Possibly moving from Chicago 'burbs to Detroit 'burbs - good/bad idea?? (Livonia: house, neighborhood)

[Dncr]

Are you crazy?! This is an easy no.

[behindenemylines]

I just moved out of West Bloomfield (and Michigan altogether). I also work in advertising. Here's my 2 cents:

West Bloomfield is very nice but not as nice as Bloomfield Hills. Also, depending on where you live in WB, your school district could be WB, Farmington, Birmingham, or Bloomfield Hills. You will often see houses for sale in WB boasting their school district when it is anything but West Bloomfield. That is because WB schools have been having some issues with violence and gangs due to the large poplulation of Chaldeans. During my stay in WB I had absolutely no problems or anything bad to say towards the Chaldean population and I wasn't in the WB school district so I do not have first hand knowledge. I have just bought and sold in WB recently and every realtor I spoke to had the same comments to say about WB schools.

The advertising industry used to be top notch in Detroit but most of it was auto related. As the auto industry has suffered, advertising in Detroit has suffered. Just about every house has had major rounds of layoffs and jobs are hard to come by. With that said, just about every major agency still has an office in Detroit so I still hold hope things turn around.

You can definitely get bargains in Michigan right now. I'd be very selective and look for the perfect property should you choose to move. Michigan has a very long road to recovery, I wasn't willing to wait it out but I do hope to return someday. I would caution you that if you think it may be a temporary move (less than five years) you should really be careful of the situation you get into with real estate. House values are not likely to rise much in the next five years and it will likely still be hard to sell a house, especially a higher end house.

Hope it all works out for you. As an ironic side note, nearly half of my friends in advertising have moved to Chicago.

[michsnowlvr]

Originally Posted by Dncr

Are you crazy?! This is an easy no.

Have you ever been to Detroits suburbs?

If you have a job, and want to live in the suburbs instead of the city, metro Detroit in a HEARTBEAT over metro Chicago.

[Bluefly]

Originally Posted by MTUCache

I'm sorry... but while I wasn't scratching my head reading your post I was laughing. I've had college professors who didn't cram this much jargon into an hour long lecture, let alone an internet forum post.

What time is the recitation for this sociology class? Are we going to be graded on attendance?

All in good fun or not, that actually wasn't a very jargon-filled post. It was pretty straight-forward language for educated adults. It'd be nice if Michiganians celebrated intellect rather than knocked it all the time. Might provide a clue about why the economy is the way it is. Out east people wouldn't bat an eye.

As per the topic - while I would also recommend suburban Detroit any day over suburban Chicago for quality of life and all the other reasons people mentioned (get the same lifestyle for a lot less money but give up being adjacent to a real city), I would be concerned about your advertising career if you depend upon commission, given the situations with a lot of other businesses.

If you're on salary, then it's a no-brainer.

[SBD]

Originally Posted by Bluefly

All in good fun or not, that actually wasn't a very jargon-filled post. It was pretty straight-forward language for educated adults. It'd be nice if Michiganians celebrated intellect rather than knocked it all the time. Might provide a clue about why the economy is the way it is. Out east people wouldn't bat an eye.

As per the topic - while I would also recommend suburban Detroit any day over suburban Chicago for quality of life and all the other reasons people mentioned (get the same lifestyle for a lot less money but give up being adjacent to a real city), I would be concerned about your advertising career if you depend upon commission, given the situations with a lot of other businesses.

If you're on salary, then it's a no-brainer.

Thanks - I'm on salary plus commission. But as mentioned, I'm concerned about lack of jobs there in my field should I leave or be forced out of my job at any point. The thought of owning a home in MI right now and not having a job to pay for it is pretty scary. I'm just looking in to the future at a scenario that is all too common these days. Finding a job in ad sales would be easier in Chicago than in MI - so that is the dilemma I am facing. Otherwise, I totally agree the lifestyle would be much better in MI.

[lorihoop]

"If you have a job, and want to live in the suburbs instead of the city, metro Detroit in a HEARTBEAT over metro Chicago."

Michsnowlvr, that's funny. Have you ever lived in Chicago? If not, then you have no idea what you're talking about. People from Michigan come here to Chicago for mini-vacation weekends to shop/sight see because it's such a great city. I don't see anybody from Chicago going to Detroit for a weekend away......

I would rather pay the higher taxes here in the Chicago suburbs and be close to a major city that has a TON of things to do, and a wonderful nightlife.

