[greenseeker]

We could possibly be relocating to A2. Eventually, we'd like to buy some land in a town with a cute downtown with things like a grocery store... any ideas? how is the commute between these towns an ann arbor?

[greenseeker]

no ideas, eh?

[michiganmoon]

Saline is a popular town, I don't know as much about Manchester or Chelsea. I have heard a lot of good things about Saline and some about Manchester. Saline is a short drive to Ann Arbor using back roads or M-10 to US-23.

[SALteacher]

Saline is a great town. I should know because I live there. Named by Money Magazine as one of the top 100 best places in the U.S. to live. It has a population of less than 10,000. But it has many parks for adults and the kids. A great, state of the art recreation center with basketball, an indoor swimming pool, a running track, weight room and cardio equipment. The downtown is on the verge of growing with a new development coming with condos, retail space. Right now it's nice, but again in the state of change. U.S 12 runs right through the city and downtown. That's bad and good. Good because it brings in a lot of commerce. Bad because many people are afraid to cross the busy intersection. The city has been working on making it safer with countdown traffic lights. We have a great farmer's market downtown that's open on Saturdays from May to October and many coffee shops and restaurants. The schools are great. They're just experimenting with their first schools of choice students. This is where kids from outside the district can attend Saline schools at a cost. Controversial here before, but I think people have accepted it as reality.
Grocery stores. There are two, but outside of the d/t core. Plus my favorite store: Tim Horton's.
Saline is accessible from many areas from Ann Arbor, as the previous post stated, including main drags like Ann Arbor-Saline Road on Ann Arbor's southwest side; Maple road to the east and State St. towards the east near the big mall around here; Briarwood mall..that's in Ann Arbor.
I hope this helps you out. We're always ready to roll out the welcome mat to newcomers. Good luck.

[M TYPE X]

Ann Arbor-Saline Road is no longer a "back road." The traffic can be substantial. Chelsea, Dexter, and Manchester are all worth consideration; commuting from Plymouth is doable, but Brighton would irritate the hell out of me. I hear that much of the US-23 work is nearing completion?

[Cliffie]

Chelsea is getting expensive -- Saline already has been for a while. Manchester is sort of an undiscovered nice little town. They're all good places to live. I personally would find the commute to anything but Saline sort of a pain, personally. But if healthcare is a concern, Chlesea Hospital is one of the best in the state.

[Mi_Mom]

I live in Chelsea and love it. However we will be moving out of state here in less than a month. And I'm very sad to leave our little town. It has small town charm and the people genuinely love it here and it shows with what the community puts on. A friend of mine put together a great site :

Things To Do In Chelsea - Current Events, Activities and Resources in Chelsea, Michigan

for the latest events and gatherings going on. As well as local links within the community. Housing market is fairly 'cheap' here as the market is soft. But travel time to A2 is not bad at all. 15 mins or so to the westside of Ann Arbor...more like 25 to other parts. We've lived here since 2002 and I grew up in Pinckney. Has a grocery story (Pollys Country Market ...eh?) and Meijer is about 10 mins away. Great place to raise a family. Any other questions I'm happy to try and answer.

Manchester is cute...but depends on how you want access to I-94. It's about 20 mins or so away from the expressway or you could take the backroads.

[KKRA]

Try Dexter, which is just west of A2. Dexter/Webster Twp. still has room to grow, even with the suburban sprawl of the past few years. It has a cute downtown area with some nice stores and restaurants, and just outside the town (about 1 mile) are supermarkets, etc. Prices are pretty good in these areas and so are the schools. Commute to A2? Depends on where in A2 you're going? Downtown is appx. 20-25 minutes; further out near the Ypsi border takes appx. 30-40 minutes. The travel time depends on traffic conditions, the weather, the time of day you're commuting and the route you're driving.

[mrpickle]

Anywhere in Washtenaw County is wonderful. The housing prices drop the farther you get from Ann Arbor. All have great schools and very tight communities. Local government is approachable. Washtenaw County is a utopia for the educated. Most residents do not leave the county and do not know what real traffic is. If you see anyone complaining about traffic in Michigan they have not been anywhere where there is real traffic.