Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hi, we are interested in moving out of the chicago area. Rochester Hills seems comparable to where we are living now but newer homes and less $. Can anyone tell me what is the general vibe/attitude? If we step outside of rochester Hills, what is there to do? Are there a lot of restaurants and things to do with small children. Thank you so much!
R.H. is a very family oriented place. There are a lot of majorly upscale homes (formerly in the $1 mm range now in the $500k to $600k range). However there are a lot of average homes as well. The schools are good and if you are made of money, Cranbrook, a nearby private school, is one of the best anywhere. There is quite a bit to do in RH It has your typical line up of chains and mini chains for restaurants/bars. The Palace is very close. Oakland University is right next door. Cranbook has some events and a planetarium. The city of Rochester is cute and quaint and not too big. For shopping there is a large mall (Great Lakes Crossing) that is reasonably close. R.H. has a nice country club/pool.
Just by chance, everyone that we know who lives there are very wealthy, but that is not the norm. Although it is upscale, it is an upper middle class type place. there is some pretty topography (hilly with woods and streams) and even a few older farmhouses with some land if that is what you want. Mostly it is subdivision lifestyle.
The downsides are traffic is heavy and R.H. is somewhat remote to some areas. It is a good hour from Downtown Detroit if you are lucky. It is not a diverse place. Some call it snobby, I have not seen that on a wide scale basis. There are some snobs, but I would not call it a snobby place. Most of the housing is McMansion subs or cookie cutter modern smaller homes. However there are a few unique homes in neighborhoods. RH is pretty much strip malls, but Rochester is not far away.
Some friends of ours are raising 6 children in RH and they could afford to live anywhere. They seem to think that RH is ideal, at least for them. (their kids go to Cranbrook - because they can, but they said that they would have no qualms about sending them to the RH public schools).
Thank you soo much for your very descriptive detail of RH. I have a couple of questions if you do not mind and have the time...(If you have ANY questions about anywhere in chicago/suburbs, I have lived here 37 yrs!) what would be the difference between RH and Bloomfield Hills? There are some families in our area that have come from BH. We live in a very upscale suburb that is quite jewish and crazy expensive for not such great houses. We would like a mix if possible (we are both half jewish half catholic)
If you go to the suburbs next to RH are they nice? I love grosse pointe but it seems like the surrounding suburbs are a little run down..GP is way to "blue blood" it seems very uptight. We want a new house and you cannot get that in GP. The houses that I am seeing in RH for $800.000 would go for about 1,3000 here so we are really "turned on" by what we have seen. Would it be correct to say that you cant really walk to anything? Is it very spread out? we want to visit next month.
How far is it from rochester and would you say it is nice? I am sorry to bother you but you seem the most knowlegable by far! oh and my husband works from home, he is a trader so we do not have to care about a commute. Are there any subdivisions that you would recommend over another? we would like 4,000 sq ft-5,000 $700,000-900,000-NICE friendly neighbors, because we are great neighbors who's door is revolving all day! I cant thank you enough you are soo helpful!!! remember I know chicago!
andrea
there are a decent amount of restaurants in the area, i do know that. also you will have to check out the paint creek trail, very popular in rochester. Paint Creek Trail
i'm not as knowledgeable for the rest of your questions (not wealthy! :}) but i have a friend who has raised 3 daughters in rochester schools, and the schools seem to be good. i think they have 3 high schools now? the surrounding towns/cities are all nice, no areas to worry about. lots of catholics in the area (not sure about jewish population but definitely don't think anyone would discriminate). i think when you visit you'll get a much better idea on the neighborhoods etc. i lived in chicago briefly and i think you will like this area. you'll enjoy having less traffic, more space, parks and fresh air at your disposal! good luck!
