Troy, Michigan

VeritasVR

I have a chance to work here, but unfortunately I know nothing of the place.

Does anyone have any opinion of it? Likes/dislikes?

Uncle Long

As compared to what?

It's a pretty average town; not a whole lot going on, but not all that bad either.

grungebox

I talked to some company reps from there once. It's a nice place to raise a family (cheap, low crime, suburban, easy to drive around). If any of those things appeal to you, then I guess that's fine. Not for me, personally, but you might be different.

Hewn

Where are you moving from, and what do you like and dislike about it? What sort of things do you value in where you live?

As said, Troy is going to be pretty average. And don't be scared by all the doom and gloom about Michigan. Yes, it's there, but if you can secure a good job there's going to be opportunity. Like how doom and gloom typically create cheaper housing, so you'll get more bang for your buck.

VeritasVR

Hewn wrote: »

Where are you moving from, and what do you like and dislike about it? What sort of things do you value in where you live?

As said, Troy is going to be pretty average. And don't be scared by all the doom and gloom about Michigan. Yes, it's there, but if you can secure a good job there's going to be opportunity. Like how doom and gloom typically create cheaper housing, so you'll get more bang for your buck.

Uhhh...

Moving from... Columbus, Ohio.

But it's an entry-level engineering job with a Fortune 500 company, so there's that. Initially I got the town name confused with Flint, which I heard wasn't as great a place. I wouldn't mind a good place to raise a family though, compared to a city. Most of my other options are in similar towns, compared to large cities.

Hewn

So not terribly far from Ohio. Why not travel there to take a look around yourself? I did that before moving out to the East Coast. The expense would be worth it, considering you're making a choice that will change major aspects of your life.

VeritasVR

Hewn wrote: »

So not terribly far from Ohio. Why not travel there to take a look around yourself? I did that before moving out to the East Coast. The expense would be worth it, considering you're making a choice that will change major aspects of your life.

I will see it first hand, considering I'm touring their facility and HQ in a week. Good to hear positive feedback though. I got kind of apprehensive considering its, well, in Michigan.

Must resist urges to shout "O-H!" at random intervals.

ZeroCow

VeritasVR wrote: »

Hewn wrote: »

So not terribly far from Ohio. Why not travel there to take a look around yourself? I did that before moving out to the East Coast. The expense would be worth it, considering you're making a choice that will change major aspects of your life.

I will see it first hand, considering I'm touring their facility and HQ in a week. Good to hear positive feedback though. I got kind of apprehensive considering its, well, in Michigan.

Must resist urges to shout "O-H!" at random intervals.

"I-O"

And just for clarification are you looking at Troy or Flint? Also if you are a Buckeye, the Detroit area has a pretty strong alumni group, the Motor City Buckeyes. If you are indeed moving there and an alum, I can give you the contact information of the club president.

langfor6

I grew up near Troy and spent most of my life there. I grew up right next to it in Utica, and lived a good portion of my adult life in neighboring Rochester Hills (coincidentally where Madonna is from).

It's a predominantly white upper-middle class suburb. It's in one of the richest counties in the United States. They have a nice park there called Firefighter's Park, where I used to go play disc golf in high school, although if you're not into that there are plenty of other things to do there.

You're close enough to Royal Oak, Ferndale, and Detroit to go out and have a good time, and far enough away from Pontiac to not get robbed.

You can go to Ann Arbor in about 45 minutes if you really want to.

Troy is nothing like Flint. A friend of mine once jokingly called Flint "a poor man's Detroit".

If you have more specific questions go ahead and ask. I spent over 20 years in the area.

Edit: concerning Michigan and the unemployment problems. The majority of the unemployed work force are involved in labor and factory jobs. There are plenty of white collar jobs to be had in Michigan. I have a friend that works three jobs. He is able to work from home because he does a lot of programming work, but still...three jobs!

NinjaPirate720

Im from the suburban Detroit area as well, spent parts of my life in West Bloomfield, Southfield, and Bloomfield Hills which are all near Troy. The previous poster was spot on with his description of Troy and i would only add a few things:

Your going to get a ridiculously good deal on housing if you decide to come here, sellers are completely at the mercy of buyers and its mid-level labor management positions that bought great property many moons ago that will be selling to you.

Troy has one of the strongest school districts in the state on reputation and rankings so if your thinking family this is a great place. The high schools here have an IB (International Baccalaureate) degree very much in demand at top universities. Translation: Troy grads from the public schools get into fantastic colleges and get great educations.

Bloomfield Hills is nicknamed "the bubble" (The same can be said of Troy) because of its low crime and wealthy lifestyle, raising kids and adults who both appreciate their wealth and those who flaunt it, so if snottiness is a huge concern for you it will exist but the vast majority of the people here are normal ambitious people and not a blue-blooded aristocracy.

