[mezman]

Hi all,

My wife has a possible job opportunity in Howell that she's looking into. We're investigating options for where to live but the kicker is that we want our daughter to attend a Spanish immersion daycare/preschool. It looks like there are a couple of options for that in Ann Arbor. Additionally, I may or may not be able to bring my job with me. I work in Healthcare Administration/Finance and if I cannot bring my job with me it look like there are some options for me to consider at UM.

With all of that said it looks like the only reasonable spot between the two is Whitmore Lake. Does that sound about right to you? If so how bad would the commutes get during the winter? We grew up outside of Chicago so driving in the snow isn't an issue for us even though we live in Texas now.

Whitmore Lake looks to be a pretty small community which wouldn't bother us a ton but it looks like there isn't even a grocery store in the area based on Google maps. So I'm guessing we'd be doing most of our shopping/entertainment in Brighton/Ann Arbor, is that correct?

It looks like there is a Spanish immersion daycare in Clawson but there doesn't seem to be a great mid-point outside of Novi. And I don't know that there would be very many jobs for me to pursue in the Clawson area.

Any thoughts or ideas?

[zthatzmanz28]

Whitmore Lake, at least part of it, borders Ann Arbor. If I were commuting between Howell and Whitmore Lake I would consider somewhere along D 19 towards Pinckney. D 19 gets you into Dexter and then Zeeb Road is a quick drive to Ann Arbor's west side. North Territorial will get you top the north side of Ann Arbor and you miss all the traffic on US 23.

There is a rainbow center preschool in Oceola Township that has Spanish.

[mezman]

Originally Posted by zthatzmanz28

Whitmore Lake, at least part of it, borders Ann Arbor. If I were commuting between Howell and Whitmore Lake I would consider somewhere along D 19 towards Pinckney. D 19 gets you into Dexter and then Zeeb Road is a quick drive to Ann Arbor's west side. North Territorial will get you top the north side of Ann Arbor and you miss all the traffic on US 23.

There is a rainbow center preschool in Oceola Township that has Spanish.

Awesome! Much appreciated. It looks like their facility in Chelsea also has Spanish immersion so if I work from home that wouldn't be too bad a trip to drop off and pick up. And the one in Oceola might make Brighton available to us if I work from home as well.

Thanks for the note on Pinckney and it looks like Township of Hamburg might work as well. We'll check them all out.

[zthatzmanz28]

Originally Posted by mezman

Awesome! Much appreciated. It looks like their facility in Chelsea also has Spanish immersion so if I work from home that wouldn't be too bad a trip to drop off and pick up. And the one in Oceola might make Brighton available to us if I work from home as well.

Thanks for the note on Pinckney and it looks like Township of Hamburg might work as well. We'll check them all out.

Seriously consider Howell, around Genoa Township. I would avoid Brighton Township (different from City of Brighton) as the township has OUTRAGEOUS sewer and water bills. The City of Brighton is a buyer's war for housing. My sister in law just listed their house in downtown Brighton and sold it in 3 hours for CASH just above asking price.

[craig11152]

If it turned out you worked at the U, and your daughter was in preschool in Ann Arbor living in Ann Arbor ain't a bad idea. If your wife was commuting north on 23 to Howell that is not nearly as bad as commuting south. It would mostly be a reverse commute. Most of the traffic on 23 comes toward Ann Arbor in the morning and away in the evening. A morning commute from A2 to Howell is a lot faster than the reverse.

[mezman]

Originally Posted by zthatzmanz28

Seriously consider Howell, around Genoa Township. I would avoid Brighton Township (different from City of Brighton) as the township has OUTRAGEOUS sewer and water bills. The City of Brighton is a buyer's war for housing. My sister in law just listed their house in downtown Brighton and sold it in 3 hours for CASH just above asking price.

We'll check them all out. Housing is buy's war here in the DFW area as well. We'll be renting for at least a couple of years to get to know the area before we buy anything anyway. So maybe things will have settled down by the time we decide to buy.

[mezman]

Originally Posted by craig11152

If it turned out you worked at the U, and your daughter was in preschool in Ann Arbor living in Ann Arbor ain't a bad idea. If your wife was commuting north on 23 to Howell that is not nearly as bad as commuting south. It would mostly be a reverse commute. Most of the traffic on 23 comes toward Ann Arbor in the morning and away in the evening. A morning commute from A2 to Howell is a lot faster than the reverse.

Interesting. We'll look into this as well but I'm not sure how my wife would feel about a 30-ish mile commute. Looks like time wise it's doable from the north side of Ann Arbor probably have to drive it if we visit to see if distance wise it's doable. Thanks for the tip.

[craig11152]

Another side bar if you can get in at the U the benefits are through the roof. My wife started there several weeks ago after years in the private sector and she/we are bowled over by the benefits. They pay is good but the bennies are spectacular.

[mezman]

Originally Posted by craig11152

Another side bar if you can get in at the U the benefits are through the roof. My wife started there several weeks ago after years in the private sector and she/we are bowled over by the benefits. They pay is good but the bennies are spectacular.

Good to know, I'm assuming they have a 403b and a 457 so you can stash away $36,000 for retirement vs. the usual $18,000. My wife currently has access to both but won't in the new position. It'd be nice to have that available if we move to MI.

[jaynarie]

Originally Posted by craig11152

If it turned out you worked at the U, and your daughter was in preschool in Ann Arbor living in Ann Arbor ain't a bad idea. If your wife was commuting north on 23 to Howell that is not nearly as bad as commuting south. It would mostly be a reverse commute. Most of the traffic on 23 comes toward Ann Arbor in the morning and away in the evening. A morning commute from A2 to Howell is a lot faster than the reverse.

I was going to say this as well. Since it is a reverse commute, traffic will be pretty negligible.