Well, we're back from house hunting... (Troy, Rochester Hills: mortgage, relocation, landscaping)

[firecracker123]

And we are very happy with Oakland county...I wasn't sure what to expect but walked away feeling like I was home --- beautiful communities, soundly built homes and wonderful landscaping...the one thing I absolutely loved was that each area we looked in ( with our very experienced realtor) was so unique -- at the end of it all we are interested in Rochester Hills' Clear Creek community, Bloomfield Hills and Bloomfield township and areas of Troy (Wynd something village seemed nice)....

I can know breathe normally and look forward to the move

PS -- we went for dinner in Troy and then a nite out in Royal Oak and had so much fun!

[st8champ90]

Originally Posted by firecracker123

And we are very happy with Oakland county...I wasn't sure what to expect but walked away feeling like I was home --- beautiful communities, soundly built homes and wonderful landscaping...the one thing I absolutely loved was that each area we looked in ( with our very experienced realtor) was so unique -- at the end of it all we are interested in Rochester Hills' Clear Creek community, Bloomfield Hills and Bloomfield township and areas of Troy (Wynd something village seemed nice)....

I can know breathe normally and look forward to the move

PS -- we went for dinner in Troy and then a nite out in Royal Oak and had so much fun!

Are you moving to Michigan from another state, or just changing locals within the state?

[firecracker123]

lol -- I am moving to Michigan from Canada

[lovindfw]

So which area did you like the best and why? I am moving from Texas around July and thinking about going to Troy.

[firecracker123]

Originally Posted by lovindfw

So which area did you like the best and why? I am moving from Texas around July and thinking about going to Troy.

Well, I loved RH (particularly the Clear Creek sub) because of the options. It was a new sub and that attracts us. The community was full of young families (my kids are 2 through 13 and we are in our 30s)....lots of people out and about and we loved the style of homes and lots.....the schools are good (which is the same for Oakland county in general)...in Tory we liked the closeness for work....we loved a few communities but didn't really see the younger families as much (though it was a holiday)...in older subs you will get a mix, and we have that now - we'd rather have more youner kids than anything....however our house would hold its value more (which isn't the main concern with us)...Tory high school district is excellent....the houses (that we like) are older and that is an issue as we have an older house now...BUT we still like the city itself.....as for Bloomfield we love the mature trees and rolling hills....we love the established communities and the school system is unbeatable - if you live in a certain area you can pay Bloomfield Township taxes but have Birmingham schools...BUT the areas are older, which means older kids etc. We don't want that....

We weren't happy with Birmingham as much, mostly because the taxes are out of control ($20,000 in general) and we are not caught up on a certain postal code.....same for bloomfield hills - we could get a home there but we are not kean on the community as much....schools are great and so is location and your home will hold its value.

hmmmmm, I think that covers it

HTH

[lovindfw]

Thankf for the info, firecracker123!

[GinaJ]

I grew up and lived most of my life in Oakland County. The west bloomfield area and went to birmingham schools. A few thoughts. I have a lot of friends in Bloomfield Hills and it is a lovely area and good schools. It can be very expensive though and am not sure your price range. Have you thought of west bloomfield? It is the neighbor to Bloomfield Hills. Very good schools and similar to BH. There is more to do in the Troy/RO area but am not sure if I would want to live there. Many like it though but be careful of trains in RO if you find a home cause I made a mistake with that in Novi what a nightmare. Where will you be working?

[firecracker123]

Originally Posted by GinaJ

I grew up and lived most of my life in Oakland County. The west bloomfield area and went to birmingham schools. A few thoughts. I have a lot of friends in Bloomfield Hills and it is a lovely area and good schools. It can be very expensive though and am not sure your price range. Have you thought of west bloomfield? It is the neighbor to Bloomfield Hills. Very good schools and similar to BH. There is more to do in the Troy/RO area but am not sure if I would want to live there. Many like it though but be careful of trains in RO if you find a home cause I made a mistake with that in Novi what a nightmare. Where will you be working?

Hmmm, based on our preferences our agent steered us away from W Bloomfield....I'd rather not get into specifics but we are in agreement with him on that one

I have to say that the cost of living there must be cheaper than here, to put it simply we bring home an income 3 times the amount needed for the price range of homes we were looking at there....however, we are not fans of carrying a max mortgage and would rather live in a nice home and still be able to live the way we do. So we are sticking to that 500,000 - 650,000 or so range. I will not work there, I am a personal trainer here and the relocation service will offer job placement for me for a 12 month period once we move....if the kiddies settle well and we feel it's time I will take that option, since I work for myself (gyms take too much a cut) I may do it on my own. As far as hubby, he would work either Oak Park, Hamtarack? or Highland Park, a plant has not yet been decided upon

[kimba01]

Hmmm, I would love to have a personal trainer. What do they generally charge? And if you don't do it in a gym, do you have all the equipment or does the client have to?

Just curious.

[SouxieSummers]

Hmmm...I'm curious about the comment that your realtor steered you away from West Bloomfield - we thought the area around Maple & Orchard Lake was nice, but too much traffic. Can you elaborate?