[Nao5115]

Hi All,
We are going to move to the Northville area from Japan for a business reason soon and my office is located in Plymouth. Could you please advise which city/place you recommend to live and why etc... It seems Northville looks convenient and comfortable, as there are many shops and restaurants and not very big city like Novi We have no children so don't mind schools. I prefer mingle local people so less Japanese is better.
I like beer and wine, so if you know some nice place to have drinks or breweries, please also let me know!
Your advise would be very appreciated.

[DTWflyer]

Welcome! Congrats on the upcoming transfer to Michigan.

Overall, you can't go wrong with any of these options. You are looking in the right places in reasonable distance your office in Plymouth. With the number of Asian and European-based suppliers located in that part of the region along the I-275 corridor you will find there is a decent number of transplants in the area. Novi itself has a small concentration of Japanese expats, in paricularly ones with children that live their to put their children in one of the best school districts in the state.

Northville and Plymouth both have more-tradition, yet relatively small downtown commercial districts that have restaurants, bars/breweries, shops, and a mix of small businesses. Basically good places to walk around that anchor the surrounding communities and host community events, fairs, and festivals throughout the year.

The broader area outside of downtown Northville is more typical sprawling development with many large newer homes. Same with most of Plymouth Township, Canton, and Novi. Northville acts as the de-facto downtown area for Novi.

That said, moving from Japan, and depending on the duration of your stay, you will want to consider:

Buy vs. Rent
House vs. Condo vs. Townhouse/Apartment
Proximity and/or walkable to downtown Plymouth or Northville

Schools are excellent in all of these areas, but like you said a non-factor in your decision.

[Nao5115]

Hello DTWflyer,

Thank you for your advise! All info are very useful and helped me a lot.
We are going to stay there for 3 years, so I think I should go with Rent.
I googled Condo and Townhouse, but to be honest, I could not really know the differences between them...I just thought if I choose one of them, I do not have to mowing and snow shoveling! I haven't done those before, so I do not know how tough they are :-D I might want to live in a house to avoid neighbor troubles...(I don't know how thick the wall is!)
I would like to enjoy local culture so walk-able (15min?) distance to downtown sounds nice if there is no transportation around the area. Could you please advise which area in Northville/Plymouth is nice to live, if you have any ideas??

Thank you in advance.

[Coldjensens]

Plymouth is also very nice, especially if you can walk to downtown. It carries the added advantage of proximity to Ann Arbor.

Northville is also nice. where you choose to live depends on your preferences. Personally in either Northville or Plymouth I would live in the main part of down, walkable to downtown. IN Plymouth i would look on Penniman street. South Lyon is also fairly nice, not as nice as Northville or Plymouth, but still one of the nicer areas. It also usually carries the crown of the second safest community in the state.

You are not going to find lot of rental options in any of those areas. Some, but not a ton. Ann Arbor will have more rental options. Ann Arbor is a really fun place to be. Again you want to be in a decent distance to downtown.

If you are looking for suburbia, then you are probably better off looking in the townships or Novi

[snoopygirlmi]

I'd stick with Northville, Plymouth or Novi.

South Lyon is "a family town" and pretty much shuts down after 10. I can't imagine wanting to move here if you don't have kids or aren't planning to stay here for more than a few years. It's not a transient community like the other areas mentioned. A lot of transplants are moving in because of cheap housing and good schools. If you aren't looking for that combo - then this really isn't the right place for you.

There's only one decent "date night" restaurant and that one isn't all that it's made out to be. (People who've lived here forever swear that it's a super place, but well, as a transplant - I've been to better. It doesn't make you go "wow - I want to go back!") To have an evening out means going to any of the towns you've mentioned b/c there are really limited choices for doing things here in SL.

Yes, it's safe, but you will bored out of your mind as a childless married couple. Most people are either retired or raising families and everyone tends to keep to themselves. It also prides itself on its rural lifestyle. I know a few singles and married couples w/out kids in SL, but most in that demographic move away from SL. If they happen to still live here, it's because they live here to be close to family. Young people don't move here unless they are going to be raising their kids here or they want to live near mom/dad. Nobody moves here because it's exciting/fun and there's a ton of stuff to do.

Plymouth, Northville, Farmington, Novi, Livonia seem like much better options.

[infocyde]

I live a few years in Plymouth and I can say it has a nice selection of restaurants and a very active downtown seen that is very walkable. The only downside to Plymouth is sometimes when things are happening it can get very crowded on the weekends. I think there is enough going on in Plymouth that you could live in the city or the township and if your work is located there you wouldn't have to go outside the area for very much. Shopping, entertainment, restaurants...it is all within a very short distance.

All areas you mention are expensive. Renting a place in Plymouth might be a little difficult as the demand is high. The least expensive area would be Novi, which also has some shopping and restaurants but lacks the down town scene that Plymouth has. The Plymouth downtown scene is very unique and you won't find it replicated in too many other areas.

If you end up buying a house / condo / town home, watch the property taxes. Coming from the Southwestern USA I was *appalled* at how high the property taxes are in these areas. I went from paying a few hundred bucks a year to thousands.

[Nao5115]

Thank you for all comments, really appreciated.
Plymouth was not in my mind when I started thinking about this as it is too close to my office, but now there is no reason not to choose Plymouth! (Actually that sounds the best idea.) So I will try to find a rental place in Plymouth downtown. I can see how people living the area are nice and kind from your comments. I'm really looking forward to moving to there.

