[peter_midnight]

I'm interviewing for a job in Novi, MI. It would be a 45% increase over my current salary. I was entertaining the idea of taking a counteroffer, but after interviewing today, if offered, I think I'll likely take the job.

I currently pay $585/mo for 750 sq ft in Lexington living in a 1 bd/1ba by myself.
I'm actually open to the idea of roommates since I felt it would have helped me when I first moved to Lexington, but what would I be paying to commute 10 min from Novi? My budget is flexible depending on the options, but I'd like to keep it close to what I was paying before w/out minimizing as much as possible.
Mind you I have a lot of stuff, so roommates may not be an option.

Also, I'm originally from California (Los Angeles). How cold are we talking here when it comes to weather in this part of MI? I lived in northern Japan (not Hokkaido, but northern Honshu) for 2 years so I'm used to cold, but I never had to drive a car in it.

Finally, one of the main reasons I'll likely take the job is because Lexington was terrible for my social life. Things have picked up lately, but it's still hard to meet people here (this has not been a problem for me in other places I've lived in including San Francisco & Nashville). Is there much going on for single young professionals?

[Bondurant]

Michigan experiences real winter. Wind, snow, ice. You'll learn how to drive in the snow. There's no way to avoid it. I've been to Lexington, KY. Had family from the Detroit area that moved there. They were hoping I'd join them but, alas, Lexington was not the place for me. I'm not sure but I'd guess the cost of living in Novi would be an increase over KY. There's likely a lot more to do.

I'd highly recommend posting in the Detroit forum. You'll likely get a lot more feedback there. A mod may even move it there for you.

[jaynarie]

I've never looked up apartments in Novi, but Royal Oak, Ferndale, Farmington/Hills, etc... will run about $800-1000 for a one bedroom. The $800 range will be dated and lacking amenities. If you want new with lots of amenities, it will be more like $1200. I'd imagine Novi is about the same price range, or slightly higher.
Novi is pretty much geared towards families with not much besides a shopping mall and big box stores. Royal Oak, Ferndale, and other towns heading east will be more diverse (families, singles, more to do besides shop at chain stores).

[belleislerunner]

Congrats on the job - good to take it, even if just a stepping stone, to boost your earnings potential going forward.

Choose Royal Oak, Ferndale, Midtown Detroit for apartments for social scene. Novi is geared towards families and there's not much there aside from a mall and strip malls/subdivisions. Most of the action is along the Woodward Corridor (downtown/midtown/Ferndale/Royal Oak/Birmingham). You'll also have largely reverse commutes so that will be good.

There are lots of websites/events geared towards young professionals - here's one of the better ones.
After5 Detroit

Joining a sports league (e.g. softball, kickball, volleyball) is another good way to widen your social net as they can be as competitive as you want and then people go out after.

Congrats on the new gig!

[North 42]

January high and low in Detroit is 32/19

January high and low for Lexington is 41/25

[peter_midnight]

Originally Posted by jaynarie

I've never looked up apartments in Novi, but Royal Oak, Ferndale, Farmington/Hills, etc... will run about $800-1000 for a one bedroom. The $800 range will be dated and lacking amenities. If you want new with lots of amenities, it will be more like $1200. I'd imagine Novi is about the same price range, or slightly higher.
Novi is pretty much geared towards families with not much besides a shopping mall and big box stores. Royal Oak, Ferndale, and other towns heading east will be more diverse (families, singles, more to do besides shop at chain stores).

Originally Posted by belleislerunner

Congrats on the job - good to take it, even if just a stepping stone, to boost your earnings potential going forward.

Choose Royal Oak, Ferndale, Midtown Detroit for apartments for social scene. Novi is geared towards families and there's not much there aside from a mall and strip malls/subdivisions. Most of the action is along the Woodward Corridor (downtown/midtown/Ferndale/Royal Oak/Birmingham). You'll also have largely reverse commutes so that will be good.

There are lots of websites/events geared towards young professionals - here's one of the better ones.
After5 Detroit

Joining a sports league (e.g. softball, kickball, volleyball) is another good way to widen your social net as they can be as competitive as you want and then people go out after.

Congrats on the new gig!

Thank you both for the advice and the congrats.
I'm willing to sacrifice social scene for commute. Seriously, I never want to commute more than 15 minutes ever again. LA wore me out and I just don't like the time waste.

Originally Posted by North 42

January high and low in Detroit is 32/19

January high and low for Lexington is 41/25

You know the funny part about this is that I have vendors in Novi and every time I called them last winter they always talked about it being a beautiful day. In Lexington, it was always gloomy and rainy.

[Arthur Digby Sellers]

Plenty of apartments in and around Novi that will be safe and close to any number of amenities.

You can always Uber it to the nighttime hotspots on the weekend.

[Coldjensens]

For a short commute and more affordable housing get just a little bit outside of Novi (Wixom, New Hudson, Lyon township, Farmington Hills, Westland, Livonia, Canton).

For living in a fun place where you will walk to bars and restaurants, Downtown, Mid-town Royal Oak, Ann Arbor Ferndale) You will have a bigger commute and higher prices in those places.

