Trying to figure out Detroit suburbs... (Dearborn, Canton: house, neighborhood, theater)

[Coldjensens]

Livonia is super close to the airport. About as close as you can get and live in a decent place. (less so Downtown Detroit).

Huron township is also super close to the airport and they have very good schools. It is rural. No town at all. Still nice and good schools. Plus there is a metropark (Willow) right there.

[brodie734]

Brownstown sounds like a good bet to me, Grosse Ille as well. If you end up at the airport as opposed to downtown, you might want to look into Washtenaw County (Saline).

[HPY1]

Thank you for all the replies. I am going to do a little research on Grosse Ile, New Boston & Flat Rock/Woodheaven.

I think those communities sound like they fit our style more so than the "urban-esque" suburbs.

[skatingrocker17]

I've from the Toledo area and moved to the Detroit area after getting my bachelors and finding a job in Southfield. I've lived in Michigan since May of 2015 in the cities of Canton (charter township) and Southfield. I had an apartment in Canton for 1 year before moving to Southfield this May. I had never been to Canton, Michigan before actually going there and signing a lease for an apartment but I actually chose it based on it's close proximity to 275 making it just an hour a 5 minute drive to my parents house in Ohio. It took my about 35 minutes to the Ohio border (from already being on I-275 at Michigan Ave.).

Living in the western suburbs as mentioned above will get you to Ohio quickly. Or the downriver communities would be an option also.

I would definitely recommend Canton. It's clean and has a TON of options. Ford Road can get pretty congested but it's a safe community to live in. I never had any problems. Plymouth is also very nice too and they have a great downtown area. The same can be said for Northville but it's a little farther north than Canton and Plymouth but is also easily accessible to I-275/I-96.

I just wanted to add some input, I'm not an expert on all the suburbs and I haven't visited them all either. Some people may say this place or that place is crap for whatever reason but I really don't think that any of them are too bad. There are better places than others and that's true everywhere.

[Coldjensens]

If you compare canton to suburbs in most other metros, it is awesome. Detroit has some unusually great suburbs though. Canton offers great subdivision living with a scattering of chain restaurants and big box stores. It is also very near Plymouth and Northville and not far form Ann arbor, all of which are awesome.

[Jimmy252]

I would look at the communities along US23 in Monroe and Washtenaw Counties. As said before, Saline. Also Milan, Dundee. Small towns, community oriented, close to the airport and I-94, generally safe. Also easy access into Ohio. Dundee is a personal favorite for me. Although I have never lived in the areas I mentioned so I don't have info for day-to-day stuff, but I think they are worth looking into.

[Ummagumma]

Originally Posted by Jimmy252

I would look at the communities along US23 in Monroe and Washtenaw Counties. As said before, Saline. Also Milan, Dundee. Small towns, community oriented, close to the airport and I-94, generally safe. Also easy access into Ohio. Dundee is a personal favorite for me. Although I have never lived in the areas I mentioned so I don't have info for day-to-day stuff, but I think they are worth looking into.

Agree. West Bloomfield, Rochester Hills etc. are nice but way too far from the airport. Canton may be another good fit.

[e130478]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

I am not sure why someone indicated you will work in Troy? Maybe I missed something the OP looks like it says Detroit or near DTW.

I will assume you are still looking at down river. That is my home area (Grosse Ile), so I am pretyt familiar with most of the towns.

Grosse Ile is the crown jewel of the downriver area. It is very unique and special. The rest of Downriver is more typical suburbia and small towns.

Grosse Ile is like living at summer camp year round. Yes, it is a pretty wealthy area. Most of the residents are small business owners, high level engineers, business management or lawyers/doctors. There is a mix of other people and a lot of retired people. Only a few are into showing off their wealth. Mostly that is looked down upon, although the show offy people do not seem to realize that.

