Very OT: Good lake towns to raise a family in Michigan?
I could use the collective Michigan wisdom of those who seek a brief respite from CC 2024 and draft announcement armageddon.
I live just outside of NYC. I live here because I work in finance but I've always hated NYC. Since COVID, my job has turned more and more to a work from home basis (yes, I recognize this entails risks). We are a family of five with kids ranging in ages from 6 to 15. Despite my best efforts not to indoctrinate them, they have all expressed interests in attending U of M - shocker, I know. I can't stomach paying 3 sets of out-of-state tuitions, but in addition, both my wife and I have pined to return to Michigan and get away from NYC.
I've lived in Ann Arbor for about 10 non-continuous years of my life - last in 2009, so I know A2 well. Recently, I researched the home prices in A2 - holy smokes. The escalation in prices reminded me of Donovan's two jet blaster runs in the NCG.
Anyway, this got me thinking that maybe I needed to broaden my search, and my wife has always expressed some desire to live by a lake. It seems Lake Michigan is most in demand. Is there a reason that Lake Huron is less in demand? Maybe the eastern side of Michigan is generally less populated and less developed? Too cold? Did some of you live in a lake town and come to regret it? (I'm aware that Michigan also has many interior lakes but I don't know much about them either.)
I know some of you will respond that the lake towns are just as expensive as A2 but given the vast coastline of Michigan I'm hoping that some of you will share some hidden gems that provide good value to raise a family. (Don't worry, this thread will be buried into obscurity within a matter of hours and your hidden gems will stay hidden but to me.)
I'm looking for the type of things that you would think someone in my situation would look for: low crime, family-friendly neighborhoods with plentiful family-centered activities in the community - but I'm also happy to take advice here that I'm being too parochial with my variables; the older I get the more I realize that I know less than I thought I did. Good scenery and good park systems seem like they would be positives too.
Appreciate any insights.
January 15th, 2024 at 11:41 AM ^
The Holland-Grand Haven area is delightful. How do you feel about lake effect snow?
January 15th, 2024 at 11:45 AM ^
I'm ok with it as long as we're talking more snow shoveling and blowing and not, for example, roofs collapsing. Come to think of it, I think I lived over 11 years in A2 and owned a home for part of it so I have some familiarity with snow issues and driving, unless you're going to tell me that it's going to be three times the A2 snow levels!
January 15th, 2024 at 11:50 AM ^
I don't think that "three times" estimate is that far off. The lake effect is real, and it's spectacular.
January 15th, 2024 at 12:17 PM ^
According to Google, Ann Arbor average 43 inches of snow per year and Holland average 79 inches.
January 15th, 2024 at 12:42 PM ^
Thanks for checking--so it's closer to 2x instead of 3. I just remember there being many times during the winter months while I attended UofM back in the late 80s/early 90s when ample amounts of green grass could be seen. Of course, it has been a while...
January 15th, 2024 at 1:29 PM ^
I remember walking on the sidewalk in St. Joseph with the snowbanks over 6' in the last 15 years.
Was the same winter you could walk on the ice out past the lighthouse at the end of the pier.
January 15th, 2024 at 10:42 PM ^
Yeah, well I grew up there, and there's nothing like 4-foot drifts in April and ice well beyond the pier--some years, in fact, to about 20 miles out or one-third the distance to Chicago.
January 15th, 2024 at 11:58 AM ^
Seconded on the Grand Haven/Holland area. But yes, you are talking about 3x the snow - we just got about 24" over the weekend. But the thing about lake effect snow is it tends to be powdery and thus easy to remove and not a huge risk for roofs.
Plus if you're looking for a little bit of city life, Grand Rapids is only about a half hour away.
January 15th, 2024 at 11:45 AM ^
Check Lake Orion. Good schools, a cute downtown, and a beautiful all-sports lake
January 15th, 2024 at 1:38 PM ^
You mentioned good schools - with three kids who express an interest in going to Michigan the quality of the school system is the first place I'd look before delving more deeply into any locale, close to a lake or otherwise.
Our two sons were OOS students who went to Michigan after attending top notch public schools and were largely able to start as sophomores due to AP credits.
January 15th, 2024 at 11:46 AM ^
If you want a combination of a modern city plus nice scenery, Grand Rapids will fit the bill. If you MUST live on Lake Michigan…Muskegon, Grand Haven, or Holland are all very nice…but there’s a whooooole lotta nothing in those areas.
January 15th, 2024 at 11:50 AM ^
no dog in this fight...but just wondering how are they very nice with a whole lotta nothing?
like...in spite of, or because of, or?
