Which Detroit suburbs are in the BEST shape? (Sterling Heights, Dearborn: sales, real estate)

[Dexterguy]

I think that there will ALWAYS be a market for the Grosse Pointe's and that they will never decline, mainly just the fact that they border Lake St. Clair and there is NO replacing that! Not anywhere.

Yes, home prices have gone down, but the whole metro area has, Grosse Pointers will not see their neighborhoods turn into what has happend on the other side of Alter and Mack roads.

[consideringamove]

Originally Posted by usroute10

You might want to try Troy in Oakland County. It is an affluent community. It has TONS of Michigan offices of out-of-state, non-auto-related Fortune 500 companies that are scared to locate in the big, bad city of Detroit. It lack charms and is typical suburban sprawl, however, but the schools are great, and you are pretty near to Downtown Rochester and Birmingham if you want some culture.

I think Troy may be a good option as well but I have no clue how long the commute would be. I live in northern Oakland Co, know that our school district was well respected & I still love it here but it'll be more you'd be willing to drive.

[Bluefly]

I third (or fourth?) the Troy area. The whole Birmingham / Troy / West Bloomfield / Bloomfield area is going to stay strong. Bloomfield Hills' population is aging and its housing is too expensive for young families, so schools are closing, so perhaps lean toward Birmingham / Troy / West Bloomfield.

I mean - people act like the apocalypse is happening there, but try getting a table at a restaurant in Somerset Collections on a Friday night.

Plus - big solar panel business established there now, so strong effort already underway for diversification in the right direction.

[Dexterguy]

Originally Posted by Bluefly

Bloomfield Hills' population is aging and its housing is too expensive for young families, so schools are closing, so perhaps lean toward Birmingham / Troy / West Bloomfield.

Eventually a younger generation of people will be buying in Bloomfield Hills though, the public schools right know are known as the best in the state, I believe they are right up there with Grosse Pointe Public Schools. Or has that changed now??

[Dexterguy]

Ranking of High Schools in Michigan

Here's a Michigan school rank chart for 2002, it's kind of old, but it still has the same basic info.

Some of the schools on the top of the list actually suprised me!

[hemmie]

Yes, here's Newsweek's 2007 national list of top 1300 high schools (http://www.newsweek.com/highschools/?q=2008/state/601/ - broken link); it's a little confusing; this is the alphabetical listing by state, so Michigan's high schools are on this page and the next, and I can't figure out the order within the state. But you get the point.

For me personally, a huge draw is the International Academy. Whether or not our own children will be able to get in or even have the interest is an unknown, but it says something about the community that is very appealing to me (internationally-minded, open, forward-thinking). What is UNappealing to me is that the Grosse Pointe school district voted DOWN the International Baccalaureate program. I know it's a more textured debate, but still. Says something to me.

[Bluefly]

Wasn't the International Academy ranked like 4th in the nation last year or something like that?

Such an unassuming building. Who'd a'thunk it? Bloomfield also boasts Cranbrook Academy, which is private but offers a little of that New England boarding school culture and one of the top ranked masters in fine arts programs in the country.

But - yes - Bloomfield public schools are still considered amongst the best in the Midwest. They are just scaling back. I know some private schools, too, are having much smaller incoming classes and losing students because parents can't afford it anymore.

[hemmie]

Originally Posted by Bluefly

Wasn't the International Academy ranked like 4th in the nation last year or something like that?

I've seen it ranked as #6 in the country and as #12. (I think one was U.S. News and the other Newsweek).

Yes, I'm sure people are having trouble affording Cranbrook at $20k a year! Them's LA prices. Well... almost.

[ChoochMI]

While I've never made to commute routinely, 1 hour seems too long from Plymouth to Detroit. But then again it depends on the parking situation downtown and how far your workplace is off the freeway.

While they are similar distances from downtown Detroit, I can tell you that the commute down 75 from Troy is going to be worse than 96 from Plymouth.

I lived downtown and worked in Troy so I was reverse commuting. While it was always bad north of 696 regardless of which direction you're going, it was always backed up in the opposite direction. Coming home was a nightmare until I got past 696. (But keep in mind that there was construction going on so there was a lane shutdown, but that's pretty typical)

[Twehttam]

Grosse Pointe Farms financial info:
In sound financial shape