[Fossum21]

Hi, I will be working in Ann Arbor soon, and I am looking for information about where to live in the area. The city of Ann Arbor itself looks pretty expensive, but I like what I am finding, as far as price goes in the surrounding towns like Belleville, Ypsilanti, Saline, Chelsea, and Dexter. So I would like to hear some pro's, and con's about those places. I am also looking for a school with a strong high school football program for my son.

Thanks you.

[YAZ]

Check out Brighton, 20 miles north.

I lived there for 24 years, and with the housing market, you could get some good deals.

Brighton has a couple of football players that made it to the NFL.

Nice town, good schools, and kinda quiet.

Chelsea is real nice, along with Dexter.

Ypsi can be rough, and Belleville can too. There are nice areas in both towns.

I've heard that Saline is real nice.

[Lion11]

You should try Saline. They have a great school system, with wounderful high school athletics. The city is a pretty good size(about 10,000), but it has a small town feel. The drive to Ann Arbor is about 10-15 minutes. The house prices are very low compared to a few years ago. The city has been ranked in CNN's top places to live in the U.S. Here are some helpful links:

City of Saline, Michigan - One of America's Best Places to Live, Work and Play
MONEY Magazine: Best places to live 2007: Saline, MI snapshot
Saline, Michigan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
City of Saline, Michigan - General Information about the Saline Area
SAS|Home
Real Estate One – Detroit, Ann Arbor, Northern Michigan, Michigan Real Estate - Home (search houses)
Hope this helps a bit!
P.S. Chelsea and Dexter are also a good choice, stay away from Ypsilanti(Ypsi) and Belleville. Brighton is nice, but farther away from Ann Arbor, and you know how gas prices are.

[A2Mich]

I would recommend Brighton, Saline, Dexter, or Chelsea. Parts of Ypsi are high-crime and not very desirable, though there are some very nice parts of Ypsilanti (usually in Ypsilanti twp, or Scio twp). Believe it or not, Ypsilanti property taxes (zip codes 48197 and 48198) are higher than Ann Arbor's (55 mils vs 44 mils). But homes in Ypsilanti tend to be less expensive, and overall, Ypsilanti has, if I'm not mistaken, the worst school district in the county. You might also consider Milan, but it is a smaller town, and you will be at least 10 miles from serious shopping, but taxes are lower than A2 and have some of the highest rated schools in the county. Dexter and Chelsea are also nice areas, but I don't know about the schools or tax millage rates.

[cab15]

Another for Saline. I currently live here and it's everything and more as said in the post above..

[Mi_Mom]

Originally Posted by A2Mich

I would recommend Brighton, Saline, Dexter, or Chelsea. Parts of Ypsi are high-crime and not very desirable, though there are some very nice parts of Ypsilanti (usually in Ypsilanti twp, or Scio twp). Believe it or not, Ypsilanti property taxes (zip codes 48197 and 48198) are higher than Ann Arbor's (55 mils vs 44 mils). But homes in Ypsilanti tend to be less expensive, and overall, Ypsilanti has, if I'm not mistaken, the worst school district in the county. You might also consider Milan, but it is a smaller town, and you will be at least 10 miles from serious shopping, but taxes are lower than A2 and have some of the highest rated schools in the county. Dexter and Chelsea are also nice areas, but I don't know about the schools or tax millage rates.

Chelsea is lovely and I love it's 'hometown' feel yet still close to drive to Ann Arbor. That being said their taxes are pretty high for their little city. Their schools are wonderful and I can't say enough wonderful things about our experiences with them.

[sheloveslife]

We've lived in Lodi Township for 2 years. It's great, because the kids are in the Saline school system (wonderful!), but we have low Lodi Township taxes. Not that it matters, but we have an Ann Arbor mailing address. The location is convenient to both Ann Arbor and Saline. The Saline high school is amazing - you have to see it.

[cab15]

Originally Posted by sheloveslife

We've lived in Lodi Township for 2 years. It's great, because the kids are in the Saline school system (wonderful!), but we have low Lodi Township taxes. Not that it matters, but we have an Ann Arbor mailing address. The location is convenient to both Ann Arbor and Saline. The Saline high school is amazing - you have to see it.

I also live in Lodi Twp., but only for another 2 days....Michigan's crappy job market ran me out!

Agree though, Lodi/Saline area is hard to beat. I believe Saline High School is the largest in the state, facility size, not # of students. It's huge, nearly brand new, all state of the art facilities.

[A2Mich]

Speaking of townships, that reminds me....one thing we were considering, but seemed to fall through, ,was to buy a home in Lima Township. Lima Township has a fairly low tax rate (31 mils), but would have a Dexter mailing address and Dexter schools.....

[cjbailey]

Plymouth is fantastic and would fit your requirements, it is just east of Ann Arbor and I agree that Saline is an excellent choice just west of Ann Arbor. Brighton in a good choice but a longer commute. Good luck.