[NJ2MI]

Hi All,

Accepted a promotion in existing job and it comes with a move to MI from NJ by end of this year. My work will be in Sterling Heights and I have pretty much decided to live in Novi, exclusively based on the schools ( I have a 14 yr old and 9 yr old) and available new homes from Toll brothers.

My friend from Troy is scaring me with the long commute. Google says it will be 45 mins. Right now, I commute for 1hr 15 mins each way in NJ and I don't mind if it remains the same in MI.

My questions are :

1. How bad the commute would be on an average considering I don't mind driving for little more than an hour.

2. How does Novi compare to Norhthville in schools? I did my research but need a honest word from the street.

Thanks

[MIEng]

Welcome to MI.
If you are used to 1 hr 15 min of commute I think is doable. Those 45 min are going to be under the best conditions. Road repairs and closures are very common during the summer and there is the snow in the winter of course, so it will be more than 45 min.

Don't know much about Northville, but Novi schools are among the very top in the state so you can't go wrong there.

[NJ2MI]

Thanks MIEng. I have visited Sterling Heights numerous times, but never in the middle of a snow storm. How bad the snow gets in winter there?

I understand 45 mins are under the best of the conditions and if best conditions exist for around 75%, I won't complain. Please remember I come from a place where 2 hour commute is a norm and NJ transit to New York is a joke.

I hope it won't be as scary as my friend puts it.

[MIEng]

Originally Posted by NJ2MI

Thanks MIEng. I have visited Sterling Heights numerous times, but never in the middle of a snow storm. How bad the snow gets in winter there?

As an example, I commute from the north part of Sterling Heights to the north part of Warren and it takes me 20 min tops on normal conditions. If its snowing or the roads are icy it can take me 40 min easily and that is avoiding rush hour traffic. That would be the very worst and its only a couple of times during the winter.

I understand 45 mins are under the best of the conditions and if best conditions exist for around 75%, I won't complain. Please remember I come from a place where 2 hour commute is a norm and NJ transit to New York is a joke.

I hope it won't be as scary as my friend puts it.

I think you will be fine considering what type of traffic and commute you are used too. For me personally it would be too much, I hate driving and I like to be close to home so I can be there when the kids get home.
I have co workers that commute from Pickney, Fenton and Yale to Warren. Those are insane.

[YAZ]

As far as driving in the weather goes, you're only gonna have a few bad days per year.

Road construction and accidents will be much more frequent.

Give it some time, as you'll learn when to bail off the freeway and hit the surface streets.

I did the long commute in SE MI for about a year and a half. I left super early to beat the rush and just hung out and had coffee and read the paper before work.

[Coldjensens]

Novi Schools are excellent. Northville schools are super excellent. This is my opinion based on a combination of internet stats/information, visting the schools and discussing their attributes and philosophy (although that was 5 years ago), attending various competitions that involved both schools, and discussing experiences with recent graduates. Some of it involves my personal preferences and options. Everyone will have different valuations or rankings depending on what they prefer. Even the school rankings vary widely depending on what they put into consideration and what weight they give each issue. Is diversity important to you? What about Sports achievements? Band? Theater? Choir? Debate? Sailing or Crew? Golf? Art? Do you see AP classes as critical? Is math more important to you than other subjects? Percentages of kids going to college more important than percentages going with scholarships? Every school is different and the differences change from year to year. Thus, while Novi may have an excellent theater program in 2008, they may be surpassed in 2010 by South Lyon East, or by Northville. It all depends an who the teachers are, what the focus of the school is. Most people will say well I want a school that offers my kids all of these things. Most or all of them do. But which is better, depends on which program you want to look at and when.

In addition to specifics, general atmosphere makes a difference as well. For example, I prefer our schools (Gross Ile) over other excellent schools because they are small and the teachers know all of the students. Our kids woudl have been lost in a giant school like Novi or Northville. Other kids would thrive in such an atmosphere. However giant schools offer more classes, programs and competitive opportunities. Our school provides absolutely excellent eduction in the basic academic courses, but there is no opportunity to learn scuba diving, broadcasting, and the like. We do not generate college scholarship football players very often. We do not even have a competitive debate teams and some years they do nto put on a musical theater performance at all. Novi and Northville offer a lot more opportunities, and excellent academics, but not the personal touch and other advantages of a small school atmosphere. So while one thing may appeal to one person, the other may appeal more to someone else.

The answer to which one is better is: "The one that you personally find to be better."

Between Northville and Novi schools it is hard to go wrong.

[animatedmartian]

Originally Posted by NJ2MI

Thanks MIEng. I have visited Sterling Heights numerous times, but never in the middle of a snow storm. How bad the snow gets in winter there?

I understand 45 mins are under the best of the conditions and if best conditions exist for around 75%, I won't complain. Please remember I come from a place where 2 hour commute is a norm and NJ transit to New York is a joke.

I hope it won't be as scary as my friend puts it.

I don't know what your friend could be saying that'd scare you, but 2 hours would probably fall into less than 5% of the time. Even driving on the surface streets takes only 1 hour and a half.

There'd have to be some freak accident or weather event to cause that much delay.

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by YAZ

As far as driving in the weather goes, you're only gonna have a few bad days per year.

Road construction and accidents will be much more frequent.

Give it some time, as you'll learn when to bail off the freeway and hit the surface streets.

I did the long commute in SE MI for about a year and a half. I left super early to beat the rush and just hung out and had coffee and read the paper before work.

You must get different weather than we do, or you have a different concept of a bad day. Facting in snow, ice, heavy rain, excessive wind, fog, and hail as bad days, I think it is between 33% and 50%. Of course that also depends on what time you drive. Many days are "bad" only for a few hours.

It is a tough commute when you have to go through the Novi mix master. That is one of our worst locations for traffic jams. However, you will learn ways to go around it on surface streets.

When figuring the time for your commute, you have to know how far you will be form the freeway. From some locations in Northville or Novi it could take you 20 minutes or more to get to the freeway. In other locations, you can be on the freeway in one minute.

that is pushing the limit on a reasonable commute IMO, but the schools and in Northville's case the awesome community and town may well be worth it.

[NJ2MI]

Nothing but respect to everyone who took time to answer. Do I need diversity in town? No. Do I need scuba diving course in school ? Hell,No. I need an upscale town with very low crime rate and good folks to hang around with. I really no longer care about the night life anyways!

I have read most of the posts related to Novi by Coldjensens and I wonder how 'soulless' Novi could be. I will try and figure it out in next few weeks. I have learnt that one of my colleagues in Sterling Heights commute from Novi, so it is a plus.

Everyone in NYC is so hung up on 'great real estate deals in MI'. I hope I will find one myself.

Can anybody advise me on moving the kids in the middle of the school year? One is in 9th and another is in 4th grade.This is one tough decision and will mostly depend on how fast I can buy a house there. As I said, we prefer new home and have to gather information from builders in Novi.

Best Regards

[Jwo85]

Gas prices are higher in Novi. I found them to be about 10-15 cents higher than in Sterling Heights. So Always gas up in Sterling Heights.