[rainbowlady]

I am looking to buy a farm, maybe 30 acres plus, somewhere within 1 hour from Oakland County.

Concerns? School system, nice neighborly feel, and availability of land with a good sized home on it.

Does anyone have any ideas on good places to look?

It's kinda hard to find farms for sale (horse farms are easier, but sometimes not the right setup for us), in these areas.

Thank you for your help,

Sue

[tjay]

RMLS multi-list - Michigan Real Estate

love this site

[rainbowlady]

Another site to peruse.

I also love Trulia - Real Estate, Homes For Sale, Sold Properties, Real Estate Maps

Does anyone have personal experience with these areas and can give a yeah or nay?

Small towns can really vary (i'm from one). I'm looking for a nice neighborly community, that still has farms around, but is pretty well located in comparison to Oakland County.

Sue

[Vision-Quest]

anything in livingston, washtenaw would be good. i havent been to Lapier county so i dont know about that... but a good small town would be chelsea. that is a very pretty little town and heard great things about it. i lived in farmington hills, which DEFFINANTLY NOT SMALL! so i havent experienced it yet. you can also try Milford thats in oakland county, and there are some farms to the west of Livonia, but thats not small either so i doubt thats what your looking for. but you should deffinantly look into Chelsea, im sure you will like it alot.

[jeanniepep]

I live in Lapeer County, just north of Lapeer actually. It's a straight shot down M-24 into Oakland County, though I wouldn't want to be driving north on it during rush hour!

North Branch is a small farming community with a lot of people having to move out (not unlike a lot of places in Michigan). You'll find a LOT of properties for sale with a good amount of acreage, I know of at least 5 offhand on my "block" alone. The neighbors are pretty nice in general, probably not what you're used to in Oakland County - I don't want to say "redneck" because of the negative connotations, but prepare yourself for a lot of country music and bad grammar. They are nice, friendly people for the most part, though. Everyone waves at each other when they drive by, regardless of whether they know you or not. I've never had to change my own tire since moving here either, people tend to stop and help.

I can't really speak for the school system because I didn't grow up here and I don't have any kids, but my brother and husband both did and went on to become very successful.

If you like deer and wild turkeys in your yard, we've got those in spades. Also raccoons, possums, bats - you name it. We've got the flora and fauna covered out here. Plug the zip 48461 into the Realtor.com search tool if I've got you sold on the concept! 48446 is the zip for Lapeer proper, but that's getting pretty developed and you may not find as much acreage available.

You might also consider someplace a little further south of Lapeer, closer to Oakland County. Once you get a few miles north of Oxford there are some rural options, Metamora and Hadley come to mind. Not sure about farms but they do have wide-open spaces and some really beautiful areas. They'll be more expensive than Lapeer County but definitely worth a look.