Gay multiracial family moving to metro Detroit ... are we nuts? (Birmingham: 2009, schools)

[melissasells]

Nope. You're not nuts. Most likely staying near the Woodward corridor is best for your situation. Ann Arbor would be a bit of a commute. Royal Oak, Pleasant Ridge, Huntington Woods, Ferndale, & Berkley are all good options. And prices have really changed, especially in relation to San Fran.

Royal Oak has a nice urban sort of down town w/ lots of restaurants & activities. Depending on where you wind up, downtown RO may truly be w/i walking distance for you which can be fun. I myself have lived in RO for the last 8 yrs. I grew up in Detroit proper. RO is definitely diversifying, which is good. I was somewhat concerned when I first moved in. But I am happy to say RO has gotten much more diverse over the last 5 years.

[melissasells]

Birmingham is very nice too. A bit more upscale than Royal Oak & bit pricier too. But nice.

[ckhthankgod]

What about the northern portion of Oak Park(say north of 696), which is actually in the Berkley School District? It's a diverse suburb and I am guessing that Berkley schools have a better reputation than Oak Park schools. Hence, the question. You would still be very close to Royal Oak and Ferndale too.

I also found out that a few streets west of Woodward, near Huntington Woods, in Royal Oak are also a part of the Berkley SD. http://www.berkley.k12.mi.us/index.a...Maps&school=37

[sanfranfamily]

Thank you, thank you for all the good info and suggestions here! We are looking at a house that's technically in Beverly Hills. Not far from Woodward, and the kids would go to Greenfield Elementary (Birmingham schools) ... just a few blocks away. Any thoughts? The school seems quite diverse, both racially and economically, which I like a lot.

[teejuris]

Beverly Hills is a great choice considering your values and concerns. It's close to Southfield, Lathrup Village, Berkeley, Franklin and Farmington Hills..The Birmingham school district, while probably not too diverse, will provide your children w/ a satisfactory and challenging education/curriculum.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by teejuris

Beverly Hills is a great choice considering your values and concerns. It's close to Southfield, Lathrup Village, Berkeley, Franklin and Farmington Hills..The Birmingham school district, while probably not too diverse, will provide your children w/ a satisfactory and challenging education/curriculum.

Here's the makeup of the Birmingham SD: Test Scores for Birmingham City School District | GreatSchools

Here's the demo's for Berkley, btw: Test Scores for Berkley School District | GreatSchools

What about Clawson, which is a smaller school district, but with similar demographics? I'm not sure the rep is as good as Birmingham though, but it is just north of Royal Oak and is in that Woodward corridor. Bloomfield Hills might be another school district to consider. It is more diverse than Birmingham, has just as high of a reputation and is a bit smaller school district. Here's a good site for checking out school districts in that area: http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/...county=Oakland

[xeno81]

All I would really have to say, is to be sure that in case you hated the area, or unfortunately somehow lost the job (like many people here, are), make absolutely certain you have a cushion of cash in case you need to get out of town.

I am someone who has grown up in the NE suburbs of Detroit, in Macomb County. I moved out to California and lived there for 6 years before coming back, since Cali is ultimately where I decided not to put down roots. I lived in Chico, Sacramento, and then San Jose, Sunnyvale, and then Mountain View before finally coming back.

I absolutely loved Mountain View, though I never really liked The City. I guess it was just too much for me, and being a midwestern suburbanite, I could never really "get" the urban thing.

Others in the thread have quoted good areas to stay in, but, once again... coming from someone who has lived here most of his life and growing up, and being a gay man myself, your best bet is to stay in or near the Gayborhoods like Ferndale and Berkley and such. Especially with as diverse as your family is. Outside of that, you won't find nearly the same welcoming attitude.

Also, stay in Oakland county. Don't bother with Macomb, next door. Not nearly as liberal or "hip" of a place, and the nicer areas are simply higher end whitewashed suburbia. Schools, on the whole, are much much better in Oakland.

As your research should tell you, as well, though we're in a more "modern" society these days... your children will still encounter racial borderlines, especially with "mixed" children. The Detroit Metro is one of the THE most racially polarized places in the whole country. You WILL encounter people stating in plain daylight that "oh it's just because I'm black" or "that's what I get for being the white one here". The classic "which side of the fence are you on" types of attitudes. Again, not nearly as bad in Oakland Co as Macomb, but still something to keep in mind.

Lastly, Winters can be cold and harsh, Winter driving is something you'll have to pay attention to (though if you've driven in the hills and whatnot during the Winter, there, you have some idea with the exception that it's mostly flat here and you won't need tire chains), people are much more closed minded and conservative, tons of people smoke; businesses are finally starting to go "no smoking". Well with driving in general, there are no inspections or emissions testing, and never in my life have I ever received a "fix it ticket" in the state of Michigan. Essentially, if most of your cars lights can turn on at night, and it still can hold together with duct tape, it's good enough to drive. Which is dangerous for anyone. Drivers here are very rude, and many people are perpetually "out of blinker fluid". Many people in NorCal drive nutty on the road because they're simply not paying close enough attention, or they drive very slow taking in the beautiful day, or are simply from another country and getting used to the roads here. Not here. Here, people drive maliciously on purpose. Watch for people who will brake-check you if they even THINK you're driving too close, and they will otherwise drive dangerously (fake-swerve into you, etc). doesn't matter if you have kids or not.

It's great that you can move for a good business opportunity, but with the way most of the Metro Area is dying or choking on itself, with even more layoffs coming down the pipe, and a general unemp rate going over 15% and rising.... coupled with the fact that you're moving from San Francisco.

I'd call it a bad deal.

[daddythreepointoh]

Originally Posted by sanfranfamily

Thank you, thank you for all the good info and suggestions here! We are looking at a house that's technically in Beverly Hills. Not far from Woodward, and the kids would go to Greenfield Elementary (Birmingham schools) ... just a few blocks away. Any thoughts? The school seems quite diverse, both racially and economically, which I like a lot.

Beverly Hills is nice and B'ham schools are the best. You should be fine.

Regarding the suggestion for Clawson, I would say no....Clawson is a cute little town and is indeed in the correct general area, but it is very blue collar and while you would probably be okay, you more than likely would be happier elsewhere.

As a gay man, xeno's post is probably full of good advice for you. I agree that you should stay in Oakland along the Woodward corridor, preferably NW Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge, RO, Berkley, ect. I would recommend staying out of Macomb county as well...I personally don't see the appeal of living over there...it's all subdivisions, very cookie-cutter, no personality, and Republican-ville. LOL

Unfortunately, I have to agree about the driver's here...horrible! Watch out in the winter especially!

[jeanniepep]

Beverly Hills is very nice! Both my parents were raised in Birmingham and went to Seaholm High School. Definitely more upscale than Ferndale but for the most part the people are still very nice. You'll be close to most everything and very safe there!

[alwaystraveling25]

As a fellow LGBT-er, I just wanted to point out, in case something were to come up, that Gay Adoption is Illegal in the state of Michigan. I know you adopted your children in California, where it is, but it is not in Michigan. I just wanted you to be aware in case you ran into any issues with your potential schools questioning the validity of you and your parent's adoption. I am hopeful that nothing would come up, but even in 2009 there are still many hateful, vindictive people out there (one only has to think about the recent gay bar raids in Ft. Worth, TX, to realize that).

I just wanted you both to be aware of this, if you weren't.