[harmonium_26]

I will be relocating from NY state to Michigan, working in Riverview. I was looking at Canton, Plymouth, Northville, Novi area. I am married with no kids but will have children within the next 2 years. Looking for a nice, safe place to raise a family but also close to shopping. How is the commute to Riverview on I-275? Thanks for your help.

[Coldjensens]

Why do you want to live so far away? There are lots of great communities right next to and including Riverview.

Grosse Ile one of Michigan's best family communities is just a few minutes from Riverview and if you can afford Northville you can afford Grosse Ile. You really cannot beat Grosse ile if you are looking for safe, pretty, quiet, clean, friendly and execellent schools. If you are a party animal or have phobias of water or animals perhaps you would not like it. Otherwise, it probably is your best choice (and I grew up just outside of Northville and love the place, but like Grosse Ile even better). It is not cheap, but it is no more costly than Northville.


There are a lot of other good communites downriver that are minutes away. Riverview itself is pretty nice. Wyandotte is a fun little city with a lot going on (schools not so good). Neighboring Trenton is a cute little town with a nice park and some very good but smaller housing stock.

For bland suburbia living Woodhaven and Southgate are as nice as anywhere and also immeidately adjoining Riverview. All three have good schools, plenty of shopping, nice housing available both in neighborhoods and in subdivisions. Flat Rock is not bad, it is a little smaller and more rural than the others.

Life is better when your commute is short.

Of the places you listed my opinion is that Northville is the nicest but that commute would be nuts (1 hour on nice days more on the less nice days and we have lots of weather). Plymouth is next best community and the commute is a little better (45 minutes maybe half an hour when everything goes perfectly). Novi and Canton are soulless stretches of suburbia with no downtown, no real community pretty much just malls or stip malls and subdivisions and I do not care to live in either, so they are not for me. However if you like soulless stretches of endless suburbia, they are both very nice examples of such. Both have excellent schools (In Canton you have to be sure that you are in Plymouth Canton school district) Novi tops Canton for schools. Novi is a shoppers paradise. If you like clothing stores and traffic and stuff marts, it is Mecca. However Novi is an absurd commute to Riverview as well. of the three Canton is the closest. However I think that you will regret it if you choose any of the four. That is a lengthy commute and the 275 is a nice freeway, but frequently fraught with problems (lots of accidents, lots of weather and construction issues). You will hardly be on the 275 long at all before you begin the long slow trek across Sibley stopping at lots of lights and signs. You can take the 94 and then go down telegraph if you are impatient like me. IT is not faster, but as least you keep moving. You can also cross over on Eureka if you like stopping even more frequently. That is usually the slowest of the three routes.

[culturedmom]

We just moved to Canton from Sarasota, FL. We really like it. I'm a SoFL gal so I can't do small town, but Canton is large enough with lots of shopping and thigns to do, but still has that small town feel (for me anyway). We have 2 kids and the schools I ahve found to be really great.

Good Luck.