[chiroptera]

Well I moved to the area from a big, diverse, cosmopolitan city and yes, it's definitely a bit provincial around here compared to places like Denver, Chicago, Milwaukee, etc. There is variety but you sort of have to look for it.

I'm <cough> WAY older than you so I can't give you an opinion from a 20-something's POV. Genesee county has two universities and two community colleges so I assume the 20-somethings around here have found plenty of outlets for nightlife...a couple of nicer apartment communities in GB are pretty crammed with young people.

Auburn Hills and surrounding areas are certainly denser with more opportunities for nightlife, live music, different restaurants and so on. The traffic between Auburn Hills and GB isn't horrible and you'd be going the opposite way to most.

[boiler2012]

Thanks for your input. I guess the other thing to consider is I could always travel out on the weekends anyway. I don't intend to hit the bars every night, but I've always highly valued having the option to if I wanted to.

[GrandBlancMom]

There is NOWHERE decent to meet people in Grand Blanc. I'm from Ann Arbor, and have lived her for 9 years with my fiancé, and have not made a single friend because they are all so fake! My neighbors are ridiculous with their Lamborghini's and Range Rovers. I'm so fun and down to earth, and can't stand the fakeness. I'd do ANYTHING to get back to A2 but unfortunately our son has all his friends here and doesn't want to leave. I will say the schools are EXCELLENT and that's why we moved here but the taxes are insane. I am now 34 but have been with my fiancé for 10 years. There's a lot of local dive bars and all of the big night clubs always get shut down for shootings. Unfortunately, we always had to go to Flint To go out, and the crowds were very rowdy and "ghetto". I'm no racist at all, my fiancé is black and I am white, but being from Ann Arbor I'm used to a more diverse crowd, and the local nightclubs aren't very diverse. I no longer go out, but sharky's on center rd in Burton, is a decent place. Other than that, your hitting the dive bars and its normally trashy or ghetto. Sorry but I'm being honest. Best advice-go somewhere else. I met my man on an airplane headed to the beach. If it wasn't for him and now our family, I'd run far away and quickly! I get to live with all the fake neighbors who smile in your face and talk behind your back. It doesn't help that we are a mixed couple. We have managed to make a couple GOOD friends in our neighborhood, but it blows my mind. My one neighbor bought their house which is 1k sq feet bigger than ours at the peak of the decline, thus paying FAR less than what we paid for our home yet she acts like they are so much better than us and above us. We looked at their house when it was available and it had a big notice saying condemned due to black mold. I've reminded her of this, but she still acts like they are too good for us. Ugh how I miss Ann Arbor.

[Balmoral]

So from what I've read on this thread GB is pretty suburban and driving to restaurants and bars will be about 15 to 20 minutes (or 10 to 15 miles) away? My fiance and I are coming from NYC and we are realistic about the change of environment but we would like some nearby nightlife and activity. I accepted a position in EL and that's also the other option. I've been told there isn't much in between EL and the general Flint/GB area?

[cmuguy25]

Grand Blanc is suburban. There are bars and restaurants in GB, but not a great variety. Saginaw street is kind of the "downtown" area. If you do a quick search on google, tripadivsor, etc. you can see what there is to offer. I've been there a few times with my wife to Little Joe's. Cool bar and good food. Wouldn't say there is a great bar scene (I think this is why people move to GB too, very family oriented and great schools).

There isn't much between EL and Flint. Swartz Creek might be the biggest between the two and quite honestly, there isn't a lot there. Not a bad area, but for bars and restaurants, there isn't much.