How Saline’s High Quality of Life Helps Your Business

One of America’s Best Places

Saline is widely recognized as a highly desirable place to live and do business. Consider that Saline finished among America’s top 100 places to live in three straight CNN/Money Magazine surveys (2005, 2007, 2009). Saline also ranked as one of CNN/Money’s best places to retire.

Young families flock to Saline, especially because of our excellent public schools. In the U.S. News 2017 survey, Saline High School ranked as Michigan’s fifth-best high school, and within the top 400 nationwide. It’s hardly surprising, then, that in 2013, Business Week magazine named Saline as Michigan’s best town – that’s numero uno – for raising children.

Saline also earned an A+ in Niche.com’s most recent ranking of Michigan’s best places to live. That’s an A+ for public schools, an A+ for raising a family, and an A+ overall. 

But who’s counting? ☺

Educational Excellence

You may already see a theme in these notes: the excellence of Saline Area Schools.

This writer can personally attest to it. My two sons, now completing doctoral degrees in education and environmental toxicology at Vanderbilt University and the University of Michigan, respectively, had the whole Saline schools experience, from elementary through high school. My boys found themselves exceptionally well prepared for their college undergraduate and graduate studies. Better prepared, in fact, than most others students they’ve met along the way.

Saline Area Schools are complemented by the equally excellent Saline District Library. This institution is as much of a community meeting place as a lending library. You’ll run into all your Saline neighbors here – from youngest to oldest, exploring their interests and finding enlightenment in our communications media: print, video, audio, and online.

Arts, Crafts, and Events

Along with Saline’s academic bent comes a very active arts community.

Just for starters, check out the Saline Fiddlers Philharmonic, Saline Area Players, Salt Valley Arts, Eluminous Studios, our Summer Music Series, and Saline’s Harvest of the Arts. Saline’s spring and fall Craft Shows are regionally renowned. They draw thousands from all around.

Public art is spreading throughout our community – especially in our very stroll-able downtown. The Saline Sculpture Walk is a great way to get to know our community, with a purpose.

It seems there’s always something fun going on in Downtown Saline and surroundings. The annual Saline Celtic Festival invites revelers from close to home and around the country and the world. Saline Summerfest, Saline’s Oktoberfest (in September!), and Saline’s Winterfest also draw big crowds. (So why no Saline Springfest? We’ll work on it!) Our Farmers Market is a weekly must-do for many health-conscious and culinary-minded community members.

The state-of-the-art Emagine Theater recently brought “The Magic of Movies & More” to our town – and the many movie lovers here and around Saline are absolutely loving it.

History and Architecture

Saline’s heritage is an attraction it itself.

Our town was named for the natural salt springs that originated here some 600 million years ago. These springs were well known to the Native American tribes who traveled on the six major trails that converged near the center of modern-day Saline. Saline later became an important stop on Michigan Avenue (US-12), the approximately 250-mile road connecting Detroit and Chicago.

Downtown Saline attracts architecture buffs eager to take in our very well preserved historical buildings. Some of Saline’s most interesting history is captured in the Saline Depot Museum, the Rentschler Farm Museum, and the Weber Blaess One-Room Schoolhouse. The latter is an especially appropriate preservation, given Saline’s long-time emphasis on education.

In the mid-20th Century, the banks of the Saline River were home to an outpost of Henry Ford’s Village Industries. During World War II, workers at our picturesque Village Industries location processed soybean oil for paints, plastics, and machined parts in Pratt & Whitney engines. The buildings today house Wellers, a scenic and charming setting for weddings and other big events.

Visit the website of the Saline Area Historical Society to grasp the full scope of Saline’s colorful past – and to begin planning your own historical and architectural tour of our fair town.

Dining and Shopping

Saline’s restaurants range from fast to fine – and all are delicious.

Neighboring Ann Arbor is known far and wide for its wide selection of superb restaurants. But they get heated competition from Saline’s own star-filled lineup of dining establishments.

