If you are moving to Michigan because of a job relocation you may be wondering where you want to live in Michigan.  Michigan is full of great towns, especially Southeastern Michigan.  Around the metro Detroit area you have every type of town you could want.  We have starter communities, and we have very expensive, prestigious communities like Bloomfield Hills and Birmingham.  We have communities that have centralized historic downtowns that were started in the 1800's that are very lively.  They are full of shops, restaurants, and coffee houses.  Where ever you are from you will most likely find a town that is similar to where you live now.

Sometime my relocation clients have a little fear because of all of the negative news about the City of Detroit or Flint.  Metro Detroit is so large that the City of Detroit's problems do not affect the surrounding communities.  Like the area you came from you have many different commuites with different characteristics.  Some of the cities that are near you now may have a large population of certain ethnic, religious, or racial groups.  Metro Detroit is no different in that sometimes people of certain ancestries live by each other.  However I would say 95% of metro Detroit communities are highly diverse.  There are no towns that are just one race, or one religion, or one ethnic group.

So how do you pick a town that is suitable with you and your family?  One of the biggest consideration is your drive time to work.  Most relocation buyers want to live close to work and not more than 45 minute drive.  Metro Detroit does not have long drive times that you find in New York City, Atlanta, LA, or Chicago.  If you live in one of our suburbs most of the time the drive will be 45 minutes or less.  Unless you chose to live in a rural setting your drive will be under 45 minutes.  Our rural communities are about a hour from downtown Detroit.  You will be able to find a good community whether you work on the east side, west side, or downriver.  When trying to narrow down the communities that may fit you use Google maps, or map quest.  Put in the city and the address you will be working at.  That should give you a general idea of the drive time.  Remember rain and snow will slow your commute down.  By using Mapquest you should get a basic idea of what towns you should be concentrating on based on drive time.  What is great about Southeastern Michigan and Metro Detroit is that we have a good highway and street system.  Even when the Department of Transportation tears up a major highway there are always multiple roads and ways to get to where you need to be.  Besides the main highways we have many major thorough fares that run north and south or east and west.  You will like our traffic if you are from one of those major cities above.

Now you have a list of cities that are within driving distance.   So what are the next factors I hear about from my relocation clients?  It is schools, safety, and return on their investment.  Many relocation buyers move quite often.  So they do not want to buy and lose money.  I do not want them too either.  I want you to make money when you sell your home.  One of your best resources is people at your new job, or family and friends that live in Metro Detroit or have lived here.  They can tell about the cities first hand.  If you didn't know.....real estate agents are limited by the law on what they can tell you about the area.  They cannot steer you to any one community because of race or religion and other factors.  Your co-workers, your friends and family may be able to help you cross off some of the cities that you feel do not fit.

I believe research is the best way to find a home and community that fits your families wants and needs.  Next I would look up the city on wikipedia.  That would give you a little more information.  I always believe that home will appreciate in value if you chose a city that has low crime and good schools.  Nobody with children will want to move into a community that has poorly ranked schools.  You can look up the school systems by using greatschools dot org or just go to Bing and search compare schools.  You should be able to find which communities have good schools.  In Michigan you can usually tell a poor school system because you can find home prices that are below the local average. Cities like Pontiac, or Inkster will have less desirable schools and lower priced homes.....they usually go hand in hand.

I hope this quick relocation guide helps you find a home in Metro Detroit.  You can search homesand foreclosures on and off the lakes at http://www.oaklandcountylakesmi.com  Always feel free to call me with questions at (248) 310-6239  Russ Ravary your Metro Detroit realtor