Oxford Michigan is one of those places that often gets swept under the rug and you’d never guess what’s all under that rug.
So you’re someone that’s possibly looking to move to Oxford Michigan or you just want to see what life is like there. Well, I am going to fill you in on the good, bad and the ugly, and I highly suggest you stick around to the end, it gets pretty interesting.
Village of Oxford Michigan
For those of you that don’t know, Oxford Michigan is a village that is located on the northeast end of Oakland county, just north of Lake Orion, which I made a video about, that I will link in the description, if you’re interested. The village of Oxford is 1.46 square miles in size with a population of just under 3,500 people.
I know what you’re thinking, that’s a pretty tiny place, how can I thread myself into that community?
Oxford Township Michigan
I hear ya, but there’s also Oxford charter township, which surrounds the village as most townships in Michigan tend to do. It is 35.2 square miles in size with a population of just under 23,000 people. This community, similar to Lake Orion, tends to be an underdog in southeast Michigan, because it’s north of all that hustle and bustle we are used to as Metro Detroiters. It’s funny actually, as a Realtor who is all over southeast Michigan, this area of the region wasn’t really a priority for people in my experience until just a few years ago after the pandemic, and there’s a reason for that, and i’ll mention it later, but let’s just say it’s getting more popular by the day.
To kick off this list of good, bad and ugly stuff, I’ll knock out the good first.
Pros of Living in Oxford Michigan
Smalltown Oxford Michigan
Just as I mentioned, people took more interest in this region post pandemic because you can be in the outskirts, away from all the noise and just live in a small/medium town, but still have a somewhat reasonable commute kinda. What’s cool about Oxford is when we think of a small town we sometimes think of a neglected, beat up little town that doesn’t always have the resources to maintain what it has, and Oxford is so far beyond that stereotype. I went there not too long ago and explored and I thought, do people know this gem is over here, I mean it’s out here but still? It may be far-fetched to say this is a smalltown, because there are 4 lanes going in and out of downtown, but hey the village is hardly over 1 square mile so that’s pretty small. It’s a VERY clean little town, all their storefronts are aged to perfection historically, and incredibly well maintained.
Things To Do In Oxford Michigan
The next wonderful thing about Oxford are the things to do and offerings which may seem of a surprise to you. There’s the little movie theater on washington street, there’s so many events that happen in this little town such as Wine down Wednesdays, car cruise, summer markets, summer concert series, tossin’ tuesdays for the cornhole league, there’s the downtown trolley express, where you can hop on and get to and from Oxford and Lake Orion to take advantage of everything both these communities have to offer. This is a cool offering because a lot of my videos about communities throughout metro Detroit don’t have simple public transport where you can actually track its location, and hop on and off wherever.
Oxford Michigan Restaurants
Then as far as restaurants and other offerings, there’s the magic box brownie, golden dragon, oxford tap, homegrown brewing company, gravcap brewing, victoria's bistro, red knapps american grill which i have made a visit to and highly recommend, 24th street sports tavern, evergreens coffee and bakeshop, casa real, mero mero, MI kabob Mediterranean and so many more options with golf clubs as well, and as you could tell form that list I named off I wasn’t saying the larger franchises like Mcdonalds, Wendys, burger kings, etc. The area has those options of course, but is more so jam packed full of local businesses, so no matter what door you step in you are truly support local, and it’s awesome to see a community do just that.
Oxford Michigan School Rankings
And with offerings in mind, you have Oxford Public schools, they’re not the top ranked schools in Metro Detroit, but they are ranked #26 best school districts in the Detroit area, #88 of 580 best school districts in Michigan and #202 of 557 districts with the best teachers in Michigan according to niche.com.
Oxford Michigan Parks and Recreation
Okay so there’s plentiful restaurant offerings, a cool downtown, public transportation, BUT something else a lot of people don’t know about is Oxford township has around 50 lakes and 4 parks that range from half an acre all the way up to 300 acres. So outside of shopping and eating until you can’t move at all the local businesses, you can hop on one of the nearby lakes and do the water sports, while also venturing into one of their 4 parks to do some hiking, biking, and nature stalking. Again, there’s a reason I called this place a gem when I started this rant, because it doesn't just have the bare minimum, there’s options that cater to anyone truly.
