Very OT: Good lake towns to raise a family in Michigan?

I'm originally a SW corner guy, but managed to find myself settling in one of the Grosse Pointes.  I prefer sunsets to sunrises, but Lake St. Clair is pretty magnificent.  Schools are great (produced two of M's football roster this season), close to downtown Detroit (great arts, all the sports, and burgeoning food scene), roughly 30 minutes to a major international airport, roughly an hour from A2.

There are houses big and small, so options across the budget.  It can be a competitive market, but typically lots to choose from across a big range.

Lake Michigan is on the leeward side of the lake, so has way better beaches.  I think one of your bigger challenges will be schools.  I'll open the bidding for Holland.  Short trip to Grand Rapids, reasonably (3 hours) to Chicago/Detroit, and a fair bit of old money places from the GR crowd.  Couple of really nice communitees just south of Lake Macatawa; not sure what's north of there.    

Dexter and Chelsea are great places to raise a family and very close to Ann Arbor so you can enjoy all the sports, restaurants, concerts, etc. Best of all worlds.

Get VRBOs to check out the many different lake front properties all over Michigan and not limit yourself to one place. Northern Lake Michigan from the Sand Dunes/Traverse City to Petoskey area definitely worth checking out - lots of  California/ Seattle money moving in the area though.

Chelsea area 

Also some of the lakes right across in northern Indiana are great and property taxes are 20% of Michigan 

The west side is the best side. Saugatuck, Holland,  Grand Haven, and South Haven are the best on Lake Michigan. There are a bunch of smaller lakes more inland that I would prefer. Some towns are a good distance between Grand Rapids and lake Michigan and for me that's the sweet spot. Short drive to the cosmopolitan amenities that grand rapids provides, a short drive to Lake Michigan, and a short drive to the northern wilderness. 

Inland towns to consider: Hudsonville,  Jenison,  and Zeeland (Zeeland is right next door to Holland)

Bellaire isn’t bad.  I grew up there before Shorts Brewing bought the place - but it’s still nice.   Alden is small but some great views of Torch Lake.Central Lake is OK and is on the chain of lakes like Bellaire is. Eastport isn’t bad either near Torch and Lake Michigan.

Edit:  These towns may be a bit less urban than NYC.

If you just want a lake and not live on the Great Lakes, then you should look around Brighton. I have lived there and fished and boated on many of those lakes. Lots of choices from cottages to high-end homes. Close to Ann Arbor and the Detroit suburbs for restaurants and sophistication. 

Au Gres 

If you are looking for the Big Lakes (Michigan or Huron), then here are several (really can't go wrong just depends on how much snow you want to tolerate and what size metropolitan you want to be:

1) Holland (33K pop) - comparatively moderate snow - larger metro with GR (~300K metro) just 30 minutes away

2) Ludington (8K) - more snow - smaller town feel

3) Grand Haven (10K) - West side, 30 minutes from GR

4) South Haven (4K)  - Further south, 30 minutes from Kalamazoo (great bike trail between South Haven and Kazoo

5) Traverse City (16K) - More snow, isolated metro but decent size, great schools

6) Manistee (6K) - smaller town, more isolated

7) Petoskey/Harbor Springs/Charlevoix - All smaller town, more summer homes, more outdoor activities, no major metro near by

8) Cheboygan - starting on Lake Huron, located close to Mackinaw Island

9) Alpena (10K) to me, this is one of the hidden gems on the east side, but isolated.

Most of the inland lakes (Torch, Mullet, Burt, Charleviox, Hubbard) are more "summer" towns.  The lakes are lined with a majority of summer homes.

One more thing to consider.  The more north you go, the winters last closer to 6 months then 3-4.  In the northern cities, the snow will fly from October to April, with November to March a solid winter.  This is why Holland is the prime choice, nice city size, more moderate seasons, close to GR and great school districts.  But if you like the winter activities or prefer a smaller community any of the other choices are can't miss....

Grew up in Holland and that is a great area. Currently West Ottawa and Zeeland Schools are good.  

I am currently in Stevensville/St Joseph area and I would recommend this area as well.  Both the St Joseph Public Schools and the Lakeshore Public Schools are really good and rank high in the state.  Nice part is you are a 2 hour drive from Chicago(or just jump on the amtrak for a day trip, less than an hour from Kalamazoo, 2 hour drive down 94 to Ann Arbor.  If you live on the outskirts you can find some decent priced houses and the closer to Lake Michigan the more expensive.  

I hear Tustin is great!

If paying for college is a concern, consider moving to Kalamazoo. The Kalamazoo Promise will pay for almost all in-state colleges and universities. Outside of Kalamazoo, Ludington and Manistee are great choices if you are looking for small-town feel with great beaches. 

