After Bloomfield Hills/Twp, what's the best affluent burb? (Dearborn: real estate market, apartments)

[uchi90]

And what differentiates them?

- Birmingham
- Northville
- Franklin
- Rochester
- Clarkston
- Orchard Lake area?
- Lake Orion/Metamora?

Families I work with call each home, but we have no idea how to decide. Thank you.

[mgkeith]

It all depends on what YOU enjoy and value most in your environment. Do you want to live near a lake? Quaint shopping areas? Do you want a big, new, expensive house on a teensy lot at the expense of some of the above amenities? Is rural living your cup of tea? Top-rated schools--will you fret and obsess if you don't have them--on paper? Think about it.

Come visit each of these communities. Read about them (use Google). There is no substitute for getting your own direct impression.

[Retroit]

Yeah, "best" is so subjective. Personally I'd pick Grosse Pointe just because I'm an east-sider and I rarely, if ever, go to the places mentioned - they are practically in another state.

[reppin_the_847]

Probably the first three areas mentioned:

- Birmingham
- Northville
- Franklin

[animatedmartian]

Originally Posted by uchi90

And what differentiates them?

- Birmingham
- Northville
- Franklin
- Rochester
- Clarkston
- Orchard Lake area?
- Lake Orion/Metamora?

Families I work with call each home, but we have no idea how to decide. Thank you.

Birmingham is most developed and has many midrise condos and apartments in its downtown. The rest are pretty much all the same; McMansions and narrow roads.

[uchi90]

Originally Posted by mgkeith

It all depends on what YOU enjoy and value most in your environment. Do you want to live near a lake? Quaint shopping areas? Do you want a big, new, expensive house on a teensy lot at the expense of some of the above amenities? Is rural living your cup of tea? Top-rated schools--will you fret and obsess if you don't have them--on paper? Think about it.

Come visit each of these communities. Read about them (use Google). There is no substitute for getting your own direct impression.

Hot real estate market is probably a top factor. Strongest schools tend to be the most robust real estate markets, highest SES, etc., so yes, that is important. But the kids will all be in private schools.

We do have our own impressions of them and can't seem to notice much difference to be honest. Are families cross-shopping a few of these towns and buy merely based on the house they like?

[animatedmartian]

That or general proximity to where they work. Southfield, Troy, Novi, and Auburn Hills all have sizable companies with plenty of white collar jobs which is partly why the residential real estate between and near these cities tend to be pretty hot (in addition to other desirable factors). Other affluent areas like the Grosse Pointes, Grosse Ile, parts of Dearborn, etc. can have similar neighborhoods to those in the Oakland County communities, but aren't really in proximity to any major business areas and subsequently are decent to live in but don't really have heated real estate markets.

[UKWildcat1981]

Birmingham is pretty nice like a more affordable version of Bloomfield Hills.

[mgkeith]

No one else could ever possibly tell me where I should live; same for my husband. We had to tease out our own priorities and then find a neighborhood and house that met them. We worked as a team. That is how we approached our home searches. After that, the house and neighborhood just had to have the right "feel," one that would be nice to come home to. No substitute for that feeling!
Best wishes to you in your search.

[MS313]

Besides what you mentioned, the Pointes and northern Oakland county are where all the new mansions are now.