Best family suburb for Wayne State job (Detroit, Ann Arbor: to rent, house)

[hemmie]

Hi, my husband may take a job at Wayne State. Despite almost no ties to the midwest and a little intimidation about the weather (I'm a California girl), I'd actually be thrilled at the opportunity to live in a family-friendly area with down-to-earth people with the amenities of a world-class city nearby. Yes, I know it's a strange time to move there with the economic troubles, but I'm optimistic in the long-term, and I've lived in DC and LA, so the big city issues don't scare me away per se. With home prices coming down and being used to LA prices, I don't see us being too limited right now in terms of geography, especially because we're flexible on how big we "need" our house to be.

What we're looking for in a suburb, more or less in order of priority:
* great schools
* decent commute to Wayne State (30-40 minutes is really pushing it, esp. given we've never commuted in snow before)
* progressive open-mindedness
* charm (we like more historic homes, for example)
* sense of community
* lively main street/restaurants (NOT strip malls or even a traditional shopping mall... I'm not a shopper per se, but I like bookstores, independent shops, strolling, etc.)

From what I've seen here, Royal Oak might have been our scene pre-kids, but now, the schools take precedence. I know their schools are ok, but there are just too many other schools that are much better nearby, it seems. Our kids will be 3 (preschool) and 5 (kindergarten) when we move.

This is really thinking ahead, but we'd like to buy our "forever house" ideally, and the International Academy is really appealing to me in concept (if of course our kids could get in and it interests them and fits their personalities).
- Because of the International Academy (and good schools itself), would Troy be up our alley? I figure that the International Academy might also attract a more international crowd as well that might be interesting.
- Are the Grosse Pointes too stuffy for us? Being closer to the water does appeal, the schools sound great, and the little "downtowns" sound cute, but the snobbiness is a turn off. How conservative ARE they? Do gay people live there (or would they at least be tolerated)?
- What other specific 'burbs would you recommend we look at more closely - my list is so long at this point! I've cross-referenced with Great Schools, so I need to start going deep.

Thanks so much.

[Coldjensens]

You have a lot of great choices.

Grosse Pointe is really nice. Whether it is stuffy or snobby depends on whom you encounter there. I know a lot of wonderful people who live there and a few snobs. Go take a look. It is really close to WSU and has good schools.

Birmingham is really neat downtown and close engugh to WSU. It is known for pretentious snobs, but then again it depends on whom you encounter.

Farminton Hills is a nice suburbia area with decent schools. Very middle class but nice middle class.

Northville is a little bit outside your commute range, but a really quaint town with great schools.

Plymouth is realistically an hour from WSU, but it is a really nice small city. Great atmosphere. Great schools. Nice housing stock.

Novi has good schools and loads of shoppping malls and strip malls (but not much else). It is pretty much subdivisions. It is at the outer limits of your commute time, depending on where in Novi you start from.

Troy is pushing you commute too, but it is a nice clean city with one of the nicest large shpooing malls anywhere.

Livonia is a nice older suburban town. Northern Livonia is much nicer than southern. Again no real downtown, pretty much subdivisions and malls.

Downriver Wyandotte is pretty neat if you do not have children, or Grosse ile is an execellent place for families.

We looked at all of these towns and almost every other nice town within two hours of the airport and chose Grosse Ile. It is not everyone's choice, but certainly the right choice for us. THere is a thread about Grosse Ile somewhere. Personally, if I were in your shoes Grosse Pointe, Grosse Ile, or Troy would be my picks.

[arrogant]

I would choose birmingham. I am a new resident, and rent, though if i were to ever buy here Birmingham would be at the top of the list. This being said I will never buy anywhere in the Detroit metro. My advice would be do not buy here unless you are planning on staying in that house 10-15 years.

[Twehttam]

My wife and I just moved to Grosse Pointe and we're very happy. It would be a short commute to WSU, while being in a great (IMO) community. We looked all over and really wanted an older city feel, but with good schools and services. And, lo and behold, we actually like being near the city. Crazy! Spend a Saturday driving around the neighborhoods. I think you'll like it.

