Wayne County vs Oakland County (Detroit, Ann Arbor: apartment, rent, how much)

[babigyrl5]

I hear Oakland county has way higher taxes but Wayne county taxes on everything. Which county is better to live in and why? You can discuss things other than taxes when compairing counties. Thanks for all input!
Also are there any cities/towns that have city stickers for your car? Thats one reason why Im glad im not in Chicago because of the expensive city sticker you have to buy...

[Dexterguy]

Originally Posted by babigyrl5

I hear Oakland county has way higher taxes but Wayne county taxes on everything. Which county is better to live in and why? You can discuss things other than taxes when compairing counties. Thanks for all input!
Also are there any cities/towns that have city stickers for your car? Thats one reason why Im glad im not in Chicago because of the expensive city sticker you have to buy...

I can talk a long time about these two counties as I have grown up in them my entire life, but I will keep it kind of short:

Wayne County is obviously more attached to the City of Detroit, not all parts though, there are very bad parts and very beautiful and nice parts it just depends on where you are talking about. For example you can't compare the run-down neighborhoods of Detroit to a City such as Northville in western Wayne County. Overall the county is a nice place to live in, but there are some downs about it. The Wayne County roads seem to be worse anywhere you go than Oakland's. Even in the "nicer" areas of Wayne County such as Northville, Plymouth, and the Grosse Pointes the roads are still a little rougher. This mostly is attached to taxes again, over the years many Wayne County residents moved to Oakland county from the city or the inner suburbs, therefore the Wayne County slowing shrank with it, I believe that Wayne County has less than 2 million people in it now, and that is mostly because of the decline of Detroit and its inner suburbs. And unfortunetely Detroit is not the only one to suffer because of the decline but everyone in Wayne County.

Oakland County's seat is the City of Pontiac. Many of Oakland County's jobs are based in Southfield though. There are different areas of Oakland also, they are all not the same. Some are very urban, being the older very tight and built up inner suburbs sitting on 8 Mile Rd. While there can be parts of the county that are very rural with gravel roads and farms. And then there is your newer suburban sprawl that is in bewteen the two. In my opinion and observation, Oakland County has some of the best roads in the state, much better than Wayne's.

[Dexterguy]

Originally Posted by babigyrl5

I hear Oakland county has way higher taxes but Wayne county taxes on everything. Which county is better to live in and why? You can discuss things other than taxes when compairing counties. Thanks for all input!
Also are there any cities/towns that have city stickers for your car? Thats one reason why Im glad im not in Chicago because of the expensive city sticker you have to buy...

Sorry, and to finish the question:

I really do not have any major reason why I live in Oakland County, it is just were it happens to be. To me it really depends on your neighborhood, by the time you try to define a county that gets a little bit to broad.

And your question about stickers, I have never heard of such a thing, maybe it is just a thing in Chicago, but as far as I know we don't have anything like that.

[Coldjensens]

Both counties are very diverse. It depends on which community you choose to live in. Nicer communities usually have higher taxes. Communities with better schools have higher taxes.

Detroit taxes the heck out of everyone because it has too much infrastructure, too few people and too much corruption/graft. Outside of Detroit, you pretty much get what you pay for tax wise.

[Bhaalspawn]

I recommend Oakland County, which is or at least used to be one of the nation's wealthiest counties. The stigma of being so closely tied to the disaster that is Detroit just puts a bad taste in my mouth for all of Wayne County.

[djmilf]

I don't know where you got the information about Oakland County having higher taxes than Wayne County. Maybe it's because the median incomes are higher in Oakland County than in Wayne County.

There's a lot of jobs in Southfield, but there's even more jobs in Auburn Hills (thanks to Chrylser and its suppliers) and in Troy (centered around Big Beaver Road - aka 'The Golden Mile'). Of course, being Michigan, that doesn't mean that there's a lot of jobs available right now .

I've never heard of cities or counties in Metro Detroit requiring stickers for your car. I have seen parking permit stickers, but usually for colleges, universities, and hospitals.

Babigyrl5, what are you looking for in a community? A twenty-something single girl might have different wants than say a thirty-something homemaker/mom or a seventy-something married retiree. You might get better information if you narrow down the scope.

[DaniellaG]

I do agree a lot depends on where you live but I do feel Oakland County has more areas that are nicer then Wayne. I also hear Oakland County is one of the wealthiest.I think for us to help you it is better to tell us where you are going to be working,your age if you have a family,income or what you are looking to spend. As for parking we don't have stickers other then like the other poster said if you work or school requires it. Some places like in a dowtown rea you may have to put money in the meter or park in a lot where an attendant will tell you how much it is per hour but these things don't happen that often in MI.

[babigyrl5]

Originally Posted by djmilf

Babigyrl5, what are you looking for in a community? A twenty-something single girl might have different wants than say a thirty-something homemaker/mom or a seventy-something married retiree. You might get better information if you narrow down the scope.

Im looking for diversity! I want to live among all races and sexual orientations and religions etc...

Originally Posted by DaniellaG

I think for us to help you it is better to tell us where you are going to be working,your age if you have a family,income or what you are looking to spend.

My job is 100% travel so it is more important to me to be near to DTW than anything else. Im always running late and almost missing my flights lol so 20 minutes max is a good drive to the airport for me. I work out my apartment when I dont travel so when Im home I want to be in a diverse area as I stated above. Im 26 years old and the max rent I want to spend is $800 for a 2 bedroom.
Currently I live in Cincinnati. In Hamilton county they tax on food but in Kenton and Cambell county they do not tax on food so my grocieries are cheaper and things on the dollar menu at mcdonalds are literally $1. I just cant decide what county I want to live in...

Thanks everyone!

[DaniellaG]

I am not that familiar with that area but I would think if you are wanting to be 20 min away that would be mostly Wayne. I was thinking of Plymouth. I think that is pretty diversed and you could get a real cute place for 800. Plymouth has a cute downtown area or I was thinking Northville but that is a little farther. They are both cute with downtown areas with shops/restaurants. If you name some cities you may get a better idea of what it is like to make a better choice

[babigyrl5]

Originally Posted by DaniellaG

I am not that familiar with that area but I would think if you are wanting to be 20 min away that would be mostly Wayne. I was thinking of Plymouth. I think that is pretty diversed and you could get a real cute place for 800. Plymouth has a cute downtown area or I was thinking Northville but that is a little farther. They are both cute with downtown areas with shops/restaurants. If you name some cities you may get a better idea of what it is like to make a better choice

Plymouth was on my short list although I heard traffic for some reason is crazy in this small town!
I was also considering Bellville, Canton and Wyandotte. I would love to live in Ann Arbor but I think its too far from DTW but prove me wrong! lol