The actual answer you’re looking for is Grosse Pointe. No longer the old money enclave it once was and has actually gotten quite progressive.

Incredible public schools, beautiful parks right on Lake St Clair, huge coastal culture.

10 min access to downtown Detroit and all it has to offer. 

I guess proximity to UofM, Lake Front or Lake Access are questions you need to answer.  Lake front is obviously going to be much pricier.

My brother rented a house for a few years on Lake Belleville while he was completing his 10yr bachelors degree from EMU.  Nice little lake.  Seemed affordable.  10 min to A2.  Nice properties combined with modest ones.  

Thing you need to realize about Mich is you cant just roll up to any lake and park there and hang out.  Most are private and depending on the size of the lake you can get day or yearly pass to access the public part if there is one.  

Grew up on eastside and very familiar with Lake St. Clair.  Metro beach was a regular thing.  My fam moved out to Oakland County.  There are lakes galore.  But like I said you can't just go hang at em.  You gotta be in an association or be permitted access. Orchard & Cass Lakes are pretty much the gems but there are plenty and as someone already mentioned they have A+ school systems and facilities around West Bloomfield and Walled Lake.  

Bro lived in White Lake, mom a stones throw from Proud Lake, right near Wolverine Lake & Commerce Lake.

So if you are a city boy like me I would suggest Oakland County.  You can live by a lake and be in the city for concerts/restaurants/sports games in less than an hr.  If you want distance then Lake Michigan is just more picturesque than Lake Huron.  Beaches are bigger and have more access.  I only know Ludington and north of it, not much south of that.  Ludington has a small town feel but nice downtown and resaurants.  One of the shitty things about Mich is "private beaches".  Seem to see more of that on the Huron side - where - "you cant walk here this is our beach" - kinda shit where people actually erect fences into the lake.  I'm sure it happens in Lake Michigan too but doesn't seem like as much.  You could do a lot worse than live in Traverse City.  Just a little far from everything for me personally.  

I live just south of St. Joe. To me, this is the perfect location. There's enough culture here to keep you busy, the breweries and wineries are world class and you can't beat the fresh fruit and vegetables. Plus, it's in the middle of everything - an hour from Grand Rapids, 1.5 hours from O'Hare, 30 minutes from South Bend, 2.5 hours from Indianapolis, 2.5 hours from Ann Arbor, 3 hours from Detroit.

On the downside, and this is true of most of the west coast of Michigan, you won't see much sun in the winter. We had a snowstorm come through on Friday and, with the lake effect, it hasn't stopped snowing since then. 

1) Grand Haven

2) Holland

3) Traverse City (In 2019 had more millennial millionaires than any other US city.)

If it doesn't have to be a lakeshore city then take a look at the Grand Rapids suburbs.  It is only a 1/2 hour drive to the lakeshore.

Look into East Grand Rapids.  Great schools and athletics - maybe the best in the state.  Moving from NYC you look into houses on Reeds Lake or Fisk Lake.

I lived in the Hudsonville/Jenison area, between GR and Holland, for 20 years.  Great area to raise a family, affordable living, excellent schools and easy access to GR and Holland (where I worked).

If I absolutely had to relocate and had my choice, I would be somewhere near the pinkie. 

It’s probably not going to hit your budget requirement but if we’re just talking places I’d love to live, I think the stretch from Charlevoix to Petoskey and harbor springs are fantastic. Bellaire and around torch lake, down to traverse and mission peninsula, Glen Arbor; it’s all gorgeous and not too terribly uncivilized. 

My info may not be relevant since my Holland experience was a long time ago.  My dad was a professor at Hope College so I was born and raised in Holland.  Great place to grow up.  Lots of things for a kid to do.  Swimming, sailing, exploring the dunes, and for a kid all that snow in the winter was endless fun.  When I was in highschool G.R. was close and had “big” city temptations.  Don’t know what the area is like today, but check it out.

Coldwater, MI

One thing I would take into account is your ability to get out of town-  I live in suburban Detroit, and do love it here, but January and February are crap months.  So, the ability to get on a plane to go somewhere else is important.  Also, while I love the west side of the state, and think it's beautiful, Holland and some of that area has felt a little insular to me, whenever I've been there.  Nice enough, but I felt like because I wasn't from there originally, and didn't go to church there, I wasn't totally welcome.  Your mileage may vary, and that's entirely my perspective, but still.

Sunrise side of the state= cheaper.  But, more isolated.  So, if going to a nice restaurant on a regular basis is important to you, be aware.

Inland lakes are great-  Higgins Lake is beautiful, and clear.  (same caveat re restaurants, though).

When are you looking to move?  I might pick a number of possibles, and then come out and see if you like the lay of the land.

