Columbus, OH Hershey, PA Ann Arbor, MI: possible moving, help

[JulieL]

Ok my husband is setting up interviews in December and January for residency. We are working with the medical system for residency which is called The Match. You accept a certain amount of interviews then rank the jobs from 1-10 (or how many you decide to do) of the ones you want to do most to the least. Well we have to cut out a few interviews (don't want to pay for every interview he is given!) We currently have these three above towns to decide which interviews to keep and which to let go. We don't know much about the above towns, and how affordable they are. Any help would be great as well have to cancel the interview asap if we should so decide to.

What we need is a home w/3 bedrooms in a good school district for around $160,000.

We need to be able to live fairly close to the city, but not in the city per say. We want a commute for DH for under 30 minutes.

We would like it to be an area close or in an area that has a lot of outdoor activities: hiking, camping, and so forth

Ok I guess that's it really. Any help would be great.

[mommyoftwo]

I just sent you an email.

[babystuffbuff]

I grew up in Ann Arbor and lived there until I was 22. It is a wonderful place to live with kids, there is a ton to do there, both indoors and outdoors.

The public schools are very good. Housing can be expensive. I'm not sure what the market there is doing right now; you might find it hard to get the space you want in your price range within the city limits. However, you would probably be able to find something slightly outside of Ann Arbor itself.

I was born at the University of Michigan hospital, and had surgery at Mott as an infant. They always took good care of me there. :)

P.S. As a devout and faithful Michigan fan, I cannot in good conscience recommend that anyone live in Columbus. :P

Sarah

Auntie to my seven munchkins, and thinking about TTC a munchkin of our own :)

[lmintzer]

Love, love, love Ann Arbor! I went to MI, and dh and I lived there during his residency and my internship. The schools are good--it's a fabulous "small city" with lots of good food and things to do.

I would live there again in a heartbeat!

However, it IS expensive. A friend my mine more than 2 times that for a 3 bedroom, and that was about 4 years ago. However, if you are willing to move out a little further and not be walking distance from the downtown, your options increase. We knew some people who bought a cute 3 bedroom on a resident's salary. It was in a part of town that was more just like a subdivision and not the quaint, down town Ann Arbor feel. Their house was small but had a finished basement and a huge yard. I don't know what they paid for it or what it would go for now, but it would be close to your price range.

I would do a quick search on Realtor.com. Put in some of the Ann Arbor zip codes and see what comes up.

[Bubbas_Momma]

I was born and raised in Ann Arbor, and I work here too. I love Ann Arbor - just can't afford to live here! It is very pricey (beginning prices for a 3 bedroom "starter" home are $210K +), so we live about 20 miles away in Belleville (Van Buren Township) and commute in everyday. It's not a horrible drive - we live very close to Detroit Metro Airport and it takes about 25-30 minutes to get here in rush hour traffic (no accidents or anything).

You may be able to find something in Ypsilanti, Saline, or Canton, which are neighboring communities, but the prices there are rising as well. Ann Arbor has great schools, and even if you don't live within the school district boundary there are good charter schools in the area. I've heard that Saline and Canton schools are good, not sure about Ypsilanti schools. Belleville/Van Buren Township schools aren't the greatest from what I've heard.

One of the big plusses about where we live currently is the brand new IKEA store that is less than 10 miles away!

One of these days, we plan to move back to Ann Arbor. It's a great place to live if you have kids, there's always something to do in the area, it's very diverse, I just love it and I miss living here.

Hope this helps!

[wilelm]

Julie,

I live in a suburb of Columbus. We used to live in the city, but moved a year ago. You wouldn't want to live in Columbus if you want good schools, which is why we moved.

The 3 nicest suburbs are Westerville, New Albany, and Dublin, all of which have good schools. Westerville is north and slightly east of Columbus; New Albany is east; and Dublin is north west. In between Westerville and Dublin there are also Powell and Lewis Center.

Housing here is fairly inexpensive. This is the fastest growing area in Ohio, and one of the fastest in the nation. There is a lot of new construction going on if you want a new-build, and plenty of preexisitng homes as well.

You can PM me if you have any questions.

Sheila

[dylansnan]

Another vote for Ann Arbor!

Dexter is a neighboring city with great schools. And Brighton schools are great, also- but it is little farther away. Juat wanted to put those locations out there, for you to consider.

[american_mama]

Here's an old thread about Columbus, but take my comments with a very, very large grain as salt since they were based on a few visits many years ago.