Places like Livonia and westland are dull suburbia and not that nice, but not awful - those are the cheapest places you will find.

Want to get out of the rat race, you could go out as far as Brighton, Brighton township, Pinkney or Hell (actually there are few rentals in Hell, if any, I just threw it in there for fun).

The big issue with inter is it gets light at about 9:30 a.m. and it is dark by 5 ish p.m. In other words, you do not see daylight for several weeks. Days get gradually shorter then gradually longer. In the summer if can be light from around 6 am to about 9:30 p.m.

As far as cold goes, it varies. Not sure why it matters. Winter is cold, you need a coat, gloves and a hat. Regardless of whether it is 34 or -10 degrees. Cold will not usually keep you inside, just wear a coat, hat, and gloves and you will be fine, wind mixed with cold will keep you inside. That is miserable. The length of cold varies. Some years we are no coats into December, some years we are on getting snow by the end of October. Some years cold lasts through the end of April, some years it is gone by mid February. Usually it is cold and starting to snow by mid to late December. November is a mix of decent and miserable days (lots of icy rain). October is usually awesome, light jacket weather. January if usually super cold, but frequently quite a few clear days. February usually the same as January except one week near the end it will warm up and then get cold again the next week. March varies. You can have -10 or + 78, sometimes within the same week, sometimes it just stays cold or warm, you just never know what will happen. April is usually cooler at first and gradually warms up into the 60s near the end of the month. April weather is called mud. June too sometimes. Usual is probably not even a majority of the time, just a plurality. In other words, from October to April, it is anyone's guess, both generally and on a day to day basis.

Single young professionals:
Downtown. All week. Quicken loans and other Dan Gilbert companies hire single young professionals by the bus load.
Midtown - this is kind of the new in place for young professionals, particularly the very young (20s).
Royal Oak - long the young professional hang out. Especially for the get drunk and throw up crowd.
Ferndale and Hamtramac - smaller less lively than Royal oak but simlar.
Birmingham - hang out for the newly rich who want to be seen with their fancy new stuff (all ages).
Wyandotte - downriver's hang out. Not big, but there is some going on most of the time. You will find a less sophisticated crowd here many times.
Novi - chains chains and chains. This is your typical place to hang out at malls, chain bars and restaurants and theaters.
Ann Arbor - extremely liberal college town. Pretty typical of a small city built around a college.

Some find the singles nightlife here paltry, but it may be pretty exciting compared to what you are used to. Just depends on what you are used to. The key is to join the right groups/clubs. One great way to get to know Detroit is to come ride in slow rolls on Monday nights.

[craig11152]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

The big issue with inter is it gets light at about 9:30 a.m. and it is dark by 5 ish p.m. In other words, you do not see daylight for several weeks. Days get gradually shorter then gradually longer. In the summer if can be light from around 6 am to about 9:30 p.m.

The difference between Lexington and Detroit is pretty minimal. It actually gets light (civil twlight) around 7:30 AM at the latest in early January and it gets dark around 5:45 at the earliest in early January.

[YAZ]

Originally Posted by peter_midnight

I'm interviewing for a job in Novi, MI. It would be a 45% increase over my current salary. I was entertaining the idea of taking a counteroffer, but after interviewing today, if offered, I think I'll likely take the job.

I currently pay $585/mo for 750 sq ft in Lexington living in a 1 bd/1ba by myself.
I'm actually open to the idea of roommates since I felt it would have helped me when I first moved to Lexington, but what would I be paying to commute 10 min from Novi? My budget is flexible depending on the options, but I'd like to keep it close to what I was paying before w/out minimizing as much as possible.
Mind you I have a lot of stuff, so roommates may not be an option.

Also, I'm originally from California (Los Angeles). How cold are we talking here when it comes to weather in this part of MI? I lived in northern Japan (not Hokkaido, but northern Honshu) for 2 years so I'm used to cold, but I never had to drive a car in it.

Finally, one of the main reasons I'll likely take the job is because Lexington was terrible for my social life. Things have picked up lately, but it's still hard to meet people here (this has not been a problem for me in other places I've lived in including San Francisco & Nashville). Is there much going on for single young professionals?

What are the major cross streets at your new job? I might have some insight about where to live and fun stuff.


I left the area in 2004 and can tell ya that rush hour can be a pain. Winter driving does take some getting used to but in general, MDOT does a great job keeping the roads clear.


I also spent some time in Japan, and lived in central Kentucky as well. Tokyo's climate is very similar to Atlanta's (not Atlanta, Michigan...elk country), and northern Honshu might be comparable to milder Detroit winters. Novi is about 100 miles southeast of big snow, but they do get their fair share. My first car was a rear wheel drive pickup truck, and I generally didn't have any issues. A front wheel drive car would be perfect.


You might get some disagreement here, but Michigan folks tend to be somewhat insular. It can be "clicky", almost in a Yankee way. What I'm sayin' is....Lexington has a Midwestern vibe to it...similar to SE Michigan. But...there's a LOT more people and a LOT more things to do in the Novi area.