Pros and cons of living in Howell, Michigan - So you’re looking for more information about Howell, Michigan. You’re in the right place. I am going to touch on 3 pros and 3 cons of living in Howell, Michigan.
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).
The historic town of Howell, Michigan. Located in Livingston County, this 5.19 square mile chunk of land was incorporated in 1863 and has just a little over 9,600 people.
What’s going on everyone, Andrew McManamon here with Living in Michigan. Bringing you videos all about living in, relocating to and everything in between in the southeast region of Michigan. If you find some value be sure to do your thing below, I would greatly appreciate it.
Starting this list off with the pros of living in Howell, Michigan. #1 The historic downtown. I don’t know what it is about taking a stroll around the Grand River and Michigan Ave intersection, but it truly is unlike anything other. A small town feeling, with an old downtown strip atmosphere, there are so many great places around town from Cleary’s Pub and Aberrant Ales, to M Street Baking Company and Corratiti’s pizzeria. I would call that little radius of restaurants dangerous for someone with an appetite. Being as I grew up In Brighton, which is just a few short miles down the road, it’s always been modern, updated, and very much city like, but when you travel that few short miles to Howell, everything changes. This could be my opinion only, but it’s almost like a switch gets flipped driving down Grand River.
Pro #2, The location. Howell offers a best-of-both-worlds kind of feel. You can most definitely immerse yourself in the city feel by staying close to downtown, but you could also be in very rural areas in the township of Howell, off a two lane dirt road with 10-20 acres. It’s a preference of course, but a city that offers such diversified lifestyles is one where homeowners tend to stay for a very long time and will simply switch back and forth between those preferences. Not only does it offer a yin and yang atmosphere, it also has a great commute to hop onto I-96, M-59 and Grand River Avenue.
Last but not least pro #3, the affordability. Like I mentioned, Howell has an extensive offering when it comes to atmosphere, so with that in mind, you can bet there’s quite a range in the affordability category as well. Within the last few years, there was a home that sold for as little as $40,000 and a home that sold for as much as $2.75 million. With the median household income just over $46,000, and the median home price as of recording this being $249,900, there’s still hope for all those home buyers out there looking for their next home to move into. Getting a home for less than $250,000 in Michigan’s housing market right now almost seems unheard of, but it’s definitely possible! Howell was rated 107.8 based on a U.S average of 100 for the cost of living. As you look at this chart, you can see that transportation tends to be rated relatively high. This category is based on maintenance expenses, car insurance, and mass transit fare for the area.
Now for what you ACTUALLY came here for, the cons of living in Howell. Con #1, and this one actually ties into one of the last videos I made about Living off the grid in Michigan. Unless you’re connected to wifi, it seems like there are a lot of dead zones for cell service in the area, and that’s something that never hurts to look more into when you’re on your home showings. I know it wouldn’t be the end of the world, but with our phones taking on more and more responsibility as years go on, it never hurts to think long term.
Con #2, The traffic. If you’re familiar with Grand River Avenue, then you know how backed up it can get. Taking it from Brighton to Howell can be a living nightmare depending on the time of day. The obvious times are before work and after work, so be sure to calculate another 20-30 minutes into your commute time, because you’ll most likely need it, especially if your work commute consists of some time on Grand River.
Last but not least, con #3, the lack of employment. As you heard when I mentioned the average household income being $46,000, it was understandable in a sense as to why the number is so much lower than the national average, and it’s due to the lack of employment. Of course there’s an abundance of restaurants, shops and service providers like me around the Howell area, but the city is by no means a Southfield or Troy, meaning a centralized location for all the big office buildings and corporate offices. The commute to better employment opportunities is much higher than a lot of people would like. The upside to this, is a lot of employees are transitioning permanently to working remote, and they are looking for places like Howell to get out of the bigger cities and get their 10-20 acre preference in order.
Howell Michigan is where Cleary University is located, a school I attended for 4 years and my mom did the same in the 90’s. I also played hockey at the ice rink most known as Grand Oaks, also known as the 140 Ice Den today. I’ve even spent a good amount of time at Uptown Coffeehouse and Aberrant Ales with a few classmates throughout my college career. From personal experience, I enjoyed the time I spent in Howell. It was refreshing to step out of the community I grew up in a few miles down the road and experience a new atmosphere with new people.
If you have any questions about living in Howell, Michigan or any of the surrounding areas, feel free to call, text or email me anytime and I would be happy to offer all my insight to help with your decisions.
OTHER HOWELL MICHIGAN VIDEO: →5 Attractions In Howell: https://bit.ly/3pJLxLw
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.
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