If you search through CD for “Grosse” you will find a lot of threads where Grosse Ile and other downriver communities are discussed in considerable detail. Do not mix it up with Grosse Point(s), they are not similar and not really near each other.
Grosse Ile is not for everyone. It is quiet, and pleasant; not exciting, not modern, not trendy. There is very little shopping or dining in the community and the only chains are Kroger, Sav-on, a gas station and a bunch of banks and realtors. The basics are available – a hardware store, grocery (Kroger) bakery, pizza, and a few nice little restaurants scattered about. There is nothing in Grosse Ile that people from off the island would come for except maybe the Sushi place and possibly Smokies. Most of the shopping is pretty much arts and craft type stuff.
Grosse Ile is mostly slightly above the middle class with a few uber rich people thrown in. There are some low income households, most of which are retired people. I know one guy who bought a house for $12,000 during the recession, but do not expect that. Mostly you are looking at the range of $250,000 - $350,000 for inland subdivisions or neighborhoods; or $450,000 – multiple millions on the waterfront (which has been zoned 1 house per acre for a decade or two). Some of the inland homes border on canals where you can keep a small boat and access the big water. You can find cheaper places, but they are not common.
You add about 10 minutes to your drive time to places like DTW or Detroit compared to places like Wyandotte, Woodhaven, (maybe 5 minutes compared to Flat Rock which is a bit further down.
Here is what Grosse Ile is really about:
A guess of 50 or so miles of shoreline, plus canal access.
20 plus miles of bike trails.
680 or so acres of township open space (mostly just woods that are held to be preserved as woods).
Low speed limits. Tons of people and wild animals in the roads (Drive carefully).
Back Yard bonfires (that is our nightlife)
Small schools offering strong academics in the basics. Not a lot of fancy options.
Golf clubs, boat clubs, tennis club, equestrian center, and an Alpaca farm.
A small but exemplary police force, and one of the best volunteer fire departments in the country.
What we do not have:
Extensive shopping or nightlife (shopping is decent a few miles away in Woodhaven, a bit of nightlife in Wyandotte, just across the bridge).
Diversity.
A downtown. We do have one street of businesses, many are in old houses.
People who measure the length of the grass on your lawn or the number of chickens in your back yard.
Low property taxes.
Some of the other downriver areas:

Wyandotte – the only real downtown in downriver. Pretty neat. Schools not as good as other downriver communities and slightly higher crime issues. More traffic. Some neat street festivals downtown.
Trenton – Cute small town but not much in it. Schools are probably second best after Grosse Ile. Good band program. Some nice waterfront homes. Much cheaper. Reasonably clean safe small town. A great park on the water.
Woodhaven – basically suburban sprawl. Reasonably nice. Decent schools. Lots of big box/chain shopping and dining. Great freeway access.
Riverview – Not much different than Woodhaven.
Brownstown township. Odd layout scattered bits of leftover township pieces after various cities incorporated. Not much different than Woodhaven and the others. School district depends on where you are.
Flat Rock – tiny, kind of set off from everything else. A wonderful community athletic center (shared with Grosse Ile and other communities). Schools are decent. Not really a town, more of a crossroads.

Man you pump Grosse Ile like it's America's suburb or something. In my experience, it's a bunch of hillbillies with money mixed in with people who were born downriver and became moderately successful but couldn't shake the downriver connection for whatever reason. It doesn't even have a compelling downtown setting.

[ekman243]

Originally Posted by e130478

Man you pump Grosse Ile like it's America's suburb or something. In my experience, it's a bunch of hillbillies with money mixed in with people who were born downriver and became moderately successful but couldn't shake the downriver connection for whatever reason. It doesn't even have a compelling downtown setting.

I agree if you asked Metro Detroiters about Grosse Ile I'll bet you 90% has never heard of the place and have no intentions of visiting. Now the Grosse Pointes on the other hand

[brodie734]

Canton is bland suburbia with no sense of place. You can find a Canton anywhere in the country. It is as generic as generic gets. House after house after house after chain store.