Seeking advice on relocating to tri-cities MI area (Saginaw, Midland: real estate, for sale)

[greatlakesgirl]

Hello! I know there have been some posts on this already, but I have a few specific questions. My husband has just gotten a good teaching job at a tri-cities area college, so we are relocating to MI in July. I am a MI native but grew up near Traverse City, and I'm not familiar with the thumb area.

We have an 11-month-old daughter and I am thrilled that there seems to be many family activities, shopping, rail trails and parks, etc. in the area. We are going to travel there for a week in May to secure a rental for a year, then look into buying. We have never owned a home and are picky about where we live, so despite the great market we won't buy until we're more familiar with the area (and then we will want to find something with perhaps 2-3 acres in the woods somewhere - likely in a small town nearby). But we won't mind living in Bay City or Midland for a year first while we learn about the area. I have read enough to know that certain parts of Saginaw are subject to crime and poverty, so we will avoid all of Saginaw. We aren't snobs by any means, but we need a safe area for our daughter, and we don't have the time to visit a rental only to find out it's a sketchy area. So my specific questions about both renting and buying are these:

1) I have seen some rentals listed in Essexville - can anyone give me an idea of what it is like? Is it a neighborhood of Bay City or its own town?
2) I know MI can alternate between open fields and wooded areas. Are any areas more heavily wooded? Should we look north (i.e. Pinconning, etc.)? We would love to rent a house in the woods if possible.
3) Dow's corporate headquarters are in Midland - is there also a chemical factory there, and if so, is it large? I don't want to spark a political debate (Dow seems to be a great presence there); I did read something about cleanup of the Tittabawassee River, though, and am wondering about water cleanliness, etc.
4) I have been looking at real estate sites - if anyone can suggest areas that would have older homes and/or a rural character, that would be appreciated. We would love to find an old farmhouse, Victorian house, or a log home to rent or later buy, and we would like to avoid subdivisions and communities of all-new construction (no offense meant to anyone - it's just not us).

Thanks in advance for any advice. We only have a week to find a place before we move (we are currently in Massachusetts) and need to maximize our apt./house-hunting time when there. We are easygoing people who enjoy both nature and culture, and I am happy with what I've read about the tri-cities. I know MI is in the throes of hard times, but I love the state, and I am hoping that with Dow, Frankenmuth tourism, etc. that this area is still thriving and will be a good place to live.

[Brent85]

Out of all of those I'd recommend Midland. Dow's Michigan manufacturing complexes are here in Midland. It takes up one large area on the southeast side. Midland's pretty stable and is good for familes. There's a mix of woods and fields. If you want to live in the woods, that'd be more on the outskirts of the city, so just search around. I don't know much about the house rentals around here, but apartments would be easy to find.

[RobinSparkles]

I grew up in Bay City and spent my fair amount of time in the tri-cities until I left for college (10 yrs later though, and we're moving back this summer!!). Downtown Bay City has really nice Victorians, in varying states of disrepair. Those found on 5th st especially are nice, and many more thru 9th. Downtown BC has a nice planetarium and river walk areas as well as a really unique downtown shopping district. There are some less than desireable areas of downtown though, mainly around the projects on 3rd. Not really violent or anything, just very poor and some petty crime stuff.

Essexville is a township to the side of Bay City; they kind of flow into one another without really noticing, aside from the sign. Essexville is mostly residential, and pretty safe.

Bangor is on the other side of the river and is nice too. It is close to BC State Park (the beach is non-existant now, but there are nice trails) and Tobico Marsh (lots of turtles sunning themselves!).

Houses in Monitor township are 1950-1960s style, nothing to fancy, but the most crime you'll find there are kids with firecrackers Mostly farms out there though, instead of woods.

Auburn (between BC and Midland) is a small community (with a bad rep for being in the middle of nowhere - at least among us city kids ) it's got some nice houses too.

Midland is nice too. There are nice recreation areas, and if you live on the outskirts, there's definately wooded areas with houses.

I would second your comment to avoid Saginaw at all costs. I'm sure there's one or two neighborhoods that are ok, but even when I was a kid, we'd lock the car doors while driving on entering town - and that wasn't even in the scary parts of town. And, they charge a city income tax. To me, that is too much.

Good luck with your house hunt, I hope it all turns out well. The upside of the area is that it's all driveable, so you can live in one place and enjoy the recreation of them all.

[TiredNomad82]

My husband and I are living in Essexville currently, and it's not a good fit for us. We have had trouble getting plugged in because there seem to be a large amount of senior citizens, and we don't have children to get us involved in other activities.

We live in an apartment that is just okay. Most of the nice apartments have an income cap, so the best we could find is East Bay Village. If we were staying here, there are some really cute homes for sale but we're looking at jobs out of state.

Midland is much cuter so I would look there. Recently a coal plant was approved to be built there though, and I was shocked.

[Driller1]

Originally Posted by TiredNomad82

My husband and I are living in Essexville currently, and it's not a good fit for us. We have had trouble getting plugged in because there seem to be a large amount of senior citizens, and we don't have children to get us involved in other activities.

We live in an apartment that is just okay. Most of the nice apartments have an income cap, so the best we could find is East Bay Village. If we were staying here, there are some really cute homes for sale but we're looking at jobs out of state.

Midland is much cuter so I would look there. Recently a coal plant was approved to be built there though, and I was shocked.

There is a coal plant coming to Bay City too. The new plants are MUCH less of a problem.