Job relocation Lansing area (East Lansing, Okemos: for sale, renting, houses)

Moving7thistime · 07-07-2010, 12:58 PM

I am hoping someone can help me out a little. My husband was just informed that he is being relocated to Lansing here soon. He will have to be working there by September 1. So, as you can see this gives us little time. We have never been to the Lansing area, or anywhere in Michigan. I have no idea where to start looking for houses. Any help would be wonderful and I thank everyone in advance. This is what were are looking for...we have 5 children, school districts are not important to us as we do homeschool. We are looking for a safe, family friendly environment, we have to have a yard for them. We are from an area now with some land, so we do like more of the rural feel to things. My husband commutes to DC right now and it takes him the better part of 2 hours, so commuting to work is not an option. Thank you again.

teachbeach · 07-07-2010, 01:29 PM

Since you homeschool, you might want to consider outside of Lansing~areas such as Bath, Williamston, Webberville, Grand Ledge or even St. Johns. Lansing is a big city, next to it is East Lansing, home of Michigan State University, and the population of the town doubles (as well as the traffic and crowds) at the end of August when the students come back. Other towns include Okemos, Holt, Diamondale, all surrounding Lansing/East Lansing. If you would like the name of a realtor, I can make a suggestion, PM me for a couple of names. I used 2 different ones in the last 4 years, one to sell my Dad's house and another for my grandmother's home. Know the area well.

perfectplace · 07-07-2010, 09:01 PM

Hello. Is sounds like your family has some big changes ahead. I wish you well in your new adventure. We currently live in Lansing (Grand Ledge School district) and our children go to the Catholic school in Grand Ledge. Grand Ledge is a nice community where you could easily find a home with some land. The school system is good and all though that is not a need for you because you home school, it could be a benefit if you were ever wanting to sell your home that you buy in this area. We also have 5 children and we know several families who homeschool. I can ask them about their homeschooling group if you are interested. I too know of a very good, Christian realtor if you are interested. If you have any other area questions, please feel free to send a follow up or email me. I am more than happy to help, I know how difficult it can be when you are moving to an area that you are unfamiliar with.

michigan83 · 07-08-2010, 06:59 AM

Quote:

We are looking for a safe, family friendly environment, we have to have a yard for them. We are from an area now with some land, so we do like more of the rural feel to things. My husband commutes to DC right now and it takes him the better part of 2 hours, so commuting to work is not an option. Thank you again.

The Lansing area is going to be a huge improvement in this department. It is very easy to commute from the surrounding rural areas into the city or suburbs.

I live 35 miles from East Lansing in a very rural area, and I can easily commute into town in 40 minutes or so. We just don't have the congestion that makes commuting miserable in the D.C. area.

If you are looking for a rural area with with some land and want to keep the commute to 25 minutes or less, your options include Portland, Grand Ledge, DeWitt, Williamston, Mason, Perry, Charlotte, and all of the areas in between.

The funny thing is that if your husband works in Lansing and he wanted to keep his two hour commute, you could live in... Fort Wayne, IN. Or maybe Windsor, ONT? Toledo, OH? Point being that it's much easier to commute in most areas of Michigan.

JimmyInGreatLakes · 07-08-2010, 07:04 AM

We live in Mason and my commute to downtown Lansing is less than 20 minutes with few traffic tie-ups (though I'm in by 7:00am and out by 4:30). Mason is a beautiful town with a beautiful courthouse (it's the Ingham County seat) centered around a nice town square. In fact, they just filmed some scenes around that square for a Hugh Jackman movie "Real Steel" coming out in 2011. It's a great walking/cycling community as well and surrounded by many farms. The school is nice with a solid Christian presence in the teaching ranks if you ever wanted to place a kid there. I also know of several homeschoolers that live in the area. As anywhere in Michigan there are some great deals to be had on some nice houses here. My only drawback living in Mason is that we are south of Lansing. My roots are from "Up North" Michigan (you'll begin to understand the allure once you're here awhile) and it takes us a little longer to travel to that area vs. if we had settled in DeWitt or a similar community north of Lansing.

michigan83 · 07-08-2010, 07:39 AM

Quote:

We live in Mason and my commute to downtown Lansing is less than 20 minutes with few traffic tie-ups (though I'm in by 7:00am and out by 4:30). Mason is a beautiful town with a beautiful courthouse (it's the Ingham County seat) centered around a nice town square. In fact, they just filmed some scenes around that square for a Hugh Jackman movie "Real Steel" coming out in 2011. It's a great walking/cycling community as well and surrounded by many farms. The school is nice with a solid Christian presence in the teaching ranks if you ever wanted to place a kid there. I also know of several homeschoolers that live in the area. As anywhere in Michigan there are some great deals to be had on some nice houses here. My only drawback living in Mason is that we are south of Lansing. My roots are from "Up North" Michigan (you'll begin to understand the allure once you're here awhile) and it takes us a little longer to travel to that area vs. if we had settled in DeWitt or a similar community north of Lansing.

I knew I was forgetting something!! Mason is a great town, definitely worth checking out.

michiganbob · 07-08-2010, 01:13 PM

Glad to see someone moving into Michigan instead of out of it for a change. Welcome!

I would just say that you might be better off renting for a while once you get here so you have a chance to look at all the great communities and decide which one is best for you. Lots of houses for sale here in Michigan and not a lot of buyers, so you don't have to worry about not finding something you like when you are ready to settle in. I know there are some that will say "why move, and then move again" but you are in for some culture shock (probably in a good way) and until you have lived here for a while you won't have any idea which area is going to suit you best.

Just my two cents!

dragon_fly_12 · 07-08-2010, 01:35 PM

Mason is an excellent option, my hometown. Great small community with rural living options. My favorite town in the Lansing area, hands down, is Grand Ledge. And, again, great town with rural living options. Which community you want to focus on will depend on where your husband is working and what kind of commute he wants, but you'll find pretty much all outer areas are reasonable compared to DC. You should also find pretty good deals on homes right now.

Moving7thistime · 07-08-2010, 02:31 PM

I really want to thank everyone for all the information that you have given me. It is so wonderful to know that our family will be moving to an area that people still care about. You have all been a blessing to us in this mixed up, emotional time. Thanks again

michmoldman · 07-08-2010, 07:22 PM

You will love Michigan! I spent many years working over that way. Lansing may have a few problems, but Lansing and East Lansing are great little towns! The surrounding areas are also very nice. I live about 30 min. away, and go that way all the time. My sister lives near Holt, which seems like a very nice area also. Good luck!