Sylvania or Ann Arbor

[ToledoCommuter]

I live in nice suburb of Toledo and work in Ypsilanti, which is just east of Ann Arbor (52 miles), and have done so for the past two years. It typically takes me 50 minutes driving 80mph. If you lived in Sylvania, depending on how close you are to the on-ramp, I would say you could get there in 40 minutes, of course depending on where you have to go once you get off in AA. North of 94 on 23 gets pretty congested during rush hour, especially during Fall and Winter semesters (U of M and EMU). South of 94 is smooth sailing to and from Toledo...not bad at all. If there is a decent snow while driving though, you're guaranteed +1 hr drive time. Otherwise, I don't think the drive is that bad. There are rarely, and I mean rarely, any cops radaring between Toledo and the I-94 ramps.

Sylvania is absolutely excellent...great schools, people, scenery, homes...it's one of the nicest areas in Toledo. Sylvania is also one of the most expensive areas to live in Toledo (house prices), BUT it is far cheaper than any area of Ann Arbor in a "good" school district. I know this because I just decided to purchase my house in Toledo, and I could have moved closer to work in Ann Arbor. A comparable house and school district in the Ann Arbor area (AA, Saline, Dexter, and Chelsea) will cost you at least 30k more for a house. The property taxes on the houses are also significantly higher. I purchased my house in Toledo for 165k, $3600/yr taxes, and in an excellent school district. In AA, a comparable house would cost me at least 200k and $5000/yr taxes. Auto insurance and plates is higher as well in Michigan. If I could have afforded to live in Ann Arbor in a comparable house, I would have, but the price to live in AA is just crazy more when you can get the exact same down here in Toledo.

Milan and Dundee have better priced homes, more comparable to Toledo, but are NOT comparable to the Sylvania area. They are also far more rural than Sylvania and Toledo in general. I chose to stay in Toledo because of the cost of living, and there really are plenty of actvities for the kids. When my kids grow up, we may consider moving closer to Ann Arbor, as there is much to do there as young adults/adults, but for now, Toledo is great. One more thing...Toledo has a great mix of OSU and UofM fans, so if you are either one, you will fit. If you're a buckeye fan, good luck in AA!

[Zen_master]

Originally Posted by Meemur

Taxes in Ann Arbor are extremely high! Also look into the tax implications of working in Ohio and living in Michigan, as well as the costs if gas goes to $5/gallon.

I don't suggest that anyone live where a long commute is necessary.

Parts of Toledo are coming back, albeit slowly. I'd also suggest looking at Maumee, in addition to Sylvania.

In any case, try to spend at least a week here and in Michigan before moving. Shop at the grocery stores and look into the economic health of your job(s).

I grew up in A2 and moved to Ohio because there are few jobs in my field in Michigan. At this point, most of my relatives who are still working are here (Cols, OH) and in IN.

Absolutely! I'm no tax expert but the thought of paying both Michigan and Ohio taxes would be enough for me to consider living in the same jurisdiction where my employer is domiciled particularly when you consider Ohio is considered a high income tax state. Yeesh, not for me but to each there own I suppose.

Here's a table breaking down the tax burden by state.

http://taxfoundation.org/article/sta...ates-2000-2012


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[canudigit]

We have lived in Michigan and worked in Ohio for several years. We are only required to pay income tax to the state of Michigan, not both.

[daveykbg]

[quote=canudigit;24914510]We live in a small town, Dundee, that is the midway point between AA and Toledo. I like it here because we can get to either city in about twenty minutes, yet we still have a safe, quiet, small town atmosphere. However, if you're not into small town living (as in, one grocery store, one drug store, no clothing stores except Cabela's, etc.) then you wouldn't like it here, but I can say that I don't think I would necessarily want to do the AA to Toledo or Sylvania commute every day. Traffic in AA tends to get pretty hairy around rush hour, and it could be more like an hour or more one way in winter weather.





Just wondering how you like Dundee? I work in Perrysburg and my wife is looking at accepting a job in either Romulus or Ann Arbor. Dundee would be the perfect location and would be a 30 minute drive for each of us. The fact it's only 15-20 minutes from Franklin Park, has some restaurants over by Cabela's, and has a quaint little downtown with some restaurants make it appear to be a nice place to call home. I would appreciate any input!