@Coldjensens,
I definitely would like to visit Ann Arbor, so the distance is one of advantages I checked Penniman street on Google street view, and that looks wonderful! Greens, nice houses, river etc... It might be difficult to find a rental place though.

@snoopygirlmi,
I will go with Plymouth, then Northville. Thank you for the advise!

@infocyde,
In case I can find a rental place around the city centre, I do not mind if it gets crowded. Hopefully I can walk from home and don't have to find a parking lot. I may not have a lot of things to do when I arrive there, so many events might be a good side as well.

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by Nao5115

@Coldjensens,
I definitely would like to visit Ann Arbor, so the distance is one of advantages I checked Penniman street on Google street view, and that looks wonderful! Greens, nice houses, river etc... It might be difficult to find a rental place though.

.

You would be renting a house. There are only a few that are rented. If you find one available, it is unlikely that you will have a second option and probably not a lot of time to think it over.

South Lyon was my hometown through college. My father still lives just outside of town. There are no restaurants to speak of and not a lot of shopping, but it does not have to be boring (unless eating is your sole form of entertainment). It is nicely located within an easy drive (or bike ride) of Ann Arbor, Kensington Metropark, Novi, Brighton, Milford, and the 23 freeway to go up north. There is a little theater in town and a few shops. Nothing you would be likely to drive there to visit if you were from elsewhere. They have some nice festivals and events.

There are three things in the area you are considering that are really nice to have access to. Novi with all of its shopping places, Ann Arbor which is a cool university town with a decent downtown area as well, and Kensington Metropark which is a large beautiful developed public park built around a decent sized lake with great bike,running, ski trails running around the lake.

Every place you are looking at has decent access to all three.

Novi does not have a downtown, but it has almost every chain restaurant and store you have ever heard of. It is an endless sea of malls (indoor and outdoor) surrounded by an endless sea of subdivisions. Still it is convenient to be nearby.

Ann Arbor is great to visit. Living there has its challenges. As a university town you need to be away from the student nonesense and rowdiness, but within walking distance to the fun stuff in town. During Football games the whole place gets crazy, the stadium holds basically the same population as the entire city. During college move in/move out week it can be pretty nuts too. they also have some nice festivals, and in particular a summer art fair which is really neat but super crowded. Also there is a canoe rental place right at the edge of town that gives you access to the Huron River. As a university town it is very bikable/walkable and pretty nightmarish to drive in. You also get the advantage of having one of the best medical centers in the world should you have the need. It is expensive and any rentals neat the university area get snapped up very quickly. There are lots and lots of rentals there though.

Plymouth is really neat to live in. Quieter but still fun, My brother lived in the downtown area for a decade or more. The downtown part is centered around a nice little park and they often have various events and festivals there. Probably the best known is a winter ice sculpture event. there are lots of small apartment rentals available. My brother rented for quite a while before finding a house he loved and could afford.

Northville is more of a family place, like South Lyon, but with more of its original town still existing. There is no nightlife to speak of, but several decent restaurants and shops. It is quiet and quaint and very expensive by SE Michigan standards. There are some rentals on the edge of town I can only thinking of one apartment complex that is kind of in town, but they are always building more stuff.

When we returned to Michigan from California, after considering all the towns near South Lyon, we bid on houses in Northville and Plymouth (did not get either one and ended up going in a different direction), but those would be the two towns with the most appeal to me.

[canudigit]

My daughter rents an apartment within walking distance of downtown Plymouth, which is very, very nice and offers a lot of shopping and dining options. Being within walking distance is the key to really enjoying downtown Plymouth because when it gets crowded, particularly on the weekends or when there is a special event going on in the park, parking is minimal and can be a real headache.

There are apartments to be had in Plymouth, you just have to really watch for them. My daughter was blessed to find a one bedroom apartment in a very safe neighborhood within about 4 blocks of downtown for under $700/month. The apartment is small and the bathroom could use some updating but the kitchen is nicely updated and the building is very well kept up. It's pretty basic and probably not up to par for a young professional couple relocating internationally but just perfect for a single young professional just starting out like her. It is a bargain and she loves it there, but there is rarely an opening in her building and when there is it goes fast, and it is a small building which limits opportunities even more.

She goes to Canton for most of her shopping because they have all of the big box stores that Plymouth and Northville don't have and it is closer than Novi. Shopping in Plymouth is pretty much limited to a Kroger grocery store, a hardware store in the same strip mall, a few other small stores here and there, and the fun but not very practical shops downtown.

I think it is crazy what houses sell for in Plymouth, but I live in a small town about half an hour southwest of there and a house that would sell for $400,000 in Plymouth would sell for about $200,000 here so I'm just not used to the high sticker prices, not to mention the high property taxes. Plymouth is a great town though, and being close to your job would actually be a perk, not a downside, when driving in Metro Detroit traffic, particularly in the winter when there is ice and snow, which isn't really all that often anymore but it does slow things down considerably when it happens.

[DTWflyer]

Its probably worth you while to see if your company can help get you in contact with a local realtor or maybe they have a contact at the new office that helps with relocations, particularly if you are transfering within the same company.

They would be able to help you find more about the rental market, have access to rentals in the MLS, and be able to help explain the different types of properties that may be available to rent.

Some properties that are rent-by-owner you will see posted on Craigslist, but I would not trust that without visiting the property since there are scams out there, and particularly as an international transfer you could get lied to.

More higher-end properties are listed through property management companies or realtors.