Best & Worse Cities in the Metro Detroit area (Warren: real estate, rent)

[Bpobill]

Originally Posted by SO-CAL MOM

I just want to say thank you for your post, it really helped me. My husband may be getting a job at the new Veteran Hospital in Detroit. We are coming from southern California I having been looking up cities/ communities that are family freindly, we have 2 boys (5,8). I was looking for a community with good elementry schools, sport programs, activities for us to do, friendly people to make new friends for us/ boys, easy communte to down town, housing , every day shoppong ( grocciers, target etc..) My husband and myself are in our early 30's not very big on night life more family freindly thingds to do. I am an ultrasound tech is there alot of imaging centers and/or hospitals in any of these communties for jobs? Which one on these communties are better for communiting to down town Detroit I prefer not to be no more then 40mins out including traffic/snow? I am so over driving to work that takes me any where of 45- 1hr 15mins just because of traffic. Does any of these communties have planned housing (track homes) or are the house spread out and custom? Please help me !!!!!!!

What is your price range, and what are your requirements in a home?

[LeavingDetroit]

Originally Posted by PosterExtraordinaire

Has anyone eaten at la shish (sp?) recently? I ate there a lot but then moved. The owner got pinched and since I returned I haven't stopped and checked it out. It's a chain, but a damn good one. Or was. Too bad the feds pinched him. Hopefully the guy gets back to Lebanon. But is the food still decent?

I would't rout for the former owner of La Shish He was indicated but fled the US rather than facing up to the charges and exonerating himself; perhaps he knew he couldn't?

Fugitive ex-owner of La Shish restaurant chain wants to return to U.S. | Crain's Detroit Business

It is well-known that he was funding Islamic extremists.

La Shish Owner Indicted: Does Your Fave Mid-East Restaurant Fund Terror?

It is a shame that he put a bad fact on the many many good people of Middle Eastern descent in metro-Detroit

[Mindstormsmedia]

No wonder you did not have a good opinion of downriver. The Gibraltar trade center is a pit. You could take a lot of those "People of Wallmart" type pictures going there. One time we went there they had a pet sales booth. Two of the pets were dead. When we told them about it, they tried to argue with us. It was like a monty python skit. "Not it isn't, just prop it up a bit"


Yes I know it's a bit twisted....but that is the funniest thing I have seen posted here! At least they could have offered them at a discounted rate!

[Blue Grass Fever]

Best Cities in Metro Detroit --

Worst Cities in Metro Detroit --
Melvindale -- Their "Welcome to" signage should read "A Little City That Smells Like A Big Fart"
River Rouge -- or is the Rouge River?!, they are one-in-the-same. A cess-pool sailor's delight....
Ecorse -- Wow! Look at all that industry riverfront!
Lincoln Park -- the city-folk from L.P. looks down on above mentioned cities....which is laughable...
Taylor -- A Walmarted-out drug-haven town; Kid Rock anyone?!

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by SO-CAL MOM

I just want to say thank you for your post, it really helped me. My husband may be getting a job at the new Veteran Hospital in Detroit. We are coming from southern California I having been looking up cities/ communities that are family freindly, we have 2 boys (5,8). I was looking for a community with good elementry schools, sport programs, activities for us to do, friendly people to make new friends for us/ boys, easy communte to down town, housing , every day shoppong ( grocciers, target etc..) My husband and myself are in our early 30's not very big on night life more family freindly thingds to do. I am an ultrasound tech is there alot of imaging centers and/or hospitals in any of these communties for jobs? Which one on these communties are better for communiting to down town Detroit I prefer not to be no more then 40mins out including traffic/snow? I am so over driving to work that takes me any where of 45- 1hr 15mins just because of traffic. Does any of these communties have planned housing (track homes) or are the house spread out and custom? Please help me !!!!!!!

You . . . . want . . . . tract homes??

There certainly are plenty around. Novi and Rochester Hills are mostly tract homes. South Lyon, Lyon township, Macomb Township, Northville Township, Plymouth Township, Canton, Bloomfiled Hills, Woodhaven, Troy . . . lots of formerly rural places are all loaded up with the things. Most have excellent schools.

However you have much nicer options. There are tons of really nice suburbs where you are not resigned to the conformity of tract homes.

Not sure what you can afford, but coming from California, you should be able to look at the nicest communities. Try Grosse Ile (a group of islands with 10,000 people - w/ bridge access), Northville, Plymouth, Birmingham, Franklin Villiage, Bloomfield Hills, Grosse Pointe (several different cities grouped together).

