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If it were me and everyone is different and it depends on price range I would look at Bloomfield Hills or Birmingham. Both have excellent schools, upscale, and are closer to your work.
Some people don't mind long commutes but in the winter especially I feel it takes a toll. Most jobs unless some major storm meaning 10 inches you will be expected at work. That will mean sitting in traffic, fear of other drivers,etc.
As for kids entering in late in the school year I would look into after school programs. Also there are community ed programs through the school districts with after school classes in arts and crafts,sports so on. That way they can meet other kids.
I used to live in NJ but am from MI originally. Anyhow good luck in your move
Gas price advice is good. I will fill up in SH. Birmingham looks too expensive. Same money would buy a bigger and better home in Novi.
We are planning to visit MI in a few weeks, until then I will continue to gather information from members here.
Cheers
Bear in mind that Novi is as-cookie cutter as it gets. That can be both good and bad.
An area like Bloomfield Hills and/or Birmingham are likely to be too expensive, but there are deals that you can find, and if you're looking to buy, keep that in mind.
The older, more established Detroit 'burbs are going to have more character than Novi, and have a substantially less aneurysm-inducing commute. If you think Bloomfield or Birmingham are too expensive, there's always Bloomfield Township (or the far southern edge of Pontiac) that will get you into BH schools. There's also Troy, which still has nationally recognized schools. You could also try West Bloomfield, Royal Oak, Farmington or Farmington Hills.
You should remember that the older suburbs are not going to have new construction going on, especially in this economic climate, but you can still find great schools in many areas of SE Michigan. Many communities are very proud of their schools and many have national recognition.
If, as a casual observer, I had to rate the school systems in the area, it would be this:
1) Bloomfield Hills
2) Birmingham
3) West Bloomfield
4) Troy
5) Rochester / Rochester Hills
6) Northville
7) Plymouth/Canton
8) Novi
9) Royal Oak
10) Farmington Hills
Now, this is not scientific, but this was the general consensus growing up in the area. I'm sure that I've made mistakes, or left people out, but this is the general consensus. Novi is very cookie-cutter, a very typical big American suburb. If that's what you're looking for (commerce, chains, apple store, etc), then that's fine. But if you're looking for culture, history, local merchants, etc., you're going to find them in spades in the communities above, and you're not going to want to kill yourself going from 96->696->75 going to Sterling Heights. It WILL get old, and it WILL be a PITA.
Bingo caspper69, Exactly what I am looking for! You read my mind. Ranking of schools from someone who grew up in the area and aware of the general consensus.
All my research about schools is from greatschools website and all the high schools in your list has 10/10 ranking. Coming from NYC metro area, I probably am biased towards big burbs with an apple store!
Based on the input so far, we have shortlisted a few towns and Birmingham is on the top. I have an agent looking for houses in B'ham/BfieldHills/Troy and we will see how it goes. DW loves toll brothers houses (we live in one now) and wants another one in MI and that is pretty much how we ended up preferring Novi in first place.
Once again, I really appreciate your post and it helped me immensely.
Bingo caspper69, Exactly what I am looking for! You read my mind. Ranking of schools from someone who grew up in the area and aware of the general consensus.
All my research about schools is from greatschools website and all the high schools in your list has 10/10 ranking. Coming from NYC metro area, I probably am biased towards big burbs with an apple store!
Based on the input so far, we have shortlisted a few towns and Birmingham is on the top. I have an agent looking for houses in B'ham/BfieldHills/Troy and we will see how it goes. DW loves toll brothers houses (we live in one now) and wants another one in MI and that is pretty much how we ended up preferring Novi in first place.
Once again, I really appreciate your post and it helped me immensely.
Cheers
Bear in mind, if you didn't know this about Metro Detroit, is that ever since the late 60's, it is all one giant suburb. You can start at the Detroit River, and drive 75 miles north, northwest, or west, and still have never left "civilization."
I don't want you to worry that you have to choose between suburban living and rural living. In Birmingham, you'll be less than a 15 minute drive from the Somerset Collection, a very upscale mall with all the stores you're used to (Apple included). You'll be less than a 10 minute drive from the eclectic nightlife of Royal Oak or Ferndale. You'll be less than 20 minutes from Sterling Heights for work, and you'll of course be less than 25 minutes from Novi and Twelve Oaks (incidentally, the first mall in the US). You'll also be within 10 minutes of Oakland Hills (a very well respected Country Club with many PGA majors under its belt).
I honestly think that Birmingham is a great place to raise a family, so are Bloomfield Hills and Troy. You're just right in the thick of all of the happening suburbs in that area. Unless you are one of those people that needs to be in a major urban area (think NYC or downtown Chicago), you'll rarely have to drive more than 10-15 minutes to find whatever you're looking for, from Whole Foods to Walmart to Vera Wang to Coach to Apple, it'll all be right there. Just remember, public transport in the motor city is a glorified monorail that has around 10 stops, and only in downtown. Bring your car!
You'll have to update us after your visit and let me know if my analysis was correct, or if I'm just a snotty Bloomfield Hills kid who left 15 years ago and hasn't gotten it out of his heart!
