[joeyscotland]

Hi everyone,

my boyfriend is active duty U.S Navy and just received orders to Westland. We are pretty disappointed as we were hoping to move very close to Grand Haven We will be moving at the end of January.

Anyway, neither of us have been to Michigan or know much about it so I'm hoping some of you can help us?

Can you please tell me about Westland?

We don't necessarily have to live there but, since my boyfriend will be working in that area we would like to live no more than a thirty minute drive or so from Westland. Are there any areas within thirty minutes that you think would suit our lifestlye?

We are both 26.
We love the outdoors (snowboarding, camping, hiking, parks, beaches, lakes, walking our dog etc...)
We like to go to bars once in a while.
We are not interested in living somewhere where the people are VERY religious or close minded or are not military friendly.
Ideally we would love to live as close to a lake as possible.
We would like to live in an area where we can walk/bike places instead of taking the cars all the time.
We would like to live close to stores, restaurants things to do etc... but, it doesn't have to be too built up......I like city life and he likes small town living but, either will do. I just don't like the mentality of people that sometimes comes from small towns. I know that not all are like this.
Somewhere thats pretty safe is important.

I would greatly appreciate any useful info! Thank you in advance!


P.s: Do you think Ann Arbor would be a good choice and if so, what part?

Side note: If anyone could recommend a god real estate agent in the area could you pass me there info, please?

[Coldjensens]

Livonia is very close to Westland. In fact they are pretty similar. Plymouth and Canton are also close.

Livonia, Westland and Canton are basically bedroom communities. Plymouth is mid sized with a small town feel/atmosphere.

Plymouth is the best of those options in my opinion. Plymouth is also very close to Ann Arbor. You will love Ann Arbor.

Ann Arbor would be an excellent choice if you want to live in the City. I would suggest that you look in the area near the power station. There is (or was) a canoe rental place on the Huron River right near there. It is a long walk to the university area, but not too bad from downtown. The Huron is a nice river and it cuts right through Ann Arbor.


For a funny named place, with a long drive you could go live in Hell. There are some lakes out there. It is really empty.

[joeyscotland]

Anyone else have any info?

What about Ann Arbor?

I really need help...please!

[ljames6]

I was born and raised in Westland, and currently live in the Ypsilanti/ Ann Arbor area for school so I can try and help you out. Westland is okay and has all the shopping/ restaurants someone could want. There aren't any lakes and the main park (central city) has been closed down for over a year now. Hines park is close for biking anf walking though.

I really like the ann arbor area. There are tons of parks and nature areas around. There are lots of bars and restaurants downtown. Lakes are nearby, and people seem to be really into outdoor activities around here. A lot of people seem to bike instead of drive, especially downtown. There are bike lanes down town as well. I know there is some camping/hiking nearby, and went a few years ago to the Pickney area I believe. People here are open minded, but I'm not sure how military friendly..it depends on the area. Ann Arbor is quite..liberal. There's alot of things to do around here with the universities, and there is some cute little towns if you'd like that as a compromise.

South Lyon/ Brighton/ Whitmore Lake are nice, but might be a pain to drive to Westland. Pymouth is nice and has a cute downtown, and is in between Ann Arbor and Westland. Let me know if you have any more questions!

[joeyscotland]

Thank you so much!

I was wondering about Dearborn as I have heard from other sources that we may like it there.

Westland does not sound like a good option due to the lack of parks, body of water etc...

Anna Arbor sounds nice from what you are saying. I don't think we really want to live right downtown, even although I know there would be more to do and it would be easy to get to places by foot or bike probably. I heard that driving from Ann Arbor to Westland might not be possible to do in 30 minutes most days due to the high traffic there, is this true?

We are just so confused at this point and also very disappointed that we did not get Grand Haven. I was really looking forward to living by a body of water (I'm a water baby!).

[Coldjensens]

You could live in the outskirts of Ann Arbor or outside Ann Arbor along the Huron River. The Huron is a shallow but long river. It is somewhat wide in some places (half a mile or so) and narrow in others. The Huron river runs right though a lot of areas outside of Cities that are very close to Westland. Bascially you can canoe, kayak, swim (wade) and fish in the Huron. If you want to Jetski, waterski or use larger boats, you need a lake or the Detroit river.

You can find small lakes and other bodies of water almost anywhere. Get a good map and look around.

If you want to give up young and lively you could look at the Cities at the end of the Detroit River and into Lake Eerie (bit of a drive to Westland though) Wyandotte, Gibraltar, Grosse Ile (a group of Islands), and Trenton, are all on the Detroit River. Wyandotte is probably the most "happening" of these, but water access is somewhat limited there. Trenton has a nice park along the River. Gibraltar has Eerie Metropark which has a beach on lake Eerie, and a wave pool. Westland is probably 40 -50 minutes away, maybe less if you push it. We love Grosse Ile, but we are old folk (40s). It is more quiet and pretty than "happening". You have to drive to get somewhere "happening". Most people seem to leave in their 20s and return in their 30s when they have kids.

You can also find some nice communities not too far from Westland along the upper part of the Raisin River. (Look south East of Westland on your map). I know nothing about any of these communities all are small towns. The lower Rasin is too polluted.


One thing about Michigan, you are always near a body of water of some kind. Small lakes are everywhere. You will have to trade a happening place for small town or rural living, but water options are there.


If you give up on water, look at Plymouth. It is a relatively small town. It is cute and friendly and very walkable. It is close to Ann Arbor and close to Westland. It has small parks in the twon and larger parks nearby.

Parts of Dearborn are nice. It is basically typical suburbia. There is a nice golf course there if you golf. If you want openness, parks etc, I would stay to the west of the Detroit Suburbs. You will be closer to Westland and more out in the open (less densely packed in). When you are looking at your map, look for Metroparks. Metroparks ring Detroit and there are 13 of them. Most are fairly large, very nice parks. You may be able to find something right near or on one of the parks.

[joeyscotland]

Thank you so much! You have been a huge help!

[joeyscotland]

Anyone else with any more info?

[prestonMI]

I say Livingston county, especially south Lyon. The area is filled with many spacious, rolling communities in wooded areas. But at the same time you can find standardized, symmetrically planed and built and often cramped subdivisions. You can find many lakes for recreation, a State Park near bye and a rapidly developing county as a whole. A decent night life to suit any budget.Only 20-40 commute to West land (aka wasteland). Quality shopping minutes away.

[Coldjensens]

South Lyon is in Oakland County, but it is a decent place. Lost its quaintness to strip malls and McDonald's some time ago, but there are still a few old time store fronts and plenty of neat houses.

Kensington Metro park is pretty close and silver lake s part of the south Lyon area, but you have to know someone to get on it. South Lyon is NOT a happening place for young people, but it is only 20 minues from Ann Arbor if you drive too fast.