So, you’ve been exploring the idea of packing up your life and moving to a quaint little town in Metro Detroit? Well, let me introduce you to Romeo, Michigan—a village so charming, you might expect to see it on a postcard. Nestled in Macomb County, this place has the tree-lined streets, the historical homes, and the small town feeling that we want so much to get back to. But before you start daydreaming about small-town bliss, let’s dive into what living in Romeo is really like, because it’s not always sunshine and rainbows.
Living In Romeo, Michigan:
Living In Romeo Michigan Overview
For those of you who have no idea what Romeo Michigan is, and before you search up if there is a Juliet Michigan, there isn’t, I looked for you.......
Romeo is a little 2.05 square mile shaped hammer situated in Macomb County with a population of right around 3,800 people. This is a place that doesn’t get a lot of love being in the northern outskirts of Metro Detroit, so I am here to shed some light on this little community, but also give you insight into not so good things about the area too.
Living In Romeo, Michigan:
Romeo Michigan Community
You might be thinking to yourself, where have I heard of Romeo Michigan before, well, outside of the town being known for its historical architecture dating back to the 1800’s, there’s a lot of press that surrounds there one of a kind peach festival that is on its 93rd anniversary which happens on labor day every year. There’s markets, art, craft shows, carnival rides, food trucks, a 5k and 10k run, a concert series, a peach golf classic, car show and cruise, and parade, while having shuttle service available as well. It is something that should be experienced by everyone truly, and I couldn’t possibly hype it up enough if I wanted to. Just don’t be disrespecting peaches out there.
Living In Romeo, Michigan:
Tilson Street Romeo Michigan
The next event that gets some publicity right around this time of year is Tilson street. Tillson street is a street in Romeo that goes all out for Halloween, and by all out, I mean all out. Spirit Halloween has nothing on this street. I even read that people come from as far as Mississippi to have their kids trick or treat here and it’s estimated that with about 30 homes participating that they are dishing out over 75,000 pieces of candy each year and that number continues to climb.
This extravagant experience was created to make a safe environment for kids to trick or trick, and it’s made such an amazing community within Romeo and I think that event alone says a lot about the community itself. Just remember, if someone ever sells their home down that street, and you buy it, you better understand the expectations for Halloween. I’ll link some more info HERE about events and HERE for things to do in Romeo Michigan.
Living In Romeo, Michigan:
Romeo Michigan Location
Although this area is known for maintaining its quaintness, there are a few flies in their peach cobbler when it comes to the location depending on your lifestyle of course. With Romeo being 40+ miles from downtown Detroit, 23 miles from Warren which is nice if you work for an auto manufacturer, 31+ miles from Royal Oak and the Woodward corridor, 18+ miles from Auburn Hills, and 50 or so miles from Novi just to give you that perspective and 20+ miles from the business hub we call Troy, which would also be a nice commute. So there’s pros and cons, right? M-53 is the interstate that runs north and south to make travel a little easier, but you still have to drive around 20 miles south to get to M-59 for east and west travel.
This quaint little town would be perfect for someone working remotely who loves the small town feel and wants to be outside the hustle and bustle of metro Detroit, but also good for people who work out of Macomb county as well. If you’re someone who wants to live in this area and doesn’t mind longer commutes, then by all means call this spot home, but for those of you traveling to downriver communities for work or more centralized Metro Detroit, it could get old pretty quickly.
Living In Romeo, Michigan:
The City of Romeo Michigan Rankings
With location in mind, you’d assume the village isn’t ranked the greatest being as the surrounding area is fairly rural and most times these little towns don’t get the love they deserve since they aren’t always landing themselves in the headlines like some of the more well known ones.
Romeo based on rankings, is pretty middle of the road with Niche.com giving them #128 out of 336 suburbs with the best public schools in Michigan, among other rankings such as: #65 of 624 best places to retire in Michigan, #87 of 338 most diverse suburbs in Michigan. Romeo is considered #7 in best places to raise a family in Macomb county, and the village earned an overall ranking of a B+, based on public schools, housing, good for families, jobs, cost of living, outdoor activities, crime and safety, night life, diversity, weather, health and fitness and commute.
The 3 things that kept this ranking from being an A- or an A is the commute, which I talked about already, the weather which I don’t count anyway because it’s given a low grade in most communities in Michigan, Nightlife, because this little smalltown has a lot of locally owned businesses and they don’t have super late hours like these commercially or franchise owned bars and restaurants. The one aspect of this report card that was the lowest coming in at a C+ was the outdoor activities, which I get, the little village is hardly 2 square miles in size, you aren’t going to fit very many extravagant parks and trails in that space, once you factor in all the residential homes and normal necessary amenities, but that doesn’t mean those outdoor amenities aren’t just a stone's throw away in a nearby communities, there’s golf courses, metro parks, smaller parks, lakes etc., but I understand why it’s given such a poor grade in that department.
Living In Romeo, Michigan:
Romeo Michigan Schools
After talking about schools a little bit, I wanted to lean into them a little more, which will help with the conversation about property taxes too.
According to Niche.com Romeo community schools are ranked #3 best school districts in Macomb county, with an overall grade of an A-, which is broken down into the following categories: academics, teachers, clubs and activities, sports, resources and facilities, diversity, college prep, administration and food. The district is also ranked #53 of 482 best school districts for athletes in Michigan, #80 of 539 best school districts in Michigan, and #143 of 507 best places to teach in Michigan. The student to teacher ratio is roughly 16 to 1, with 7 different schools with over 5,000 students.
