[Westbury]

My family will be transferring from West Michigan and I will be working in Southfield/Farmington area. I have two high school aged children so quality of high school will be important. A commuting time of around 30 minutes or less would be reasonable for me. Any suggestions on areas to live in (or to avoid)?

[mewith3]

Troy has some of the top rated high schools in the state.

There was a list...I'll post the link if I can find it.

[mewith3]

here is one I found:

Newsweek’s top school listDETROIT, Mich. – Thirty Michigan high schools made Newsweek’s ranking of the best high schools in the country, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The news magazine ranked the top 1,300 high schools largely by measuring the number of students who take Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and Cambridge tests. The highest ranked school in Michigan was the International Academy in Bloomfield Hills, which placed 12th, the Free Press reported.

Other Michigan high schools and their rankings include: Grosse Pointe South, 356; Bloomfield Andover 377; Troy 545; Berkley, 575; Birmingham Groves, 641; Farmington, 759; Bloomfield Lahser, 822; Birmingham Seaholm, 875; Grosse Pointe North, 882; Walled Lake Central, 927; Farmington Hills Harrison, 986; Troy Athens, 1,026; Chippewa Valley Dakota, 1,060; North Farmington, 1,147; West Bloomfield, 1,162; Novi, 1,186; Northville, 1,189; Walled Lake Northern, 1,267 and Redford Thurston, 1,290.

[Bhaalspawn]

Originally Posted by mewith3

Troy has some of the top rated high schools in the state.

There was a list...I'll post the link if I can find it.

Why would you want to commute to Farmington Hills from Troy if you could just live in Farmington Hills (or Novi or West Bloomfield, etc.)? Farmington Hills is a solid middle class suburb with a good component of upper middle class and has great schools too, last I looked.

So, where to live? If you can afford it try Farmington Hills, Novi, West Bloomfield, Walled Lake, Northville, or Commerce Township, etc. If those locales are too expensive then consider Livonia. This may or may not be important to you, but you should be aware that Southfield is mostly black and many of the whites fled for those other suburbs about two decades ago.

[Dexterguy]

It really depends on what you can afford. If I was communting to Farmington/Southfield I would look into the Bloomfields. Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Twp., West Bloomfield all have very highly rated schools. I believe the best in the entire state. If they are to expensive for you look into Novi, Northville, Farmington, Farmington Hills. The only suburb that I would avoid is Southfield because of safety issues, Southfield above 10 or 11 mile is okay but you still have Southfield Public schools which are not the best.

Good Schools:
Bloomfield Hills
Bloomfield
West Bloomfield
Novi
Northville
Plymouth - Canton

[mjprice]

Depending on the "feel" of the town/city you are looking for. I would look at Huntington Woods, it is small and a great place for kids. Your kids would go to Berkley High, which is really good. HW is surrounded by Berkley, Royal Oak, Oak Park, and the major freeways are just around the corner. It would take you 5/10 minutes to get to work. HW has a great community, you will find everyone very friendly. There are block parties and concerts in the park in warmer weather. It is a wonderful place for kids.

The problem with West Bloomfield High Schools is the drug problem going on. It is not talked about much, but is there. You also need to be careful in F. Hills with which neighborhood you pick. There are some that are not great to live in any more. We have friends that just moved into a neighborhood with out really doing research or asking around. Only to find that there are some problems going on in the area....and are already trying to figure out if they can get out.

If you want a small community with great neighborly/community feel look at Huntington Woods. If you want a good city that is much bigger in size and are not interested in much of a community feel then look in Troy, but you may have a 30 to 40 minute drive to work, depending on where you work.

Also look at Beverly Hills, a small town as well that is really nice. They are surrounded by Southfield, Birmingham and Bingham Farms. The kids would go to Birmingham Groves High School which is great.

[mjprice]

For got to add some info you asked for:

Stay away from Southfield, except the small part of Southfield that goes to Birminghan Schools...this is a good section

Also Oak Park is not a good place, unless you do the small part of OP that is in the Berkley School district...this also is a pretty good area

Stay away from Ferndale, Hazel Park....Royal Oak has nice neighborhoods but has been closing schools and classrooms are crowded

Hope this helps.

[mostie]

We lived in Redford when I first moved to MI- my son was in elementary at the time, but the area was quiet, etc.- and after raising 6 kids (this one is my youngest) and having seen schools all over the place for all of them, I have to say that the one in Redford was just about the best I've ever seen.

[Westbury]

I appreciate all of the feedback. This is great info to help narrow down potential areas to move into and those to avoid.

[Bhaalspawn]

Originally Posted by mjprice

You also need to be careful in F. Hills with which neighborhood you pick. There are some that are not great to live in any more. We have friends that just moved into a neighborhood with out really doing research or asking around. Only to find that there are some problems going on in the area....and are already trying to figure out if they can get out.

I suspect that the area to avoid is the southeastern part of Farmington Hills, say the four square miles bordered by Orchard Lake Road, Inkster, 8 Mile, and 10 Mile. Basically, as a broad general rule of thumb, there's a property value and economic class gradient as you move from the southeast corner (closer to Southfield and Detroit) to the northwest corner (closer to Novi and West Bloomfield). Most of Farmington Hills itself is pretty good but that area near 8 Mile and Grand River seems seedy and looks more like Redford or Southfield than Farmington Hills proper. Also, some of the houses in that area are NOT in the Farmington school district but rather the Clarenceville district.