[Dexterguy]

I would suggest the Grosse Pointes on the eastside of the metro area. If you want to be north of WSU and downtown Detroit look into the N. suburbs such as the Bloomfields (Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Twp, and West Bloomfield Twp). And next to Bloomfield Hills is Birmingham, which is one of my favorite cities. The only "downtown" cities in the western suburbs are Northville and Plymouth. Novi is a larger suburb with good schools but really does not have a real downtown, but has one of the metro's largest and best malls (Twelve Oaks).

[hemmie]

Thank you for the replies! I'd love some estimates of commute times to Wayne State for the places you mention. Also, we may decide to rent for a while, though with home prices so low, it is very tempting to buy. As my husband will be faculty (tenure track position), we are hoping this will be a long-term move. We will have made a decision in the next ten days(ish), and then we'll plan a trip out there to get a feel for the neighborhoods. We'll also have a better feel for a more specific budget.

Thanks again; more thoughts welcome!

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by hemmie

Thank you for the replies! I'd love some estimates of commute times to Wayne State for the places you mention. Also, we may decide to rent for a while, though with home prices so low, it is very tempting to buy. As my husband will be faculty (tenure track position), we are hoping this will be a long-term move. We will have made a decision in the next ten days(ish), and then we'll plan a trip out there to get a feel for the neighborhoods. We'll also have a better feel for a more specific budget.

Thanks again; more thoughts welcome!

Grosse Pointe I think about 10 to 15 minutes.

Grosse Ile about 40 - 45 minutes right now. about 35 minutes when the I--75 re-opens. You can make it in half an hour if you drive fast and hit green lights.

Birmingham about 30 to 40 minutes. Assuming that you are in rush hour. Traffic is heavy. Off hours cut about 10 minutes. I am going by what others tell me, I do not drive to/from Brimingham in traffic very often.

Northville, Novi, about 50-55 minutes if you are reasonably near the freeway.

South Lyon about an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes depends on your proximity to the freeway.

Plymouth 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes. Less on really good days.

Livonia or Wyandotte half an hour.

Troy - about ten minutes more than Birmingham.

Farmington Hills - a wild guess is about 40 minutes. I could be less.

[Coldjensens]

BTW where in Ca are you from? We lived in Orange County for 18 years.

[Quemonius]

Don't forget about the Downriver area. I would check out historic Wyandotte...you still can be near water frontage with mainstreet appeal...for a block or two. There are more established communities with colonial brick homes in Allen Park, Trenton, and Southgate. Newer subdivisions can be found in many of the downriver communities. Brownstown and Flat Rock have grown and if you like a bit of land...you can be in the country burbs with a bit of acreage. The country burbs are sprawling but there are many areas that still make you feel like you live in the country but shopping and amenities are right around the corner. Southgate, Taylor and Romulus have a new state of the art sports center with indoor soccer, ice skating, and hockey, swimming, etc. Heritage Park in Taylor holds summer festivals as does many of the other downriver communities. I prefer the AnnArbor summer festivals like Movie in the Park...those are fun.

I love the homes on Huron River Drive...it's a very scenic shortcut to Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor with lakes here and there along the way. If you like island living then there is always Grosse Isle...expensive and overated imo but some folks like the island appeal. The Metro Airport is in Romulus which makes it convenient for visiting family or returns back to CT. Lower Huron state park is nearby. You can also avoid much of the freeway traffic you would endure going from WSU up to the northern burbs. Simply take Fort Street towards downtown or hassle with I-75 traffic and make your way to WSU. Warning! WSU is NOT a centralized campus at all....buildings are spread about everywhere...your actual work location really would determine your commute time. You would have to learn the tricks of the streets because there are many one way streets in the campus/medical center and parking is UNREAL. You will be ticketed often if you park on the street. The parking structure is always FULL...and so unless you have an assigned parking spot expect to be annoyed!

[hemmie]

Sorry, Coldj! Didn't see your query... we both work at UCLA, so we live on the westside (near Venice in Mar Vista/Culver City). I don't mind where we live, except for the exorbitant cost of living. When we moved here, we knew it would only be for a couple years and wanted to be near work & beach to take advantage of the area. Still, though, tough on the bank account, and we still spend a lot of time in the car, sigh.

Quem, a lot of your terminology is over my head at this point, but I'm sure I'll become more familiar with it Thanks for the tips - I'll have to check out the schools' ratings in those neighborhoods you mention, as that's our top priority. And great point about parking - I wonder if he can negotiate an assigned parking spot!