Whether you are moving to Michigan for a job relocation or just moving to be close to your kids you may wonder is Livonia a good place to live or is it safe or how it compares to other nearby cities in Wayne County or Metro Detroit. 
I will tell you right up front that Livonia is a great place to live. I myself lived there for 23 years and I loved it. The only reason I moved from the city is I moved to a lake home and Livonia has no lakes or lake homes. Otherwise I might still be living there.
As you read through this I think you will be pleasantly surprised that Livonia MI is probably very similar to the town you live in. Livonia, MI is a safe community, with good schools, and good city services.
Let me break down Metro Detroit. You have the east side of Metro Detroit which includes Macomb County, and the eastern edge of Oakland County. Oakland County is the wealthier communities in Metro Detroit to the north and west of the City of Detroit. Wayne County is to the west and south of Metro Detroit. If you need to live to the west of Detroit we are going to explore Livonia and how it compares to where you live and what you want.
The City of Livonia is a good place to check out. Livonia is located in the Northwest part of Wayne County. I myself believe it is centrally located to many places in Metro Detroit. A move to Livonia, Mi is a great choice. It's not too far north, nor too far south..... a great place to commute from.
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You are only about 20 minutes to Downtown Detroit, the airport, Southfield, or Ann Arbor. This usually makes it easier for work commutes. Whether you work at Ford Motor Company, or one of the auto suppliers in Novi, Farmington Hills, or Southfield you should have a reasonable work drive. If you fly a lot for work then the short 20 minute ride to the airport is nice.
Not only is the police department good, but you will love the response time of the fire department.
Livonia Taxes
One of the best features or characteristics of Livonia when comparing it to other places you may want to move to is the city services and taxes. The sales tax rate in Livonia is 6%. The property tax rate is
| LIVONIA | CLARENCEVILLE | 38.1162 | 56.1162 |
| LIVONIA PUBLIC | 41.1557 | 59.1557 |
Livonia's tax rates are what I would call middle of the road. Definitely not in the top 50 of the highest property taxes in Michigan, but they are not the lowest either. Michigan property tax system is confusing as we have a winter and summer tax. Let's put it this way...I know real estate agents that don't understand how Michigan property taxes work. If you are moving to SE Michigan and looking for a realtor that can help you compare Livonia or other communities give me a call at (248) 310-6239. After all you are making one of the biggest financial decisions of your life. Knowing what you are going to be paying in property taxes is important.
One thing I can say about Livonia's property taxes is that you get some good city services in return. Low police and fire response times. You are not going to be waiting long for an ambulance or when you are in real need. Road maintenance, garbage pick up, and the city's department of public works are good and it shows in the community. Add in a solid school system you have a fine place to call home.
Livonia is a good sized community of 96,942 people. It is a culturally, ethnically, and racially diverse community like so many other communities in the suburbs of Detroit. The city that has an excellent police force with about 152 police officers. Low crime rates make moving to Livonia an ideal choice. You will learn that Livonia does not have gangs, or rampant crime. You will be able to leave your home without worry about it being robbed, or drive in the community without fear of car jackings. Your family and you will be safe walking around. There are not drive by shootings, or drug houses, or boarded up homes or buildings in Livonia. The City of Livonia is like so many communities in metro Detroit. It may be like the town you are coming from. The police force is equipped to handle any emergency even though a few years back it was named the speed trap capital of the world.
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The city of Livonia homes range from 1000 square feet to over 3000 square feet. Livonia is what I would call a community of blue collar and white collar workers. It is not a prestigious, snobby type of town. You are not going to find mega mansions, or country clubs here. It is just a normal middle to upper class neighborhood. You will find Livonia has a fair amount of starter homes. The majority of these starter homes are 3 bedroom, 1+ bathroom ranch homes that have basements, brick exteriors, 2 car garages, and fenced backyards. Well laid out subdivisions are the norm for the City of Livonia real estate. Like I had mentioned earlier Livonia homes range from the 1000 square foot ranch to 3000 +square foot colonial and contemporary homes. You will find the majority of the homes in Livonia are under 2400 square foot.
One of the typical ranch homes in Livonia
Most of the homes were built in the 1950's - 1970's. Livonia is one of the communities that met the demand of the post war home building surge. Many of the subdivisions will have lights, and sidewalks. Though there are subdivisions of homes that were built in the 1980's, 1990's, and 2000's. Most of the vacant land in Livonia has been built on. Livonia has a light industrial and office base too. Which helps the local economy. You won't find many high rises in the city. Most of the buildings are under 2 stories though there are some bigger hotels, and office buildings. There is one 9 story building, and three 8 story buildings. There are about 16 hotels and office buildings that range from 4 to 6 stories tall.
Laurel Park Place Mall is at 6 Mile Rd & Newburg
Commute to Livonia
What you don't want is to be too far from your work or what you need the most. Drive time is important to most of my clients. Most of the land is flat. No rolling hills. The city is laid out and dissected by mile roads. The major roads run about a mile apart so you will have 1 mile squares with a major road on each side. It makes it easy to get around even when there is an accident or construction. Starting from the north you have:
- 8 Mile Rd
- 7 Mile Rd
- 6 Mile Rd
- 5 Mile Rd
- I-96
- Plymouth Rd
- Joy Rd
Starting from the west you have
- Haggerty Rd
- Newburgh Rd
- Wayne Rd
- Farmington Rd
- Merriman Rd
- Middlebelt Rd
- Inkster Road
But the best part of the Livonia road and transportation structure is that I-96 ( also called Jeffries Freeway) cuts through the city connecting you to downtown Detroit, I-75 and Ann Arbor. I-275 freeway connects you to I-696 and the cities of Lansing, Novi, Southfield, and the east side of Metro Detroit. To the south I-275 expressway connects you to I-94 that goes east west across the state. Metro Detroit does have rush hour traffic But it is not as bad as New York, Chicago, LA, or Atlanta's rush hours. The comment I have to make about traffic and commute times in Metro Detroit is that weather conditions of rain, or snow will add 30% to double your drive time.
IF YOU NEED A GOOD MICHIGAN RELOCATION AGENT TO PROVIDE YOU THE ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT THE LOCAL AREA AND KNOWS THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES WELL.........
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(248) 310-6239
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Lots of Health care choicesSo to recap what I have said about Livonia is that it has a tremendous road and highway system that makes the city a great place to live because it does not take too long to get to anywhere. The City of Livonia is a safe community with a strong police force. You should have no worries about gangs, being robbed, or major drug violence.
Whatever you need you find Livonia is like your own current town
Livonia has all the stores, and conveniences that you are most likely used too. We have a 2 small to medium size shopping malls in the city and most of the national big box stores. There are plenty of banks, dentists, doctors, gas stations, and pharmacy. On most of the major roads you will find the corners have stores, restaurants, pharmacies, or gas stations on. You will find lots of strip malls in the city too. What ever type of food that you want you will find a restaurant for you. Within Livonia and 5 Miles of Livonia you will find hundreds of restaurants to satisfy any palate. Both unique mom and pop restaurants, coney islands, or fancy restaurants are all within a short drive.
Walmart, Menards, Ace Hardware, CVS and Walgreen pharmacies, JC Penny's, Sears, Home Depot, Krogers, Best Buy are just some of the many nationally known places to shop.
I hope this explains how Livonia compares. If you are looking for a nice community to call home then be sure to CALL, TEXT, OR EMAIL ME AT (248) 310-6239 or YesMyRealtor@gmail.com
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