Comparing Detroit Areas (Warren, Southfield, Royal Oak: low crime, mortgage, houses)

[againsttheflow424]

I will be moving to the Detroit area soon for federal employment in Warren. I am finding the home search much more difficult than anticipated. Perhaps I am being a bit too selective, but there is a good chance that the Detroit area may be my family's long term home. I have found two homes (one in Lathrup Village, the other in Indian Village) that are interesting and within my budget. Any assistance with the following questions would be much appreciated:

1. I have read that the schools in both areas are sub par. Is there opportunity in either area to place my children (junior high and high school aged) in better public or even private schools?

2. Is either of these two areas more or less safe than the other? My loose definition of safe would be attainment of a comfort level while strolling through the neighborhood or confidence that normal locks on doors are a sufficient crime deterent.

3. Is the commute to Warren from either of the areas better than the other? Length of the trip is a secondary factor to ease and stress level (i.e. traffic) of the commute.

Thank you in advance for any light that can be shed on these two areas.

[trmaoy]

Originally Posted by againsttheflow424

I will be moving to the Detroit area soon for federal employment in Warren. I am finding the home search much more difficult than anticipated. Perhaps I am being a bit too selective, but there is a good chance that the Detroit area may be my family's long term home. I have found two homes (one in Lathrup Village, the other in Indian Village) that are interesting and within my budget. Any assistance with the following questions would be much appreciated:

1. I have read that the schools in both areas are sub par. Is there opportunity in either area to place my children (junior high and high school aged) in better public or even private schools?

2. Is either of these two areas more or less safe than the other? My loose definition of safe would be attainment of a comfort level while strolling through the neighborhood or confidence that normal locks on doors are a sufficient crime deterent.

3. Is the commute to Warren from either of the areas better than the other? Length of the trip is a secondary factor to ease and stress level (i.e. traffic) of the commute.

Thank you in advance for any light that can be shed on these two areas.

I'm not familiar with the Indian Village area. Lathrup Village is near Southfield. As far as safety and amenities you should be fine. I imagine you would just take I-696 east to Warren for work. It would not be a long commute, but sometimes 696 gets really backed up. Now that the lodge is back open it should be a lot better.

I'm not sure what school district it's in. If it is Southfield public, I would say they are just okay. Check out greatschools.net for ratings and reviews. There would be very good private schools within easy range. The area is very centrally located to a lot of other nice areas too like Royal Oak and Birmingham.

I also work for the federal government in the federal building in Detroit. My commute is 40 miles one way. I'm used to it but it gets crazy sometimes. The freeway system here is good but the metro area is almost 5 million and EVERYONE drives. Good luck. Feel free to message me if you have any other questions.

[trinkit]

Like trmaoy says, Lathrup Village is near Southfield. It would probably be a better commute for you. However, Indian Village is near downtown and your commute would be in the OPPOSITE direction of the people working downtown.

Indian Village is near the Detroit River, Belle Isle, Detroit Yacht Club, etc. It is a historic area that is 3 blocks wide and about 7 blocks long. The closer to Jefferson the house is, the bigger the house usually is, and so is the price. Being in a historic area, you will be bound to the regulations of the historic commission as far as the color of paint you can have on the exterior of your house, no bars installed on windows, etc. You can do anything you want to the interior. It is a beautiful area, where most of the houses were built in the late 1800's. So if you are "into" architecture, you will like it there. As far as schools, most of the parents there send their children to private or charter schools. Grosse Pointe (all five of them) is only a couple of miles away. You can get a LOT of house for your money in Indian Village -- some of them may require some fixing up and then you could get a real bargain.

Lathrup Village on the other hand has more modern houses and you would not be bound by any historic regulations. It's all in what you want to live in. There are quite a few private schools in the area.

Good luck in your search, and I hope this helps.

[and the]

If there are kids in your equation, Lathrup Village is your only choice between there and Detroit. But why are you limiting yourself to Lathrup Village or Detroit?

[dmetro]

Quite honestly, I wouldn't want to choose between Lathrup Village and Detroit if i had children. They're both iffy areas. If you have a little more money, you may want to consider other suburbs, of which I can give you a list, if you so desire. But if you want to live in Indian Village or Lathrup, don't let anything deter you. They're both decent, just not as nice, new or safe as a lot of the other Detroit Suburbs. Hope I can help, and good luck with your search.

[jeffncandace]

Originally Posted by againsttheflow424

I will be moving to the Detroit area soon for federal employment in Warren. I am finding the home search much more difficult than anticipated. Perhaps I am being a bit too selective, but there is a good chance that the Detroit area may be my family's long term home. I have found two homes (one in Lathrup Village, the other in Indian Village) that are interesting and within my budget. Any assistance with the following questions would be much appreciated:

1. I have read that the schools in both areas are sub par. Is there opportunity in either area to place my children (junior high and high school aged) in better public or even private schools?

According to GreatSchools.net , Lathrup Village actually rates pretty high. The racial make up is half black, half white, but the median income for a household in the city was $89,303, and the median income for a family was $98,213 according to the last census. That's pretty high, and I know some nice neighborhoods over there.

Originally Posted by againsttheflow424

2. Is either of these two areas more or less safe than the other? My loose definition of safe would be attainment of a comfort level while strolling through the neighborhood or confidence that normal locks on doors are a sufficient crime deterent.

It is my understanding that Indian Village has a nieghborhood association that pays for private security. It is something of an island on Detroit's blighted east side. Relatively safe, but...keep your wits about you.

Lathrup Village should be generally safer, but I really don't know personally...

Originally Posted by againsttheflow424

3. Is the commute to Warren from either of the areas better than the other? Length of the trip is a secondary factor to ease and stress level (i.e. traffic) of the commute.

Probably easier from Indian Village as compared to LV. IV is going against the flow of traffic to Warren so should be a snap, whereas on the 696 from LV to Warren it will probably be hectic and get backed up regularly.

[againsttheflow424]

Thanks to all for the info. It is not that I am ruling out other areas surrounding Detroit. The specific areas in question just happen to be where a couple of the homes that got my attention are. After looking further, the home in Indian Village has more work to do than I am up for at the moment.

It is comforting to learn that charter and private schools are readily available if desired. Honestly, I would rather my children attend public schools but obviously don't want to sacrifice their safety or academic futures for a lower mortgage payment or a few more square feet.

That being said, my focus is on a home that I could consider long term if not permanent. By reading other posts, my intention seems rare if not unique in this area. The mass exodus from Detroit is unsettling but I feel confident in my employment security and hope to be a small factor in bringing new hope to this area, be it in suburbia or within metropolitan "borders."

Thanks again to all for your replies. As I continue to learn about the area(s), I will undoubtedly seek your advice and opinions again.

[robin luther]

My choice would be Lathrup Village, it has a low crime rate, parks, good city services and a lot of really nice homes. The school district is combined with Southfield and is safe and there is an excellent education available for motivated students, they have a K-8 acadamy that requires testing to get into, a k-8 school, an early childhood developement center, 7 elementary schools, 3 middle schools and 2 high schools that have acadamies (fine arts, medical, and engineering) I guess you can tell I work there. I live in Royal Oak which is also a nice area. The problem with Indian village is that you would have to pay city income tax, and be surrounded by some not so great areas.

[Coldjensens]

Detroit's Renaissance High was the top rated school in Wayne County two years ago.

I think that it is a public charter school. It is hard to get into. You have to have great grades and take a test. The students were unusually polite and friendly when we visited there.

There is also a school of the arts. I think that is another public charter school. I do not know how good it is though.