[canudigit]

[quote=daveykbg;32536407]

Originally Posted by canudigit

We live in a small town, Dundee, that is the midway point between AA and Toledo. I like it here because we can get to either city in about twenty minutes, yet we still have a safe, quiet, small town atmosphere. However, if you're not into small town living (as in, one grocery store, one drug store, no clothing stores except Cabela's, etc.) then you wouldn't like it here, but I can say that I don't think I would necessarily want to do the AA to Toledo or Sylvania commute every day. Traffic in AA tends to get pretty hairy around rush hour, and it could be more like an hour or more one way in winter weather.





Just wondering how you like Dundee? I work in Perrysburg and my wife is looking at accepting a job in either Romulus or Ann Arbor. Dundee would be the perfect location and would be a 30 minute drive for each of us. The fact it's only 15-20 minutes from Franklin Park, has some restaurants over by Cabela's, and has a quaint little downtown with some restaurants make it appear to be a nice place to call home. I would appreciate any input!

Dundee is quaint and safe, the kind of town where the cashier at Kroger greets you by name. We have lived here for over four years now, and we have been happy here for the most part.

I don't know if you have kids that would go to the schools. We had one school aged child when we moved her but she was homeschooled, so I can't comment on the school system. It seems okay, but as far as test scores, safety, etc., you would have to ask someone else about that who is familiar with the school system.

As in most small towns, the community tends to rally around their schools, the whole Friday night football thing, etc., and so I think it helps when moving to a town like Dundee if you either have kids in the school system or attend a local church if you really want to become an active part of the community. We attend a church in Bedford and, as I already mentioned, don't have kids in school here, so we have really only gotten to know our immediate neighbors in our subdivision, but they all seem pretty nice.

There are a few rough areas in Dundee where there are drug issues, etc. but try finding anywhere that doesn't have that these days. It seems that these folks tend to keep to themselves and don't cause trouble for others, and I believe in live and let live if they aren't bothering anyone, but there is a rough element here, mostly on the side of town over near Kroger and in the apartment complexes, of which there are a surprising number, considering the overall population of the town.

My husband and I both work in Toledo, so it is nice to come home after a long day at work and have choices like Applebee's, Lone Star, and Bob Evans for dinner, as opposed to the few local greasy spoons that most towns the size of Dundee have to offer.

The shopping here is very limited, so most of my friends and family end up with gifts from Swan Creek Candle or Cabela's if we don't feel like driving 15-20 miles to shop. I get most of our groceries at our local Kroger, but the produce is not what you would find in a store somewhere like Sylvania or Perrysburg, it is hit or miss a lot of the time in terms of quality, but not any cheaper. However, the staff is very nice and again, I don't often feel like driving 15-20 miles just for groceries. Having a fully stocked Walgreens has also been very convenient for us, and definitely an amenity that you won't find in most villages of around 4,000 people.

To summarize, Dundee is safe, pretty friendly, and has decent amenities as compared to other towns its size. However, the biggest negative for us, and something that has really become rather bothersome in the time that we have lived here, is the distance to get anywhere; to work, to shop, for our daughter to commute to school, as she attends the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. It doesn't sound bad when you say, "Oh, well, Toledo, Ann Arbor, and Monroe are only about 20 minutes away," but after time, it just gets tiresome because 20 minutes on the expressway is still about 20+ miles. We spend a lot of money on gas, much more than we would if we lived somewhere like Bedford or Ottawa Lake, but we continue to stay here because of our daughter commuting to school and we don't want to make her commute even longer. When she graduates in a couple of years, we will be moving back down towards Toledo, probably to Ottawa Lake or Temperance, which is where we lived for several years before moving here. Our families are down that way, and it would feel like a luxury to only have to drive less than ten miles to be at a mall or other shopping locations, a ballpark, more restaurants, etc.

We have been happy in Dundee but we don't plan to make it our permanent home, mainly because of all the driving. That is the bottom line. If that is not an issue for you and you come in expecting to find a place where everyone is pretty friendly but knows everyone else and you have to make somewhat of an effort to become involved in the community, then I think you could be very happy here, because there are a lot of pluses.