Michigan is a gorgeous state and you will get to go "up north" for vacations with your buddies to enjoy any combination of hunting/fishing/camping in some of the most amazing settings in the nation. On top of this, the state is a boater's/fisherman's paradise and you will immediately make friends at work with some sort of lake vessel.

Outlying towns like Ferndale, Royal Oak, Birmingham are fantastic areas with a really active nightlife/shopping district/commercial zones that are great fun to be around. Detroit itself also has some very attractive nightlife and activities as long as you stay in the right areas. Mexican Village, Greektown, the stadiums, and a nearby bridge to Canada make the typical Michigander's complaint of "theres nothing to do here" total bullshit.

I would definitely consider the job offer, you would be getting a great bargain in moving into such a wealthy, safe, and exciting area.

Big Dookie

I used to live Westland, which wasn't terribly far from Troy. It's a good place to live... these other guys have pretty much laid out all the good points about it, and I agree with them totally.

mugginns

VeritasVR wrote: »

Hewn wrote: »

Where are you moving from, and what do you like and dislike about it? What sort of things do you value in where you live?

As said, Troy is going to be pretty average. And don't be scared by all the doom and gloom about Michigan. Yes, it's there, but if you can secure a good job there's going to be opportunity. Like how doom and gloom typically create cheaper housing, so you'll get more bang for your buck.

Uhhh...

Moving from... Columbus, Ohio.

But it's an entry-level engineering job with a Fortune 500 company, so there's that. Initially I got the town name confused with Flint, which I heard wasn't as great a place. I wouldn't mind a good place to raise a family though, compared to a city. Most of my other options are in similar towns, compared to large cities.

I agree Troy is a nice place to live. Troy, Utica, Sterling Heights are all nice places. They are cities, though. They are in metro-Detroit so I have to advise that if you try to get on 75 at 8 or 5 or try to get anywhere on Friday at 5 pm you will die in traffic.

I'm from a smaller town in MI though, so the metro-Detroit traffic and highways drive me up the wall.

Also - there are no trees in metro Detroit suburbs. Not nearly as many as where I'm from, anyway.

VeritasVR

Thanks guys. You've helped a lot. It looks like possibly living in Troy would be a good place to consider.

Always appreciated, my friends.

whuppins

This isn't a huge concern of mine, but I couldn't pass up posting here; the coincidence was too great.

Just got off the phone with someone who wants me to work in Battle Creek. Same question, basically.

OhtheVogonity

Do you like cereal?

Edit: I guess I should add actual content. It's not too bad in the Battle Creek area. It's mostly inoffensive but non-exciting as well. Sounds like it falls similar territory as Troy, but not as nearly wealthy.

langfor6

Battle Creek is on the west side of the state, so I can't comment as extensively on it as I can the Metro Detroit area, but I do know that you are close to Kalamazoo, which has a great brewery there (Bell's, mmm) and Grand Rapids is a nice area too. Plus, on that side of the state you are near to Lake Michigan, which is really a great place to be. Benton Harbor springs to mind as a nice place to head during the summer if you want to go to the lake.

mugginns

langfor6 wrote: »

Benton Harbor springs to mind as a nice place to head during the summer if you want to go to the lake.

And get shot

langfor6

mugginns wrote: »

langfor6 wrote: »

Benton Harbor springs to mind as a nice place to head during the summer if you want to go to the lake.

And get shot

Says the guy from Lansing.

Bwah?

langfor6 wrote: »

mugginns wrote: »

langfor6 wrote: »

Benton Harbor springs to mind as a nice place to head during the summer if you want to go to the lake.

And get shot

Says the guy from Lansing.

Really? Have you ever been to Lansing? Maybe he was being a little sarcastic but unless you've been there I wouldn't talk. It's not the nicest of towns by any means.


Back to the topic at hand, I've never been to Troy but do recommend you check out Grand Rapids.

langfor6

That was my point. You're no more likely to get shot in Benton Harbor than you are in Lansing.

I worked at an Auto Value in Lansing one summer while I was attending school at MSU. I'm intimately familiar with it.

If you're really paranoid about the crime in Benton Harbor I suppose you can just go to St. Joe's.

Creepy

One thing I would suggest is making 100% sure the job pans out before you buy anything you may be stuck with. Housing market was crazy when I was there over Christmas.

You might have trouble selling your house and/or finding a new job if you lose or don't like the job you're moving to Michigan for.

I like Michigan a lot ('cept the winters) but it sure seems to be an economic black hole.

Satan.

VeritasVR wrote: »

I have a chance to work here, but unfortunately I know nothing of the place.

Does anyone have any opinion of it? Likes/dislikes?

Troy is actually one of the successful cities in SE Michigan right now (the other being Southfield, the next city southwest of Troy). Booming tech industrial development there over the past ten years has created a couple of great business and IT cities to be in. Trendy restaurants and cultural stuffs nearby, too (Royal Oak and Bloomfield Hills). I would love to live and work there, I'm in Lansing now and used to live in Dearborn Heights.