Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
HI! I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on the Big move my family and I will be doing in the next couple of months?
My husband is in the IT field and Im a School Teacher, We have two small children and Im scared to death of the move! I've lived in TN all of my life and we currently live in one of the Top 10 counties to raise a family and enjoy suburia life.
I was wondering if anyone could tell me if WE would be making a big mistake with the move? Also he has a job offer, thats why we are in such a rush to make a decision.
What are the pros and cons of raising a family in MI?
How are the school systems in MI?
How does it compare to TN?
Unless you're coming from Knoxville or a few parts of Chatanooga or Nashville, you're probably in for some culture shock. (Back in the 90s, I went from A^2 to rural Tennessee, so I know how different the two states can seem.) Ann Arbor is pretty much Berkely, California on the Huron River- very liberal, lots of hippies, annual marijuana festival and all. Housing is also expensive by Michigan/non-Chicago Midwest standards.
Having said that, it can be a great place to live. The university draws smart and creative people with all kinds of different viewpoints from all over the world, there's a very active fine and performing arts scene, many entertaining college sports teams if you can embrace the Big Ten, lots of outdoor activity options nearby, and a good food scene for a city its size. Schools in town range from average to very good (Ken Burns, Iggy Pop, Eric Zorn, and Bob Seger and a couple of Olympic medalists are all Pioneer High alums.) and many suburban districts like Chelsea and Saline are also well regarded. Downtown Ann Arbor is an extremely urban environment, but if you want a more relaxed home setting, it's easy to find essentially hobby farmland within easy commuting distance. All the sporting and cultural amenities of metro Detroit are an easy day trip, and if you need to fly somewhere, Detroit Metro airport nearby probably has a non-stop flight to there.
Actor Jeff Daniels lives in Chelsea. He decided years back that he didn't want to raise his kids with Hollywood values, and he was also involved in the founding of the Purple Rose Theatre out there.
Last edited by beachmouse; 07-27-2011 at 01:32 PM..
It's really a matter of taste. Ann Arbor is a wonderful city and I think some of the public schools are amazing but it might be a big transition from from TN. It's overwhelmingly liberal and progressive, a huge college town. They have great hospitals, a great downtown, etc. There is a huge, huge hippie San Fran vibe there, though, so if that annoys you, or being overrun by thousands of students every time you go somewhere is annoying, you may want to look elsewhere.
If you move closer to the western suburbs of Detroit you might feel a little more at home. The people tend to be very laid back, conservative, friendly. Super safe communities to the point where often there is nothing to do, your main complaint may be boredom.
For quality of life I'm partial to Plymouth and Northville, both have really nice little downtown areas, which makes all the difference to me. Northville slightly more upper class--also slightly more boring, there is really not much to do there. But the schools are great and you could leave your door unlocked for the rest of your life and nothing would ever happen. A lot of doctors, lawyers, CEOs, etc. You also get that in Plymouth but Plymouth retains in certain areas its more middle class roots. The schools in Northville and Plymouth are probably comparable until you get to high school. If you stay in PLY the kids will be shipped off to PARC which was kind of a dumb idea of merging the school w/ Canton and Ply Twp and is now something like three actual high schools (Ply, Salem and Canton, all on the same campus) and like 6,000 kids these days. Northville the top rated more traditional Northville high. There are also of course any number of good private schools in the area.
I also like Milford and Chelsea, they are a lot like Plymouth except they are not really suburbs of Detroit... very nice small towns.
Michigan is a great place to raise a family if you have a good job. Ann Arbor is a lively and fun college town. It is very liberal, although away from the University, it is less so. There are plenty of doctors, lawyers, businessmen and other less liberal types. They still allow churches and worship services and (unlike California) have never introduced any bills to restrict what can be said as part of a worship service. They do have an annual hash bash, but you will not really notice it. It is not like it was 20-30 years ago. There is great housing, fabulous schools (Some of the top High schools in the state). We are a conservative Christian Family and we would love to live in Ann Arbor (as well as a dozen other places in the area). Some of our best friends live in Franklin Tennessee and they are similar to us. I do not think that they would have any problems living in Ann Arbor. There are plenty of excessively liberal nut jobs will bug you, but not to the point where you want to move. For the most part common sense still prevails (unlike most of California).
Having said all that, I would personally prefer to live in one of the surrounding cities. My order of preference:
Chelsea (a wonderful place, hard to beat anywhere in the US)
Dexter (a very close second to Chelsea, some days I think I would prefer Dexter).
Dixborough (a tiny village, not really a separate place)
Tecumseh (a bit of a drive)
Plymouth.
South Lyon/Salem
Saline
There are a lot of rural areas that are very nice and have great schools.
Grass lake is a neat nearby little community, but the schools are not very highly rated. Ratings don't mean everything though.
If you do not mind a bit of a drive, you might also consider Northville, Milford or Brighton.
Northville is the gem of the set. Milford is cute but has access problems and mediocre schools. Brighton is basically a bland suburban town with mediochre schools, but it has some awesome outlying rural areas where you could get an old farm house with a few (or a lot) of acres of land.
Pinckney and Hell are not terribly far away and you can live on the water in either place. Pinkney used to have bas schools, but they may have gotten better. I have heard mixed reports. It used ot be very red-necky, but supposedly got better. I do nto know anything about living in Hell, or what school district they are in, but it is a pretty area popular with tourists. Tiny town, not even a town really an Ice Scream shop, a convenience store, a gift shop and a wedding chapel (for those who want ot say they got married in Hell).
