[jennyre]

I'm looking for a small town in Michigan, no more than one hour from Toledo, Ohio. But here's where it gets tricky, I also need a place that has REALLY good schools. My 8 year old son is very gifted, so I need a school that will be able to work with him and teach him at his level.

The school he is in now, he stays with kids his own age, but he learns at HIS level, I would prefer to again do something like this, but would settle for a school equipped enough to handle a gifted child.

Thanks,
Jennifer

[Tehspilly]

I would check out Belleville.

[Lion11]

Look into Saline, MI. It is located a hour from Toledo and is only 15 minutes from Ann Arbor. The city of Saline has a pop. of 8,000 and a nice downtown. What really draws people to Saline are the schools. There are 5 elementary schools, one for kindergarten, 3 for 1-4 grades, and one for 5-6, as well as a middle school and high school, which is ranked as one of the best high schools in the country.
Saline, Michigan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
City of Saline, Michigan - One of America's Best Places to Live, Work and Play
Welcome To Saline Area Schools

[Cliffie]

Heck, try Ann Arbor itself!

[Lion11]

Originally Posted by Cliffie

Heck, try Ann Arbor itself!

While Ann Arbor has a strong school system, it is definitely not a "small town!"

[jennyre]

Thanks for the responses so far. I will definitely be looking into those places! Is there any place in Michigan that would be a reasonable driving distance (my husband would be driving back and forth to work everyday) between Toledo, OH and Holland, MI?

I have another question. I could look it up myself, but I'm feeling lazy this morning...lol Does Michigan have a smoking ban?

One more thing...my husband is dead set against anything remotely close to Detroit.

[WheredoIlive?]

Originally Posted by jennyre

Thanks for the responses so far. I will definitely be looking into those places! Is there any place in Michigan that would be a reasonable driving distance (my husband would be driving back and forth to work everyday) between Toledo, OH and Holland, MI?

I have another question. I could look it up myself, but I'm feeling lazy this morning...lol Does Michigan have a smoking ban?

One more thing...my husband is dead set against anything remotely close to Detroit.

Are you folks sure about that commute?

That is VERY LONG, beyond a normal commute, we are talking going from one side of the state to the other. That is at least a 3 and half hour -4 hour drive, EACH WAY. {and that is barring any snow, bad traffic, car breakdowns.

[jeanniepep]

True. Holland is insanely far from Toledo. Plus it is right on Lake Michigan, so they get HAMMERED with lake-effect snow every winter. WheredoIlive is correct about that timing, it's easily 4 hours in good weather with no traffic. I used to live in Marshall, which is at least 3 hours from Toledo, and it would still take me a good 2.5 hrs to get to Holland. For what you'd spend on gas, you'd be better off just getting a small apartment in one city to live in during the work week, and have the family home be in the other city.

No, we do not have a smoking ban in Michigan (yet). They've tossed it around in the legislature for years but have not come to a resolution. Basically, one side wants to have an exemption for casinos & cigar bars (why would you even go into a cigar bar if not to smoke) and the other side says it's ALL OR NOTHING. So, so far it's nothing. Some individual bars & restaurants ban smoking but it's on a business-by-business basis.

I won't even touch the "dead set against anything remotely close to Detroit" comment. I'm offended but I've seen enough pro/anti Detroit threads on this website, so I'll just leave it at that.

[jennyre]

Originally Posted by WheredoIlive?

Are you folks sure about that commute?

That is VERY LONG, beyond a normal commute, we are talking going from one side of the state to the other. That is at least a 3 and half hour -4 hour drive, EACH WAY. {and that is barring any snow, bad traffic, car breakdowns.

Honestly, I'm not sure about anything except that I seriously want/need to get out of Ohio! My husband's job right now is in Toledo, but there's talk of a new office opening up over by Holland. I just didn't realize it was that far away. He drives one hour right now to get to work, but he does have a company vehicle, so it's not too much a big deal(he used to drive 1.5 hours to Cleveland for work everyday for 3 years as well). I've been wanting to move out of Ohio for 10 years now, and I've just now gotten him to agree to do it. So I guess we'll stick closer to Toledo right now.

Originally Posted by jeanniepep

True. Holland is insanely far from Toledo. Plus it is right on Lake Michigan, so they get HAMMERED with lake-effect snow every winter. WheredoIlive is correct about that timing, it's easily 4 hours in good weather with no traffic. I used to live in Marshall, which is at least 3 hours from Toledo, and it would still take me a good 2.5 hrs to get to Holland. For what you'd spend on gas, you'd be better off just getting a small apartment in one city to live in during the work week, and have the family home be in the other city.

No, we do not have a smoking ban in Michigan (yet). They've tossed it around in the legislature for years but have not come to a resolution. Basically, one side wants to have an exemption for casinos & cigar bars (why would you even go into a cigar bar if not to smoke) and the other side says it's ALL OR NOTHING. So, so far it's nothing. Some individual bars & restaurants ban smoking but it's on a business-by-business basis.

I won't even touch the "dead set against anything remotely close to Detroit" comment. I'm offended but I've seen enough pro/anti Detroit threads on this website, so I'll just leave it at that.

I didn't mean to offend you. I honestly don't know what he has against Detroit (maybe a bad experience in a friend's past or something? He takes a lot of stock in what his friends tell him) Actually he told me he didn't really like MICHIGAN as a whole all that much, he's from PA, so maybe it's a football thing or something. BUT, it was HIS suggestion to go to Michigan, so I'm rolling with it. Honestly, it makes sense to go to Michigan, what with the recession going on, he won't have to worry about finding another job or transferring to a different office.

[flyingwriter]

Originally Posted by jennyre

Thanks for the responses so far. I will definitely be looking into those places! Is there any place in Michigan that would be a reasonable driving distance (my husband would be driving back and forth to work everyday) between Toledo, OH and Holland, MI?

Three Rivers is about halfway. That means a two hour drive both to Toledo and Holland. Schools are reasonably good, and it is an excellent small town. Sturgis is another between the two that is good and has good schools. You can also look into towns such as Constantine, White Pigeon, Colon, and Centreville.

If you want to minimize commute time, then you'll want to be near 131 for access to Holland, and I-80/90 for access to Toledo. White Pigeon is probably your best bet for that, but Constantine and Three Rivers are reasonably close to both.