Plus, they plow the streets here when it snows. In Michigan there are few plows. OP, you would be shocked. We sure were the first time it snowed. We kept waiting for the plows, and they never came..... We were in Westland.

OP, please do not act in haste in regards to your move. Sure, you might get a killer house for a great price, but that's about all you're going to get out there. Plan on staying for the long, long haul if you do buy there.

As more and more people migrate from the city, the school districts in the suburbs are going to be changing as well. We've already got an onslaught of kids coming from the city since they opened up our old district to school of choice, and I see it getting worse.

Budgets for nearly every public school district in the state are in the toilet, and the level of education is going to continue to decline. My kids were in private schools because of the overcrowding/sub-par education they were receiving in the WWCSD.

Not trying to be Debbie Downer or all doom and gloom, just being real.

I had made many great friends during my time in Michigan, loved my house, my neighborhood and all the city did have to offer.

I just see it getting a lot worse before it starts to get better.

Good luck to you, whatever you choose.

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by SBD

When you say 'real expensive home' are you referring to the $450k price tag I mentioned? In Chicago's suburbs, the northern ones any way - that is basically a tear down 50's ranch with no updating.

My home was purchased for $765k and was built in 1969. So while a house for $450k might seem big/expensive there...it is a bargain compared to our lifestyle now. The homes I have seen in West Bloomfield for that price range are anywhere between 3,000 - 4,000 sq feet. My home now is 3,200 sq feet. So I guess its all relative. We would simply like a newer home of equal size to the one we have now for less money. Going too far below $450k the homes look like they start needing a lot of updating (not in the cards for me - been there done that).

IN the current market, $450K should easliy buy you a house in the 5000 - 6000 s.f. range. Maybe a bit smaller if it is on water.

All houses will require some form of updating. If it is brand new, you ahve to choose carpeting, wall coverings, curtains, etc. If it is lived in, you will want to change some of those things. From what i have seen of the current market, you have to be nuts to buy a new house.

[behindenemylines]

Originally Posted by lorihoop

Plus, they plow the streets here when it snows. In Michigan there are few plows. OP, you would be shocked. We sure were the first time it snowed. We kept waiting for the plows, and they never came..... We were in Westland.

...

Not trying to be Debbie Downer or all doom and gloom, just being real.

Lorihoop, while I agree its going to get a lot worse before it gets better, and its hard not to be a Debbie Downer when talking about Michigan - but you aren't being "real" about everything. There are "few snow plows" in Michigan? Perhaps Westland had some sort of budgetary problems but Michigan has plenty of snow plows. I've lived in numerous cities in Oakland, Macomb, Wayne, Isabella, and Huron counties and have never had an issue with snow removal.

All I am saying is there is more than enough bad news about Michigan without having to go overboard. Besides, there is a huge difference between Westland and the areas the OP is considering.

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by behindenemylines

Lorihoop, while I agree its going to get a lot worse before it gets better, and its hard not to be a Debbie Downer when talking about Michigan - but you aren't being "real" about everything. There are "few snow plows" in Michigan? Perhaps Westland had some sort of budgetary problems but Michigan has plenty of snow plows. I've lived in numerous cities in Oakland, Macomb, Wayne, Isabella, and Huron counties and have never had an issue with snow removal.

All I am saying is there is more than enough bad news about Michigan without having to go overboard. Besides, there is a huge difference between Westland and the areas the OP is considering.

Where we live the kids get really mad becuase the plows and salt trucks are out on the roads before the snow even accumulates. "How are we EVER going to get a snow day?"

We did have a few instances where the plaws just did nto come for a long time. I am not sure why that is. They only plowed the main streets and then left. Later they went back to normal.


IN Detroit snow removal is very poor. I think that it depends on where you are.

[lorihoop]

Seriously Cold, they had trucks on standby?? That's awesome, and I wish all the suburbs would plow like that.
I don't know where you are behindenemylines, but the cities of Canton, Westland, Garden City and Livonia don't plow until all the snow has fallen, and even then it's slow going because of the lack of plows. Trying to get around during or right after a storm is a nightmare.

Please tell me whatever else in my post wasn't "real".

I did point out good things about Michigan in my post, in case you didn't get to that part.

I would just like the OP to realize that he's walking into something long term if he does indeed plan on relocating and purchasing property there, and some of the downsides of living there as well.