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Old 07-30-2018, 10:53 AM
 
911 posts, read 2,143,116 times
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Been checking out Waterford lately, seems like a great place for a summer home. We stayed at the Pontiac Lake campground and really like the area. Safe, clean, tons of outdoors stuff to do, central to other places with stuff going on...
Anyone have any thoughts on the area, good, bad, or other?
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Old 07-30-2018, 02:03 PM
 
Location: Back in the Mitten. Formerly NC
3,830 posts, read 6,687,817 times
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Personally, I'd prefer a quieter, slower paced area for a summer home, but that is me. There's nothing wrong with Waterford. Schools aren't great, but that wouldn't be a concern for you. I just avoid it because I hate traffic.
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Old 07-30-2018, 07:52 PM
 
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We moved t Waterford last summer. It is a safe, friendly community loaded with lakes. I would stay a bit off M-59 for the quieter side of town. We are off Clintonville Rd and can drive just a few minutes and be in the country, near the corner of Clarkston and Lake Angeles and close to I75. But Waterford covers a large area!

A couple of things were a surprise to us. The water supply is a community well, not Detroit water. It's hard water so we need a softener. Right now there are 2 tax increases coming up on the ballots in Aug and Nov, so be aware of that. But overall a friendly down to earth place!
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Old 07-30-2018, 07:55 PM
 
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Another thought - while Waterford has its busy areas, it may save you a whole lot of time sitting on I 75 if you bought something up north!
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Old 07-31-2018, 09:30 PM
 
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Posted this on another thread a year ago:

There are numerous "all-sports" lakes in Bloomfield Township, West Bloomfield, Commerce/Commerce Township, Waterford, Lake Orion/Orion Township.

Some of the larger lakes do have DNR public access sites/boat launches like Orchard Lake, Cass Lake, Lake Orion, Pontiac Lake.

Many of the smaller lakes are private with residence-only or HOA/association access only.
Many of the "all sports" lakes have weed control/vegetation management programs to ensure they remain boat-able and swim-able.

Yes, you can boat in them. Yes, you can swim in them. I've personally done both in many of these lakes over the years. The lakes with public access sites/boat ramps tend to be much busier and can be a bit rowdy or congested on peak summer weekends. Lots of water skiers, jet-skis, tubing, pontoon/party boats, etc.

Many of the lakes in the area are spring-fed and/or are the headwaters of the Clinton or Huron Rivers / watersheds. You may want to avoid any of the lakes that are "black" lakes, or run-off fed which tend to be more like glorified ponds. Also, there are a handful of lakes up in the Lake Orion and Oxford areas which are actually old gravel quarries that filled with water over the decades.

One thing to consider is that decades ago in the 1920s, 30s, 40s, 50s many of the lakes throughout Oakland County were actually vacation destinations or cottage/second homes for the well-off that lived in the city. Many of the original homes on these lakes used to be simple summer cottages. Over the decades since as Metro Detroit has expanded and sprawled-out these lakes have now become suburban residential areas. Many of the original cottages have been bought-up, torn down, and replaces with multi-million dollar custom homes. Its not uncommon on many of the Oakland County lakes to see a hodge-podge of 1930s-era cottages, 1960's sprawling ranches or mid-century modern, and multi-million dollar new-built custom homes.

So, in short, yes, many of the Oakland County lakes are a hidden gem of the region and can feel almost like a vacation home. You need to do your research on any given lake to understand the public/private access, water quality, size/depth, and types of homes on each lake.
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Old 08-01-2018, 12:38 PM
 
Location: Michigan
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Waterford is nice area overall. Most of Pontiac Lake is in White Lake Township which is also nice and less crowded than Waterford is. I would live in Waterford if I had to, the city I want to live in is Troy but that's a little ways away for a summer home. I like the two points that have the houses on them at Pontiac Lake and it's in a quieter part of the Metro Detroit area. Nothing is too far away.
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Old 08-02-2018, 09:40 AM
 
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Great, thanks all.
We chose this as a summer home area because we have family in the Flint/Flushing/Clio areas and like to attend a church that's in Detroit. So this is a good spot for us, I think. It has just enough camping/outdoors appeal and central to everything. Pretty safe and clean. Also, the kids love hockey and there's some local ice.
I really do like the White Lake area, so maybe something out that way...
I'm also loving the proximity to Auburn Hills, with the mall and all the offerings there.
I'm surprised, growing up in Flint I never rly knew about this area. I came down once for a basketball game with my school, and that's about it.
Very nice area
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Old 08-02-2018, 09:57 PM
 
214 posts, read 282,166 times
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My image of Waterford for DECADES was the M59 corridor. Nothing else. Boy, was I wrong!

There are some active Waterford based pages on FB too if you're interested.
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Old 08-11-2018, 07:47 AM
 
50 posts, read 79,128 times
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The airport is a real noise maker. Look at a map of the area and look for areas of Waterford that are not directly in line with the runways. Drive there and park somewhere for a while and see how many planes fly overhead. The small planes that need a muffler aren't too bad but corporate jets and cargo jets make for a horrendous and very loud noise. They're worse at certain times of the day and week. Lots of roaring jets flying in or out of the airport on Friday afternoon and Sunday evening and Monday morning. You can always tell, too, when a big storm is coming because they all leave or arriver early.
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Old 09-18-2018, 02:10 PM
 
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Pontiac lake is polluted, has been since I was a little girl and I’m now 52 check out big silver little silver six different lakes hook to big silver, is one of the cleanest inland lakes in Michigan .
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