Canton - Detroit MI anyone?

[Melissa2007]

Well dh accepted a job in Detroit. He’ll be working in Allen Park actually. I have been doing so looking around on the internet. & I think I really like Canton. Does anyone know from experience if this is a good place to live or should I look elsewhere?

 

[KJLSchneider]

Congratulations to your DH. I’m sure you’ll receive better advice from some natives, but I graduated from the U of M in Ann Arbor with a lot of the local/Detroit area kids. From what I remember, Canton/Novi/Brighton weren’t bad, but probably don’t go too much further into town than that. Bloomfield/Bloomfield Hills and Grosse Pointe/Grosse Pointe Farms, etc are other pretty nice options. Make sure you get a good real estate agent as there are bargains to be had in the housing market there due to some recent economic problems, but there are also a lot of suspect areas that I wouldn’t feel safe in.

 

[Mirdath]

Living in the Bloomfield Hills area would make for a 30-40 minute commute on a good day with perfect weather and nobody else on the road, so that’s something to keep in mind.

I don’t run around the southwest suburbs much so I won’t be much help, but good luck and welcome to the metro area! It’s really not as horrible as you’ve probably heard

 

[SeekerJen]

Living in the Bloomfield Hills area would make for a 30-40 minute commute on a good day with perfect weather and nobody else on the road, so that’s something to keep in mind.

I don’t think the Canton-Allen Park commute would be any better. I drive in the opposite direction on I-94 each rush hour, and the traffic going eastbound in the AM and westbound in the PM between Southfield Freeway (Allen Park) and I-275 (Canton) looks to be pretty lousy on many days. If your husband doesn’t mind 30+ minutes in potentially bad traffic, then Canton is lovely. Nice neighborhoods, good schools, probably a lot of good deals on beautiful newer homes.

If your DH DOES mind long drives: Dearborn and Riverview are nearby and have some lovely neighborhoods (and again, good housing deals). I grew up in Dearborn and got a good education at one of the public high schools. City services are good there, there are a lot of lovely and unique older homes, and there’s a real sense of community. My cousin and her husband have a beautiful home in Riverview (nice neighborhood, too) and have three girls who are doing quite well in the public schools.

To counter the former U-M student (no offense, KJL): I’ve lived here for my entire life. Metro Detroit is huge. There are indeed some dodgy areas, especially in the city of Detroit. However, the majority of the area is quite nice and there aren’t too many areas that I DON’T feel safe in. 1/3 of the 4.5 million metro Detroiters identify as Catholic. People here are generally friendly, loyal, and hardworking.

 

[February]

To counter the former U-M student (no offense, KJL): I’ve lived here for my entire life. Metro Detroit is huge. There are indeed some dodgy areas, especially in the city of Detroit. However, the majority of the area is quite nice and there aren’t too many areas that I DON’T feel safe in. 1/3 of the 4.5 million metro Detroiters identify as Catholic. People here are generally friendly, loyal, and hardworking.

Very true. KJL, Brighton isn’t exactly in town I had a friend in grad school who was told by some people not to buy a house south or east of certain areas…she regretted this advice once living in Plymouth and commuting downtown everyday. Once she got to know the neighborhoods, she realized there are nice cities closer to Detroit.

At any rate, I work in Southgate, which is near Allen Park, and commute about a half hour from my house. I’m a social worker and visit cities throughout Wayne County. There are nice areas downriver (Riverview, Flat Rock, Brownstown). Plymouth and Canton are nice, Livonia is nice…if you want to go north a bit the Royal Oak area is nice and near Southfield Rd/Freeway which leads to Allen Park (eventually). Dearborn has some beautiful homes and a nice downtown area; I attend church in Dearborn.

Hopefully this helps a little.

 

[Psalm62]

Congratulation’s on your husband’s new job. My brother lives in Canton and it’s nice. There are a lot of homes there and it is a buyer’s market in the Detroit area now. It would not be a bad commute to Allen Park. Where are you coming from?

 

[aloejamb]

I live in Trenton so I can highly recommend this city. It’s a short commute to Allen Park and you wouldn’t necessarily have to get on any freeway. It is a friendly city with many activities going on year round. Riverview is the city right next door to us. I think you get more house for your money and also pay lesser taxes. Trenton and Riverview are also more established neighborhoods so you have mature trees and more custom homes vs every house on the block looking the same.
As for Canton, we have friends that live there. Traffic can be heavy at times. But it is a very nice city (at least the part where they live). Anywhere you live in Wayne County is more expensive i.e. car insurance, taxes etc… than other surrounding counties. Other posters mentioned Brighton…this is a nice area (not really a “city”) and out of Wayne county. So you may want to keep this in mind.
Hope this helps and welcome to the downriver area!

 

[MrS]

I have lived in Brighton and this area for nearly 20 years. It is great for traditional housing (single lot, nice home etc) and for larger lots … acres if you want and can afford.

But it is a good one drive each way to Allen Park. Too much for me to be content with.

Prior to that I lived in Dearborn. It was nice then, but I would not prefer it today for many reasons.

Prior to that I lived on the east side of Detroit. Most of the homes in the neighborhood are burned out, torn down or in shambles… and that is only 2 miles from the Grosse Pointes.

So if you like to be near the water, areas like the St. Clair Shores etc might work… 40 minutes to Allen Park.

Or one of the down river communitees mentioned above… Flat Rock etc.

And there are some decent areas right in Allen Park.

If public schools are a concern, you may not be satisfied anywhere around Detroit. Only the private, pricey schools offer very much. Catholic schools are not so bad.

If you can, lease a home for one year while you check out everything. Lots of people with homes to sell will soon be considering a lease so they can move on, and releave some debt. At least that is what I would consider… the lease.

.

 

[pprimeau1976]

The Canton area is a nice area to live but the commute to Allen Park could be a little rough, depending on how close you are to I-275. If your husband takes I-275 to I-94 to Southfield, he would make it to Allen Park in less than a half-hour. However, if you live in an area of Canton that’s 15 minutes from I-275, you might want to look at the downriver area for a home.

There are many good homes to pick from. I live in Brownstown right now but am looking to move because my wife may get a job out in Troy.

 

[puzzleannie]

when DH got transferred to Detroit in the late 80s his company put me in touch with a relocation specialist, who really helped esp. with mortagages, even tho I grew up there and had family. In that market we could not have negotiated what we did, including sale of our old house, without their help. in our suburb, also was a Newcomers Club that also helped enormously, not only welcome to the neighborhood and intros to other wives, couples, kids, but help finding doctors, dentists, school info, community links etc.