I think everyone did pretty well prior to me getting here…but…as much as I love my little town, Clawson may be tough commuting to plymouth. I did a few years commuting out to milford, which was pretty atrocious. The traffic on 696 anytime between like 3p and 6p coming east just sucks…and that’s before the nightmare of construction.
If you’re marginally closer to 696 to start (berkley, oak park, ferndale), you’re in much better shape. I’d definitely look at like Farmingtion (really nice little downtown), Novi or west bloomfield (not as much of a downtown but you’ll get more yard space).
Milford is a really really cool little town, but I think as you noted before it’s STUPID expensive, and gets super busy during the day with the proving grounds traffic.
Dear God. Stay away. It’s where I grew up and where my parents live and it’s a shithole. And the whole Pontiac area as well. Unless you go north to Bloomfield Hills.
I live in Plymouth and obviously it will depend on your budget and what you are looking for. Just based on reading your posts here, I am not sure the schools matters for you.
Plymouth itself is great, but the taxes are high and the home prices are on the higher end for the area. Same with both suburbs north of Plymouth, Northville and Novi. Northville, which is where I grew up, got its name for being the village north of Plymouth. Novi is again similar for home prices and taxes, but lacks a real downtown. They have the best public schools around here, both usually top five or ten in the state.
East of Plymouth is Livonia, which is a pure suburb. There is no downtown area, and the restaurants and bars are spread all over the town. That being said, the schools are solid and its a nice town.
South of Plymouth is Canton, and south of that is Bellville. I only know a couple people who have moved to Bellville, but I believe its more affordable and has a little downtown. Canton is another pure suburb without a ton of character. They share a school district with Plymouth, and the schools are pretty solid here.
True west is Salem and then sorta Ann Arbor? It gets a little empty out there. Salem has a church and a general store, and I think that’s it. They are in the same school district with Plymouth and Canton though.
Other people have covered the towns to the east. I lived in Royal Oak for 7 years and moved out when my wife was pregnant. I would live in Clawson if it was more practical for my commute. I have a buddy who loves Farmington, and he goes to the little downtown there all the time. A bunch of my in-laws live in Farmington Hills too, and they like where they are at.
A lot of my friends have moved to South Lyon, Milford and New Hudson. All of them would have tough commutes for you if you need to go on 96 during rush hour, but they seem really nice.
Trenton is looking pretty good for our budget. What’s the air quality like there being closer to the city/factories?
All these responses have been helpful this morning. Told my wife you guys would come through for us and you have. Thank you so much!
Yeah man, order is placed sorry. If some yahoo doesn’t come through and pay for what he’s ordered I can give you dibs on his stuff though? 
I have asthma and I’ve never had an issue with the Air Quality except when Canada was burning down earlier this year. It’s also probably getting better in the last few years with DTE shutting down the coal power plant down on the riverfront.
Also I was joking about the Detroit City stuff I know there is a lot of bad blood there. A lot of the people that went to the Open Cup game took it very personal that FCC fans threw beer and trash on us and were spitting on us. NGS loves to fuck around but doesn’t like to find out.
Yeah this shit was never okay, but
This is also very true. Sometimes it very much feels like the NGS is cosplaying as “hard”.
That being said, I’m sure the vast majority of your supporters are good people who just love their team and aren’t trying to start shit online.
Or 75 miles away from Inverness to apply for their very reasonable national membership.
was there info on paying that went out yet? was I just not paying a ton of attention?
reasonable you say?
The lady I know who’s a member there complains all the time about the national membership!
It has to be substantial though because they built two fantastically beautiful new big guest houses on property for national members to stay out when they come in. And I believe they’re building a third as well.
For the class of club it is, and from the numbers I’ve heard, yeah it seemed reasonable.
I think the national membership was $5k initiation. This was a little while ago (post covid) so I could be way off.
Is this as the bird flies? I’m 74.5 miles via I-75, but 85.8 if I choose to take US-23. I’m not opposed to the scenic route
Sounds like it’s worth a phone call!
yep get me on venmo, details in the order form
I imagine it’s a radial mile situation.
Yah, just a massive warning on Troy/ Clawson but 696 is under contraction through 2025 and that commute is going to be miserable:
You know a member you say?
@golf4miami, coming in late here with my comments. Others have said a lot of good comments but here are my 2 cents.
I live in Huntington Woods (right next to Berkley, Royal Oak, Oak Park, and a little south of Clawson), and I would not consider a commute to Plymouth. I can get on 696 in under 60 seconds but I despise commuting and that drive just isn’t worth it to me. I696 is a mess and will be for a year or more, and the 696/275 junction will always be a traffic hellhole. There are other routes but you know your tolerance for commuting, traffic, and what times you’ll be doing it and how often better than anyone else.
The nicest downtowns that are walkable in the area are (in no particular order): Plymouth, Northville, Farmington, Royal Oak, Ferndale, Birmingham, Berkley, and then out I96 into Livingston County. All are going to be more expensive than “average” and/or add to your commute. No real way around that. Downriver or true stock suburbs (like Canton or Livonia where I grew up) don’t have a ton of amenities, are car-dependent, but have better value for land, space, and cost of living. Other places to consider looking are Dearborn (solid downtown, great housing stock) or even the areas just outside Ann Arbor which likely will have a Ypsilanti or Pittsfield Twp address.
Check back in after you have some more details re: your job and have done a little more research (even driving around the areas to get a feel for them), and then we all can likely be of more help.