Young family moving to MI (Detroit, Royal Oak: crime, houses, neighborhoods)

[Brookecs]

My husband, myself, and our 2 1/2 year old son are moving to MI from AZ in June so that he can start his residency. We're young, 26 and 30, and don't really want to live in the suburbs but we want to live somewhere family friendly (parks, other young families, good schools, walking distance to places, etc). My husband will be working at different hospitals in the Detroit area. Is there a community/neighborhood that would fit the descriptions and atmosphere I mentioned above? We would also love to live somewhere with some of the charming older homes (bungalows, tudors, etc) that were built in the 1920's-30s. Any advice would be so helpful!

[belleislerunner]

Grosse Pointe off Kercheval between Cadieux and Moross.

[zthatzmanz28]

The other side of Detroit is Wyandotte. Great older homes, a nice downtown to walk to and a pretty good summer events lineup--not to mention the water front...a bit more blue collar than the Pointes.

[animatedmartian]

You'll most likely live in the suburbs. You could try living in Detroit, but that really depends on how comfortable with all the news of crime and a struggling city government.

With that said, Sherwood Park, University District, or Palmer Woods would likely fit what you're looking for. These areas have probably the most amount of those charming older styles within the city. Palmer Woods obviously being the most expensive.

North Rosedale Park is similar but has smaller houses and is on the west side of Detroit. It's also more affordable and closer to freeway access.

The most walkable areas of Detroit are Midtown and Downtown, but you'll not likely find single family housing except for Corktown and Woodbridge. But, imo, they're not as family friendly as the neighborhoods listed above.

You could check out Lafayette Park, though it's primarily town homes and not exactly full of a younger demographic (last I heard). On the plus side, you can easily bike into Downtown and to the Riverwalk from there.

[Brookecs]

Thanks for your replies! Do you think Royal Oak or Ferndale would be a good fit? Or is it mostly singles? I guess we are hoping to find something within walking distance of local attractions (like Brooklyn, NY if you've been) but not necessarily walking distance to places in Detroit.

[animatedmartian]

In general, the area around 696 and Woodward would be good to walk to the Detroit Zoo. So that'd be like Huntington Woods, southern Royal Oak (not really sure if many are singles, but most are roughly around your ages), northern Ferndale, and Pleasant Ridge.

[Coldjensens]

For families with good schools and not cookie cutters subs and strip malls I suggest:

Northville
Plymouth
Grosse ile
Grosse Pointes
Birmingham
Bloomfield Hills.
Franklin village
Rochester (city not hills)
Farmington
South Lyon

Wyandotte is neat, but the schools are not good.
Royal Oak is neat for singles and dinks. It has some family places and many places that are family inappropriate. Schools are not great.

Several other places have good schools, but they are pretyt much cookie cutter and McMansions. You will find cool older homes and farmhouses on the outskirts of the suburbia towns with good schools (like novi troy west Bloomfield) and in townships all over the place.

Detroit Neighborhoods include University, North Rosedale Park, Woodbridge, Indian village Palmer Park, Boston Edison. and a few others, but schools are mostly beyond terrible and you are not going walking anywhere except in the neighborhood.

If you can live downriver commute wise, consider Grosse ile. Most people overlook Grosse Ile. It is really an amazing place to raise a family. Housing styles are mixed. Everything from early 1800s through still under construction. Tons of different styles, lots of open space/nature. Loads of amenities and fantastic schools. The other advantage is that you are coming into Detroit from the non-traffic jam direction (south).

[gameguy56]

Berkeley should be added to the above list.

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by gameguy56

Berkeley should be added to the above list.

Yes it should.

Meaning the non-cookie cutter safe places with good schools and things to walk to list.

[jonnynonos]

Royal Oak would be the closest thing to Brooklyn, but it's such a wide--like, Pacific Ocean-wide--chasm that the comparison is ridiculous. That is one reason why Michigan is hemmorraghing young people; there is no real vibrant urban environment. You can find anything else you want, from small town to rural to suburb, but there's, at this time, no urban living comparable to other major cities.

A lof of the cities off the Woodward corridor, though--Royal Oak, Beverly Hills, Ferndale, Birmingham, Huntington Woods--offer a semblance of big city variety and vitality in terms of nightlife, restaurants, entertainment. And loads of very cute housing.

That's where most of the 30-ish people I know wound up, starting families, etc.