Thank you soo much for your very descriptive detail of RH. I have a couple of questions if you do not mind and have the time...(If you have ANY questions about anywhere in chicago/suburbs, I have lived here 37 yrs!) what would be the difference between RH and Bloomfield Hills? There are some families in our area that have come from BH. We live in a very upscale suburb that is quite jewish and crazy expensive for not such great houses. We would like a mix if possible (we are both half jewish half catholic)
If you go to the suburbs next to RH are they nice? I love grosse pointe but it seems like the surrounding suburbs are a little run down..GP is way to "blue blood" it seems very uptight. We want a new house and you cannot get that in GP. The houses that I am seeing in RH for $800.000 would go for about 1,3000 here so we are really "turned on" by what we have seen. Would it be correct to say that you cant really walk to anything? Is it very spread out? we want to visit next month.
How far is it from rochester and would you say it is nice? I am sorry to bother you but you seem the most knowlegable by far! oh and my husband works from home, he is a trader so we do not have to care about a commute. Are there any subdivisions that you would recommend over another? we would like 4,000 sq ft-5,000 $700,000-900,000-NICE friendly neighbors, because we are great neighbors who's door is revolving all day! I cant thank you enough you are soo helpful!!! remember I know chicago!
andrea
Most definitely about the walkable nature of the community. Rochester Hills is formerly Avon Township a highly agrarian community that has been transformed into platted highly similar housing units with lots of distance between community amenities. While some housing areas are within walking distance of attractions by and large you will need some form of transportation to get around because Rochester Hills is the definition of car-centric suburbia.
I can give SOME insight...I was raised from 2000-2009 in the Rochester/Rochester Hills area. Lived up near 32/Rochester Road with my parents (5 acres, very rural); went to middle/high school in the Rochester School District...Hart and Adams to be specific (my brothers went to Stoney). Then went to Oakland University (graduated 2009); I moved downtown Rochester...lived in an apartment there with a few teammates across the road from the downtown city park for a few years, then moved to Beacon Hill across the road from Oakland University for my last year with more teammates. Then moved downtown Detroit for a short while; I now live downtown Royal Oak. Having spent my childhood through young professional life in the area, and lived both with family and by myself I can probably give SOME insight...
Housing - I spend a lot of time over in the Grosse Pointe area and can confirm...your money will go a LOT farther in Rochester, and depending on WHERE in Rochester you're looking, you can get a mega-house for a very reasonable deal. Included in the "where in Rochester" you're looking will affect the walkability/community sense too. Its a big area...with northern rural areas, down to the more semi-urban southern side bordering Troy and Utica. People are very social...all my friends knew everyone on their street, and almost everyone in their neighborhood. That doesnt seem to be a problem.
Stuff to do - If you live near downtown...I'd say between Livernois to Letica or so...Tienken down to Avon-ish...then it is very walkable! Nice little downtown. A lot of places to eat, grab a drink, play pool, etc. Very comprehensive public library, I spent tons of hours there studying in high school/college, and still went back up there from DT Detroit/Royal Oak to study for my Brokers Exam! The city park is quite nice. Great hospital in Crittenton (I volunteered there throughout high school).
Shopping is plentiful - big chain stores everywhere as well as smaller shops. If you couldnt find it at the Rochester Ski Shop you could drive a half mile away to Summit Sports at Avon/Livernois and find it. Groceries? Whole Foods is over in the Village now (used to be downtownish)...several Krogers/Hollywood, etc. Farmers markets too! Foglers up Rochester Road has the best corn, veggies, etc. My mom still shops there 4-5 days a week. Great Lakes "Outlets" as it is called now is a 10 minute drive away.
Schools - I went to public school in the area for 7 years - no complaints. Hart/Adams are great schools, great teachers. I still meet up with old teachers for drinks all the time. My brothers went to Baldwin...Stoney...OSTC...and even International Academy. No complaints! Oakland University will always get a good plug for upper ed as well.
