[Just.LooKing]

My husband has been offered a relocation to MI. The HQ location is in NOVI, MI. Is it cost effective and worth the move from Massachusetts to Michigan?

I was hoping I can get some feedback on some basic things:

First, the auto insurance prices? I currently have 4 vehicles + a motorcycle and we pay $3200/year for MA (full coverage) - (my husband and myself as drivers as well as our 18 year old son all with a squeaky clean driving record for YEARS) vs. a quote for Michigan (for the same coverage + MI "requirements") = $18262. Can this be true?

Second, property taxes? I have read people say they are super expensive. Are they? In MA we currently pay $5000/year for property taxes.

Third, internet speeds in Michigan? I can find only 30 mpbs max. In MA we currently have 100 mbps. Is there higher internet speeds than 30 in MI?

Fourth, location. We currently live in a 17 sq mi town in MA, 55% land and only 45% occupied, no street lights, but 15 minutes to the intersection of major highways. It's quiet, has lots of wildlife (bears, mountain lions, coyotes, deer and the like) and a top rated technical/vocational school system with a waiting list of 4 years.

I have 1 child (junior in HS) who will need to transfer to a good vocational school system and am wondering if any locations in Michigan fit this criteria approx. 1 hour from Novi?

My husband's job security is not an issue. I am looking for a nice house with approx 10+ acres of land in a very rural area. Some of the research I am doing seems to indicate MI is much more expensive that MA.

Any feedback I can get about these things would be extremely helpful in determining a direction to take on whether to move or not.

[themaskedman55]

Where you're going, Novi, is in Oakland County and what is metro-Detroit. It's an expensive area and it's built-up. There are some more rural areas here and there and some smaller cute towns, but they are still dotted with suburban tract neighborhoods. It's over all a nice area and there are plenty of vocational schools since it's metro-Detroit.

I don't know how the internet speeds translate but my internet is 30/4 and I have been offered 50/4. I can't speak to auto rates because I don't do the finances in the family.

As far as taxes, in Novi I have found that for a house valued around $400,000 they are around $6000. For a house valued at $200,000 they are around $4500. Most likely if in a suburban area houses will range maybe $150,000 to $400,000. In rural areas it's hard to say since houses don't have a uniform type, but probably a little less than the suburbs. The rural areas are not very rural and still close to all daily needs.

[michigan83]

First, the auto insurance prices? I currently have 4 vehicles + a motorcycle and we pay $3200/year for MA (full coverage) - (my husband and myself as drivers as well as our 18 year old son all with a squeaky clean driving record for YEARS) vs. a quote for Michigan (for the same coverage + MI "requirements") = $18262. Can this be true?

Holy Crap!!

I pay $3600 per year for full coverage on three vehicles in MI, and I think I am paying way too much. I need to shop around.

But $18,000???

That CAN'T be right. That almost makes me physically ill to think about. I mean... Michigan is an expensive state for car insurance. But that seems outrageous.

[belleislerunner]

Most of your "issues" seem relatively calm. I lived in CT for two years and Michigan cost of living is much less than that in MA or CT. Even when it comes to the cost of beer at the bar =) Whoever quoted you on car insurance is raping you - I pay $600 for six months for full coverage on an SUV. I use Progressive.

Property taxes are less in Michigan than MA, as a generalization. County and city plays a factor. Use this tool to help you from the State's website. https://treas-secure.state.mi.us/pte...TEstimator.asp For example, if you decided to live in Howell Twp (a rural area about 15-20 miles) west of Novi (Oakland County) - you cut your property tax rate by 28% than if you lived in Novi proper. Livingston County, on average, is much cheaper than Oakland County - but with that is less public/social services - which if you're used to rural living - you're fine with. My guess to start would be to look at the "Townships" within Livingston County on Trulia/Zillow and see if there are any homes that peak your interest. Brighton/Howell/Highland/Holly will all have that rural feel you want. Nothing east of Novi will be "rural".

Each county in Metro Detroit (largely thanks to the auto manufacturers/suppliers) has great technical/vocational schools. On the east side - Pankow is one of the best. Out by you - the Livingston Center is the not for profit technical center operated by Mott CC. MCC :: Welcome to Livingston Center

Most people have the typical Comcast internet speeds and those have never been an issue for me. Nothing to sweat.

Congrats on the new gig!

[Just.LooKing]

Well, first, I'm glad to hear that Liberty Mutual (who has been our insurance provider for years) quoted us a WAY over-inflated prices for car insurance. I got a $6000 quote from progressive and $4500 from geico -- which still seem insanely high to me. Any recommended insurance companies?

belleislerunner: Thanks so much for the comparison of CT vs MI! Incredibly helpful -- my husband lived 10 years in CT and commuted to MA for work. That comparison helps a lot in getting a feel for the cost of living Michigan vs. MA.

In addition to Livingston, these are the counties I targeted: Oakland (town of Richmond?), Lapeer, Genesse & Shiawassee. Any thoughts on locations in these counties?

