[detroit81]

So my wife and I currently live on the west side, in Berkley. We have two children and will be moving shortly, however we are in a constant debate about where to move. I am curious to hear what other arguments/perspectives people have on the topic.

Grosse Pointe- We love the pointes, basically the Park, Farms and City is where we are looking. Love the schools, lake, village, parks, and the community as a whole, we can actually get a house that has character.

Cons: Very close to Detroit, Drive through some bad parts to get to GP, we are not eastsiders, so from a social perspective does not have the entertainment the Woodward area does.

Rochester: Get a great big house, very affordable, has the newer amenities.

Cons: It would probably be in a cookie cutter sub, where every house looks the same , the drive to my office would be awful. No sense of community what so ever.

Royal Oak: Pros, its close to woodward and all of our friends, also like 5 mins from my office.

Cons: Kids would have to go to private school, no sense of community.


So basically we lean toward the points a ton, however we are a young couple with young friends, all of our young friends are like move to Rochester, move to Royal Oak, they don't really feel Grosse Pointe. I feel their views may be a bit jaded as none of them have ever lived there, they live in cookie cutter subs a million miles away. However we just don't know, with the Pointes lacking the buzz of Oakland county, is it a smart move/ investment. I feel like I would be choosing more with my heart than my wallet.

What do you guys think, should my wife and I move to GP? Forgot to mention we have 2 small children.

[scolls]

Move to Huntington Woods. It's like an upscale Harper Woods or Grosse Pointe Woods. It's safe, great for a family, great schools, and is within walking distance of downtown Royal Oak.

[detroit81]

I do like Huntington Woods, but the houses for sale there are very limited, seems like the old school tudors are never for sale, only the 50s style small colonials. Plus Grosse Pointe has some excellent parks.

[scolls]

Originally Posted by detroit81

I do like Huntington Woods, but the houses for sale there are very limited, seems like the old school tudors are never for sale, only the 50s style small colonials. Plus Grosse Pointe has some excellent parks.

Huntington Woods has excellent parks as well. My sister just moved there and I like it a lot. Great for young families. Look into Berkely and Beverly Hills which are nearby. You're near Woodward, safe neighborhoods, close to downtown Royal Oak and great schools. I'd chose one of those 3 cities over the 3 you mentioned. Just be warned JS will be along any time now to tell you how horrible Royal Oak is.

[detroit81]

I like to play devils advocate with all of the places I mentioned, in efforts to insure I make the best decision.

Currently I do live in Berkley, which shares the school district with Huntington woods, while I do like the areas. As far as school districts, Grosse Pointe's school districts is leaps above Berkley's and Royal Oaks. While Berkley's is good, GP has a better system.

[scolls]

Why do you want to leave Berkley then? According to all school rankings, Grosse Pointe is not leaps above Berkley.

[detroit81]

We need a bigger house, like 2800 or bigger, and there is not a large stock of them here.

[scolls]

How big is your family? Why would you need 2800 square feet? I doubt you'll find 2800 square feet in Royal Oak. Be prepared to pay some nice taxes in Grosse Pointe.

[detroit81]

We are prepared, currently we have 2 children but plan to have more. I guess my concern with both Berkley and RO, are the school districts are both in finical trouble, which scares me. Yes they are both buzz worthy and I Do love the scene around the woodward area. That being said, I want to base our decision to move , on what will be the best thing for my kids, which is what makes this such a hard decision.

I am looking for rational as why I should go to one place or not the other, the debate will hopefully get my wife and I closer to a decision.

[us66]

2800sf is probably impossible in RO without spending $500K. 2000-2500 is no problem if you have money, but 2800 is hard to find. Here's my three cents:

1. Grosse Pointe is fairly cheap right now for what it is. As a place it's not what it used to be, but it's still wonderful. Taxes will break you on houses you'd want, but you get what you pay for.
2. Rochester city seems civic-minded, more so than the Hills. Still a great place to be. Too far out in the sticks for some, but a solid investment and decent overall.
3. I don't know anything about Huntington Woods except that I love those colonial houses and they seem to go for too much money.
4. Pleasant Ridge may be an option too, big stately houses in most of it, but they are in the Ferndale schools.
5. GP also gets a bad rap because it's on the east side. It's probably still a solid investment, very civic minded, all five have excellent waterfront parks. Royal Oak entertainment and Southfield/Troy commute are quite the drive. There are some huge houses selling for pocket change, comparatively speaking, but they either need $10K work minimum (watch the basement closely) or they're on the first block off Mack (not great below Moross).