African American doc moving to metro Detroit. Please help. (Sterling Heights: real estate, housing)

[docmts2]

I'm a new family med doc (finishing residency in June, 2008) who's moving to metro detroit in less than a year and I need some help on finding housing. Let me give a little background to explain my situation.
I'm originally from Chicago and I love large metro areas. I went to med school in the south and found myself doing my residency there, too. I chose a rural residency program because I think rural programs make better family physicians, but the racism in the small city south is unbearable. That's saying a lot for a guy from Chicago (a city that competes with Boston for the most segregated city in America). Anyway, as a Black man I know racism well and frankly, I prefer northern racism as the better of the two evils (northern vs. southern racism).
I'm looking to move back to the midwest and I would have gone back to the Chi but the housing costs there are obscene. On the other hand, the metro Detroit area has everything I'm looking for; a large metro population, lots of diversity, countless things to do and a housing market that's built for buyers. I like that the area is politically progressive like Chicago, too. My problem is that I have no clue where to look for a home in metro Detroit.
I've worked damned hard to get where I am and I want to live in a community that will fit my income, but I also want to live in a community where I'll feel comfortable. Like many African Americans, I'm not racist but out of necessity I'm constantly on guard against all the people in this country who are racist. I'd like to live in an ethnically diverse community within the metro area but if that's not possible, I have much love for my people and can easily settle down in an upper middle-class African American neighborhood, too. Specifically, I'm looking for a modern two story home at 3000+ sq. ft., four+ bedrooms and three car garage in a very nice neighborhood. Any ideas as to where I should look? The more in put the better. Thanks in advance. docmts2

[MIEng]

I'm glad you are considering Michigan!! I have been living here for a couple of years but I'm only familiar with the northern areas of metro Detroit.

Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills are very upscale and lots of doctors live there too (at least all of my doctors do) but I do not know how diverse those places area.

There is also Troy and Rochester Hills. They are very nice communities with great schools and the homes are more affordable than the two mentioned above. They are also very diverse comunities. 400,000 to 450,000 may buy you a very nice newer 4 bedroom colonial. We live just west of Troy in north Sterling Heights. It is also very diverse city. I live in a newer subdivision of decent sized homes and pretty much every corner of the world is represented here. White, black, indian/asian, middle eastern, europeans and south americans... But Sterling Heights is more middle class so it may not be what you are looking for.

[Cato the Elder]

Originally Posted by MIEng

I'm glad you are considering Michigan!! I have been living here for a couple of years but I'm only familiar with the northern areas of metro Detroit.

Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills are very upscale and lots of doctors live there too (at least all of my doctors do) but I do not know how diverse those places area.

There is also Troy and Rochester Hills. They are very nice communities with great schools and the homes are more affordable than the two mentioned above. They are also very diverse comunities. 400,000 to 450,000 may buy you a very nice newer 4 bedroom colonial. We live just west of Troy in north Sterling Heights. It is also very diverse city. I live in a newer subdivision of decent sized homes and pretty much every corner of the world is represented here. White, black, indian/asian, middle eastern, europeans and south americans... But Sterling Heights is more middle class so it may not be what you are looking for.

There are some general candidates, but I think you would have to visit to sense the vibe you get from each community. IIRC, many of the African-American faculty I know from my university live in the Farmington area. We've been to some get-togethers there and the houses can be quite large and nice. Unfortunately, I don't know too much else about this area but it must be at least somewhat racially tolerant. If you want more upper crust communities, that leaves Gross Pointe, Birmingham, and Bloomfield Hills. Again, you'll have to see what you think but I don't get the sense that any of these areas are particularly welcoming of non-whites, but you could say the same about similar areas in most metros. Using Chicago, Bloomfield is kind of like Lake Forest and the Gross Pointes are like the Winnetka/Kenilworth/Wilmette strip. Birmingham? I guess it's kind of like Highland Park with its downtown. Good luck in your search.

[and the]

I'd try the Bloomfields...West Bloomfield, Bloomfield Hills...Lots of Black professionals out there. Probably fewer Black folks, but Northville and Plymouth are pretty good areas......The Grosse Pointes are nice too if you like older bedroom communities. There's also the U of M Ann Arbor area. That's practically "metro Detroit" these days.

[stock66]

I can't say now but Lathrup Village used to be nice, pretty diverse and sounds like it would have the type of houses you describe. Southfield also has large homes. You don't mention children or whether you care about school districts. I think both those cities have Southfield schools, not the best, though I know some people that like them.
Farmington and Farmington Hills are less diverse than the above but you can get a large home and better schools.
Ferndale, Royal Oak and Pleasant Ridge are pretty open communities. The houses won't typically be as large or as modern.
Grosse Pointe Park has fantastic schools but is not nearly as diverse. You will also be looking at older, albeit large homes.
If you are willing to consider a Detroit neighborhood Palmer Woods used to beautiful. The kind of place that does Holiday home tours with amazing old mansions. Palmer Woods Neighborhood

[princessemichigan]

I suggest you look into Canton, Northville, Plymouth, and Novi too. Very nice Diverse areas. I am AA and live in Canton. Stay away from Grosse Pointe, I grew up there and experienced a lot of racism.

