Possible relocation to Saginaw area...

[USA11B]

Ok this is going to seem kinda goofy, but I posted the same msg to the Detroit forum about moving to Detroit. Here's the deal, a job relocation to Detroit fell through at the last minute, now I am pretty close to being offered another position in Saginaw. Of course it could very well fall through also, but this one looks much more like a sure thing, and when it happens its going to be short and sweet, so in other words I will be relocating very quickly...So just in case I need to start looking ASAP to prepare for the likely possibility.

Just looking for any suggestions on places to relocate...Have kids, so schools, crime, etc. is a big factor. Want to avoid sprawl-burb areas...Basically any areas where you find Home Depots, Applebees, Wal-Mart...as far as the eye can see! Also looking in the 130-160k price range. Of course the more the better, acreage, sq. footage, etc. But we're not totally against giving up that if it means being in an area where we can walk to food, fun, etc. and the schools are good and the crime isn't really bad.

Haven't really narrowed anything down yet, some areas I guess we're more inclined to are Saginaw(concerns high crime, bad schools), Bay City(bad schools?), Midland(uppity snobbish?), Unionville-Sebewaing, Sanford Lake, Flint(Kearsely area), Pinconning(bad schools?), Frankenmuth(uppity, snobbish people?), Birch Run(bad schools?)...Any feedback appreciated (HOPEFULLY this time it's for REAL!!!)

[dtown]

sadly, many of the areas in saginaw have high crime rates. but i dont know much about Saginaw. But, wolverine lives there, so if he sees this topic, he can tell you all about it.

[USA11B]

sadly, many of the areas in saginaw have high crime rates. but i dont know much about Saginaw. But, wolverine lives there, so if he sees this topic, he can tell you all about it.

Do you know much about the Flint Kearsely area? I may be able to commute from Flint, so we are also considering that area...

[dtown]

what would you like to know about that area?

[GRDadof3]

Try the Saginaw Township area. There are some older neighborhoods where I think you can still find a good deal on a home. I personally wouldn't go any further East than Mackinaw or Malzahn, but that's just from my experiences with my In-laws living there. If I had to relocate there (God forbid), that's the only area I'd even consider (using the same criteria of good schools, convenience, etc.).

OK, maybe a bit harsh, but Saginaw is not doing well IMO.

[dtown]

well, if you move to the Flint area, dont move into the area with the Bently school district, last i knew, they had to get rid of their school bus system because they couldnt afford to keep it.

Last i knew the kearsly school district was pretty good, as is the davison school district, grand blanc, thoose areas. im not sure about the city of flint school districts.

edit- i just realized that you said you wanted to avoid sprawburb areas, so Grand Blanc(as Allan cound tell you) might not be for you, quite a few other areas are pretty sprawly too.

[wolverine]

Okay, I meant to post this Saturday night, but my internet has been down.

As far as the city of Saginaw. You are right about the crime being an issue. Obviously, it's very problematic on the East side, and there has been a bit more crime than usual on the West side. Pretty much everything else surrounding the city is somewhat sprawly. I guess that's kind of a bad situation for you because it's either a suburban type setting or living in a neighborhood that's susceptable to crime, lol. Growing up there, we didn't encounter to many problems. I used to live in the Woodbridge Neighborhood on N. Andre St. Our neighborhoodd was relatively safe and well taken care of with only a fwe minor incidents every so once and awhile. With the rising crime though, I'm sure some things have changed in teh past few years. Although I'd love to urge you to move into the city, I have to be honest just being two blocks from deadly shooting recently after leaving work around 12 a.m...., that it's probably not safe for your kids to be living deep within the city. Anywhere on the far west side is pretty good and safe. As far as schools, there are some good elementary and middle schools. I don't know how good they are right now, but I guess they got me somewhere since I'll be soon graduating from college. I don't know too much about the high schools though, as I went to Frankenmuth High School instead of Nouvel Catholic High in Saginaw. There also Swan Valley, and Heritage High. Arthur Hill High has had some issues recently, and Saginaw High is just plain scary.

From my experience, I can say Frankenmuth has an excellent academic and atheltic program. I took full advantage both as well as many of my classmates who made it into some of the top universities in the nation. Frankenmuth is fairly wealthy and unfortunately not all that diverse population-wise, although the schools were a bit better with those numbers since Frankenmuth School District is somewhat regional. From the price range you are looking at, it's likely you'll find some historic homes in some well established neighborhoods that are very clean, well kept, and close to the downtown. Frankenmuth is about a 15-20 minute drive to Saginaw as far as reaching the downtown or shopping malls.

Birch run doesn't seem to have that many options as far as housing. It still seems very rural and sprawly. Most homes there seem fairly new. Additionally, I read in the Saginaw news they recently voted down a millage to improve their schools. Guess you won't be sending your kids there!

Midland schools are very good. In fact, if your kids want to get involved in extra curricular activities, I hope they are good in sports, debate, etc. Very competitive over there. There are areas where there are some historic homes. No clue about price ranges though. You may want to consult the thread about Midland. It's a difficult community to describe. You make like it or you may absolutely hate it. If you are from Saginaw or Bay City, you are probably not going to like it all that much.

Pinconning seems a little far. You'd be bored.

If you want to live in a more urban environment, live in a house with character, within a well kept and diverse neighborhood, then Bay City would be your place. There are tons of events, concerts, and cultural activities going on. The city is in the midst of a major renaissance where old warehouses and steel mills are being converted into condos, lofts, and retail space. Although those spaces probably go for an arm and a leg, at least the people aren't snobish! lol. The riverfront there is remarkable, there is a ton of historic architecture, and beautiful parks. I don't know much about Bay City Schools though. I guess they are pretty good. Currently I'm working on the renovation of Bay City Central High School which is absolutely mammoth. It seems pretty nice inside, which can be an indicator that all is functioning well there academically too. (of course we are making it better lol) There are also suburbs of Bay City like Essexiville and Hampton which aren't too sprawly.

