From Arlington, VA to Michigan (Detroit, Grand Rapids: daycare, homes, employment)

[neumannb]

Originally from Saginaw, MI and looking to move back to Michigan from Arlington, VA. What cities in Michigan are most similar to Arlington, VA? I haven't found a city that offers everything that Arlington does. Our preference is metro Detroit area but willing to consider other options. We have two young kids (ages are 2 years and 3 months). Looking for smaller city with hometown feel, with a downtown that would resemble living in Arlington. Any opinions or thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[usroute10]

I would suggest the Grosse Pointe communities immediately east of Detroit. They definitely have a hometown feel, have beautiful, historic housing, and have several small, charming business districts. But their vibe, their relative isolation, and their proximity to some really rough eastside Detroit neighborhoods, is not for everybody.

Some suburbs that you should also consider include, that have cute downtowns and great schools, include Birmingham in Oakland County, and the former railroad towns, turned posh suburbs of Plymouth and Northville, in Wayne County. Berkley and Clawson, suburbs in the trendy SE portion of Oakland County, should also receive some serious consideration.

None of these places are going to be as densely built up as Arlington. In addition, the Detroit suburbs have pride in not having any rapid transit and being completely car-dependent, so the suburbs also differ in that respect from Arlington, which has a major rapid transit connection to Washington, DC.

[DTWflyer]

There is nothing in Michigan that even comes close to resembling Arlington.
We don't have the density and all things that come from being at the core of the greater Washington DC area.

usroute10 hit most of the areas. All depends on what exactly are the "top 3" things that are most important to you, your budget, and if commute/proximity to employer matters.

[lynnc99]

For excellent schools, a vibrant downtown, and overall sense of community I'd recommend Rochester/Rochester Hills. You're about 40 minutes from downtown Detroit, 20 minutes from DTE Music Theater (formerly Pine Knob) for summer concerts whenever they resume.

[Willnj]

Originally Posted by neumannb

Originally from Saginaw, MI and looking to move back to Michigan from Arlington, VA. What cities in Michigan are most similar to Arlington, VA? I haven't found a city that offers everything that Arlington does. Our preference is metro Detroit area but willing to consider other options. We have two young kids (ages are 2 years and 3 months). Looking for smaller city with hometown feel, with a downtown that would resemble living in Arlington. Any opinions or thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks!

You pose a question for which there is no suitable answer. The relationship between D.C. and Arlington couldn't be more different than that between Detroit and its suburbs. Ann Arbor might be the closest match but it isn't even in the Detroit MSA.

Birmingham-Bloomfield and the Grosse Pointes are about the only areas that might fit your needs. Good luck with your search.

[Coldjensens]

Northville or Plymouth maybe. Not going to meet your expectations, but may have some appeal if Ann Arbor is too expensive or too far out.

If you do not mind a longer drive, look at Chelsea. Maybe Saline and Tecumseh as well.

Grand Rapids?

You cold look at Ferndale, Royal Oak and Birmingham as well. Also Rochester (City not hills).

[neumannb]

Thank you everyone. Update since the original post is that my wife started a new job in Rochester, MI - remote for now until we move/covid is over. We're hoping to move in late spring/early summer, and these are the areas on our list:

Obviously Rochester - but our main worry is how large the greater Rochester/Rochester Hills area is. Like we said in the original post we hope to find some place with a "hometown" feel, and we worry we won't get that with how large this area is. Other people we know from MI have told us traffic can be pretty bad/congested near downtown area almost year-round, thoughts?

We are also looking in:
Bloomfield Hills
Beverly Hills/Birmingham
Berkley/Royal Oak
Grosse Pointes - I'm particularly interested in this area but understand that the commute up to Rochester would be difficult, anybody know if a google map 40 min drive is actually realistic?

Other areas in consideration: Clarkston, Lake Orion.

Northville/Plymouth we visited over summer and we liked it, but commute to Rochester would be tough, and we don't love the Plymouth/Canton school district setup for high schools (based on my understanding it's a random assignment to one of the 3 high schools for students in plymouth-canton)?

Other info:
Budget: goal is to stay between $300k-$500k depending on home and area. Realistic monthly housing costs we hope to stay under $2,500/month as our daycare costs will likely go up as we hope to have a 3rd child in the future.
Our oldest daughter will need to start Pre-K September 2021, and my wife's goal is to be settled and have our family settled before she starts K in fall of 2022.
My job is remote indefinitely; my wife is early-on enough in her career (acct/finance) where she could potentially need a new job down the road. So that's why we're not 100% set on Rochester, in the event that the new job isn't as sustainable as we expected.
We have visited Rochester multiple times; been to Bloomfield Hills/Birmingham/Royal Oak/Berkley - have *not* been to the GP's before yet.

[Coldjensens]

Romeo

[usroute10]

Originally Posted by neumannb

Thank you everyone. Update since the original post is that my wife started a new job in Rochester, MI - remote for now until we move/covid is over. We're hoping to move in late spring/early summer, and these are the areas on our list:

Obviously Rochester - but our main worry is how large the greater Rochester/Rochester Hills area is. Like we said in the original post we hope to find some place with a "hometown" feel, and we worry we won't get that with how large this area is. Other people we know from MI have told us traffic can be pretty bad/congested near downtown area almost year-round, thoughts?

We are also looking in:
Bloomfield Hills
Beverly Hills/Birmingham
Berkley/Royal Oak
Grosse Pointes - I'm particularly interested in this area but understand that the commute up to Rochester would be difficult, anybody know if a google map 40 min drive is actually realistic?

Other areas in consideration: Clarkston, Lake Orion.

I would not worry about the proximity of Rochester to other jobs. The city immediately south of Rochester, Troy, might just be the largest employment center in the metro area. Other adjacent areas - Birmingham/Bloomfield and Auburn Hills have plenty of white collar jobs.

Concerning the hometown feel, I don't know what you mean - maybe neighborhoods with single family homes, sidewalks, and teeming with young families? The city of Rochester has that but it is a small area around the downtown strip. Most of Rochester Hills is generic suburbia. The parts of Clarkston and Lake Orion near their downtown strips also have that feel, so it is good you are looking into them. Birmingham has that - but it is just so darn expensive. I would also look into some of the small cities in the "inland lakes" part of Oakland County - Orchard Lake, Sylvan Lake (although there are alot of narrow, winding roads in that area, which could exacerbate a commute).

[DTWflyer]

I would strongly consider just looking at Rochester / Rochester Hills.

Birmingham is going to be out of your budget.
Northville & Grosse Pointe similar and just not worth the distance / commute.

Rochester is the de-facto downtown area with shops, restaurants, community events, library, festivals, farmers markets for a pretty large swath of of that part of the county. Pretty much the "downtown" for Rochester, Rochester Hills, Auburn Hills, northern Troy, and Oakland Twp. Its about as close to a "hometown" feel as anything you will find in Metro Detroit.

The traffic on Rochester Road, from downtown Rochester south to M-59 and really down into Troy down to I-75 is pretty congested during afternoon/ evening rush hour (pre-Covid). If you are working in Rochester you may be able to avoid some of this. A lot of this is due both to it being the major road headed north but all the retail big box stores along the corridor.

If I lived in that side of Oakland County, I'd live in Rochester for sure. My wife lived there when she was single and we were dating. We still have friends that live there. Between the stuff going on downtown, the parks/trails and proximity to Stoney Creek Metropark / Addison Oaks/ Bloomer, its a great place to live. Even if you don't live in Rochester proper, there are a lot of nice homes in Rochester Hills with some decent sized lots of 1-2+ acres if you desire.