Farmington Hills vs Canton (Detroit, Ann Arbor: crime, house prices, neighborhoods)

[KayAnn246]

I have finally narrowed my choice down to two great cities, Farmington Hills or Canton.
I can't decide which is better. I am looking for a great singles nightlife, good schools, shopping district, safety, reasonable home prices/property taxes, family friendly environment. Which city fits the criteria best?

[ForStarters]

I really don't know what the difference is between Canton and Farmington Hills. They are both pretty much classic suburbs with the everything that you'd expect to see in classic suburbs.

Singles nightlife? Neither one is very good. Maybe Canton has a slight edge. I think there are a few bars in Canton that aren't TGI Fridays or Applebee's. If you live in Canton, you can go out in downtown Plymouth at 336 Main or O'Callahan's. If you live Farmington Hills, go to downtown Farmington- I think there's a bar or two there.

Schools? Both cities have good schools.

Shopping districts? They both have all of the familiar chain stores, but I think Canton has more of them along Ford Road. Canton has an Ikea. You can drive to a shopping mall from either city.

Safety? Both Canton and Farmington Hills are safe.

Home prices/property taxes? I don't know anymore. Both cities have a pretty big range of homes. I think Farmington Hills has more upscale housing.

Family friendly environment? Both cities have a lot of families. For some reason, Canton seems more family friendly, but that may only be because I know it has a Chuckie Cheese.

[Coldjensens]

a great singles nightlife,

NEITHER ONE. HOWEVER CANTON IS CLOSE TO ANN ARBOR. THERE IS SOME SINGLES NIGHTLIFE IN ANN ABROR BUT YOU HAVE TO LEARN WHERE TO GO THAT WILL NOT BE INFESTED WITH COLLEGE STUDENTS.
FARMINTON IS NOT HORRIDLY DISTANT FROM ROYAL OAK WHICH IS OUR NIGHTLIFE CITY FOR POST COLLEGE SINGLES. DOWNTOWN DETROIT HAS SOME GOINGS ON AS DOES HAMTRAMMAK (SPELLED WRONG). HOWEVER YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING, DO NTO JUST GO THERE AND POKE AROUND, YOU COULD GET INTO TROUBLE.

good schools,

PLYMOUTH/CANTON SCHOOLS ARE EXCELLENT AT THE HIGHER LEVELS. SOME COMPLAINTS AT THE ELEMNTARY AND JR. HIGH LEVELS. DEPENDS ON WHICH SCHOOL YOU FALL INTO. FARMINGTON SCHOOLS ARE GOOD. WALLED LAKE SCHOOLS MAY BE A LITTLE BIT BETTER AND SOME PARTS OF FARMINGTON OR FARMINGTON HILLS MAY BE IN WALLED LAKE SCHOOL DISTRICT. I AM NOT SURE. YOU CAN FIND STATISTICS ONLINE, BUT THAT DOES NTO TELL YOU MUCH. YOU NEED TO GO VISIT.

shopping district,

FARMINTON HAS A BIT OF A DOWNTOWN SORT OF. NOT A LOT THERE, BUT AT ELAST SOMETHING. CANTON IS ALL STRIP MALLS AND BIG BOX STORES. THEY HAVE IKEA THERE. PLUS YOUR TYPICAL VERSIONS OF STUFF-MARTs. FARMINGTON IS CLOSER TO NOVI WHICH IS A SHOPPER'S MECCA. THERE ARE MORE MALLS STRIP MALLS AND BIG STORES IN NOVI THAN ANYWHERE THAT I HAVE BEEN - AND THE TRAFFIC TO GO WITH IT. IF YOU LIKE HIGH END STORES, FRAMINGTON IS ALSO CLOSER TO THE SOMERSET COLELCTION (TO FANCY TO BE CALLED A MALL I GUESS), IN TROY. THIS IS THE FANCIEST AND NICEST MALL IN MI AS FAR AS I KNOW. CANTON IS CLOSE TO PLYMOUTH WHICH HAS A VERY QUAINT DOWNTWON SHOPPING DISTRICT AND ANN ARBOR. CANTON IS NOT FAR FROM NOVI EITHER. IT MAY ONLY BE A MILE OR TWO DIFFERENCE FROM CANTON OR FARMINGTON TO NOVI.

safety,

BOTH ARE VERY SAFE. YOU CAN LOOK UP CRIME STATISTICS ONLINE. IF I HAD TO BET $10 ON ONE OF THEM, I WOULD PICK CANTON TO BE LOWER, BUT I COULD WELL LOSE THAT BET.

reasonable home prices/property taxes,
FARMINGTON WILL PROBABLY BE CHEAPER. FARMINGTON ALSO HAS MORE VARIETY IN HOUSING OPTIONS. I DISLIKE MODERN COOKIE CUTTER SUBDIVISIONS SO I WOULD NOT LIVE IN CANTON. FARMINGTON HAS SOME TOLERABLE HOUSING AND EVNE SOEM NICE STUFF (TO ME NICE = PRE-1950).


family friendly environment.

