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Hi there. My husband just received a job offer in the Lansing area that we are seriously considering. We are originally from NJ, moved to Chicago then to CT and have been in Syracuse for the last 9 years. My 2 older kids are in college in NY and CT and my youngest son is in 8th grade.
I’m looking for some advice on good areas with good schools and a swim team since my son is a swimmer. Are the kids and people in general pretty nice? My son is not thrilled about moving but it’s a good opportunity. I’m not thrilled about moving further from family but I’m trying to have a good attitude about it.
We are coming out to check out the area in a few days. I’d love some tips and advice.
Good schools with swim teams in the area~check out Okemos and Haslett. Both are excellent school systems and have competitive swim teams. Interesting about those towns though is that they are governed by Meridian Township (taxes, code enforcement, public service, ambulance, fire, police etc). Haslett and Okemos have mailing addresses, school districts and post offices~ You can also have an East Lansing address and be in either Haslett or Okemos school district, so you have to make sure your realtor knows the area well. I think you'll find the people here helpful, friendly and welcoming. I grew up in NJ, lived in PA for several years, and we've had the best connections with our neighbors here than in the other states. High schools in both districts are 9-12, so he'd be starting with other new to the building 9th graders. Check out the webpages of each district.
If you need more specific information, please feel free to PM me with specific questions.
Good schools with swim teams in the area~check out Okemos and Haslett. Both are excellent school systems and have competitive swim teams. Interesting about those towns though is that they are governed by Meridian Township (taxes, code enforcement, public service, ambulance, fire, police etc). Haslett and Okemos have mailing addresses, school districts and post offices~ You can also have an East Lansing address and be in either Haslett or Okemos school district, so you have to make sure your realtor knows the area well. I think you'll find the people here helpful, friendly and welcoming. I grew up in NJ, lived in PA for several years, and we've had the best connections with our neighbors here than in the other states. High schools in both districts are 9-12, so he'd be starting with other new to the building 9th graders. Check out the webpages of each district.
If you need more specific information, please feel free to PM me with specific questions.
Thank you very much for your helpful response. I checked out both Okemos and Haslett schools and it looks like Haslett is smaller but Okemos has a better reputation. If both schools are good I’m sure my son would be fine in either district. Does Michigan have state tests required in each subject like the NYS Regent exams?
We also have a boat we’d like to use when the weather turns. Where is the best place to use the boat?
Thank you very much for your helpful response. I checked out both Okemos and Haslett schools and it looks like Haslett is smaller but Okemos has a better reputation. If both schools are good I’m sure my son would be fine in either district. Does Michigan have state tests required in each subject like the NYS Regent exams?
We also have a boat we’d like to use when the weather turns. Where is the best place to use the boat?
Thanks again!
Michigan has the MEAP tests, but I don't believe they're tied to graduation. We never had children in the schools, so not sure.
Lake Lansing is a boating lake, right in Haslett. If you're wanting a larger lake, there are plenty of them "up North" that you could investigate. Lake Mitchell in Cadillac, Crystal Lake, Budd Lake, Torch Lake etc. There's also Higgins and Houghton, which are a shorter distance from Lansing. Interesting fact about Michigan is that no matter where you live, you're never more than 90 miles from a Great Lake and there are 11,000 inland lakes, and Michigan grants more boating licenses than any other state!
Michigan has the MEAP tests, but I don't believe they're tied to graduation. We never had children in the schools, so not sure.
Lake Lansing is a boating lake, right in Haslett. If you're wanting a larger lake, there are plenty of them "up North" that you could investigate. Lake Mitchell in Cadillac, Crystal Lake, Budd Lake, Torch Lake etc. There's also Higgins and Houghton, which are a shorter distance from Lansing. Interesting fact about Michigan is that no matter where you live, you're never more than 90 miles from a Great Lake and there are 11,000 inland lakes, and Michigan grants more boating licenses than any other state!
Wow! Great to know about the abundance of lakes. We won’t have to sell our boat after all. We are coming for a visit this Thursday and are planning to check out Haslett and Okemos. I also want to see Williamston because it has larger properties.
Thanks again! If you have any other places I should see while visiting please let me know.