Right downtown you’ll find Mac’s Acadian Seafood Shack, Carrigan Café, Salt Springs Brewery, Brecon Grille, Benny’s Bakery, Dan’s Downtown Tavern, and more. More exciting downtown dining options soon to come. See your range of Saline dining options here.

Saline’s many distinctive shopping experiences ain’t too shabby either. Our downtown stores alone offer everything from fresh flower arrangements to fine home furnishings, from hard-to-find decor to artisan foods. Here’s a further sampling of your shopping options in Saline.

Saline Main Street is our community organization dedicated to sustaining and enhancing the vitality of Downtown Saline – the historic, cultural, and economic core of our community.

Parks and Recreation

Recreational opportunities abound in Saline and surroundings.

Saline maintains 12 beautiful parks, preserving nearly 200 acres of the area’s best nature. And our Parks and Recreation Department offers healthful programs and activities galore.

Think too that all of Michigan’s acclaimed natural wonders are close at hand: the lakes large and small, the shorelines sandy and rocky, the forests deep and wide, the islands familiar and remote – plus our cherry groves, vineyards, strawberry fields, blueberry patches, and on and on and on.

Nothing that spells Pure Michigan is ever more than a half or full day’s drive away from Saline.

Our area is also lucky to have Ontario, Canada as a near neighbor. We can sometimes overlook the fact that only a short bridge or tunnel ride away, just about an hour’s drive from here, will take us to a whole other country of extraordinary beauty, sophistication, and friendliness.

Superior Healthcare for All Ages

Concerned about healthcare? Who isn’t? At every stage of life.

In Saline, we’re so fortunate to be just a short drive away from major hospitals and clinics covering practically every medical need. The University of Michigan Health System is world renowned, and the St. Joseph Mercy Health System can match the Big U in many medical fields. Specialty practices abound in our town and nearby. You can get and stay healthy here.

The senior members of community are very well taken care of in Saline. We’re fortunate to be the headquarters for EHM Senior Solutions (formerly Evangelical Homes of Michigan). This cherished nonprofit organization operates superior independent living, assisted living, and memory care centers not far from the heart of our downtown. Other solid senior living options are close by. And the Saline Area Senior Center is one of the true treasures of our town.

Close to So Much More

You could say that Saline is nearly perfectly located.

We’re just a short hop from the classic college town of Ann Arbor, with all the educational, cultural, and sporting attractions that the University of Michigan brings to our lives. Other neighboring communities – including Ypsilanti, Milan, Manchester, Chelsea, and Dexter – have their own distinctive vibes and attractions. They make for great day trips from Saline.

This writer, for one, can’t get enough of the Zingerman’s family of foodie delights, now spread to nearly every corner of Ann Arbor and surroundings – and only a short way from Saline.

Saline is also within an hour’s drive of Detroit – the world-renowned Motor City – and many of its most appealing suburbs. After some tough times, Detroit is on the rebound – big time – and it provides a wonderful amenity when the big-city atmosphere is exactly what you’re looking for.

Yet Saline is far enough away from it all to retain our small-town charm.

But not too far away.

Saline is close to major U.S. and state highways, and we’re only a 40-minute drive to Detroit Metropolitan Airport – or “Metro,” as all in these parts call it. It’s an international gateway.

A Great Place to Raise Your Family

Saline is attractive, clean, safe, and easy to get around.

Even more importantly, our people are exceptionally friendly and community-minded. We’re a relatively affluent town, welcoming to all. And we’re becoming increasingly diverse.

Have me mentioned Saline’s terrific schools?  

Well, yes, we have. A few times. But the point bears repeating.

When people hear “Saline,” the word that most often comes to mind is “families.” As practically all in our community will tell you, it’s our children – and our children’s healthy and successful futures – that truly drive us. That’s why the quality of our schools is so important in Saline.

You can say that Salinians get the most basic things right. This includes creating precisely the right atmosphere for you to live, work, play, raise a family – and do business in Saline.