I'm Moving to Detroit Soon! (Southfield, Royal Oak: appointed, apartments, renting)

[MotownBound]

I'm moving to Detroit soon. I'm coming from New York, so I'm looking for a middle class diverse neighborhood. I don't want to live in an ALL-WHITE or ALL-BLACK or ALL ANYTHING Neighborhood.

I like having neighbors, so I am NOT looking to move to the boondocks, boonies, or the middle-of-no-where. . Transportation would be nice if it was close.

Any suggestions?

[usroute10]

Hello, MotownBound, nice to have you come our way!
When you say you want to move to Detroit, do you mean the city of Detroit or the inner suburbs? Are you renting or buying? Do you want single-family home or condo/apartment?

If you want to move to the city, I would suggest neighborhoods close to or in the downtown and "midtown" area. A nice but small neighborhood just west of downtown is Corktown. It has several bars and restaraunts and is a very diverse and friendly community.

A neighborhood in midtown you may want to try is Woodbridge. Very beautiful neighborhood with alot of diversity and within walking distance of several cultural amenities. Great architecture. Detroit does not have rapid transit, just buses. There are several buses (Grand River, Tireman, Linwood, Crosstown) that run through the neighborhood and will take you thru downtown/midtown.

Lastly, if you want to live near the revamped riverfront, then please consider West Village on the east side. It has a great sense of community and is very near to waterfront parks and Belle Isle, and is about 4 miles east of Downtown. It is adjacent to some upscale neighborhoods. At least 2 bus routes go through the neighborhood to downtown.

If you don't mind living in the outer neighborhoods that are more "suburban", then please consider Rosedale Park, Grandmont, and the Aviation Subdivision on the west side, and East English Village on the east side. They are diverse and have bus routes.

The city of Detroit has high auto insurance and sometimes, high taxes, so please keep in that in mind. Also, the above neighborhoods I mentioned are the safest in the city, but you need to use common sense at all times regardless, because Detroit is a city with high crime in many areas.

If you want to live in the suburbs, there should be plenty of posters who will give you suggestions about them.

[oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots]

Hamtramck is nice.

[BurtsBees]

Originally Posted by oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots

Hamtramck is nice.

Not at all.

[Wombat Power]

Certain places downtown have a diverse community. Cadillac Center Apartments are all black, Millender Center is white and black, Kales is pretty white, Lofts of Merchants Row is the most diverse (I see more people, though, since I live there), and the Riverfront condos are white/black. I haven't seen too much diversity because Detroit doesn't really have ethnic neighborhoods that butt next to each other. I mean you have corktown and greektown but they're seperated by a good distance.

[steve1077]

Good luck, you will need it!

[Dexterguy]

I would look into the inner suburbs. For diversity look at Oak Park, Southfield, or Lathrup Village. Metro Detroit really does not have to many diverse cities. In Detroit proper, I would look into Corktown.

[KtMI04]

Stay away from the city. Detroit is not like Chicago or Houston. You dont want a detroit mailing address, trust me. Royal Oak would be perfect for you. Its eclectic, diverse, trendy... Lots shops and bars, a fairly safe downtown, not too big either. It can get a little pricy, but comming from NY I cant imagine youll pay more than you do there. Comming from NY, Im not sure if you own a car but I highly recomend getting one. Im not sure about RO's transportation system, but the detroit area has the 2nd worse transpotation system in america, 2nd only to Atlanta. However, if you cant most things are with in walking distance in RO, and its right off the free way. Thers also a community college right in downtown if your going to school. And should you want to venture to the D, its about a 20 min drive.

[and the]

I vote for Hamtramck. You're very close to Woodward and all the good stuff Detroit has to off, and Hamtramck IS diverse. Royal Oak is just another trendy, overpriced suburb. They try to sell it as hip, but it's not Detroit hip, it's suburban hip. Try Hamtramck.....before you get married and have kids.....

[tonilee]

While "and the" is right about Royal Oak, I would say that your best bets would be Ferndale or Royal Oak IF you do not want to live right in Detroit proper.

I moved here to Michigan (Belleville) from New York City (Manhattan) about 3 years back. It has not gone well for me at all. The best piece of advice I can give you is to embrace Michigan for what it is and do not expect to replicate or duplicate New York City in any way, shape or form...it just won't happen here...and you will end up being very, very unhappy and disappointed.

On the other hand, don't count Detroit out completely. While it is certainly not for everyone, Detoit DOES have some very cool stuff going on & some very friendly areas (as USRte10 mentioned...great info, btw)...there's a great underground music scene, some super artists, cool restaurants, really cool & funky bars, VERY NICE & DOWN TO EARTH PEOPLE & a few New York style lofts going up on/around Woodward (minus the city atmosphere you're accustomed to, though). On the downside, you'll have to deal with some crime, the high insurance rates, the terribly poor self-image that the city has and lots of urban blight...stuff that you will NOT see in New York City. But parts of Detroit are cool...sorta the way NYC was in the 1970's & 1980's (before it went glam).

For me, I have felt more comfortable with Detroit-ers & folks with whom I've met in/around Detroit than I have felt with the massive number of suburbanites that you find in the sprawl north & west of Detroit.

Direct message me if there is any way I can help you with the relocation...good luck.