SperlingViews - Oxford, Michigan

Oxford's downtown rivals that of Rochester, Plymouth and other area, small, "quaint" downtowns. The village is managed efficiently by a group of caring, hard-working people. The police dept. is 2nd to none. Historical commercial buildings line the 1-block-in-either-direction main corner, with a plethora of them being eateries. The immediate downtown residential areas are, however, less than desireable, with only a few of the limited number of original "mansions" commanding any respect. Concerts in the park during the Summer plus a number of festivals throughout the year are well-organized and encourage a vital downtown. The surrounding area comprising Oxford Township is a whole other matter, however. The Township is rampant with conservative head-in-the-sand NIMBYs who detest any sign of progress, often deferring building project applicants to the courts, who then are given consent judgments, thus taking the molding ability of future projects out of the hands of those who would most likely be affected by it. The ignorance and short-sightedness of the Township government is almost embarrassing. Their claim to idiocy peaked a few years ago when they "magically" came up with almost $2 million as our economy showed signs of crumbling, in order to build a new Township Hall, which houses all of about 5 full time people. When you traverse between the cities of Oxford and Rochester and experience the cultures in each, you will quickly identify the inclination that Oxford seems to have accomodated residents that "couldn't get in" to Rochester. The big bonus of this area, though, is the number of lakes that abound. Many beautiful homesites are situated on the banks of private and public bodies of water, most yielding to all-sports opportunities. Bottom line: If you can afford the commuting time by wanting to live in N. Oakland County and don't care about waterfront or lakes accessibility, live in Rochester. If it's water you want (and don't mind the brain-numbing conservatism of the Township), Oxford is waiting for you.[read more...]

A lot of petty bickering between Village and Township. If you own a business either one will let you do anything you want. Living in either has it's own benefits, Village maintains it's own police department with vitually immediate response times. Fire Department is owned by Township with excellent response times. Township contracts to Sheriffs Department for police coverage, response time can vary widely. Just a note the Township Supervisor lives within the Village limits, this should tell you something.[read more...]

The Village may have seen a slight decrease in population as new subs are built in the Township. Police service in the Village is maintained by Village residents,the Township contracts to Sheriffs Dept. Fire Department for both is maintained by the Township. Village Police response times are normally under 1 minute. Cost to Village residents is minimal to maintain the department and this level service. The Village does have all of the technical abilities of the Sheriffs Department on call with no additional charge. Township deputies may be called out of the Township at anytime to support Deputies in adjacents communities that contract to the Sheriffs Department. Running feuds between the Township Board and Village officials have been ongoing for years with little hope of change. The local daily and weekly papers tend to a conservative political view, one drastically more so than the other. Peak traffic times can cause considerable delays along the main road bisecting the area, unfortunately there appears to be little that can be done in the near term to alleviate this, builders however continue to plans subdivisions, the latest being 3,300 home in the Township. The main road carries most of the traffic from the North to access I-75 to points in Troy and other areas. Shopping is available in theTownship as well as the Downtown area there are many malls within 30 minutes.[read more...]

The winters in Michigan can be harsh on older retires. Snow plowing driveways, driving on snow covered roads and bundling up to walk in very cold tempertures. The winters however do give the younger generation many options including but not limiting to sking, skating ,tobaganing, ice fishing, ice sailing, winter carnivals, deer hunting and much more.[read more...]