The Grosse Pointes are very close to downtown (15 minutes). There is not much traffic anywhere except for parts of North Oakland County. I live in Grosse Ile and commute downtown and never hit anything I would call traffic. It takes 37 minutes running about 75-80 mph on the freeway part.

By way of example: we have about 4000 s.f. (more if you count the parts that do not count), 1 acre of land, water in front of us and woods on the other three sides. We can fish/canoe by walking across the street. Neighbors are just close enough to borrow a cup of sugar, but just far enough I can walk out to my car in my boxers and no one will notice. The schools are in the top ten (in some polls) crime is virtually none, quiet and peaceful like living at summer camp year round. The kids come and go as they please. Our house is probably at about $375,000 - $450,000. that is about average for the waterfornt homes. The giant homes on the east side of the island are much more ($600,00 - $30 million). Non-waterfront subdivision homes or older neighborhood homes are mostly in the $250,000 - $350,000 range. Condos/townhomes in the $130,000 - $180,00 range. Shockingly low by California standards.

(We moved here from Orange County in 2005).

[mgkeith]

If by tract homes So-Cal means neighborhoods where homes are relatively close to each other, that can be handy IF your neighbors are friendly and the kids can easily play at the different homes! When my kids were little ones, we lived in a neighborhood of that type and it was wonderful. The kids would run from house to house during the day and no need to
drive playmates over. They had a lot to do and were safe; we knew our neighbors and could trust them. It all depends on the neighborhood.

[zthatzmanz28]

Originally Posted by Blue Grass Fever

Best Cities in Metro Detroit --

Worst Cities in Metro Detroit --
........
Taylor -- A Walmarted-out drug-haven town; Kid Rock anyone?!

Jealousy will get you everything. One walmart and everything goes to hell. Aren't most of the drugs contained to the SW and NW corners?
Don't forget the Taylor Hunting Club...

And we left INKSTER and ROMULUS off the list? Suppose the LANDING STRIP elevated Romulus to elite status?

[MS313]

Originally Posted by Blue Grass Fever

Best Cities in Metro Detroit --

Worst Cities in Metro Detroit --
Melvindale -- Their "Welcome to" signage should read "A Little City That Smells Like A Big Fart"
River Rouge -- or is the Rouge River?!, they are one-in-the-same. A cess-pool sailor's delight....
Ecorse -- Wow! Look at all that industry riverfront!
Lincoln Park -- the city-folk from L.P. looks down on above mentioned cities....which is laughable...
Taylor -- A Walmarted-out drug-haven town; Kid Rock anyone?!

I think you forgot Inkster.

[Arthur Digby Sellers]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

You . . . . want . . . . tract homes??

There certainly are plenty around. Novi and Rochester Hills are mostly tract homes. South Lyon, Lyon township, Macomb Township, Northville Township, Plymouth Township, Canton, Bloomfiled Hills, Woodhaven, Troy . . . lots of formerly rural places are all loaded up with the things. Most have excellent schools.

However you have much nicer options. There are tons of really nice suburbs where you are not resigned to the conformity of tract homes.

Not sure what you can afford, but coming from California, you should be able to look at the nicest communities. Try Grosse Ile (a group of islands with 10,000 people - w/ bridge access), Northville, Plymouth, Birmingham, Franklin Villiage, Bloomfield Hills, Grosse Pointe (several different cities grouped together).

The Grosse Pointes are very close to downtown (15 minutes). There is not much traffic anywhere except for parts of North Oakland County. I live in Grosse Ile and commute downtown and never hit anything I would call traffic. It takes 37 minutes running about 75-80 mph on the freeway part.

By way of example: we have about 4000 s.f. (more if you count the parts that do not count), 1 acre of land, water in front of us and woods on the other three sides. We can fish/canoe by walking across the street. Neighbors are just close enough to borrow a cup of sugar, but just far enough I can walk out to my car in my boxers and no one will notice. The schools are in the top ten (in some polls) crime is virtually none, quiet and peaceful like living at summer camp year round. The kids come and go as they please. Our house is probably at about $375,000 - $450,000. that is about average for the waterfornt homes. The giant homes on the east side of the island are much more ($600,00 - $30 million). Non-waterfront subdivision homes or older neighborhood homes are mostly in the $250,000 - $350,000 range. Condos/townhomes in the $130,000 - $180,00 range. Shockingly low by California standards.

(We moved here from Orange County in 2005).

*Gasp* Someone wants to live someplace slightly different than what you prefer! Oh, the horrors!

[Blue Grass Fever]

Originally Posted by MarvinStrong313

I think you forgot Inkster.

When your town's (Inkster) only known landmark among other city-folk is Henry VIII, enough said....