The top Michigan Cities
Here is my list of the top Michigan cities. As a Realtor we get home buyers opinions about many of the cities. But what is great about being a Michigan relocation specialist is that I hear from out of state people too. They get their information from research, friends that lived here, and colleagues that do live here. So I hear many prospectives about what are the top cities in Michigan
Here is my list in no particular order as I do not want to be accused of being biased.
Eight of these fifteen top Michigan cities have centralized downtowns. Centralized downtowns add a sense of community. It is a place where they have activities for the kids. Residents walk, bike, and drive to these little downtowns for coffee, shop, and eat. It is a go to place when you do not want to go far. Most of them have strong downtown development authorities and chamber of commerces that work hard to have festivals, crafts shows, farmers markets, and music in the summer to draw the local residents and people from around the county to the downtown area. All of these cities I myself have been to a few times for a festival, or to shop, or to eat. They are great places to visit whether you live there or not.
2 top cities in Wayne County MI
So why do I think these communities are so great? I based them on buyers perception, low crime rates, good to excellent schools, good city services, demographics, and ease of getting around. When I talk about buyers perception I mean that buyers want to live in these communities. They would love to live there but sometimes cannot because of the higher home values. The demand is high for homes in these cities. Many buyers only choose other cities because they can get more house for their money in other surrounding cities. Buyers perception drives demand and demand drives the home prices. If I asked any Michigander for the top 15 cities in Metro Detroit these towns would come up.
Schools
Let's talk about schools. When I have Michigan relocation clients usually one of the top priorities on their list is good schools for their children. There is no way any client I have worked with has bought a home in a city with a poor school district. THEY WANT GOOD SCHOOLS. Most of Metro Detroit's suburbs have good schools. There are only a few school systems in SE Michigan that have substandard schools, but excellent school systems stand out. School Districts like Birmingham, Northville, Bloomfield, and West Bloomfield are consistently preparing students well for colleges. The majority of the graduating class go onto college. It is an expected event for the kids. They have updated schools with the latest technology. The kids test in the upper percentiles on the State tests. They are places where you want to send your kids. Not only are they safe, but your child can excel and be ready for college. Many of these school systems have new or updated high schools. They excel many times in sports, the arts, and academics.
Crime Rates
Another of my criteria is low crime rates. Most of these cities have strong police forces to combat and investigate any crime that may occur. These are cities in Michigan where you are only going to have random crime. You are not going to have neighbors that got their pay check and now are drunk and fighting with their wife. You are not going to have domestic disputes going on all over your block. You will be able to walk your neighborhood and your city at any time of day or night without the fear of being mugged. You can leave your car in your driveway without the tires being taken or the car being stolen. When I say random crime I mean occasional crime that happens in every city. You will have a kid that will go and do a little destruction. There will be an occasional house breaking or vandalism. Crime happens everywhere, but these cities have low crime rates. However it does partially boil down to the demographics and the people in the city.
Demographics
Most of these communities are white collar communities with higher incomes. The majority of the residents have college degrees or masters degrees. They expect their children to go to college. They have disposable income to maintain their homes. The rate of foreclosure even during the mortgage crisis was low in these cities. Usually higher income people have more reserves to be able to handle financial crisis. This helps to make a stable community. Buyers like to buy homes in areas that have people like them. It is just that simple. Affluent areas draw affluent people. Three or four of these areas are very affluent. High demographic areas draw the same type of people.
Homes & Home values
Most of the communities I listed above have a wide variety of homes. From small 1000 square foot homes to homes over 4000 square feet in size. Some of the cities have many luxury estate sized homes that have price tags over a million dollars. You will find that these homes are well maintained and updated in most cases. There are always exceptions to the rule.
Ease of travel
All of these communities are close to business centers in Southeastern Michigan or are close to an expressway. The ease of getting back and forth to work without spending hours on the road is important to my relocation clients. They do not want to spend an hour on the road. They are tired from work. The usual maximum drive time I hear from my buyers moving to Michigan is under forty minutes. With our great highway system and major roads it makes it easy to get around Metro Detroit. But home owners in Birmingham like that they are close to Woodward Avenue and Southfield expressway. Northville and Plymouth home owners like that they can jump on I-275 or I-96 to get around. All of these communities are between a 30 minute to hour drive to Detroit metro airport. So like all relocations to Michigan where you will be working or what you want to be near ultimately plays into where you will be living.
I hope this list of Top Michigan cities helps you narrow down your search of where you want to live when you relocate to Metro Detroit. We are lucky to live here and I am sure you will be glad too. So give us a call if you have any questions about the area. I have worked with most of the major relocation companies so I can help make your next move easier. My cell is (248) 310-6239
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My apologies if I missed a city that you think is great. Email me to tell me about your city yesmyrealtor@gmail.com
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