[clawsondude]

Originally Posted by beachmouse

I would have a look at the Grand Rapids area still- a robust job market but small enough that you can get to at least big lot suburbia if not rural with a pretty reasonable commute. And it's a pretty straight shot along I-96 to Metro Detroit for weekend trips if your relatives have a guest room or pull out couch.

The Grand Rapids area is very nice. It is also the most conservative part of Michigan, and is very religious. I don't know whether or not those things are pros or cons for the OP, just putting it out there.

[beachmouse]

Grand Rapids, like a lot of places these days is a somewhat liberal core city with the conservative fringe walling themselves into some of the suburbs. Avoid the Ottawa County burbs and anything south of Kentwood and the rest of the area isn’t really different than metro Detroit.

[Coldjensens]

Grand Rapids is a really long haul from Downriver and Troy. You probably would nto see your family much more than you do from Vermont.

However that side of the state is really nice. I prefer to get further north to get away from the Chicago invasion, but I would still live in G.R. without a second thought.

[scorpio516]

Washtenaw county.

Ann Arbor is great, but if you want more rural, it's not it. Dexter has larger lots, especially outside the village limits. Same with Chelsea. Pinckney, even bigger, but with less a "town". Saline, bigger "town", closer to Ann Arbor. All have great schools.

[snoopygirlmi]

Or Livingston County. However, it's probably more conservative than you'd like.

Another thing to consider is that once you have kids, you aren't going to be interested in driving the 3 hours from GR to Detroit to visit family.

If you are moving here to be close to family, then move close to family.

After a certain point, you'll get caught up in the inertia of work and life and aren't going to want to drive all the time to get everywhere you want to go.

Some places are just packed with people all the time and it doesn't matter if it's rush hour or not. There's just more going through at peak times. And some of these rural areas are just packed with people heading into the city for work and heading back for home and dealing with that cluster is going to get old real quick - because the roads weren't build to sustain a lot of traffic in the first place.

That's an issue that's the hot topic here in South Lyon/Lyon Township because of all the subdivisions being built and filling up. And it's only going to worse once the new subs are actually finished and people start moving in.

When I was younger I didn't think much of driving 45 mins to an hour to get somewhere, but now that I'm older and have a family - that doesn't sound like a great way to spend my time. It seems like one big hassle.

And the people who I want to see, I rarely see because they are busy too. And it's not like they live super far away - just a few towns away. Now conversations go "do we really want to drive for 30-40 minutes to get to our destination......then drive back after we do the activity or visit. You have work and X has school/homework and we all need to be up in the morning to do X,Y and Z." Another popular conversation is the one where you spend a couple of weeks trying to come up with a day to visit and coming to the conclusion that the only day that will work is actually a couple of months away.

So, if you want to move here to be close to family, then move close to family. Don't go crazy and decide to move to a far-flung location because it meets some sort of ideal and you want the best of both worlds. There are always trade-offs.

Eventually, you aren't going to want to trade your time to visit your family if they are too far away. As you get older, time will get to be a more precious commodity because as you start your family and get settled into your career - you'll have less of it that you can call your own.

[beachmouse]

Livingston County isn’t as bad as it used to be but it remains probably the last place in Michigan I’d recommend a racially mixed family move to

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by beachmouse

Livingston County isn’t as bad as it used to be but it remains probably the last place in Michigan I’d recommend a racially mixed family move to

This is interesting. What makes you say that?

[EckyX]

Originally Posted by beachmouse

Livingston County isn’t as bad as it used to be but it remains probably the last place in Michigan I’d recommend a racially mixed family move to

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

This is interesting. What makes you say that?

I'm curious too. We're in Vermont, which is something like 95% white, and it hasn't been (much) of an issue. People here are very welcoming, but (speaking broadly) also somewhat ignorant about racial issues and sensitivities.

[beachmouse]

A little background on Howell (located in Livingston County) past and present:

https://birminghamnext.org/calendar/event/784/

https://thelivingstonpost.com/death-...-haunt-howell/

Sale of KKK items raises stir in Mich. - US news - Life - Race & ethnicity | NBC News

https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor...ewest_rac.html

[scorpio516]

ALSO: I don't remember if Vermont is like the rest of New England but:

Just because you buy a house in a certain town, you haven't necessarily bought into that district. If, for example, you buy a house outside the city limits of Ann Arbor, but with an Ann Arbor address, you might be in Ann Arbor, Saline, Ypsi, or Dexter schools.

The state has PDF maps of school districts. google "xxx public school district map", the mighigan.gov PDF was my 2nd result