[docmts2]

Thanks for the replies thus far. I've been to Detroit several times, but only as a guest. I'll be coming back very soon to get a more intimate feel for the area. I'll be checking out all the areas mentioned. But who can tell me more about the old mansions within the city? I kind of like the idea of buying a huge mansion dirt cheap and renovating it so that I can have an abundance of space in an up and coming, rehabilitated community. That way I can hook it up just the way I want it instead of buying someone else's design. docmts2

[and the]

The Sherwood Forest/Palmer Woods area around Woodward/7 Mile is the only area I'd suggest for that type of house. It's right down the street from U of D High school, so you're set if you have boys. Girls will have to go a little farther. Do a google search. The name of one of the premier real estate agents for Detroit mansions is Chris Cetlinski, or something like that. I seem to see his name all over in those areas. Not sure who he works for. Not sure what "dirt cheap" means to you though. Not sure how many "fixer uppers" are in there.

I wouldn't suggest Indian Village or the Boston Edison area. Boston Edison used to be "the suburbs" in the early days of the auto industry. It ain't what it used to be, but if you want to gamble on it coming back soon enough for you, more power to you. You can definately find some fixer uppers in that area. If you look on a map, West Grand Boulevard makes a rough circle in the middle of the city. That used to be sort of the "outer limits" of the city in the early part of the 20th century. That's where all the upper class types lived. If you really wanted to go out to the sticks back then, you went to the Palmer Park, Sherwood Forest, Palmer Woods area.

After the city built out, they put another boulevard around the city, another concentric circle, "Outer Drive". Now the city is well built out past that.

Did you see the article about the African American doctor and his wife who are moving out of Boston/Edison? You might want to check that out. And before you buy a "dirt cheap" mansion in Detroit, you might want to check out the taxes. It may "blow you away" as our governor once said, doctor or not.......

Look on mapquest and realtor.com and search zip code 48221. And in that zip code, If I had the money, I'd only go into the area bounded by Strathcona, Woodward and 7Mile. The area west of that before you get to Livernois is OK, but that area bounded by Strathcona is the primo neighborhood in Detroit if you're a mansion kinda guy. The police station is right across the street too.

The University district, near 6 Mile-Puritan/Livernois is OK as far as houses go, but I wouldn't live there.

There are also some nice houses adjoining the Detroit Golf Club, on Fairway Drive.

I don't think you'll find a lot of the big mansions for sale right now. Nobody wants to take the hit on them, and if you can afford one of those houses, you can afford to pay the taxes until the market recovers.

Many Metro blacks feel isolated in suburbs

Better schools, services come with price for minorities

[jfizzrep313]

if you want a nice house look into indian villige or the newcenter area if you wont to stay in detroit but most people are moving to the suberbs

[Cliffie]

Originally Posted by docmts2

I'm a new family med doc (finishing residency in June, 2008) who's moving to metro detroit in less than a year and I need some help on finding housing. Let me give a little background to explain my situation.
I'm originally from Chicago and I love large metro areas. I went to med school in the south and found myself doing my residency there, too. I chose a rural residency program because I think rural programs make better family physicians, but the racism in the small city south is unbearable. That's saying a lot for a guy from Chicago (a city that competes with Boston for the most segregated city in America). Anyway, as a Black man I know racism well and frankly, I prefer northern racism as the better of the two evils (northern vs. southern racism).
I'm looking to move back to the midwest and I would have gone back to the Chi but the housing costs there are obscene. On the other hand, the metro Detroit area has everything I'm looking for; a large metro population, lots of diversity, countless things to do and a housing market that's built for buyers. I like that the area is politically progressive like Chicago, too. My problem is that I have no clue where to look for a home in metro Detroit.
I've worked damned hard to get where I am and I want to live in a community that will fit my income, but I also want to live in a community where I'll feel comfortable. Like many African Americans, I'm not racist but out of necessity I'm constantly on guard against all the people in this country who are racist. I'd like to live in an ethnically diverse community within the metro area but if that's not possible, I have much love for my people and can easily settle down in an upper middle-class African American neighborhood, too. Specifically, I'm looking for a modern two story home at 3000+ sq. ft., four+ bedrooms and three car garage in a very nice neighborhood. Any ideas as to where I should look? The more in put the better. Thanks in advance. docmts2

It depends on what you're looking for and where you plan to work. Right downtown, there are some REALLY beautiful places in the Corktown neighborhood. You're within easy reach of all the area's diversity and attractions, as well as the big hospital complexes, and if their properties are selling like other places in SE Michigan, you can swap a historic mansion for enough gasoline to get the owners to Arizona...

On the East side, the houses get nicer and roomier the closer you get to Lake St. Clair. By the time you're on Lakeshore Drive the place might be on a couple of acres. The "Pill Hill" area on the East Side is called Windmill Point, and the houses are very pretty, if you don't mind being hemmed in by plastic surgeons and cardiologists and stuff.

West side? Not very diverse in my experience, and way overpriced, but there are some pretty nice places. Again, it's all doctors and lawyers in there so not much diversity. I, personally, would not want to have to talk shop at every single backyard barbecue I attended in my own neighborhood. The exception is Indian Village in Pontiac -- very diverse, close to the refurbished nightclub scene in the center of town, and close to everything on the West Side.