[belleislerunner]

Richmond is on the Macomb/St Clair County border and is your typical All American small town - but way too far to commute to Novi. I doubt you'd want to commute from a place like Lapeer either (at 70 miles following 69 West to 23).

My suggestion would be to go to Google Maps. Follow 96 West to US 23 (Brighton) - then look at the towns up 23 towards Flint (Milford, Highland, Fenton) or the towns west of Brighton (Whitmore Lake, Howell, Fowlerville). Absent those within easy access to freeways - the commute would kill any of the other towns.

[Just.LooKing]

Great information! Thanks!

[teachbeach]

You might like Fenton or Holly for rural, smaller towns, still close enough to Brighton for the big box stores, access to malls and major highways, medical care etc. You may not get 10 acres, but could probably get a few. We just moved from PA to MI and I too was shocked at the first quote for auto insurance (2 cars, squeaky clean records, no teens). It was more than double what we paid in PA. I called an independent agent and sent in my policy and they were able to come within $100. I was stunned again when we walked into Secretary of State and had to pay registration fees, licenses and drivers license fees. $325 for the first year! Whomever you use as a realtor should be able to suggest a few independent agents in/around the town you settle in. Housing here is on the upswing, but there are still some good deals to be had as a fall out of the 2008 fiasco that really zapped MI. Lot's of short sales and foreclosures, and inventory that had been up to 2 years in some areas is down to 6 months. Food prices are probably going to be about the same or less (depending on where you are in MA). One thing that we have found is that medical care is good, we rarely have to wait longer than 2 weeks to get in to see a specialist, there are tons of emergency clinics around for the sore throat, bee sting, sprained ankle types of things that need to be checked out, but not worthy of an ER visit. The 4 seasons are beautiful, and the area that you are concentrating on is far enough from either lake to give you the "lake effect" snow that seems to plague the coastal areas. There are over 11,000 lakes, and we have the longest shoreline after Alaska~so you are never more than 85 miles from one of the Great Lakes, and most likely never more than 15 miles from any lake or body of water. The people are friendly, helpful and will go out of their way to make you feel welcome.

[Just.LooKing]

Thanks for the information. I thought MA was an extremely expensive state to live in, until I started investigating MI. I live near the MA/CT border on the edge of Central/Western MA line. Very rural but still close to major highways, we are 1.5 hours from Boston and 1 hour from Hartford, CT.

I have auto insurance quotes from Gieco, Progressive & State Farm (as well as the astronomical quote from Liberty Mutual) on the auto insurance for Michigan -- these are $4500, $6200 & $7200 respectively. So, take what we pay now and basically add $2000+ for good measure to live in Michigan. Additionally, I was quoted homeowners insurance policy (for equivalent of what we have in MA) is also more than double -- rating in MI at almost $1600/year.

I've heard from other people that prices are less than this. Maybe the numbers they are giving 6-months numbers -- which would make my insurance numbers $2250, $3100 & $3600 respectively. Does this make sense anyone?

Gas prices in MA are running around $3.40/gallon. Michigan?

We have a 2600 sq ft house in MA, I pay $100/month for electricity, $112/month for LP gas (in the winter) and $250/month for oil (for the winter months - November thru March). Is this comparable to Michigan?

Right now, the insurances have my head spinning. Registration in MA is $50 every 2 years per vehicle. License renewals are $50 every 5 years. We pay vehicle excise taxes -- which on average about $100/year per vehicle- based on which town you live (we live in a cheap town).

I'm looking in every nook and cranny to make sure I can compare costs MA vs MI. Am I missing anything?

[belleislerunner]

You keep getting caught up on the car insurance. In states like Mass and CT - there is no such thing as "no fault" insurance which means in those states there is a cap on liability arising from car accidents. Michigan has unlimited medical coverage - which means if you get paralyzed/injured in an auto insurance - the insurance won't stop paying your bills once you hit a predefined limit (equate it to a $2,000 dental plan where you have to pay out of pocket for everything greater. In Michigan there is an "unlimited" dental plan). So, naturally, premiums will be higher because the insurance product is very different. It's not worth comparing because the two plans aren't even remotely the same in terms of benefits. Let's just say you'd rather crash your car on icy roads in Michigan than in Mass =) However, there are plans in place to revist auto insurance reform in Michigan this year - it was in the governor's state of the union speech last week.

As for car registration - in CT, and I presume in MA, you payed a lower car registration tax when you transfererd your license/got your plates but each June you had to pay an ad valoreum tax that was based off the Kelly Blue book FVM of your car with whatever the local taxing district amount was. In Michigan, you don't pay for a local tax on your car each year - you just pay it up front when you register the car. So that isn't really an incremental cost - it's a cash flow/liquidity issue - you pay it on day 1 instead of day 32.

Not that it's really my business - but if you're husband is making more than $60K in his new job - you're not going to be considered poor in those towns. Not West Bloomfield rich, but these aren't your Fairfield County towns.