Here's a center hall colonial that would fit right in DC, but at a fraction of the price on twice the lot:

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/623-Kensington-Rd_East-Lansing_MI_48823_M40164-20822

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:09:49 again here. With regard to buying a house, check out what $300K will buy you in Okemos -- 6 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms and a mudroom!

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2163-Woodfield-Rd_Okemos_MI_48864_M33197-45399

*sigh* this house.

I hate it here...

It's hideous, but at least you don't have to spend $1.5M on a similar one outside the Beltway.

This is OP, Thanks for all the feedback. We would love to live someplace that is walkable to things- restaurants, library, grocery store. The job would be at MSU- could my husband bike to work from Okemos?

Anonymous wrote:09:49 again here. With regard to buying a house, check out what $300K will buy you in Okemos -- 6 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms and a mudroom!

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2163-Woodfield-Rd_Okemos_MI_48864_M33197-45399

*sigh* this house.

I hate it here...

Oh, my God. Look what $199K will buy you in East Lansing -- 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and 2600 square feet!

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1773-Walnut-Heights-Dr_East-Lansing_MI_48823_M42165-38933

Michigan State grad here. East Lansing is AWESOME, OP. Beautiful campus. My nephew went to East Lansing public schools and they are very good. They are also diverse due to the proximity to the university. Taxes in East Lansing are fairly high (at least compared to the rest of the area, but low by DC standards!). The cost of living is so, so much lower. It's also a slower pace of life, but the area still has arts and culture (again, compared to DC, not so much, but better than average for a small midwestern city). The Wharton Center gets large-scale shows and productions, there's plenty of sports if you're in to that (and Detroit sports aren't far), there's an art fair in the summer, etc.

It's cold in the winter, so there's that, but the summers in Michigan are beautiful. EL is within an hour's drive of Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, and Detroit, and you're not far from small beaches (Lake Lansing) and an hour and a half or so from large beaches (Lake Michigan).

Okemos is a nice suburb, but not as diverse as EL. If you want to go more rural feeling, you can move some place like DeWitt, where you can get a house with quite a bit of land (but again, not diverse). Houses in Michigan are CHEAP. $200,000 will get you an awesome house in East Lansing-- my sister just sold her renovated home with 4 bedrooms and a finished basement for $130K. When she told me that I seriously wanted to cry. (A tiny house across the street from us in our crappy neighborhood in DC just went for $475K...)

There's an airport in Lansing, but it's usually cheaper to fly out of Detroit. It's not too far to DTW-- under an hour.

One thing about the midwest is that it's a very car-dependent culture. You'll need to be a 2 car family if you aren't already. There's a bus system in EL, but it's not super extensive or super reliable.

Honestly, if we could both find jobs, I would move back to the midwest in a heartbeat. Raising my kid in EL is kind of my dream. Lucky you, OP!!

I hear you, 10:06. The house clearly needs a lot of updating, but it looks like it would all be the fun kind (decorating), not like it structurally needs a lot of work. I bet $50K in Michigan would way more than cover it, which means for $350K, you'd have a freaking mansion in a terrific school district. Aaarrgh.

Anonymous wrote:09:49 again here. With regard to buying a house, check out what $300K will buy you in Okemos -- 6 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms and a mudroom!

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2163-Woodfield-Rd_Okemos_MI_48864_M33197-45399

ugg, i should crosspost this to Real Estate and Home Improvement, but that just makes me sick. (And I'm not insulting the house -- I'm in pain that we pay thrice that for less here).

09:49 again here. With regard to buying a house, check out what $300K will buy you in Okemos -- 6 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms and a mudroom!

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2163-Woodfield-Rd_Okemos_MI_48864_M33197-45399

East Lansing is a nice family-friendly place to live - the Michigan State campus is nice. You don't have as many flight options since you are pretty far from Detroit, Chicago and other major airports.

Congratulations, OP! I am 39, and spent 24 of those years in Michigan, mostly up north and in Ann Arbor. You are going to love Michigan. Truly. It's very inexpensive compared to DC, the people are wonderful and even with this brual economy, the schools are generally very good. Here's some food for thought, though: if you are moving to the East Lansing area with small children, consider living in Okemos. It's a very nice suburb of East Lansing with excellent public schools. Many MSU faculty live there for that very reason, which means you tend to get smart, interesting neighbors as well.

Make sure to take the kiddos to the Tuba Museum for lunch one day. It's a little diner-type place in East Lansing with amazing vegetarian food and the owner's mind-boggling collection of antique Tubas on proud display. Also, ice cream from the Agriculture school's dairy is a must!

...also, choose East Lansing over Lansing. Very big difference in culture/education

I grew up in Ann Arbor and lived there from age 4 to 22. I lived in East Lansing from 1-4. I love Ann Arbor. East Lansing is also nice by way of also being a college town but will always be the little brother to A2. East Lansing is much more midwestern, slow, and less cultured than Ann Arbor. Most of the EL community is from the surrounding area while Ann Arbor has a lot of international and east/west coast residents. EL is MUCH cheaper.

I lived in Ann Arbor for many years so perhaps we are bitter rivals . Michigan in general is a beautiful place - we still vacation there every year - and the cost of living is lower. I don't know too many details about the Lansing area, but would speculate that between the university and capital influences that it would be a pretty good place to live.

My husband may have a good job opportunity in East Lansing, MI. Just looking for feedback on the Lansing/East Lansing area? We would be moving with school age kids and are hoping to be able to buy a house.