Pros and cons of living in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan - Bloomfield Hills, one of southeast Michigan’s most highly rated places to live. From their schools to their cost of living, be sure to stick around, because I am going to touch on the pros and cons of living in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan right now.
This blog is a direct transcript from the video below. This comes in 3 versions: You are able to watch the video, read the blog for your convenience or listen to the audio experience (which is linked under the video below).
Before I dive into the pros and cons list I want to briefly introduce the one and only Bloomfield Hills. Bloomfield Hills has a population of just over 4,000 people spanning over 5.04 square miles. Incorporated in 1932, this fine city, despite the low population, should not be overlooked as a southeast Michigan attraction.
Starting off with the pros of living in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. This first one is very easy and pretty well known with a simple Google search, their school system. Niche.com ranks Bloomfield Hills #2 of 619 places with the best public schools in Michigan and #2 for suburbs with the best public schools in Michigan. The schools are so highly ranked that Cranbrook found itself in one of Eminem’s rap battles in his 2002 film, 8 Mile.
Unfortunately the private school doesn’t help you rap against the greatest rappers of all time. Bloomfield Hills is known to have the largest outdoor classroom in Oakland County, and with over 128 clubs and co-curricular activities, there’s no shortage of things to do at all ages. And what a lot of people don’t know about the school district is, roughly 80% of the teaching staff have masters and doctoral degrees. Which is nice, because it’s not uncommon to hear of teachers teaching a subject they didn’t even go to school for.
Jumping on over to the next pro, and that has to do with its location. Woodward Ave cuts diagonally through Bloomfield Hills, offering a great commute in and out of the city. The average commute in Bloomfield Hills is about 22 minutes, where the national average falls just over 26 minutes. The city is also off-centered between Birmingham, Troy, Clawson, and West Bloomfield Twp where each community offers their own unique attractions and cultures.
Pro #3 is all about the offerings. Not only is there an extensive amount of activities for students, the city also has a diversified portfolio of things to do. From Golf, hockey, and garden tours, to art museums, science institutes and amphitheater entertainment, you will definitely not have a shortage of things to do.
Last but not least, pro #4, the city appeal. For those of you that have spent more than a second near the Bloomfield Hills area, you know it’s quite a sight for sore eyes. The city is clean, well-maintained, and above all else, the real estate itself will have you wondering what celebrity or top athlete is living there. The median household income is over $178,000 and over 92% of the population in Bloomfield Hills own their homes, which says a lot, as most cities tend to have a 60/40 or 70/30 ratio in that category. Bloomfield Hills was blessed by world famous architects to create such wonderful masterpieces throughout the 5 square miles of the city.
Now switching gears to the cons. Con #1, which seems to be one of the bigger complaints about Bloomfield Hills, and that is the lack of downtown. The city of course has restaurants, shops and forms of entertainment, but in terms of walkability, the city lacks a little bit. But as I have mentioned before, I live in White Lake where there isn’t a walkable downtown and I am more than willing to make the 7-10 minute commute to Milford for that downtown atmosphere. Bloomfield Hills is the same way, but just like for me, you can drive 5-6 minutes straight down Woodward Ave and experience the amazing downtown atmosphere in Birmingham.
Con #2, the cost of living. Just like any luxurious city across the globe, the downside tends to be the price tag. According to Bestplaces.net, Bloomfield Hills ranked on a scale of 100 as the U.S average, at 133.3 overall. Taking a look at this table that breaks down grocery, health, housing, utilities, transportation and miscellaneous, you can see how housing is nearly double the U.S average. Being ranked one of the top 5 wealthiest cities in the United States consisting of over 1,000 households, Bloomfield Hills has over 30% of their households valued over $1 million. The median home value as of recording this video is over $677,000 just to put into perspective.
Con #3, I know I said this was a pro earlier, but when it’s put into perspective with other cities it can be a con, and that’s city offerings. Like I said, the city has a few different things you can do, but overall the city tends to be fairly quiet which is a pro and a con depending on how you look at it. Aside from taking Woodward Ave to and from where you need to be, Bloomfield Hills is oftentimes a city that gets passed through.
Now to touch on a few good and bad reviews from current and past residents of Bloomfield Hills. This first review talks about the large yards, the great schools, city safety and wishing the city would be a little more affordable and diverse. The next review focuses on how safe and friendly the community is and even though the housing prices are high, they retain their value despite any economic fluctuation. And just to show you how true that is, this graph shows home prices in Bloomfield Hills since 2003. Despite the recession in 2007-2009, with the drastic high to drastic low, the home prices rose pretty incrementally.
Now to the bad. This review from a current resident talks about the lack of a downtown area, in terms of no sidewalks and a limited selection of restaurants. Then they go on to say how it doesn’t feel like a community without having a downtown area to tie it all together. Which is a fair statement. Last but not least, this reviewer who is a current resident had a few bad experiences with some of the residents and called the relationships they made over the last 17 years to be fake and with the wrong intentions. Unfortunately, that happens depending on what crowd you get in with. You see reviews like this for cities all over the country and sometimes the city you grow up in doesn’t always remain the one you should stay in. I had a similar feeling growing up, the community was very tight and kept their own, so I made a choice to move out of there to see what other communities had to offer, not that it wasn’t for me, I had just spent my whole life in one place and wanted to see what else was out there. There’s definitely no harm in that.
Aside from the price tag of living in Bloomfield Hills, there aren’t a lot of cons that would push someone away from making the move there. If you have any questions about living in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, please don’t hesitate to reach out, I’m always happy to be a local resource.
Cheers,
Andrew
Andrew McManamon is a Michigan REALTOR® with Signature Sotheby’s International Realty and provides real estate services to Buyers, Sellers and Investors throughout SE Michigan including Livingston County, Oakland County, Washtenaw County, Genesee County & beyond. Andrew has become one of the rising stars of Michigan real estate agents. Prior to his real estate career Andrew was responsible for managing a senior living facility in Brighton, Michigan as a dining supervisor and an activities assistant. Andrew’s passion to help people is unlike any other, and he continues to strive to be best resource he can be. Andrew graduated from Cleary University in Howell, Michigan with a double major and currently resides in White Lake, Michigan.