[squank]

Hello all. I am moving to Michigan in June, and would very much appreciate some advice on areas to live. First some info on me for context:

-I have 4 kids at home, all in school, so that's going to be important to me.
-I have a gov't job which covers all of Michigan, with my car as my office, so typical commute concerns don't apply, and I can live pretty much anywhere in SE Michigan.
-I'm picking AA because I love college towns. I don't want to live right in the city, because I like a bit more privacy than city living provides, but want to be close enough for easy daily trips into town.
-I'd prefer the East side of AA for the weekly trip into Detroit (during non-commute times, of course!), but this is in no way set in stone.
-My wife loves quaint, country style settings with big trees, so that would be ideal. Fixer uppers are no problem.
-I'm planning to retire in this house (very solid on this), so I'm not worried about home values fluctuating in the near term.
-I'd love to get in for around $250,000, with ~2,500 sf. Fixer-uppers are fine.

Thanks so much for helping out a soon-to-be permanent Michigan family!

[MittenDweller82]

Hello Squank,

I've lived here in the Ann Arbor area for most of my life, hopefully I can help you make a good move!


I noticed you were considering the east end of town, although with your wifes love of more quaint settings, I would suggest the western end of town. The neighborhoods west of downtown are made up of more historic homes, mature oak, maple lined streets, rolling hills and larger lots. 250 would get you in a home in that area, although i don't think you would find that many square feet for that price. As you get closer to Ypsilanti (eastern end) neighborhoods are more crowded and have much less of a quaint appeal. (In my opinion) Another area you probably would like is north Ann Arbor near Kerry Town, along and north of the Huron River. More mature tree lined streets, quite a few winding drives with homes that sit on bluffs along the river (more than 250K though), but awesome neighborhoods, small quite little alleys that back up to woods. If your looking specifically for a fixer upper, I would suggest looking further outside of Ann Arbor, possibly near Dexter (small town about 10 min west of Ann Arbor) or along Dexter Trail Rd (connects Ann Arbor and Dexter to the west). You'd be hard pressed to find a fixer upper closer to town, most homes have been owned by the same family for many years. Schools are excellent in Ann Arbor, two main High Schools are Pioneer (largest) and Huron, near the eastern end of town. If you are bent on staying in the eastern side, I would look along Geddes Rd area, there are some quite nice neighborhoods as well, more isolated from town. Regardless of where you choose, you can be on a freeway in 10 min or less. All the areas I have suggested are less than 10 min rides into town, and are serviced by public trans (parking a car can be difficult in Ann Arbor..especially during fall and winter semesters).

Well I hope I gave you at least some more insight, feel free to ask more detailed questions if you choose to!

Good Luck!

[squank]

Thanks MittenDweller82, that's a lot of great information.

I'm open to other areas of town (I certainly don't know the area at all). I was only thinking east side of Ann Arbor because of the convenience of getting to Detroit, but I see from looking closer at a map that going to the west side wouldn't really add that much more travel time.

The country setting, tree lined street idea is very appealing, so I'll check out the west and north sides of town.

Any idea where city property taxes apply/don't apply regarding those areas? Also, what is shopping/parks/recreation like in these areas?

[MittenDweller82]

As far as the tax question is concerned, I'm not entirely sure, although property taxes are relatively high regardless of the area around Ann Arbor. Ann Arbor's downtown is filled with unique shops and a huge choice of culturally diverse dining options. The west end of Ann Arbor caters primarily to a professional crowd, there are breweries, coffee shops, pubs, fine dining, quaint book stores, and almost everything in between. The Packard Rd & US 23 Area (towards Ypsilanti) (about 15 minutes across town in traffic) has some more shopping...Whole Foods, big box stores, and most chain restaurants. The Briarwood Mall (largest shopping center in Ann Arbor) is located on I-94 and St. Street, has a good selection of stores and restaurants also. There are many other shopping areas, but those are the most popular.

There are many parks in and around Ann Arbor, I would suggest you look at the city web page. There is a large recreation area (Pinckey Rec Area) about 20 min NW of Ann Arbor, and has many bike trails, rustic camping, chains of lakes...I think its about 10,000 acres. They have a awesome mountain bike trail (the Potawatomi) is a 18 mile loop through some more remote forested areas, bridges over streams and rivers. Its a bit more advanced, but also suitable for hiking.

Pinckney Recreation Area Detail

[squank]

Wow, I checked out Pinckney Rec area - it looks really great! That makes looking at the N and W sides of AA a real option. Thanks for the link.

[renter8319]

ann arbors nice, but for your money you might do better in brighton. ann arbor is a 15-20 min drive down m23. brighton is right off 69 so you can shoot to novi 15 min, royal oak, 30 min. brighton is very nice with high quality schools. check it out.

[renter8319]

green oak ntownship is an area with a brighton address, but lower taxes. i found this house on realtor . com. it looks awesome. 9333 Magnum Trail, Green Oak Twp, MI, 48116 - MLS ID#29006197 - Single Family Home real estate - REALTOR.com®

[squank]

Wow, that's a great looking house. Thanks for the post!

[GarySmith]

Two places for school information MDE - Michigan Department of Education and SchoolMatters - Home

The State of Michigan Treasury website provides information about estimating property taxes. They can vary quite a bit by school district. Also there is a pop up tax, so information in Multiple Listing Services about taxes may be low.

Two local multiple listing services are AAAbor.com and MoveinMichigan.com both share most information.

Michigan.org is the State Tourism website and may provide some additional information to make your choice.

[squank]

Originally Posted by renter8319

ann arbors nice, but for your money you might do better in brighton. ann arbor is a 15-20 min drive down m23. brighton is right off 69 so you can shoot to novi 15 min, royal oak, 30 min. brighton is very nice with high quality schools. check it out.

I've been doing some looking at the outlying areas to the North, NW, and West. How is public transportation to these outer areas? My daughter will be starting college this fall (living at home), and won't have a car. It really sounds like Brighton or Dexter areas would work well for me, as long as she can easily bus in and out of town.

Thanks again for the great insights.