[renst]

Hi,

we are looking at moving into the area of Interlochen re: academy for our daughter. We come from a suburb of Dallas which I have personally hated since the day I got here. Weather aside (I like the cold weather) - the last thing I want to do is move into yet another city where it takes me a long time to get out of. Due to the way we are going to move and pick a new home we really have very little time to research actually on location.

So: Wikipedia tells me that TC has around 130,000 folks living there which concerns me. My job is independent of location, I am looking for a small town feel with reasonable access to stores (groceries and basic necessities). When I mean reasonable I am thinking 20 minutes or so (which it takes here to get anywhere at all). I am also looking for a wooded area with a nice landscape, maybe invest $250k in a home.

Which one of these places should I concentrate on?

[michmoldman]

Originally Posted by renst

Hi,

we are looking at moving into the area of Interlochen re: academy for our daughter. We come from a suburb of Dallas which I have personally hated since the day I got here. Weather aside (I like the cold weather) - the last thing I want to do is move into yet another city where it takes me a long time to get out of. Due to the way we are going to move and pick a new home we really have very little time to research actually on location.

So: Wikipedia tells me that TC has around 130,000 folks living there which concerns me. My job is independent of location, I am looking for a small town feel with reasonable access to stores (groceries and basic necessities). When I mean reasonable I am thinking 20 minutes or so (which it takes here to get anywhere at all). I am also looking for a wooded area with a nice landscape, maybe invest $250k in a home.

Which one of these places should I concentrate on?

Either one is a great place, and all will be pretty woodsy. The area you are looking at is probably Michigans most beautiful in the lower peninsula, with tons of lakes, rolling hills and woods. Interlochen is rather small, but within 20 minutes of TC which is where you will do all your shopping. I am not sure TC has that many people, but it is mostly busy during tourist season. We are looking to move up that way also, and have looked at all three places you mentioned. We would probably chose Interlochen or TC. For 250G you can have your choice of basically a mansion in these parts. You can get a fantastic house for that price! If you decided you wanted to move in 5 years or so, I would say Traverse City will be your best bet on selling quickly. The homes in that area are selling quickly right now, and once things return to normal your home will be worth a lot more in TC.

[Jswee]

That population figure for TC is incorrect. It's approx. what the population is for Grand Traverse County with a couple of the closest townships from some of the neighboring counties thrown in. Traverse City is a nice mix of small town feel with some amenities that you would normally find in much larger metro areas. If you want a true small town feel, then Sutton's Bay or Elk Rapids might be worth looking at. The village of Interlochen does not really have the feel of a town, it's really just a small collection of stores clustered around one major intersection.

If you want wooded area's that is close to TC, yet has some privacy and some nice scenic settings, I'd take a look at parts of Elmwood, Bingham and Solon Townships in Southern Leelanau Co or Long Lake Township in Grand Traverse Co. The Old Mission Peninsula is also beautiful but you get about 15% less bang for your buck, in terms of housing, on the OMP.

$250,000 will get you a very nice, 3-4 bedroom, 2+ bath upscale home, with a walkout, attached garage somewhere in the 2,500 sq. ft. range in the townships that I mentioned.

[sunshineann]

Don't rule out Interlochen. Yes they have shops at an intersection and some down the main road. We still have that "country town" feel and we are definitly "woodsy" and Interlochen is 12 miles to downtown Traverse. On that note, Suttons Bay is one of the cutest towns i have seen. Traverse is great as well, alot more people than the other two and more shops.

[michmoldman]

Originally Posted by sunshineann

Don't rule out Interlochen. Yes they have shops at an intersection and some down the main road. We still have that "country town" feel and we are definitly "woodsy" and Interlochen is 12 miles to downtown Traverse. On that note, Suttons Bay is one of the cutest towns i have seen. Traverse is great as well, alot more people than the other two and more shops.

sunshineeann is right. When we were there for a week camping last year, we got that "country town" feel, and the Interlochen area is very beautiful! We wouldnt hesitate for a second living there if we found the right house. And any town in Lelanau Peninsula is gonna be fantastic as well, but probably not a whole lot of shopping choices. Everything shopping wise in these areas will revolve around Traverse City I believe.

[scolls]

LOL Traverse City is a small town. It only has 14k people. Any random town in northern Michigan would be a good choice.

[Giesela]

Why hasn't anyone mentioned Cadillac?

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by scolls

LOL Traverse City is a small town. It only has 14k people. Any random town in northern Michigan would be a good choice.

Maybe if you would actually read the OP, you would see why they are asking about these towns in particular. Instead you make an ass out of yourself with an unrelated post.

[scolls]

Originally Posted by Bydand

Maybe if you would actually read the OP, you would see why they are asking about these towns in particular. Instead you make an ass out of yourself with an unrelated post.

Unrelated? The guy asked about the population of Traverse City and I gave it to him. Trust me, coming from Dallas Traverse City is every bit a small town.

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by scolls

Unrelated? The guy asked about the population of Traverse City and I gave it to him. Trust me, coming from Dallas Traverse City is every bit a small town.

Trust me I know. Spent 2 years just outside of Dallas in a dumpy little town. He wasn't asking about the population of TC either, but of the area in general when it comes to being able to get to some stores. And if you did bother to read it they dislike the larger city (if I recall, the phrase was "hated it since the day I got here"). Could be that they are concerned that TC is too large of a town and they don't want to deal with the hassles anymore.