[Mark11201]

Which city do you think is the best to raise a family in? My wife and I are in our late 30s and have one kid on the way, and plan to have a few more. I had my eye set on Birmingham, but my wife's friend says that the downtown area can have quite a few thuggy types on the weekends. Has anyone else experienced anything like that? Other cities we're looking at are Royal Oak, Bloomfield Hills and West Bloomfield. What are some of the pros and cons of each?

[detwahDJ]

Birmingham thuggy? My, how things have changed.

[313Weather]

Originally Posted by detwahDJ

Birmingham thuggy? My, how things have changed.

"Thuggy types" is a code word for black people.

Heaven forbid black people would actually want to go "downtown" and enjoy themselves on the weekend as well.

Who in the heck judges a community by a few people who visit to have a good time?

[YotInThePot]

Are you thinking of using public schools and staying put for a considerable amlunt of time? If so, I'd go with Birmingham. The school district is excellent and depending on where in the city you move, you may be able to walk to partks, downtown, Farmer's Market, restaurants, etc.

I'm sure other might disagree, but IMO, I would skip Royal Oak. R.O. is a nice city with lots to do, but as the population changed (more singles, DINKs, less families) over the last 10 years, schools were consolidated and/or closed and I don't see it as a good place to raise a family over the next 20 years.

[Mark11201]

Originally Posted by 313Weather

"Thuggy types" is a code word for black people.

Heaven forbid black people would actually want to go "downtown" and enjoy themselves on the weekend as well.

Who in the heck judges a community by a few people who visit to have a good time?

Its not code for black people. She described them as young white and arab kids blasting music out of the cars and hanging out in groups yelling at passerbys. I haven't been to Birmingham in years so I don't know how the downtown life has changed.

[Mark11201]

Originally Posted by YotInThePot

Are you thinking of using public schools and staying put for a considerable amlunt of time? If so, I'd go with Birmingham. The school district is excellent and depending on where in the city you move, you may be able to walk to partks, downtown, Farmer's Market, restaurants, etc.

I'm sure other might disagree, but IMO, I would skip Royal Oak. R.O. is a nice city with lots to do, but as the population changed (more singles, DINKs, less families) over the last 10 years, schools were consolidated and/or closed and I don't see it as a good place to raise a family over the next 20 years.

Yes, plan on staying a while and yes to public schools. Thanks for the input.

[DaniellaG]

A few thoughts since I grew up in the area and have family/friends there now. I also lived in a few of the cities. One just because you would live in Bloomfield Hills does not mean your child would go to BH schools. For ex I had a friend who went to Birmingham schools yet lived in BH. Downtown Birmingham though I can't imagine though have not been in a few years it having thugs. It is an upscale shopping area. You may get some teens that are going through a phase but that is in almost every area these days. The homes in downtown though are going to be smaller/older. Some like that style and some like newer which you would find in West Bloomfield/Bloomfield Hills.
So much of it is going to be the place you choose. BH is considered one of the most upscale areas even in the US at one time I think it was the 4th wealthiest. It is also very close to Pontiac which is not good so lets say you got a home that was considered BH but close to Pontiac it may not be as nice. I would think the same with Birmingham as you get close to Southfield or similar. The schools though in Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills I feel are excellent and if I had kids I would want them to go to one of those districts.
I would not choose RO. Maybe as a young person single but not in a family situation if comparing it to Birmingham or BHs. Not to say it is bad but I just feel those 2 others are better. What is your price range? Will you rent or buy? At the end of the day a lot is going to be about what you like,type of home,price range. Where is your job too?

[Coldjensens]

Depends on you and your priorities.

Royal Oak is a fun place for 20-30 dinks. Not the best for kids. Very adult oriented. Schools are so so. The zoo is nice. Lots of fun bars/clubs.

Birmingham is the in place for the newly rich who want to display their wealth. Lots of trophy wives, lots of absurd car/human matches (suburbanites in expensive 4x4 that never leave pavement, people in $200,000 sports cars that never go over 80), coiffed pets, the constantly surprised look caused by face lifts is common, ridiculously large and perky breasts on middle aged women are common. It is kind of like the stereotype of Orange County Ca only with snow. It has a reputation as a snobby place but there are some really great people there not everyone fits the sterotype, in fact it is probably not even a majority, just a highly visible plurality. The downtown is pretty neat. It was partly ruined by "modernization" but it is still decent. It is a pleasant place to spend an afternoon (perhaps a whole day if you are into high end shopping). The movie theater is really neat. They have excellent schools, but lot of the stereotypical spoiled rich kid problems. Noting major. I would be happy to have my kids there, but would have to work a bit harder on morals, materialism etc. They have a wonderful stable of awesome historic homes.

Bloomfield Hills is more old money. It is a very wealthy area, but more people tend to be subtle about their wealth. Less ostentation here. Great schools. It is a place that not a lot of people seem to know well. I only know one family who live there, and they are pretty quiet (and really really wealthy). They do not talk about the place a lot. Ihave not had a lot of reason to go to B.H. other than to drive through a few times. When we were choosing a city, we only gave it a glance because everything we saw that met our criteria was super expensive at the time (i.e. $1.5 million +). It will be much cheaper now.

West Bloomfield is more of a typical suburb. It is large and has a wide mix of people/income levels. Schools are very good, but not top notch. They have some problems. You can find every kind of subdivision imaginable here. No downtown this is just suburbia, ut amongst the better examples of subrubia. They have a rather humorous dispute going on over traffic circles.

If you are not tied to that specific area Northville and Plymouth are great towns for families. If you like bland crowded subrubia, Novi is nice and a shopping mecca. Troy is also worth a look.

The Grosse Pointes are very nice too.

If you are totally flexible location wise, I personally think that Grosse Ile is, hands down, the best place for a family in Metro Detroit. It is expensive and a bit secluded (at least psychologically), but you cannot beat the amenities, security, sense of community and execellent schools. (Schools are small however and do not offer as braod a range of options as giant schools - no suba diving, or cricket, forestry, or broadcasting classes - mostly the basics of education but top notch basics (literature, writing, math, science, speech, and history). If you want college like variety of classes in high school, then Northville, Novi, or Plymouth are better options.

Remember, your priorities will change as you have more children and get older. It is hard to try to predict what you will want int he future, but you do nto want to buy and end up wishing that you could move but be unable to sell your house.

[detwahDJ]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

Depends on you and your priorities.
Birmingham is the in place for the newly rich who want to display their wealth. Lots of trophy wives, lots of absurd car/human matches (suburbanites in expensive 4x4 that never leave pavement, people in $200,000 sports cars that never go over 80)

Any prosperous seniors driving 20mph in their Lincolns?

ridiculously large and perky breasts on middle aged women are common.

Perky is good.
I heard that Elmore Leonard, though not perky, lives there.

[Cliffie]

I recommend Royal Oak. There is a lot more going on there in terms of cultural activity -- to get the family and especially the kids away from the idiot box and the joystick. It's a little brainier than the other choices in your poll, too. The kids from Royal Oak uniformly seem to go to good colleges, and unlike the ones from Bloomie or Birmie, they actually tend to finish and go on to have great careers.