A lot of people have a lot of good things to say about the schools, with most complaints being about the administration or a particular department with an individualized circumstance, which can’t be downplayed of course. I’ll be sure to link some info HERE for the Romeo school district.
Living In Romeo, Michigan:
Romeo Michigan Property Taxes
In terms of Property taxes, this tends to be a con with the area, as village property taxes tend to be more expensive as it will be separate from a township tax. In this instance, Romeo is cut into two main townships: Bruce township and Washington Township, but there’s also Armada township on the eastern border of Romeo, and Ray township on the southeast border, while there’s also a few other townships that utilize Romeo schools such as: Addison township, Shelby township, Oakland Township. It can get extremely confusing I know, but I am going to focus on Bruce township, Washington township, Armada township and Ray township, as these are areas where you’re technically still in the village of Romeo in a property tax sense.
Bruce Township (Village of Romeo Michigan):
If you are in Bruce township in the village of Romeo, your millage rate (which is the rate used to calculate your property taxes) is 42.3192.
Washington Township (Village of Romeo Michigan):
If you’re in Washington township in the village of Romeo it is 43.8151.
Ray Township (Village of Romeo Michigan):
In Ray township, it would be 43.1298.
Armada Township (Village of Romeo Michigan):
In Armada township it would be 42.8249.
The difference in these rates from one another isn’t huge by any means, BUT the big difference is when you live in one of these townships and are in a school district outside of the village of Romeo.
Michigan Property Tax Example:
For example, in the village of Armada but going to Romeo schools, it’s a millage rate of 26.2977. If you’re in Bruce township outside of the village of Romeo but still in the school district it’s a millage rate of 25.7920, or for Ray township it’s 26.6026, and Washington township is 28.9185. I know I threw a lot of numbers at you, so it really comes down to, if you want Romeo schools, live just outside the village and you’ll pay nearly half in property taxes.
This is an extremely boring topic I know, but there’s a reason I spend so much time on it throughout every video with every community, because money is money and if you can save it while taking advantage of what a community offers, that’s what we love to hear. I’ll link a thick PDF HERE where you can control F on your keyboard to find communities of interest and the rates associated with them. With property taxes in mind, it seems fitting to talk about housing in general.
Living In Romeo, Michigan:
Romeo Michigan Home Prices
When it comes to the housing in Romeo Michigan, there are quite a few carriage houses and Victorian style architecture from the 1800’s, but on average, most of the homes were built right around 1961.
This graph provided by the MLS showing the average sale price over the last 3 years, with the entire MLS In blue and Romeo Michigan in Green, we can see that Romeo is just under $300,000. In the last year, there have been 57 sold homes, condos and mobile homes sold in Romeo ranging from a $25,000 mobile home located in Romeo’s Springbrook estates manufactured home park to a $850,000, 2 story home located in Romeo’s sought after subdivision called Copperwood commons.
I wanted to also show you a few options of what right around $300,000 gets you in Romeo Michigan.
Romeo Michigan Homes For Sale #1
Kicking it off with the first spot, we have this $281,000 condo with 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2,193 total finished square feet, a 2 car attached garage, built in the year 2000 with an HOA of $250 a month covering snow removal and maintenance of the grounds. A good option to consider if you want a spot with little to know maintenance but you still want some space.
Romeo Michigan Homes For Sale #2
Home #2, is a 1930’s bungalow right near downtown Romeo with 3 bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, 1300 total finished square feet, a 2 car detached garage, remodeled in 2021 and situated on 0.15 acres. This is a nice home to be in near downtown while also having a nice privacy fence as well. The updates look to be very well done.
Romeo Michigan Homes For Sale #3
Lastly, we have this $292,800 bungalow that was built in 1949, with 3 bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, 1,637 total finished square feet, a 2 car detached garage and situated on 0.16 acres. Some nice archways showing some of the history of the home which is pretty cool, and just overall another good option around that average price tag a few streets off of main street.
Living In Romeo, Michigan:
Living In Romeo Michigan Summary
Romeo Michigan, is it a place you’d live, do the pros outweigh the cons and vice versa? Overall, Romeo Michigan is a quaint little town in the north end of Metro Detroit. The commute time may be on the higher side if you’re someone needing to travel to downtown Detroit or other centralized areas around southeast Michigan. If you’re looking for that small town feel that’s so so so fleeting these days and a community centric atmosphere, then boom it’s right here in Romeo Michigan, but if you’re wanting somewhere that has growth and development at the forefront, I wouldn’t say that fits the bill for Romeo. The downtown has everything you need, but there’s not excess or tremendous variety, and that’s something to keep in mind too. Although the home prices are low compared to a lot of areas in Metro Detroit, it’s important to factor in property taxes not just looking in this area, but all areas throughout Michigan, because they can be pretty sneaky.
QUESTION FOR YOU:
For those of you reading, is a community you’d live in, why or why not? And for those of you that live in the area, what are your thoughts?
If you’re thinking about moving to Michigan in 1 day or a million, feel free to reach out anytime, I also have a link to the Living in Michigan newsletter to give you insight on all things Michigan, so be sure to subscribe so you never miss out! Thanks for reading, until next time.
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 pillars of Michigan real estate. 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 the best resource he can be. Andrew graduated from Cleary University in Howell, Michigan with a double major in business and marketing, and currently resides in Brighton, Michigan.
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