Looking for a Detroit suburb with a healthy lifestyle (organic, natural, outdoorsy)

[stclairgal]

Check out Grosse Pointe. Wonderful lakefront parks with racks for your kayaks and boat slips if you like boating, Trader Joes and Village Market for good food, very active community and GREAT schools, Best place to raise a family. 10 minutes from Eastpointe, but another world. Good luck!

[Rothwells mum]

You can look for housing that has Birmingham schools without it actually being in Birmingham. I'm not sure what sort of commute you are willing to endure but Rochester Hills also has wonderful public schools and plenty of housing between 200-300 for you to choose from.

Ferndale is a fun hip place but the public schools aren't so great so I wouldn't look there unless you are willing to invest in private school.

Many people on here boast about the Pointes but I don't have enough experience with them to really comment other than other people telling us that they have a reputation of being snobby.
I don't like the proximity to the really gritty areas of Detroit. Yes, they do have a police force that is on top of things but if any disaster were to occur I think that would be one of the places I wouldn't want to be because you would be adjacent to violent crime, etc. - I'm saying this because you have children.

We recently relocated to the Detroit metro area and did so after a great deal of research of places that would be good to raise a family. At this stage of our lives this is a great place to live.

[NOLA101]

There is nothing like Boulder in Metro Detroit. Not even remotely close.

[Prisoner24601]

Eh, don't let the uninformed scare you off the Pointes. I've lived in Grosse Pointe for five years now, lived very close to Birmingham before that, and at least in my own experience, there aren't any more snobs in the Pointes than there are in Birmingham (actually in my own anecdotal experience, there's less). Crime here isn't an issue, I've never, ever felt unsafe in my home or walking down the street. The police force is extremely responsive. My kids, and tons of other neighborhood kids walk back and forth to school every day just fine. The proximity to Detroit is a non issue when it comes to safety, and even a bonus if you're like my family and enjoy going into the city and/or work in the city.

[Forant]

For information on taxes, go to each city's website and click on their tax department, you can usually find it there. Taxes are roughly $3,000 on average in Metro Detroit. But in the Pointes or Birmingham, you can double that.

I think you might like Farmington and Farmington Hills, but it is a bit of a commute to Eastpointe. You would probably get more for your money in Macomb Township, and they have lots of young families and a new recreation center.

I would rent first. Metro Detroit is pretty diverse. You really need to come and see for yourself and live here a while before making a decision on where to buy.

[happyfeetMI]

Good luck. Just pick a decent commute. We moved here five years ago and the increase in traffic has been tremendous. My hubby's commute takes upward of an hour plus coming home from Sterling Hts to Clarkston. Traffic is pretty heavy in Metro Detroit. Lots of fast driving.

That being said - if you move here make sure and see the "up north area" - Sleeping Bear Dunes won some most beautiful vaca destination a few years back. It is absolutely gorgeous. Many lovely lakes to see in MI and hiking and kayaking and biking. Lots of great outdoor stuff but our winter is long! And cold!

We like it here - not a fan of the long winter though.

[lasonia]

I think I can help you. I grew up in Eastpointe, moved to Florida and came back to Eastpointe for 12 years. We sound like you with the family dynamics. We are outdoorsy, eat couscous, organic. blah blah. Eastpointe will not offer you this lifestyle. I was miserable. Last year we moved to Troy. LOVE IT!!!! I have trails, parks, healthy food and a decent commute to work. (grosse pointe) The beauty of my commute through Eastpointe is that it takes me only 25 minutes max because all the traffic is going the other way. Sometimes I am the only car on the road. good luck. Let me know if you have questions

[bigwilly]

I spent most of my life in Michigan and moved to Denver/Boulder area about 5 years ago, we came back and have been living in saint clair shores for the past 2 or so. All due to work. We are very outdoorsy, have kids and generally fit in better in Colorado. As a state I do love Michigan though. We have spent the past couple years trying to figure out the best places for us lo live in the area. Saint clair shores is nice but the schools are mediocre and the whole area is behind the times. Grosse pointe is very nice but other than the lake, is about as far from trails as you can get, it's almost an hour to the nearest decent park with trails. This is also not a very bike friendly place, in fact it's downright scary, zero bike lanes or paths. Another sad thing about the area is that while the lake is beautiful, there are not many parks and it gets crazy busy with boaters, so kayaking is not the most peaceful thing. I would say go as far north as your commute will let you go, you will get closer to parks and bike paths. Your housing budget should get you a nice place. I think we have settled on Ann arbor as my job is not dependent on location. Good luck, if the job is worth it you will have an easier time but it will be a big change from where you are at. There are like minded people around just not as many as you are used to out there. happy to help out with anything if you need it.

[bigwilly]

I should mention some of the things I love about this side of town. There are not many chain stores, it's mostly great little local business. I live in an area where we get by on one car. I can walk to the dentist, grocery store, bar, barber, everything is so close we rarely leave. The winter is my favorite because everyone stays inside and I will go snowshoeing down the street. My biggest problem is having to drive 45mn to 1 hour for trails but that's probably better than commuting an hour for work everyday. If I stayed on this side of town I would seriously consider grosse pointe, it's very nice and close to eastpoint. We also enjoy being able to get down to detroit in only 15 minutes, other than the parks I think downtown Detroit is way more interesting than Denver. I do miss illegal Petes and vitamin cottage and the Patagonia store though.