I'd say Bay City or Frankenmuth is your safest bets. I'd definitely check them out. Although I'd have to say Bay City definitely sounds like the kind of place you are looking for. I know you would like it.

Realize that reguardless of where you move. You'll probably be visiting all three cities very often. You'll shop in Saginaw. Probably go to Bay City to dine or for recreation, and visit Midland for museums and recreation as well. Each city is very connected to one another, and very close which is why we are considered a combined region.

[dtown]

know that i think about what you said, i think Bay Cityor Essexville may be a good bet for you. last time i was in essexville, i was surprised that it had many traditional neighborhoods, especially for a suburb. Bay City also is on the saginaw river, so if you have a boat, youve got acess to lake huron too.

[USA11B]

Wow Wolverine, thanks for all the great info!!! <I never thought a...a...a U...U...UofM fan could be so helpful >

Seriousely that's some great insight!

A lot of what you said is exactly the impression i got of some of the areas. Midland and Frankenmuth seem like the easy choices just based on best places to raise family, best schools, most likely to prosper compared to rest of area, etc. The things that scare me about those areas, they seem like very narrow-minded, uppity, ultra-conservative, you better belong to the right church and PTA group type of areas. Now I'm not looking for some tree-hugging, alternative lifestyle type area, but where we live now is very much ultra-conservative. Where I grew up you would get funny looks from your neighbors if the cops showed up at your place every weekend, or you were stumbling around your front yard piss-drunk on a Tuesday afternoon...Here you get looks like that because you don't belong to the same church as everybody else, or because you let your pre-teen son ride his bike around the neighborhood w/o a helmet or knee pads! Sorry to ramble, just we've had a lousy experience where we currently live and want to avoid that again at all costs, Midland kinda seems to remind me of that...I guess I'll have to see if it's really all that bad.

Frankenmuth, we used to visit there all the time...absolutely LOVE that place...BUT...I have heard from a few different people that it's really not a good place to live if you're not from there or not tied to one of the big families there...You'll always be treated like an outsider...Any truth to that?

I think i'll definately look at Bay City more closely. I've been there before, I went to the Hooters by the waterfront, I thought it was a pretty cool little city.

I love Saginaw, I love a lot of the old homes they have there, some GREAT deals on houses...That being said, I really don't know how good of an idea it would be to put our kids in the Heritage or Arthur Hill school districts...I know you mentioned them, are they really bad? or just not that good? Are they getting worse?

We thought about moving to Saginaw and just putting them in private, Nouvell Catholic, but I really don't know if we could afford that w/4kids...

Pinconning, etc. way out in the country probably would get bored quick and easy. But it's hard to beat a decent house w/several acres for less than 150k!!!

Thanks again for all the suggestions...keep them coming!!!

[TheNawMan]

As far as the schools go Heritage is surely better than Arthur Hill. I went to AH for 2 years and hated it. But if you are considering Saginaw still there is always the Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy where I went. It wouldn't be ideal if your kids are huge into sports, but as far as academics it easily rivals or surpasses even the Midland schools (and despite the name it is an open enrollment public school).

As far as crime in Saginaw I grew up on Charles and Cass on the west side and still live there in the summers and have never had any major incidents except for the guy across the street getting into a drunken fight with his friend once. There are many nice neighborhoods even in the city still but they can be spotty so you'd really have to check it out in person to get the full idea.

What you heard about Frankenmuth and being "an outsider" is pretty true from what I've heard. I've had family members and family friends live there and said that they always felt kind of shunned by their neighbors. Good thing is anywhere you end up in the Tri-city area you'll never be more than 45min to an hour from the fudge and chicken of the 'Muth.

Otherwise I would pretty much agree with Wolverine and either suggest Bay City, the west end of Saginaw, or the east end of Saginaw Township.

[wolverine]

This why I still think Bay City is your best bet. If you want to try Saginaw, I'd still reccomend Heritage High, or even Swan Valley. You might want to drive around and see what neighborhoods you like.

LOL, I don't think Frankenmuth will treat you too much as an outsider granted over half of my classmates had moved to Frankenmuth from other locations. But it's quite obvioius that many of the parents are very busy so it's likely they don't socialize too much with their neighbors unless they are very good friends. I just wonder if you'll find the kind of house you are looking for within your price range.

[Middle Street]

You could also try Millington,Vasser,Reese,Kingston, Anything in Tuscola county is pretty safe and crime free. I'm in Millington and love it. No home depot but the self serve lumber rocks as does the grain elevator. Tuscola county for the most part is alot of house and property for the money. I'm on 5 acres and 1500 sqare feet with barns and outbuilding for under 100K. Frankemuth taxes are killer. And Kearsley is not that great of a school district they just want you to belive they are.

[wolverine]

I hate Millington's football field. enough said. kidding.

Tuscola County is nice, but from his past questions about various areas, I think he's looking for something more urban.

[USA11B]

I thank everybody for their replies, but guess what...change 10,000...We are not relocating to MI (at least AS OF NOW). The same job that I was hoping to get back to MI with, they just told me I have to relocate to either 1. Columbus, OH, 2. Philly/Eastern PA area, or 3. New Jersey :-(

So unfortunately MI isn't happening right now, but hopefully within the next few years we'll manage to get back there somehow, and Saginaw area is definately tops on the list. This decision will be much harder as we were hoping to go back to MI or stay where we're at until we could go back to MI.

Thanks again!