[snoopygirlmi]

Plymouth Canton is good about designating class rooms and tables "nut free".

[bwl]

Thanks snoopygirlmi! That's good to know!

[MI-Roger]

I am afraid your housing budget is too tight for the areas you are looking at. Those are all great towns, but their popularity is reflected in their housing prices.

Don't despair however, sometimes the same house can be less expensive only a short distance away in a less desirable zip code. The far south-east corner of the Ann Arbor school system abuts the Ypsilanti zip code. There is an unfortunate bias against Ypsilanti but I have lived here 30+ years with no problems. The good part of this ugly bias is that the identical house is significantly cheaper than an Ann Arbor or Saline address.

This far south-east corner retains a slightly rural feel so not all the homes are cookie cutter models in subdivisions, although there are a lot of those too.

Less expensive homes, open feel, Ann Arbor (i.e. highly regarded) schools, and reduced traffic. What is not to like - except the zip code?

I sure there are similar pockets near the other towns too.

[bwl]

Thanks for the info MI-Roger!

[Coldjensens]

Why would you look anywhere but downtown Plymouth? It is a great place for families and a great place to live. Unless you are looking for a big house or an acre of land there are plenty of well kept smaller 1950s brick homes with hardwood floors and loads of charm. You can walk to all the downtown events and stores/restaurants. Plymouth schools are excellent. The shorter your commute is, the better life you will have. My brother lives there. He has a three br home that is worth about $140,000 I think. the bedrooms are very small and I think they only have one bathroom, but it is a comfortable and charming little home. They have no desire to ever leave. Plymouth is one of the best small towns to live in in the area, especially if you are looking for character and charm. Plus, it is very conveniently located near Ann Arbor, DTW, and if you like shopping malls - Novi.

[bwl]

Thanks Coldjensens! We are actually focusing our search on Plymouth right now due to the closeness to my wife's new company and the schools. In fact we're leaving tomorrow to head up there and we'll be looking at houses and schools next week.

[pokeable]

Plymouth is fantastic.

Sorely miss downtown Plymouth. Our first place (townhome within walking distance of downtown) was in Plymouth, so we always view it as coming home.

Good schools, reasonably priced, incredibly family friendly with things to do, places to eat.

Also smack dab in the middle of everything: 30 minutes to Ann Arbor and Detroit. 40 minutes to the Northern burbs

[volley-gurl]

The further out you get the better the home prices, and the taxes in Ann Arbor or very high, I would never live there for several reasons. Love Novi, Northville, Brighton. I grew up in Farmington Hills, which is close also. South Lyon is nice and a bit rural, schools are good there. I have friends in Plymouth and they love it there.