January 15th, 2024 at 11:56 AM ^
Yeah pretty bizarre comment. In the summer, these are some of the best places to be in Michigan.
I've lived around the Holland-Grand Haven-Muskegon area and there is plenty to do in each of the three cities, even in the winter. On top of this, if you ever get bored, Grand Rapids is a short drive away for the weekend.
January 15th, 2024 at 12:00 PM ^
You are right on that. Depending on where you’re going in Grand Rapids it can only be 25 or 30 minutes to get there.
January 15th, 2024 at 12:01 PM ^
I have a feeling they're referring to the West Olive/Port Sheldon area between GH and Holland. US 31 is pretty desolate for several miles there. But yes, anything you'd want to do is just a 15-30 minute drive.
January 15th, 2024 at 11:46 AM ^
White Lake/Commerce Twp area. Good school district (Walled Lake Schools), and there's a lot of lakes in the area (Union, Upper/Lower Straights, Pontiac Lake, White Lake, Oxbow Lake, etc)
January 15th, 2024 at 12:27 PM ^
Second this. Nice area but the traffic in this area is brutal IMO.
January 15th, 2024 at 12:36 PM ^
Wolverine Lake or Walled Lake and you can undercut the worst of the traffic and you are only 35 mins from A2. Lake life is the best..I will never move back to dry land.
January 15th, 2024 at 11:46 AM ^
Manistee is ready to take off and have its moment - a hidden gem on Lake Michigan.
January 15th, 2024 at 11:53 AM ^
🤫 Sssshhh...
January 15th, 2024 at 11:56 AM ^
Keep them south Mike. Don't let them ruin it.
January 15th, 2024 at 12:47 PM ^
I bought some property in Manistee in 2020. I live in Ventura, California. Sitting on the property like a snake in the weeds. Hoping to build sooner or later. Want to end up doing the half here, half there thing.
Mike you don't have Stones tickets available, do you?
January 15th, 2024 at 12:51 PM ^
I take it property taxes are low for you to sit on a vacant lot for four years?
January 15th, 2024 at 1:14 PM ^
Yes, they are in my particular situation. We bought two acres on a six acre pond, located next to a 25 acre lake about 4 miles east of Lake Michigan. What we paid is nothing like buying on Lake Michigan.
The property is heavily wooded and very serene. That's what we wanted.
Also, I have one son who is finishing up grad school and I don't have to factor in the schooling side of your equation.
I should add that property taxes are higher on the west side of the state (Lake Michigan) compared to the east side (Lake Huron).
January 15th, 2024 at 1:14 PM ^
He's to busy recommending Zep IV side 2 to his buddies.
January 15th, 2024 at 4:22 PM ^
I view Ventura/Oxnard and Manistee/Onekama rather similarly.
On the ocean (lake), great sunsets and great beaches, and in between areas that are more well known in Malibu (Ludington/Pentwater) and Santa Barbara (Traverse City/Leelanau County). More working class and thus somewhat cheaper but still just as beautiful.
Perhaps not a coincidence, but I have 3 bumper stickers on my car (I live down in the Valley, the 818) - 2 of them are a Ventura sticker and a "One Comma" sticker.
January 15th, 2024 at 11:47 AM ^
Here in Michigan, the sunrise coast (Huron) is less expensive than the sunset (Michigan) coast. There’s more development on the west coast Holland-Traverse City-Petoskey than the east. Holland is definitely affordable relative to other lake towns and close to the amenities in Grand Rapids including a decent airport.
January 15th, 2024 at 12:09 PM ^
Historically, part of the status of the west side of the state was because it was a popular summer vacation spot for Chicago residents.
F'rinstance, Ernest Hemingway's early Nick Adams stories are set in NW Michigan because Hemingway's family summered there.
January 15th, 2024 at 3:10 PM ^
Ernest used to hang around Walloon Lake quite a bit.
The City Park Grill in Petoskey was one of his favorite hangouts up there.
January 15th, 2024 at 11:47 AM ^
Going off your last paragraph, hard to argue against the Traverse City area. Seems like more and more as time goes on large news media platforms are crowning Northern Michigan as the best place to visit/live. Wall Street Journal labeled the Leelanau Peninsula the best beach vacation in America this year.
January 15th, 2024 at 12:51 PM ^
Traverse and Leelanau County are more expensive than Ann Arbor. They're part of the California and New York housing market now. Nothing less than half a million except for double wides
January 15th, 2024 at 1:42 PM ^
So it's a good fit for folks like the OP?