We have stayed in Birmingham for 3 days and found it charming. For some reason I find it a little old for my taste. Same is the case with Bloomfield hills. Great towns with lot of character but not much happening. I have found Troy has two sections, East and West. East is where most of the new construction is happening but schools aren't that great. West Troy has packets of development, so doesn't fit with my requirement of good sub division. It is funny how everyone in Troy believes that they have the best schools in US. I didn't argue!
I have ended up signing a contract with Toll Brothers in Novi. We liked the town, island lake sub division and schools. Moving in December and hope it will be a great place to raise our kids.
The challenge now is to find apartment for 6 month lease until I move into my new home. Everything in MI is completely in contradiction to the perception we have in NYC. I feel the rebound happening all over MI. Two bedroom apartment is $1500 per month! Any suggestions on good apartments in Novi? I prefer to send my kid to Deerfield elementary, the one he will go from next year when we move into our new home. I have tried central park estates, but they don't do 6 month lease.
As always, you guys are awesome and helped making my decisions fast.
I am not sure of specific apartments in Novi but what a home rental? If you look on realtor.com or craigslist you may find a landlord willing to do a 6 month lease. Some apts will do them for a higher fee. Also on craigslist some apartments will advertise or websites like rent.com. Being Dec you may get a better deal too. Good luck on your move
Troy seems like the no brainer location for you here. It is nicer than Novi, but not as nice as Northville. It has top schools. It is close to work for you. Houses are reasonably affordable.
Here are the national ranking of MI schools (from one source anyway). Novi did not make the top 500. Northville and Troy both made the list. Troy is 229, Northville is 227. Not sure what criteria were used to rank the schools. As mentioned in the copied post below. Some of the better school are missing from this list (Chelsea, GP South, others). Not sure why. Maybe they just failed to report their information.
People often ask what are the best public high schools in Michigan. I came across this Newsweek opinion today and thought I would post it for those people, and also so it can be copied into other posts when people ask later. It is necessary to keep in mind that this opinion is based on certain factors (some of which I personally do not agree are meaningful factors in determining good schools). Other opinions will rank the schools differently because they apply or emphasize different criteria. It is odd for example that Novi is not on the list at all, nor is Renaissance in Detroit, Plymouth Canton, Grosse Pointe South, nor any Ann Arbor school. Thus the ranking numbers are less meaningful than the fact that all of these 16 schools are considered to be in the top 500 high schools in the United States.
International Academy is considered by Newsweek to be the 20th best public high school in the USA. Despite the fact that the rankings vary with different criteria, that is still very impressive.
Anyway, I thought that this would be a useful starting place for people looking for the better MI schools.
Criteria to determine the best school is very very loose at it's best. I firmly believe that school rankings are achieved by the students that attend the school, not vice versa. If parents are educated and put emphasis on education of their kids, every student will perform to the best of their ability and the school ranking is thus affected.
As I already wrote in my previous post, Novi is going to be my town. Troy will definitely make my life easier, but doesn't align with my requirement of big subdivision with good homes. I have relatives in Troy, Rochester Hills and friends in Birmingham, Bloomfield hills and Lake Orion. We have spent a day or two in every town. Every town has something to offer, but at the end of the day, we want a good house with good neighbors with comparable social alignment and safe environment where we don't have to worry all the time. Decisions are made, we are moving ahead and contract is signed for a house in Novi.
I have decided on Heights of Novi apartments for my temporary stay. What is your take on this? Apartment ratings has good reviews starting 2010, but terrible reviews until 2010. I guess the new management made all the difference.
Criteria to determine the best school is very very loose at it's best. I firmly believe that school rankings are achieved by the students that attend the school, not vice versa. If parents are educated and put emphasis on education of their kids, every student will perform to the best of their ability and the school ranking is thus affected.
As I already wrote in my previous post, Novi is going to be my town. Troy will definitely make my life easier, but doesn't align with my requirement of big subdivision with good homes. I have relatives in Troy, Rochester Hills and friends in Birmingham, Bloomfield hills and Lake Orion. We have spent a day or two in every town. Every town has something to offer, but at the end of the day, we want a good house with good neighbors with comparable social alignment and safe environment where we don't have to worry all the time. Decisions are made, we are moving ahead and contract is signed for a house in Novi.
I have decided on Heights of Novi apartments for my temporary stay. What is your take on this? Apartment ratings has good reviews starting 2010, but terrible reviews until 2010. I guess the new management made all the difference.
Cheers
I wouldn't read too much into the apartment reviews. Unfortunately, I have found them to be only moderately helpful. Usually people who have had a bad experience are more likely to complain than those who just lived there and left. I mean, the reviews I've found tend to be very accurate about crime in the complexes or noise levels, or of the types of tenants that live there, but usually miss the mark when it comes to the quality of the apartments themselves, how receptive the management is, etc. It's the old squeaky wheel gets the grease sort of thing.
That being said, if you are in district at the new place and it passes the smell test (have you seen a unit in person, or is this sight unseen?), then you should be fine. It's only 6 months.
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