, and the arts at an amazing rate. There is no diversity if that is important to you though. Also kids need to be involved. For a kid who just wants to sit in the background and exist through high school, i think it would be pretty awful in GI.

Wyandotte is really neat if you re near downtown, but I do not think it is the best place for raising kids. You are correct,t he schools are not great. Still you might want to check out the schools personally, rantings only tell a portion of the story, and good kids can do well in any school in my experience. On the other hand, Grosse Ile is school of choice so you could live in Wyandotte and enroll your kids in Grosse Ile, but it is very limited, so you would need to check into it. You could also live in GI and be five minutes or less away from Wyandotte (or 15 minutes by canoe).

Trenton is kind of a happy medium. Better schools than Wyandotte, not at the GI level. Safer than Wynadotte, less going on (but more than GI), less expensivethan GI but more than Wyandotte.