January 15th, 2024 at 1:44 PM ^
Not if he's trying to avoid Ann Arbor prices like he said in the OP
January 15th, 2024 at 2:36 PM ^
and very little on water under $1 mil
January 15th, 2024 at 3:53 PM ^
In Grand Traverse and Leelanau Counties, there are no properties on Lake Michigan/Grand Traverse Bay for less than $1M
January 15th, 2024 at 2:43 PM ^
I found Denarded's recommendations helpful nonetheless. It seems prices have gone haywire everywhere. Based on D's recommendations, I'm looking right now on Zillow at Traverse City, Elk Rapids, Cedar, and Maple City, and it looks like there are homes in our budget.
January 15th, 2024 at 3:55 PM ^
It's an incredible area. Cedar and Maple City are lovely little communities, and I honestly don't think you'd find the culture in Traverse/Leenanau to be too far off from NYC. There are so many big city transplants there now (including TONS from NYC), and they've imported their cultures with them
January 15th, 2024 at 3:13 PM ^
All that money explains why the Traverse City Meijer is huge and well-stocked.
I only visit occasionally, but it seems like most of TC's current growth is to the south and west. Nothing really seems to be happening to the north.
January 15th, 2024 at 3:06 PM ^
there are definitely places in the grand traverse region where prices are prohibitively expensive (esp. w/ rates where they are right now) but there are also a lot of affordable areas throughout the region and plenty of hidden gems if you have a little time to search. phenomenal place to live in the summer, and winter is great too if you are into skiing (XC or downhill), snow-shoeing, etc. if you look near the "spider lake" or "arbutus" area to the southeast of town or other areas throughout where there are gorgeous lots along inland water bodies, you should be able to find all kinds of affordable properties/houses, depending on what you're looking for - sure frontage on Lake Michigan proper is going to fetch a pretty penny, but there is a lot of water around here that you can live quite close to if you are willing to seek the right place... best of luck!
January 15th, 2024 at 11:49 AM ^
I was an east coaster (suburban Philly) who spent all his summers on a lake near Ludington, which was a gorgeous area if a bit far from most major cities.
My wife went to camp and HS at Interlochen Academy a bit farther north and she looooooved it.
I live in Boston now and have been thinking the same things you are, although inertia can be tricky to overcome.
January 15th, 2024 at 12:54 PM ^
I lived in Cambridge for a few years. For some reason, I found the winters there far more dreary than in A2. I don't know what it was but I never felt quite at home there.
January 15th, 2024 at 3:39 PM ^
Yeah I agree.
Less light and more moisture I think are the main reasons I find the weather here worse during the winter. Also, outside of some nice shoulder season spells, I find the summers to be pretty swampy.
January 15th, 2024 at 1:17 PM ^
I've vacationed in the Luddington area for over 20yrs and I can't think of a better Lake Michigan place to live.
January 15th, 2024 at 3:42 PM ^
I'm glad to hear it is still nice!
My grandparents sold their place as they got up in years and I haven't been back in 20 years or so.
In a way it (and I think Michigan summers in general) spoiled me because I became used to fresh water which is so much nicer than salt water imo.
January 15th, 2024 at 11:49 AM ^
There are hundreds of inland lakes in West Michigan that are family friendly.
Not a real estate expert but I have to believe property on Lake Michigan is super expensive.
January 15th, 2024 at 11:50 AM ^
I second Bo Schemhecker but will drive it even further down and say Holland. The whole area is great to live in. Let me rephrase that......It is absolutely beautiful and amazing in the late spring, summer and fall. Wintertime is lake effect snow but not all the time. We are actually getting our first round of snow just this weekend. I am one who will definitely be a snowbird just because I don't care much for the cold. Coming from NYC it wouldn't be something new to you.
January 15th, 2024 at 11:51 AM ^
You didn't specify if you wanted to live on a Great Lake, or just a lake. I have experience with both, so I'll share.
My former in-laws lived in Oxford on a lake. Nice house, beach access, good schools, beautiful neighborhood.
My grandpa's brother had a cottage on Lake Huron in Lakeport. Also a nice area, although a lot more remote.
January 15th, 2024 at 12:02 PM ^
Lakeport (and the Thumb in general) would be a pretty big change-of-pace from NYC. Schools would probably be a concern for OP.
January 15th, 2024 at 12:24 PM ^
Schools would be the elephant (large / medium / small) in the room for many lake towns, especially in the more rural areas of the state. I saw Traverse City mentioned at least once. That's a place where you could check multiple boxes. TC West and Central have well-established pipelines to UM. If the OP is Ivy-oriented, there are a handful of those instances every year, too.
January 15th, 2024 at 12:37 PM ^
For sure. I work north of Lakeport and it's a super rural area. 180° from NYC.