BOTH. POSSIBLY CANTON A BIT MORE THAN FARMINGTON. FARMINGTON IS OLDER AND A LITTE MORE URBANISH. CANTON IS NEW SUBURBIA PLAIN AND SIMPLE. THERE IS NOTHING ELSE TO IT. FARMINGTON HILLS IS MORE LIKE CANTON (BUT IT IS NICER THAN CANTON IMO).

[leroythelion]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

PLYMOUTH/CANTON SCHOOLS ARE EXCELLENT AT THE HIGHER LEVELS. SOME COMPLAINTS AT THE ELEMNTARY AND JR. HIGH LEVELS. DEPENDS ON WHICH SCHOOL YOU FALL INTO. FARMINGTON SCHOOLS ARE GOOD. WALLED LAKE SCHOOLS MAY BE A LITTLE BIT BETTER AND SOME PARTS OF FARMINGTON OR FARMINGTON HILLS MAY BE IN WALLED LAKE SCHOOL DISTRICT. I AM NOT SURE. YOU CAN FIND STATISTICS ONLINE, BUT THAT DOES NTO TELL YOU MUCH. YOU NEED TO GO VISIT.

Just note that a few parts of Canton are not in the Plymouth-Canton school district, but rather Van Buren or Wayne. This will become evident as a small difference in house prices.

[night life]

That's a lie. Farmington Hills, MI is all the underground world of crime. Victims are easily snatched from the society all ages. I know my best friend was trafficked by the A-rab mafia (Aqil Al-Eisa #8120). What should i do? What can the justice department do when everyone is paid off. So i would not move to Farmington Hills, MI.

[jonnynonos]

ColdJensens and ForStarters give good advice.

Personally as you list "great singles nightlife" as your first criteria, I don't know why you are choosing these cities. Sounds like you would be better off along the Woodward corridor--Berkley, Huntington Woods, Beverly Hills, parts of Royal Oak.

That area is just overall much more urban for shopping, nightlife etc. You are close to Royal Oak, Ferndale, Detroit, downtown Birmingham and Woowdward. Not sure about the schools out there but most of them used to be fine, anyway, except for parts of Royal Oak, and even then, it's relative.

Canton and Farmington Hills don't really have 'shopping' or 'nightlife' in any meaningful sense of the word. Yes they have a billion stores and you are going to be within 10 minutes of anything you need, always, but unless you are from Alaska no one would refer to them as having a meaningful 'shopping district.'

[detwahDJ]

Originally Posted by night life

That's a lie. Farmington Hills, MI is all the underground world of crime. Victims are easily snatched from the society all ages. I know my best friend was trafficked by the A-rab mafia (Aqil Al-Eisa #8120). What should i do? What can the justice department do when everyone is paid off. So i would not move to Farmington Hills, MI.

Say what....? Your post is intriguing but I don't get it.

[keithwand]

Canton- Wayne County
FH- Oakland County
Nuf said.

[jonnynonos]

Originally Posted by keithwand

Canton- Wayne County
FH- Oakland County
Nuf said.

How so? Which county is preferable?

[TwistedxKiss]

Probably Oakland, but there's nothing wrong with the nicer neighborhoods in Wayne County (ie Canton.) Wayne County includes a lot of poorer cities which are not as nice, but as long as you're not living in one of them I don't see why that matters.

I am sure the OP has already moved, but for anyone else who may happen across this thread in the future I agree that Canton and Farmington Hills are quite similar... I grew up in Canton and am starting my family in Farmington Hills. I think the main points of difference are the schools-- both good but Canton's high schools are GIGANTIC and that is a drawback for some, and maybe the crime. Summertime in Canton is getting ugly, relative to how it was 10 or even 5 years ago. I don't really like it there anymore... much more thuggish behavior and home invasions, but not so much that this highly sheltered gal wouldn't still consider living there if we found the right house-- just more than it used to be, and the difference is more jarring to me than it should be probably just because I grew up there and remember a time where it was much safer. We just prefer Farmington Hills. I think the area is more attractive. Canton is very nice, though, and in terms of what the community has to offer pretty much identical to Farmington Hills... I think Canton may actually have more community amenities than Farmington.