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=37&topic_id=116223&mesg_id=116223&listing_type=search

[wolverine2]

Well, I'm another born and bred Ann Arborite, and it certainly is a wonderful place to live. Very unlikely that you'd find a 3 bedroom in town for that price though, and things are high nearby as well. A PP mentioned Saline, and I can vouch that the schools there are good (Better than Ypsilanti).

As far as hiking/outdoor stuff, I must say that now that Michigan is pretty flat, so I actually LOVE living on the east coast now for the very reason that I can do lots more outdoor stuff. However, I'm sure Columbus doesn't have anything better, but Hershey might. There are beautiful parts of MI though, just not the biggest outdoorsy place I've lived due to it's flatness. Nice lakes, though...

[skohng]

hm, never been to columbus or hershey, but I went to University of Michigan -- I have yet to find someone who went to school there who hated Ann Arbor!

I remember it being very family-friendly. There was a post about kid activities in A2, not too long ago...try doing a search on it?

I agree that Canton would be your best bet since it's about a 20min commute. I don't remember having fond memories of Ypsilanti, FWIW. Saline is right next to Ann Arbor, and there's a street called Ann-Arbor/Saline Rd, from what I remember, that was the main big-box shopping thoroughfare -- Target, Miejer, etc, and it's just down the road from their shopping mall -- Briarwood, I think it was called?

Anyhow, that 3-bedroom starter home for $210K looks tempting! Here in Chicago, $210K will barely get you a studio of 600 sq ft in the downtown area. It'll just about get you a nice 2-br condo in "good parts" of the city. sheesh!

Selena

[annex]

Just chiming in that the Ann Arbor real estate market has softened up a bit, so I wouldn't rule the city itself out either. There are several "cheaper" neighborhoods particularly in the SE part of town where you can buy small ~1000 sq ft, 3 BR houses. Do a search on zip 48104 or 48108 on realtor.com, and you will find many in the $160-$170 range. With the buyer's market, they are probably willing to sell a bit lower than that. Taxes are pretty high, though good schools and a great library system come with that.

HTH,
Anne

[o_mom]

Julie,

My parents live in Columbus and I grew up there. There are many suburbs with good schools and reasonable housing within 30 min of the major hospitals. The parks system is pretty good and there are many great camping places within an hour drive. The cost of living is fairly low and they have a world class zoo there. Feel free to PM me or send an e-mail if you want more info.

[HGraceMom]

As for the Ann Arbor area, check out Chelsea, Saline, South Lyon and Canton MI on realtor.com - All are within 30 minutes & have very good schools. I'd skip Ypsilanti for the schools & Plymouth for the prices, AA itself for the taxes & Brighton / Milford for the commute down US-23.

We live just north of Canton & I plan to deliver at U-M in February - all of my RE & OB appointments are at the U & only once has it taken me more than 30 minutes to get down M-14 (which was a construction delay during rush hour & that should be cleared up by the end of November.) Residents don't tend to travel in traditional "rush" hours, so traffic should be pretty nonexistent.

There's lots to do in the MI outdoors - AA has a HUGE # of parks, hiking trails, water activities, etc. & tends to be more "granola" than most of the rest of SE MI, primarily b/c of the student / educational community.

[JulieL]

Thanks so much everyone! It's VERY helpful to have some info on the areas from people who've lived there. Looking on the interenet will only get you so much information. I very much appreciate it.

[pl71]

I grew up near Hershey and think it's a great place. Hershey itself is a very small town with good schools, but I think the houses are a bit pricey compared to the neighboring towns. They require people to keep up their yards and houses because of need to keep it nice for tourists.

Traffic is pretty light all around Harrisburg so you'd have lots of options within 30 minutes on where to live if Hershey itself is too expensive.

Tons of outdoor activities. It's fairly close to the Poconos which are known for outdoors (canoeing/rafting, skiing, camping, hiking...)

Of course there's lots to do in Hershey. They have hockey team, concerts, events and the park. You can get season passes for the park for a very low cost.

Patty

[schums]

We live in Canton and really like it here. The housing market in MI is VERY soft right now, so you should be able to get a house in the AA area (if you're interested, Canton zips are 48187 and 48188). Canton is about 20 minutes from the hospital, and you can do it with no highways!! Also, the schools are good, taxes are reasonable and there's tons of stuff to do around here. Plus, we have IKEA!! Oh, and it looks like there are a few people from the board in this area with DC about the same age as yours -- instant playmates!!

Let me know if you need more info!

Sarah
Mom to Alex (3/2002) and Catherine (8/2003)