Macomb? (Detroit, Warren, Sterling Heights: low crime, new house, employment)

[APx2MI]

I apologize if this has already been asked and answered but there are so many posts about the Detroit area that it's hard to comb through.

I'm getting a sense of the towns outside the city that are best but I haven't heard much about Macomb. It appears to have pretty low crime and decent schools. Can anyone give me some more information about the town? We are looking for the typical things: low crime, good schools, family friendly neighborhoods, access to shopping, etc.

Thanks.

[animatedmartian]

Macomb Township? It's mostly a new construction suburb (the fastest growing city in Michigan in fact). Many parts of the area is farmland that's on track to eventually be developed over with subdivisions. A few of the schools there were only recently built within the last several years or so. I've heard the school district (Chippewa Valley) is pretty good.

Most of the shopping is along Hall Road on the southern edge of the township on Hall Road. That can be several miles from the newest subdivision on roads that haven't been quite upgraded to accommodate the traffic. So at worst, the negative of Macomb is the traffic congestion.

[adams_aj]

Got a brother who lives in Macomb Township. Nice, safe. Low crime. White- to Blue-collar neighborhoods.

The main East-West road (Hall Rd), though MANY lanes, has a lot of stoplights, so traffic can be pretty heavy, and even on the side roads.

[DTWflyer]

Macomb as in Macomb Township? Or Macomb County in general.

(Disclaimer, I will make some generalities that always will have exceptions to the averages)

Macomb County is and is viewed as a more working-class area than Oakland County to the west.
Much of this is driven by historical development patterns and also due to the strong industrial corridors along Mound Rd, Van Dyke (M-53), Grosbeck (M-97), and Gration (M-3) between 8 Mile (M-102) and M-59/Hall Road.

---
The inner-ring suburbs of Warren, Roseville, Eastpointe are primarily 1950s era post-WWII bungalows and ranches on smaller lots. The southern part of these areas tend to get spill-over problems from the City of Detroit, have a declining tax base, and a declining and/or poor school system. Warren, north of I-696 tends to still be holding-up.

---
The 2nd-ring cities of Sterling Heights and Clinton Township are generally 1970s-1980s suburbia. Generally a mix-match of colonials, split-levels, ranch style homes on larger sized lots. There are some unique areas of both cities that are near the Clinton River that even have a semi-rural feel. School districts are good, albiet not necessarily top-10 in the state, but still will provide an excellent education for your children (with proper parential involvement).

---
The 3rd-ring cites are the more recent sprawling areas. Shelby Township, Macomb Township, and Utica.
Utica was an old original settlement dating back to the 1800s, that became its own community in the early 1900s. It has since been comsumed by the sprawl, but they have some of the oldest housing stock in the county near downtown Utica.

Shelby Township has some pockets of 1970s era houses known as "old Shelby" and there is a lot of areas of the more recent 1990s era sprawl. Shelby Township is essentially now built-out.

Macomb Township is the current hot-spot, as said fastest growing population due to all of the new housing developments. Sprawl was on full speed here in the early 2000s then took a break during the downturn, but now is back on full throttle again.

---
Another area are the suburbs that have strong identitfication with Lake St. Clare. This includes St. Clare Shores, Harrison Township, and Chesterfield Township. St. Clare Shores is more of an inner-ring style suburb with smaller lots, but has a commerical strip near the lakefront. Property values here have been holding their own more versus similar housing stock in Roseville and Warren primarily due to proximity to the lake. Harrison Township has a more rural feel as much is sandwiched on a piece of land that is wedged between the Selfridge Air Base, Metro Beach and Lake St. Clare. Larger lots, limited commerical development.

---

Overall, the pro's to living in Macomb County are that is is perceived to have less tax burden and is also viewed to be more affordable for comparable housing stock than in Oakland County. You can find the same type of houses in either county, but on average it will be noticably less in Macomb County. Plus, new houses and a excellent school system.

The cons - well as said traffic. M-59/Hall Road is a mess of commerical development and big-boxes, chain restaurants, and all else. The problem is that everything is concentrated along this corridor and the roads north for there were never widened for development. The county has no money to make improvements, so they are stuck with inferior 2 lane roads, and in the far northern reaches of the county they have many bridges/roads over creeks that have been closed due to deterioration.

The other thing is the sprawl - Macomb Township really has no sense of place. It is just a collection of old farmland/orchards that have been turned into disconnected housing developments. No cute/fake/gentified downtown areas, no major sources of employment in the area; its a bedroom community with most commuting to the industrial corridors elsewhere in the county (many GM Tech Center employees, and Chrysler CTC employees live in the area). It is also a hike to downtown Detroit for the entertainment and sporting event (if that is a priority to attend)