Good Suburbs... your opinion please? (Detroit, Livonia: budget, houses, price)

[Cato the Elder]

Originally Posted by Bayzing

Background... young family (early thirties) with two small children. Considerations:

1 Area reputation... are these areas considered a good, quality places to raise a young family.... safe neighborhoods, good schools... somewhat upscale? We want to be in an area where other young familes are located. Ideally we are looking for a home under $300,000.

2- Commute... all of these areas appear to be 30-40 minutes from downtown Detroit... possibly more in traffic. Any insight as to which of these areas might be better or worse as far as commute.

3- Real estate... seems like there are nice and affordable homes in all of these areas. Any idea about taxes? We will probably be in Detroit for 3-5 years... I assume it still makes more sense to buy then to rent... how hard will it be to sell a home in 5 years from now?

4- Recreation.... we are water sports enthusiasts... does anyone have insight about waterskiing/wakeboarding on Ford Lake, Walled Lake, or Lake St. Clair?

5- Proximity... are these areas near grocery stores... good shopping centers malls... entertainment... restaurants?

Is there any other suburb that I am missing?

I agree with one of the previous posters - Grosse Pointe seems like the no-brainer.

It is really the only area with a national reputation as an upscale area - think of Grosse Pointe Blank, Middlesex, etc. When some fictional character hails from an upscale part of metro Detroit, they invariably come from Grosse Pointe, not Bloomfield or Birmingham. You can't beat the reputation and there are plenty of nice houses for under $300k. This gets missed in the reputation. Birmingham will have nice $800k houses but also dumpy bungalows going for $300k+ just because it's in Birmingham - usually on smallish 50' x 100+' lots. Your money will go further in Grosse Pointe if you want to spend less than $400k.

Commute to RenCen - no contest.

Taxes are high, but they will be pretty much anywhere with a good school district. Your value will hold and will almost certainly go up if you can do so for at least several years.

Grosse Pointe is one of the best places for water sports activity and there is decent shopping, including a new Trader Joe's.

The downside is isolation. You are pretty much in a self-enclosed community. For more recreation and shopping options, downtown Detroit is a straight shot and it's easy to get to Windsor, but how often will you go to these places on a day-to-day basis besides work? The Woodward corridors greatest strength is its proximity to so many different options. If you have no family ties or other entangling circumstances in the other burbs, I think Grosse Pointe is your best bet by far. Good luck.

[Coldjensens]

Grosse Pointe is really close to downtown. Some of the people that I work with live there and it takes them longer to get into the RenCen and up the elevator than it does to drive in. You will not be able to afford waterfront property in Grosse Pointe, but you might be able to make arrangements to use a neighbor's dock, or join a club.

You also could not afford waterfron property in Gross Ile, but you can get property on a canal with direct access out to the rive and Lake Erie. It is really a question of whether you want to trade boat access from your yard for a slightly longer commute.

The communities are pretty different too, but both have great schools and nice people. Grosse Ile is small town/rural and Grosse Pointes are suburban/crowded.

Northville is really nice, but it is a long commute and lacks water access.

[Cato the Elder]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

Grosse Pointe is really close to downtown. Some of the people that I work with live there and it takes them longer to get into the RenCen and up the elevator than it does to drive in. You will not be able to afford waterfront property in Grosse Pointe, but you might be able to make arrangements to use a neighbor's dock, or join a club.

You also could not afford waterfron property in Gross Ile, but you can get property on a canal with direct access out to the rive and Lake Erie. It is really a question of whether you want to trade boat access from your yard for a slightly longer commute.

The communities are pretty different too, but both have great schools and nice people. Grosse Ile is small town/rural and Grosse Pointes are suburban/crowded.

Northville is really nice, but it is a long commute and lacks water access.

Every Grosse Pointe has a private park on the water so you have relatively secluded access to the water. From what I understand, and I'm sure one of our GP brethren will chime in, it is quite easy to keep a boat in Grosse Pointe. I have a colleague who keep a boat. I have no idea what type of investment it takes, but my friends are by no means uber-wealthy (GM engineer and academic).

If one finds GP to be crowded, I would stay away from places like Royal Oak and Ferndale, let alone New York City. You might faint on the spot! All kidding aside, GP to me is only crowded compared to the middle of Iowa. It's very much a quiet, leafy suburb right on the water with a smattering of retail.

[Coldjensens]

I did not know that there was public water access.

Take a look at the Grosse Pointe Schools, especially the high schools. They are really something.

[B-bear]

Gross Pointe is the place I would look to based on your three criteria.

One thing I noticed in earlier posts is the mention of the lakes in Oakland Co. While they are beautiful, many are private meaning unless you live on it, you don't get to use it. Walled Lake is one of them.

[stock66]

You used to be on a waiting list for years to get a boat in the GPP marina. I don't know what the situation is like now. I think only one of the cities had a ramp, maybe the Woods?
Anyway the Pointe marinas aren't free to residents but the rate was good and of course it is close. You have to launch, haul and store your boat at a public marina, not a problem of course since there are plenty along the river or in St. Clair Shores.

[daisy10]

If I were you, I would stay clear of Northville - a nice community but people love to show off their money here and as your kids get older may feel like they can't compete (I should know I have 2 middle school aged kids) 8th grade kids have Rolex watches and love to talk about how much money their parents earn, I would stick to Livonia (Stevenson high school district), or Canton which has a nice mix of income levels.

[kimba01]

I agree about Livonia and Canton-good, nice family neighborhoods and the schools are very good.

Utica Community Schools are very good too, but it is Sterling Heights/Utica and the drive is farther to downtown. Took my husband about 40 minutes on a good day.

Ferndale schools are horrible in the Middle/High School levels. They do have Schools of Choice though. Royal Oak is nice, trendy and a homey city. Great restaurants, shopping and family friendly things to do. Great time to grab a nice home for a good price too! It is a little crowded IMO, though.

Don't know about the Grosse Pt/Isle living--my $250K price range would not allow me to look there, much less buy. Nice area though.

Good luck!!

[saraht]

I despise Michigan, but the only thing that has made it tolerable is living near Detroit in Grosse Pointe. Very safe, small town community that is nothing like it's reputation. Beautiful city parks and huge lake. Lots of community activity and the best police force of any place I have ever lived (only 5 states).

[djones87]

Grosse Ile is an island suburb that is a very safe upscale community in which to raise a family. The communte downtown is easier then most areas and schools are among the best in state. If you like the water there is no better place to be - its everywhere and right at your door. The market is such that you can get a home in your range which you couldnt even have considered a year or two ago.