[yomaryjo]

Help, Please. There is a good chance my company will be relocating me/us to Oxford, MI from North East Tennessee. My husband is a Chef and he is concerned that there will not be much opportunity for him there. We are not used to driving in snow - having grown up in Florida but relocated to Tennessee about ten years ago. If the job is offered in Oxford - where would be a good town to relocate to that would offer upscale restaurant opportunities for my husband as well as an easy commute for me on snow covered roads. Suggestions, please. Thanks.

[yomaryjo]

Please - is there no one that can answer my question/s??? Help, please.

[chiroptera]

That whole area in general is pretty affluent...I'm not that knowledgeable about restaurant opportunities for your husband but I imagine there are quite a few upscale restaurants he could apply to. Especially to the south of Oxford (Rochester Hills and surrounding cities.) The further south you go from Oxford, the more densely populated it gets. More sparsely populated to the north (towards Metamora, Lapeer, etc.) Your husband should probably start looking for job opportunities before you make the move; that way you'd have a better shot of finding a place to live that will work with both of your commutes.

Pretty much anywhere within a 20-30 mile radius would be nice to live in albeit a little on the expensive side. I personally think it's a really nice area. You don't mention your housing options (renting, buying, house v apartment) or budget or whether schools are a factor...?

SE Michigan typically doesn't get tons of snow; roads are for the most part cleared regularly. I commute a lot through several counties and really there are only a handful of days when driving conditions could be called really bad IMO. Go slow when it's icy, have good tires, use common sense, you'll be just fine.

[yomaryjo]

Thanks, sooooooo much for your reply. We are hoping to buy - less than $100k budget as we plan to keep our home here is Tennessee and rent it out. We would love to live lakeside or stream side and private. Schools are not a factor - no kids. Would love some property - currently we live on 5 acres on the top of a mountain in Tn. Since TN is TERRIBLE on clearing roads during the little bit of snow that we get - it is good to hear that Michigan clears roads regularly - this is a big concern of mine since I did a 180 on our main road during the last snow storm. Scary stuff. Thanks for the info and please, any more would be helpful....

[chiroptera]

I'm pretty sure you won't find much in that price range in or near Oxford that will have any sort of water feature...lakefront property is quite expensive anywhere in Michigan! Might want to spend a little time on realtor.com.
Oakland county in general is expensive....maybe look a little south towards Waterford (more urban), or north in Lapeer county (more rural/small town) where I think it might be a bit cheaper than being right near Oxford.

[yomaryjo]

Thanks again for the help......I will continue checking real estate sites....

[CMUIR2007]

If possible try to find a house that has natural gas. My brother just moved out of his rental house in Oxford and the Fuel Oil is outrageous to heat your house in the winter.

[Nukpana]

I lived in Lake Orion my whole life until moving to Troy; Lake Orion is Oxford's next door neighbor. I have immediate family that works in Oxford. I would say good areas to live with job opportunities in upscale restaurants would be Troy, Rochester, and Birmingham. Unfortunately the cost of living is quite high in these areas, but if your husband is okay with a 30-40 minute commute to work, Clarkston has some homes within your price range and is not far from Oxford. You may find some in Oxford or Lake Orion for that price as well, but they will not be as nice of houses or on as large of properties as you will get for that price in Clarkston. If schools are an issue, I would recommend Clarkston, Lake Orion, Troy, Rochester, or Birmingham. I'm new to this site so I'm not sure if private messaging is available, but feel free to message me directly with any more questions. Like I said, I grew up right next door so I know a bit about the area.

[Jenzie72]

Ok well 1st and foremost please remember when reading my post that my husband and I have been livin in different parts of MI for the past 3 yrs. my husband works on the pipeline so that's why I have all this info.

Michigan is a Pipeline State so there's always contractors in and out!!!

Howell - The people there are seem stuck up but once you get to know them there okay. Lots of spring and summer activities. As far as
restaurants there there maybe 5 or 6 on the main drag. If you do move here you gotta call and get lasagna from Mario Bros Pizza (they deliver) or you can stop and get it to go!
But really Mr . B's and one seafood and steakhouse place are the big ones really.

Hartland - It is a small town but there is a restaurant there that ROCKS called the And you cook your steak on a stone at your table, it's delicious and I know they opened a second location over by Port Huron I believe. You definitely gotta go to one of then and get you steak, it's worth hunt.

Waterford - Well honestly the only good thing about here is there Harley Davidson store. We purchased our 4th Harley from them. Great prices!!
But the community seems run down and it's mostly black from what's we seen.

Jackson - Its a big town compared to the prior listed cites. We liked it there lots to choose from on restaurants that most expensive would probably be like Outback. They have 2 malls. It was a nice place to stay but just know that the crime rate here is kinda bad so just becareful w lookin for housing.

Port Huron/ - We are on our way to here next so we shall see.
Oxford
Our understanding is that it's an "upper class" area. I have checked on motels there and really $90 a night is about the cheapest other than the Roadway Inn it was $44 a night.

And, make sure you buy a 4 X 4 before next winter!!!

Overall, I hope this helps you!! Good luck in your travels!!

Jenzie72