If you really want to drive, we absolutely love living in Grosse Ile. It is perfect for a family like you. But is it a solid hour drive to Ann Arbor.
A a whole Michigan is a very pretty and wholesome state for families. Medical services are great. Schools are mostly good to great. Universities are fabulous, few States can offer the level of continuing education that Michigan offers. Michgian is all about the great outdoors and water. There is a lot of it here and it is pretty.
You have probably heard that winters are cold and long. That is true. You must learn to embrace winter or you will be unhappy and waste half your life waiting for it to end. Winter is beautiful and there are lots of neat outdoor activities available. You do not have to be cold. You jsut have to be organized and not lazy. With the technology that we have for cold weatehr clothing and accessories (like hand warmers, electric socks, remote starters on cars, etc), there is not reason that you need to be cold. You will be cold when you are under dressed, unprepared, or forget to think ahead.
The weather changes constantly all year. Temperatures can change as much as 60 degrees in a day, but this is rare. You can have sunshine, thunderstorm, snow, and reasonably warm all within a 24 hour period. Fall is the best time of year and it is wonderful.
When we moved here from California, we found that our kids play outsdie here far more than they did in CA. I think that is becuase the varying weather conditions draws them outside. Plus they always go out when it is nice outside (never say "Ho Hum another perfect day, I think I will sit and play video games all day" If it is nice, they get outside to enjoy it.)
People are fabulous once you get to know them. People we barely know have done amazing things to help us out (like loan us as much as $7500 with no interest, no strings, not payment schedule "pay it back as soon as you can"). You will love it here if you bring the right attitude.
Last edited by Coldjensens; 07-27-2011 at 03:44 PM..
Chelsea (a wonderful place, hard to beat anywhere in the US)
Dexter (a very close second to Chelsea, some days I think I would prefer Dexter).
Dixborough (a tiny village, not really a separate place)
Tecumseh (a bit of a drive)
Plymouth.
South Lyon/Salem
Saline
Except for Plymouth and Chelsea, these are not even cities or towns. They are like roads with a half dozen stores strewn about.
I don't even know how you would differentiate between them.
From reading your post I gather you live in a suburban area in TN now, and if that is the case you will feel right at home in that part of southeast Mi. The area around Ann Arbor is suburbanized and offers everything that you would expect from suburbia. A previous poster was correct in saying that Ann Arbor is very liberal compared to the rest of the state, due to the fact that U of M is there and attracts that kind of thing. Livingston country just to the north of Ann Arbor is a growing area of new suburbs that is the polar opposite of Ann Arbor, very conservative. That area is very family oriented and has very good schools as well. If your looking to raise a family, Livingston county is a better choice than anywhere in Ann Arbor proper. As far as how Michigan and Tennessee compare, well they are quite different. Michigan outside of the southeast corner where you are looking is quite rural, most of it is more rural than Tennessee. Two thirds of Michigans population lives in 4 counties in the southeast corner of the state. Upper Michigan is half wilderness, northern lower Michigan is very sparsely populated as well. The rest of southern Michigan is heavily agricultural, mostly dairy farms and corn/soybean fields. You will notice how flat it is up here too compared to Tn, we have no mountains. What we do have is lakes everywhere, over 11000 inland lakes, and of course the great lakes. Im sure your aware of our harsh winters, so I wont go into that. However the summers up here are very nice, as is fall. People in Michigan enjoy outdoor activities like camping, hunting fishing etc. In the winter snowmobiling, skiing and ice fishing are big. You will like Michigans great lakes beaches, they are very underated by many in the rest of the country. (Lake Mi has the best beaches) As far as people go, you will find people in Michigan welcoming of newcomers. People in Tn are known all over for being friendly and having alot of "southern hospitality". In Michigan you will find that people are friendly, but a bit more reserved than you may be used too. Other that that small difference I dont think youll have a hard time making the change. Its not like moving to Boston, theres no massive cultural shock. One thing I noticed in your post that could be a concern is the fact that you are a school teacher. Michigan is tough for school teachers right now, massive layoffs and state budget cuts have made it tough to get a job this year. You may have to sub for a while to get a teaching job. Good luck with your move, and welcome to Mi.
Chelsea (a wonderful place, hard to beat anywhere in the US)
Dexter (a very close second to Chelsea, some days I think I would prefer Dexter).
Dixborough (a tiny village, not really a separate place)
Tecumseh (a bit of a drive)
Plymouth.
South Lyon/Salem
Saline
Except for Plymouth and Chelsea, these are not even cities or towns. They are like roads with a half dozen stores strewn about.
I don't even know how you would differentiate between them.
Actually South Lyon is a City (Population around 10,000). It even has a McDonalds. Saline has slightly fewer people. I am not certain how they are incorporated. Probably half the Cities in Metro Detroit are around 10,000 people. Why you would just ignore such cities makes no sense. These are some of the best Cities to live, especially if you raise a family. i gather that you do not currently have a family. That would explain why you would not understand why a small town/rural area is preferable to a bustling city.
Salem and Dixbourough are villages. They are not incorporated. Small places. Does that make them any less wonderful? They are terrific places to live and to raise a family. More so than downtown Ann Arbor becuase they do nto have the crime, potheads, traffic, college craziness, etc. Outlying areas of Ann arbor are no different fromthese areas. In fact, Dixbourogh IS an outlying area of Ann Arbor.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