I'm a West Michigan real estate broker.    Several have beaten me to the punch of talking up Holland to Grand Haven.   Grand Rapids is great as well (biased, this is where I live).  If you stick to this triangle of geography (MSA of a little over a million) you should be able to find a high quality of life for a reasonable cost of living.  We have some world class amenities here, largely because some local billionaires have opted to keep a lot of their money right in the community.  

Not here fishing for leads, but mike at grar dotcom if there's anything I can point you towards. 

East Grand Rapids has lake life feels without the NEED to live on the lake in town.  You have great schools that will certainly prepare your kids for Michigan.  You are an hour to Lake Michigan but have a more metropolitan feel and less snow than Holland, etc.

I was raised near Lake Huron.  Lake Michigan is beyond better.  

Torch Lake.  As in we torched the buckeyes today.  Go Blue.  

Haslett. It's about 10 minutes east of East Lansing. Good schools, nice lake (Lake Lansing) with a quasi-college town feel, yet has some rural areas too. Greatish home prices, minutes away from shopping, dining, etc., and a nice blend of liberals and conservatives. Solid education level for residents too, being so close to MSU. We left, in part, because of the lack of diversity, but that was almost a decade ago. I hear that's improving as well. 

Note that Traverse City is part of a micropolitan area with over 150k in population, about 95k of that in Grand Traverse county alone:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traverse_City_micropolitan_area

Not huge, but too large to still be considered small at this point.

Brimley/Bay Mills

I live in what’s called Harbor Country, basically the Lake Michigan shore from Indiana up through Holland.  Specifically, I live at the southernmost point in New Buffalo Township. I could reach Indiana with a six-iron. 

My wife and I are empty nesters that met and lived in the Chicago area since the 80s. We bought our house in 2011 as a weekend retreat, downsized to a city condo in 2014 and moved here full time when the Covid lockdown began. sold the condo when we knew we had no reason to keep it. 

I give you that background so you know what we gave up to live here. I go to the city office once a week, a 63 mile commute that takes about 75 minutes. 

the good things we miss: variety of restaurants, Whole Foods’ produce and protien quality, more time with our family. 

the bad things we don’t miss: traffic, noise, adrenaline.

The good things we enjoy here: lower property taxes, quiet, greenery, nature walks, easier access to golf, Ann Arbor is an hour closer!

The bad things we don’t enjoy here: MAGA, which is probably true for any rural county.  We’re referred to by the locals as Fips, for Fucking Illinois People.  

Harbor Country is unique in its proximity to a major metropolis while still being rural and pleasant. We’ve both kept Cook County doctors, hairdressers etc, but we’ve also found replacements locally. We still fly out of ORD and MDW, just can’t do those early bird flights.
 

This morning I went to an urgent care and saw a nurse and a doctor within 10 minutes of arrival. I’m not going to sell it as “best of both worlds” but it’s mostly all good.  
 

hope that helps.

I think inland lakes are more useful than Great Lakes, unless you own a yacht. But as near as I can tell, all the good schools are south of Lansing.

Traverse City area has been our ideal spot for the past 12 years.

Alpena is a fantastic,  under the radar place.  I raised 3 kids there, 2 graduated UM in engineering.   3rd graduated MSU in business.   On lake Huron.   Great sailing, boating, fishing.  Small town atmosphere.   Very good schools and hospital.  Low crime rate.  Low cost of living.

Gull Lake in Richland, near Kalamazoo

I would love to live in a place like Silver Lake. Best of both worlds with the big lake and small lake. It’s a cute little small town too. Unsure how the schools are and it’s probably pretty touristy in the summer but I’d imagine a lot of lake communities are.

If you are concerned about health care, Traverse City is not the spot.  Munson Medical Center and the Munson Healthcare system are awful.

I live in Harrison Township (aka Boat Town). Lake St Clair is amazing and huge and grants you access to all the Great Lakes. Mt Clemens is a bigger city with a downtown that’s very close. St Clair Shores is a bit more hip, but less nice for raising children, IMO (still probably pretty good). There are marinas and boats everywhere and we’re 25 minutes from Detroit and an hour from AA. Houses on the lake or on canals are pretty affordable relative to a lot of places. 

I’ve lived in traverse city for over 20 years now. Great area. Beautiful, close to the big lake and a million little ones. But housing prices are insane now. 

Questions to think about:

Public or private schools?

Are you okay with rural? Lack of diversity? What about your kids?

Many lake areas are beautiful. But many also have small town politics. 

I cannot afford lake front. I’m in a small penninsula with lake access and it works for me. But for “affordable” lake front you might have to go more rural. 
 

I personally love Lake Huron. Prices are better there. And I summered there as a kid at my grandma’s cottage. 
 

But do check the surrounding area and see if you can live with it. 
 

Another thing to check might also be river front. My brother had frontage on the Huron in Brighton and loves it.