Williamston is a lovely, quaint town. The downtown area has some great shops and restaurants. Mason is also an area you might want to consider, it has some larger land properties as well. The schools aren't up there where Haslett and Okemos are as far as academics, and I'm not sure of their swim programs. There are areas of Bath Township/Clinton County that attend Haslett or East Lansing schools. That might be another area to check out. Just on the other/north side of the highway (Business 69 or Saginaw, depending how it's labeled.)
Lansing has its own airport (direct flights to Washington DC, Chicago, Detroit and Minneapolis, and in the winter to Cancun, Jamaica and Punta Cana). Depending on the final destination, many people also check out prices to fly from Flint (about 45 minutes), Grand Rapids (about 60 minutes) and of course Detroit (about 1 1/2 hours, depending on construction, traffic etc). There's a shuttle that leaves 12 times daily from East Lansing and takes you to Detroit airport (called Michigan Flyer). Many people use that as an alternative to driving and parking at Detroit Metro. The train to Chicago leaves from the Amtrak station every day at 8 AM and returns at about 9:30. It's about a 4 hour trip, but a very popular destination for people that want to go there for the weekend.
There are two Visitor's Centers where you can obtain more information about the area~ in downtown East Lansing at 549 E. Grand River Ave.(open Tuesday through Sunday), and the other is at 500 E. Michigan Avenue in downtown Lansing. Google Greater Lansing Convention & Visitor's Bureau. The downtown office is directly across the street from the Lugnuts Baseball stadium and there's free parking in front, it's open Monday-Friday. Both of them have the current Visitor's Guide, maps and other pamphlets that may be of interest. The Meridian Township website has some good information as well. There is a huge craft show in East Lansing and at MSU this weekend (Sat/Sun), so it may be slow moving in some areas. "Traffic" in this area is if you have to wait for more than one red light to get through it or you can't go 10 miles over the speed limit. There are times when it's a little busier than others, but there are many alternate routes to get around it or avoid it. Traffic is not one of our issues.
Not sure how much time you'll have here, or if you'll be working with a realtor so I'd be happy to answer any questions you have~feel free to private message me. The one thing you might want to check out, if possible, is the cost of auto insurance~you'll be shocked, even coming from the east coast. That was the only real eye opener surprise for us. Taxes, cost of heating (gas/electric), services etc. were all lower than what we were paying before we moved here, even with the colder weather. The shock was the auto insurance and automobile registration.
Williamston is a lovely, quaint town. The downtown area has some great shops and restaurants. Mason is also an area you might want to consider, it has some larger land properties as well. The schools aren't up there where Haslett and Okemos are as far as academics, and I'm not sure of their swim programs. There are areas of Bath Township/Clinton County that attend Haslett or East Lansing schools. That might be another area to check out. Just on the other/north side of the highway (Business 69 or Saginaw, depending how it's labeled.)
Lansing has its own airport (direct flights to Washington DC, Chicago, Detroit and Minneapolis, and in the winter to Cancun, Jamaica and Punta Cana). Depending on the final destination, many people also check out prices to fly from Flint (about 45 minutes), Grand Rapids (about 60 minutes) and of course Detroit (about 1 1/2 hours, depending on construction, traffic etc). There's a shuttle that leaves 12 times daily from East Lansing and takes you to Detroit airport (called Michigan Flyer). Many people use that as an alternative to driving and parking at Detroit Metro. The train to Chicago leaves from the Amtrak station every day at 8 AM and returns at about 9:30. It's about a 4 hour trip, but a very popular destination for people that want to go there for the weekend.
There are two Visitor's Centers where you can obtain more information about the area~ in downtown East Lansing at 549 E. Grand River Ave.(open Tuesday through Sunday), and the other is at 500 E. Michigan Avenue in downtown Lansing. Google Greater Lansing Convention & Visitor's Bureau. The downtown office is directly across the street from the Lugnuts Baseball stadium and there's free parking in front, it's open Monday-Friday. Both of them have the current Visitor's Guide, maps and other pamphlets that may be of interest. The Meridian Township website has some good information as well. There is a huge craft show in East Lansing and at MSU this weekend (Sat/Sun), so it may be slow moving in some areas. "Traffic" in this area is if you have to wait for more than one red light to get through it or you can't go 10 miles over the speed limit. There are times when it's a little busier than others, but there are many alternate routes to get around it or avoid it. Traffic is not one of our issues.
