[prb0108]

I'm looking at moving to Lake Orion. How is the community in general? Are the politics stable? Are there any controversies or big issues? I hear the schools are great, but someone said to make sure not get Pontiac schools. Is part of the village in the Pontiac school district? Is part in a Lake Orion school district? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

[dmetro]

Lake Orion and Orion Township is an excellent area. It's safe, clean, it has great schools and many newer homes and shopping centers and a relatively affluent population. There are not any political controversies, and there haven't really been any that I can think of. As for Pontiac schools, the only area in Orion Township that has them is a small part bordering Auburn Hills (Maybe half a dozen homes.) Lake Orion schools cover 99% of Orion Township, and all of the village. Also, FYI, Lake Orion schools also serve parts of Oxford Township, Independence Township, Oakland Township and Addison Township, all of which are nice areas as well.

[daw80]

Lake Orion is a great place to live I grew up there and my family is all still there . My nepews go to school there and they are great students . My mom lives in the village and loves it there it is a great place to live plus you have a nice lake's there . It is such a different place from when I grew up . But different good .

[edub]

How is the lake? Good parties?

[stanman13]

I live in Lake Orion. The schools are "good", but I would have to say they tend too much toward "trendy" and less toward just a solid education. Overall, though, I'd give 'em a B+.

The community is nice. They have downtown festivals, etc. A nice little downtown area. Most of the people are nice, with some mixed in who are quite uppity, like they have to prove to you that they have money. Whatever. I'd say they're the minority, but at times they stand out.

Politically, they're like any small town. Sometimes I think they are run by idiots, but they haven't done anything that awful.

If GM ever closes the Orion plant, than L.O. is in trouble.

[syrnative]

What do you mean by "trendy"? My family is being transferred to the Auburn Hills area next summer and Lake Orion is one of the places we're looking into. My son is in middle school and I definitely want a good school district. The other areas of interest are Rochester Hills, Troy and Birmingham.
I'm guessing there are a lot of GM employees in this area. Do you think they would have any problems with a Chrysler employee? Don't want to start a turf war!! LOL

[edub]

Originally Posted by syrnative

What do you mean by "trendy"? My family is being transferred to the Auburn Hills area next summer and Lake Orion is one of the places we're looking into. My son is in middle school and I definitely want a good school district. The other areas of interest are Rochester Hills, Troy and Birmingham.
I'm guessing there are a lot of GM employees in this area. Do you think they would have any problems with a Chrysler employee? Don't want to start a turf war!! LOL

Troy is nice. Rochester Hills is very expensive and Birmingham outrageous and very snobby. Although housing is so low right now you pick up something small in the $200K range. You are talking way different towns though. Lake Orion has more natural appeal where as Troy an RH are very upscale suburban. Of Course B-ham is an ultra sheik, snob central shopping district.

I want to here more about the actual lake if anyone has any input. I've got to be on the water.

[stanman13]

Originally Posted by syrnative

What do you mean by "trendy"? My family is being transferred to the Auburn Hills area next summer and Lake Orion is one of the places we're looking into. My son is in middle school and I definitely want a good school district. The other areas of interest are Rochester Hills, Troy and Birmingham.
I'm guessing there are a lot of GM employees in this area. Do you think they would have any problems with a Chrysler employee? Don't want to start a turf war!! LOL

The schools overall are good, I believe they are rated quite highly. Kids can get a good education here. There is not a particularly large amount of trouble for kids to get into, but, as always, it's there if that's what they go looking for. What I mean by trendy is there always seems to be some new program they are starting based on some new study or other, and they aren't always long-lived. They have a grade school that relates everything to music, an all-ages-in-one-classroom grade school, and a year-round grade school. That in addition to the traditional neighborhood schools. They are very PC in everything they do. It seems to me, though, that a fair amount of it is just for show, not necessarily for the students. I've not always been impressed. Every school district has some kind of problems, though, and overall L.O. schools are pretty decent. Don't let my griping turn you off, look it up or check it out for yourself.

I assume that you are being transferred to the Chrysler headquarters in Auburn Hills. You won't run into any turf wars with GM workers, LOL.You'd have an easy commute down I-75 to work from L.O. 10-15 mintues or so, depending where you lived.

The lake itself is known as a party lake, I guess. I don't pay much attention to it as I live on a different lake, no motors. So, you see, I'm not into the lake-party thing.

[syrnative]

Thank you both for such detailed info. I have been looking for this kind of input since I started looking into Oakland Cty. I initially liked the Lake Orion school district because of their (seemingly) progressive nature and Blue Ribbon awards. Their state scores are very comparable to Rochester and Birmingham, and quite honestly we would feel more comfortable in a down-to-earth kind of place.
We also liked the idea of being near a lake again. Right now we keep our boat at a private marina within 1/2 mile of our house. I would love to live in a subdivision that has lake priviledges. Edub - you would love the lake we are on in Wisconsin. Beautiful clear blue water, huge sandbar, plenty of room to waterski or tube, waterski shows every weekend and a restaurant with dock space and great sunset views. If I didn't hate WI so much, I might actually miss this place.