Surroundings - not at all like GP. GP is surrounded by a lot of "meh". Rochester...you have Oakland Township to the north (rural, farmland), Utica/Shelby to the east, Troy and Avondale to the south, and to the West...a mix of Auburn Hills and Lake Orion. None of these areas are problem areas at all...and each has their positives.
Thank you soo much for your very descriptive detail of RH. I have a couple of questions if you do not mind and have the time...(If you have ANY questions about anywhere in chicago/suburbs, I have lived here 37 yrs!) what would be the difference between RH and Bloomfield Hills? There are some families in our area that have come from BH. We live in a very upscale suburb that is quite jewish and crazy expensive for not such great houses. We would like a mix if possible (we are both half jewish half catholic)
If you go to the suburbs next to RH are they nice? I love grosse pointe but it seems like the surrounding suburbs are a little run down..GP is way to "blue blood" it seems very uptight. We want a new house and you cannot get that in GP. The houses that I am seeing in RH for $800.000 would go for about 1,3000 here so we are really "turned on" by what we have seen. Would it be correct to say that you cant really walk to anything? Is it very spread out? we want to visit next month.
How far is it from rochester and would you say it is nice? I am sorry to bother you but you seem the most knowlegable by far! oh and my husband works from home, he is a trader so we do not have to care about a commute. Are there any subdivisions that you would recommend over another? we would like 4,000 sq ft-5,000 $700,000-900,000-NICE friendly neighbors, because we are great neighbors who's door is revolving all day! I cant thank you enough you are soo helpful!!! remember I know chicago!
andrea
Thats cool that you are considering Rochester Hills. Many people have a major misconception about the Detroit area and SE Michigan in general. Whereas Chicago has one of the biggest, most beautiful, most bustling downtown in the country, people are often suprised how much the suburbs are just anywhere, America. Many are very nice, (although honestly Chicago has more ghetto suburbs than suburban Detroit does), but a little isolated from what Chicago has to offer, and are even a distance from any entertainment.
Not so in SE Michigan, although downtown Detroit is rather small for a metro area its size, and there are almost no upscale areas in the city proper, and it gets very rundown very quickly from downtown Detroit, it shocks people to realize how much wealth, population, entertainment, shopping, etc. there is to do in the region. Outside the respective cities, there is more to do outside Detroit proper within a 50 mile radius, than there is to do within Chicago within a 50 mile radius. The Woodward corridor in Oakland County that includes Royal Oak, Birmingham, and Ferndale have more lively, walkable downtowns than you would find in suburban Chicago. You also have some world class museums in the suburbs (Henry Ford/Greenfield Village in Dearborn) plus there is no comparison to Ann Arbor or Windsor, ON outside Chicago.
Bottom line, if you like areas that feel like a complex of small cities close to another rather than a huge city surrounded by anywhere America suburbs you will love Southeast Michigan.
I read in one of your other posts that you live in Highland Park. Coming from Lake County, IL in general is very, very similar to central Oakland County, MI.
I would say however that Rochester Hills is probably a bit more similar to the Long Grove-Barrington-Lake Zurich area. As both have more newer houses, some rolling hills and a few farm fields still around that haven't been developed yet, as well as nature preserves.
Bloomfield Hills would be more like Lake Forest/North Shore. More mega money and more old money.
Troy is home to the Somerset Collection, as nice or nicer than any mall you might find in suburban Chicago. Might be like Northbrook Court or Old Orchard.
Auburn Hills might be a bit like Gurnee. I say that because both suburbs are home to a MAJOR attraction on the edge of both metro areas. Palace of Auburn Hills in AH, and Six Flags in Gurnee. Both also have a respective major mall. Great Lakes Crossing in AH, Gurnee Mills in Gurnee.
Pontiac would be like Waukegan - both are run down industrial towns that have seen better days and struggle with poverty and crime.
Unless you are a die hard Chicagoan, who loves going to Chicago all the time, you won't find it very different in your new home.
I will add however, that I am suprised homes in Highland are still that high given the housing market.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