Not sure how much time you'll have here, or if you'll be working with a realtor so I'd be happy to answer any questions you have~feel free to private message me. The one thing you might want to check out, if possible, is the cost of auto insurance~you'll be shocked, even coming from the east coast. That was the only real eye opener surprise for us. Taxes, cost of heating (gas/electric), services etc. were all lower than what we were paying before we moved here, even with the colder weather. The shock was the auto insurance and automobile registration.
We just got back from our exploratory trip to the area. We stayed at a hotel in Okemos. We checked out 3 high schools, Okemos, Haslett and Williamston.
We didn’t have an appointment at Williamston but walked in and the vice principal gave us a thorough tour. We liked that the size was not huge and were excited they had their own pool for swim team. The entire school was very well taken care of. The town was quaint and a nice change from the strip malls of Okemos and Haslett. Of course the town did not have any of the big box stores but it’s not too far from everything. We liked the small town country feel of Williamston.
We visited Okemos High School. Wow, this school was like a castle! Super high ceilings and just huge! It is clean and well taken care of. We checked out the pool which was adequate. They will be expanding the pool area in the next 2 years which concerned us because the swim team would have to relocate during construction. We spoke with one of the staff members who we came across and he was very honest of the school. We knew it is very highly ranked and he said it is great for self driven kids who do great in a very competitive school. Oh! They had a million tennis courts too.
Lastly we visited Haslett High School. The school is large and a little tired looking but well maintained. We met with the coach who was young and you can see would be great with the kids. The 12 lane pool was impressive and huge.
The Williamston coach is a police officer and was kind enough to meet and speak with us. He was fantastic. The Haslett coach was young and you could see he would be great with the team. The Okemos coach was out of town but was super responsive to my call and answered all my questions and gave me a good idea of his program. Overall we felt all 3 coaches were excellent and we were impressed and thankful they took the time to meet with us.
We also explored th Michigan State area which was huge and very nice.
For my son and our family we felt Williamston is the best fit. The school is smaller and we liked the country feel and the possibility of having more land. I’m glad we came out to see for ourselves. Before visiting I thought Okemos or Haslett were the towns for us.
We will decide today whether we will move. For some reason this has been the toughest decision. We have lived in Syracuse for 9 years and are comfortable here. Michigan is further from our parents and college daughters. These are the things running through my head. However, the area of Lansing is very nice and people were great. Lastly the opportunity job wise is very good and may outweigh all the negatives.
Thank you for your advice and I hope this helps anyone considering this lovely area.
Thanks for letting us follow along with your decision making process! I lived and worked in the Lansing area for a little while and I thought it was a pleasant place to be. It’s a large enough metro to have things to do, but small enough that it lacks the traffic problems, etc of bigger cities. Good luck with your decision.
I lived in Michigan most of my life and now live in the Finger Lakes area....just wanted to say from my personal experience that living away from my family has been VERY hard.... If it all comes down to just money, I'd choose family over money any day. Money can never replace the important people in your life, the closeness, the sense of community and support a family brings. Unless your family is highly dysfunctional and depletes your energy, I'd stay where you are
I lived in Michigan most of my life and now live in the Finger Lakes area....just wanted to say from my personal experience that living away from my family has been VERY hard.... If it all comes down to just money, I'd choose family over money any day. Money can never replace the important people in your life, the closeness, the sense of community and support a family brings. Unless your family is highly dysfunctional and depletes your energy, I'd stay where you are
Thanks for your thoughts. I love the finger lakes area. Wish the job was here so I could stay. I’m sorry you miss your family. I definitely know what that’s like since I haven’t been living near them in over 20 years. For my personal situation living near family is great but a bit complicated. I want to get back to them but we need to make this move for a few years first. I figure when my son is in college in 4 years we can see where my daughters are and figure out where to settle. For now we have decided to make the move to Michigan. I hope it’s the right one and I will make the best of it.
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