Please tell me about Michigan

amother

Sun, Jan 01 2023, 6:28 pm

What are the communities like? Where is it on the "MO to Yeshivish" spectrum? How materialistic? Can I dress my kids in Target on Sundays?
Cost of housing? We want a 3-4 bedroom home- about how much would that run?
Schools? What are they like?
What is the average income needed to be able to "make it" there?

Anything else to know?

amother

Mistyrose

Sun, Jan 01 2023, 6:49 pm

amother OP wrote:

Clothing wise it depends how old your kids are. The girls in middle school and up definitely dress very with it and in Jewish brands. A 3-4 bedroom house in Southfield would be in the mid 4's, in oak park you can find for in the 3's. Bais Yaakov and beth Yehuda (sister schools) are community schools and you will have all types but a big majority is yeshivish. Darchei is mostly Rabbeims kids and bal teshuva families. The administration in both school are very different, I would call ppl and find out first hand about the schools before sending. There is also Farber which in more modern. You didn't mention family size, but for reference a family of 6 needs $120,000 the make it simply. Unless you make way less and are eligible for programs , like wic, food stamps and insurance. You can make it that way.

amother

Sun, Jan 01 2023, 8:57 pm

amother Mistyrose wrote:

What is the difference between those two neighborhoods?
Can you explain more about Darchei vs BY?
What is crime like?
I know the winter is cold, wet, snowy. What is the summer like?
How is the community in general?

amother

Petunia

Sun, Jan 01 2023, 10:00 pm

Both schools are similar hashkafah. Darchei started when yby was falling apart but that was many years ago and now yby is a great school. Yby/bais yakov is better funded so it has beautiful buildings and great programs and probably better help if your kid needs extra. Darchei is smaller and more homey, every parent can be a part of the 'family' if they want to get involved. Tuition starts at about 7k in preschool going up to about 12 k in high school. There are lots of kollelim here and also young professionals. Not so much business. Salaries are lower. Yes you need 120k for a small family. 2 cars are usually a need since everything is very spread out. Winter is cold and it snows more than in the tristate area but not as bad as Toronto. Summer is hot but not as hot as the tristate. Spring and fall are beautiful. You can get a small 3-4 bedroom house for in the 300s. You can get for less probably if you are willing to buy a fixer upper. The houses here in general are small and old. A 2500 sqf colonial is considered a very nice size house and many families live in 1500 sqf ranches with large basements. Crime is not an issue.