Oxford Michigan Community
I saved this pro for last, because I truly believe that this is the number one thing that makes Oxford Michigan so special and that’s the community. It’s not just the amazing downtown, the events and the local businesses. If you make your way downtown, you’ll come across a mural that pays tribute to the families and the community of oxford on the loss of 4 lives and others injured during a mass shooting that occurred in 2021. It’s beyond devastating what happened to the community, and despite that situation tearing them down, they have come so much closer together as a community, and it’s something you feel as soon as you step foot into the town and see the mural. It’s not something you forget and it will forever be a part of Oxford’s roots. When I decided to make this video on Oxford that has really been a long time coming, I wanted to not only shed light on this situation, but make a point to give some well rounded insight into what makes this little town a wonderful place to visit, live and call your own, and I truly hope I conveyed that to you as someone who is watching, listening or reading.
Cons of Living in Oxford Michigan
Oxford Michigan Traffic
Now I want to transition a little bit into the cons of living in Oxford Michigan and for starters i’d have to say the traffic. I have been preaching about this “little” smalltown and I don’t want to give that false impression that it’s a one horse, tumbleweed town that you can drive for miles without hitting a redlight. Similar to Lake Orion, there is lapeer road or M24 that cuts right through the area. Well, it tends to be people’s primary commute source in, out and through the community, and the town despite having 2 lanes going in each direction and some street parking it can feel a little clogged up from time to time. It’s not the worst in comparison to other communities throughout Metro Detroit, but it can still cause that vein in your forehead. During rush hour traffic it could take 15-20 minutes to travel 4-6 miles from the south side of Oxford to the north side. Some of you out there who live in larger metro areas might be thinking pssssh that’s it, I travel a mile an hour, we have nothing to complain about I know.
Oxford Michigan Grocery Stores
The next con that I will touch on briefly that most people don’t think about when moving to a new community, and that’s grocery stores. Oxford Michigan pretty much has Meijer for a grocery store, which isn’t ideal when looking for specialty items like you whole foods, Aldi, costco loving people out there. Where the options are limited also means there can be some heavier traffic in there from time to time, so I’d assume the visits there may be fairly strategic for people who live in or around the area. This is just me nitpicking t this point, because you could just venture to Lake Orion a few minutes down the street and go to Kroger, Meijer, Lucky’s natural food and other convenience stores as well. So that con can be swept aside, as long as you’re willing to tack on some commute time.
Oxford Michigan Location
The last con I want to touch on that I’ve been hinting at throughout this whole overview is the location. I know I know I never say a location in Metro Detroit is bad, and this just has to be a con because 1) there aren’t too many in this area and 2) it’s one of the bigger complaints, especially if you’re someone who likes to take advantage of all the attractions that metro Detroit has to offer, and a friend invites you to Detroit, you’ll be like okay, see you in an hour, or twelve oaks mall in Novi being an hour and 15 minutes. It’s something a lot of people don’t think about, and it’s based highly on preference. For me, I wouldn't mind the area if I was just sticking around with what Oxford and Lake Orion offered while occasionally going to a Redwings ro tigers game or having a shopping day.
Oxford Michigan Real Estate
Oxford Michigan Home Prices
Before I wrap this up, I want to make sure I touch on good ole real estate to give you an insight into Oxford’s home prices as well as the range in housing available for everyone. Taking a look at this graph it shows the average sale price over the last 3 years with oxford twp in blue, oxford village in green, lake Orion village in yellow and Orion township in red.
I wanted to include Lake Orion and surrounding township just to give you a sense of how the prices differ and as you can see they range from $320,000 and some change to over $450,000, and the prices have increased 3.1 to 8.8% as well.
As of recording this there are 45 homes for sale in the village of Oxford and the township of Oxford ranging from $32,000 to $59,000 for a mobile home in one of their mobile home park communities, to a $225,000 single family home with 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1,552 square feet, situated on 1.5 acres and built in 1940. It’s a little updated in size and has the ability to be financed using a USDA loan or what is known as rural development.
A lot of areas have the ability to have this financing but it’s nice to see a home where it’s actually offered, the we jump up to a $2.85 million home on Whisper lake with 366 feet of water frontage, 5 bedrooms, 5.5 bathrooms, 6,482 total square feet, situated on 13.31 acres and built in 2020. This is just one of those homes where pictures couldn’t possibly do it justice.
So, is Oxford Michigan a palace you’d live, why or why not? Drop your thoughts and comments below.
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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