Empty nesters relocating to Detroit (St. Clair Shores, Novi: 2015, movers, condos)

[Missy1083]

Greetings,
We are desperately looking for a community to relocate to in 2015. My husband will be working in downtown. He is anxious to keep the commute under 30 min. We like to golf and prefer a private club. We love the water and look forward to getting a boat. Not having children at home to help meet people we need an area that is active and has organizations. Any and all info will be helpful
Thanks, Missy

[MS313]

For more pricy options, the Grosse Pointe's are good for what your looking for. Other than that you have the riverfront which has some nice places as well as downtown Detroit itself. You could also look into St. Clair Shores as well. These are all places near the water with a 30< commute to downtown.

[animatedmartian]

Definitely check out the Grosse Pointe area. The nearest major golf clubs are going to be in this area.

If you don't mind high rise living, there's a good little area along Detroit's waterfront. The Detroit Yacht Club is directly across the river on Belle Isle.

Gold Coast | The Villages of Detroit

[DTWflyer]

Grosse Pointe
St. Clair Shores
Grosse Ile

[Republic of Michigan]

The Bloomfield and West Bloomfield areas have lakes and a lot of golf courses.

[pododub]

Originally Posted by Missy1083

Greetings,
We are desperately looking for a community to relocate to in 2015. My husband will be working in downtown. He is anxious to keep the commute under 30 min. We like to golf and prefer a private club. We love the water and look forward to getting a boat. Not having children at home to help meet people we need an area that is active and has organizations. Any and all info will be helpful
Thanks, Missy

Where are you relocating from? What are you looking for? There is a ton of variety here, without that info it is like throwing darts at a dartboard in the dark.

[zthatzmanz28]

Originally Posted by Republic of Michigan

The Bloomfield and West Bloomfield areas have lakes and a lot of golf courses.

But a bit longer commute. To downtown it can be upwards of 1 hour if going into the downtown area of Woodward and Jefferson.

[Retroit]

Originally Posted by pododub

Where are you relocating from? What are you looking for? There is a ton of variety here, without that info it is like throwing darts at a dartboard in the dark.

You mean you can't read their mind like the rest of us?

[Coldjensens]

You may want to look at Grosse Ile. There are two private golf clubs (one is a Donald Ross course). There is one more owned by the township, so it is technically public, but I would be amazed if there are ten members from off the islands.

Three private boat/yacht clubs. There is a private indoor tennis club, a private/public equestrian center. A small airport takes up one end of one island and they have some aviation related clubs there. Some groups have car clubs.

My rough estimate is the township is about 40% retired people and 40% families.

Quite a few active groups to join. 5 churches, Kiwanis, rotary, KoC, Herb club, garden club, a group that listens to music, island beautification, vfw, historical association, . . . . I am missing a handful. They are working on building a rowing club.

They have 20+ miles of bike trails and 600 + acres of greenspaces (mostly woods with trails).

Being a cluster of islands, many homes and condos have water access (docks) and water views.

It is usually identified as the safest place in Michigan. Police, fire, schools are excellent.

There is not much shopping in the township (a little, but no chains/big box stores except Kroger and Sav on), However there is all the usual big box junk about ten miles away. Not much nightlife on the island. You have to go to Wyandotte or up to Detroit for most of that.

It takes me 37 minutes to get to downtown Detroit.

Houses range from mongo pricy (like tens of millions) to condos under $100,000 and everyhting in between. Mostly you are looking at $400,000s - $600,000 waterfront, $250,000 to $350,000 inland (many are on canals and have small boat access to the water).

It is very open, treey, lots of wild animals (deer, eagles, foxes, swans, geese, racoons, squirrels, etc.). Most of the waterfront properties are one house per acre. There are a few subdivisions on the interior of the larger islands.

There are all kinds of people, but the general vibe is one of down to earth comfortable living. The population is mostly upper middle class and some extremely wealthy families (but you cannot identify most of them form anyone else.) A lot of retired people on fixed incomes. The ostentatious residents are not common and not generally well received (They belong in Birmingham or Novi, thank you).

You other option would probably be grosse pointes. The Grosse Pointe cities are just north of Detroit very close. Former blueblood wealth, not just mostly upper middle with a few old money families remaining. A bit more showy than Grosee Ile and certianly more urban/suburban. The Pointes are super nice, each city has a park or marina just for residents. Housing is a mix but mostly very nice. There is some local shopping, otherwise you go into the city or out to the suburbs for shopping. Literally across the street from the edges of the cities it can be a bit rough. However the GPPD does an excellent job and the pointes are very safe and pleasant. Good schools too. there is at least one golf club, maybe a couple, plus you are close enough to join Detroit which is a nice course I am told. If you want to make friends, join the Detroit Athletic Club in Detroit. All the movers and shakers are members.

[Missy1083]

I completely forgot I posted on this forum. Sorry. We are relocating from northern Colorado. My husband would like a short commute to downtown. I would like a life. Part time work, substitute teaching, volunteering, golfing, etc. Price range is anything we love from 400,000 to 999,999. The less we spend the bigger the boat How insane would it be to live downtown on the riverfront with two small dogs to take outside after a night out? We have a fairly active social life with friends here.