[uofm2]

I am looking for a home in the St. Clair Shores area. Due to the proximity to the water and the accessibility to the freeways. The thing is though, I know very little about the neighborhoods other than driving through the area (main roads). Could someone shed some light on what areas are better than others, I do know SCS is a bigger city and there is a lot of different areas. As far as, schools and just an overall safe area. I know house prices are down after looking around the area so I don't think I would like to spend more than $100,000. I hope this is enough information to help you guys guide me along. Any input is appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[belleislerunner]

This writeup might help you out (look at the school ranking section). Generally the closer you are to Jefferson, the better the area. On the north end - Memorial Park is nice - on the south end - anything near Lakefront Park and the proximity to GP.

St. Clair Shores, MI - Best Places to Retire - US News (http://money.usnews.com/money/retirement/best-places-to-retire/michigan/st._clair_shores - broken link)

[kooks35]

I haven't done a ton of research on the entire city, but I live on the north end near Memorial Park and its pretty nice.

[uofm2]

Thanks for the responses. Any other areas on focus on besides the Memorial Park area? I have also heard that SCS is gradually getting worse and worse. I know about ten years ago it was a great place to be. Is there any truth to that?

[us66]

Nothing in the city is genuinely bad. There's some crime on Harper further south. Some neighborhoods are integrating racially, but not nearly as quickly as Eastpointe or Harper Woods. The housing stock is getting old and a bit less meticulously maintained. I'd recommend buying in a brick area. Those streets were nicer back in the day and tend to hold up better as the area ages. Some of the streets south of 9 and west of Harper are aging a little less well, too. Try to stay away from streets immediately off of the interstate; some of those aren't as nice, either.

SCS is a fine place, on the whole. The water guarantees a level of investment and with all that overvalued waterfront property gets some tax revenue, something nearby cities with similar housing stock don't have. $100K will get you pretty far in this housing market unless you want a water view or something big.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by us66

I'd recommend buying in a brick area.

Can you point to some general known brick areas of SCS?

[Marty711]

^ In general, the majority of SCS is brick which is one of the reasons I think its held up better than its neighbors over the years. Traditionally, the north end of the city offers more brick but there's plenty of brick neighborhoods off of Jefferson and Mack in the south end too - some of the city's best houses are in the south end. But for the most part, the closer you are to the lake, the better the neighborhood. us66's guide is pretty much spot on. There's a few areas of SCS that have struggled over the past decade but nothing major. They are still better than what you find in Roseville and Eastpointe.

[Tiger Beer]

How is Grosse Pointe Woods?

I was viewing on google maps and zillow...and surprised to find many houses that are quite similar to SCS...(i.e. not mini-mansions or full-on mansions like I expected with Grosse Pointe in the name).

What is the general assessment of Grosse Pointe Woods? SImilar to SCS? Better?

[Marty711]

Pretty much all of the Pointes (maybe not GPS) have neighborhoods that don't fit the GP stereotype. GPW has better schools and is considered more prestigious than SCS. Arguably, the services are better too. I don't think the crime rates are much different. But you're right, there's areas where there's no difference between it and SCS or even Harper Woods. In fact, there's several streets that go from SCS to GPW and HW to GPW and you'd never even realize that you crossed the border. The area and houses look the same in every way. I think most people would prefer GPW just for the prestige factor as thats important to many.