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I was born and raised in Detroit. When I graduated from college, my first job was in Brighton, Colorado. After living there for a year, I moved to Boulder. Man, what a beautiful place. . . . but so is Michigan, but just in a different way. Yes, you will be living in Detroit, but you will be near what great things it has to offer.
I would recommend that you look for areas close to work. Grosse Point--that area. There are other people here who can make some more specific recommendations. I say "get a place close to work", so that you can minimize your commute and save money and time. This is money and time you can use for taking some really butt-kicking Michigan vacations. You can go up to the thumb for a few weekends. Or over to the Lake Michigan side of the state.
If you really want to see some Colorado-rivaling scenery, you'll need to take a longer-than-weekend trip and go to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Copper Harbor, etc. Yes, Colorado is pretty, but areas of Michigan's upper Peninsula can be even more beautiful.
Congrats on the job, but instead of wasting time, money, energy, and bits and pieces of your life sitting in traffic, instead, look to the Grosse Pointe areas, and spend your energy getting out and seeing Michigan.
Whatever you do, don't listen to some of the naysayers on this message board. They're only focused on the bad parts of Michigan. I've lived in a lot of places and, frankly, I did the mountain thing, and I still longed to get back to Michigan some day. Believe me: I've lived in a lot of places and there are WAY worse places to live than Michigan.
Let us know how things are going, where you decided to settle, etc. It will be interesting getting your impressions and how things went!
Well I am grateful to the couple of you who gave me a tiny bit of encouragement, but I am becoming increasingly concerned about a culture with pervading negativity. If it sucks so badly, why don't those of you that are so unhappy move? Seriously- I'm not being snarky, rather just trying to understand this. In have lived in four states and never run into this overall misery. Is there ANYTHING to like there?
I wasn't asking if I should move or not. Just trying to get a feel for the different neighborhoods and suburbs. I see there is a Whole Foods in Bloomfield. Apparently someone in the state is supporting it. I was just wondering if there were some other areas that might be a little more interesting. Rochester and Ferndale caught my eye as well.
Oh- and I said we are a white family. For descriptive purposes. I'm not sure why that was taken to mean I or we weren't seeking or comfortable with diversity. I also have a bachelors degree in American Ethnic Studies and a Masters in Social Work. I am comfortable in any setting. I just don't want to raise my kids in an area with high crime regardless of the ethnic makeup of the area.
I realize Ann Arbor might be nice, but
obviously that's not a feasible option with commuting to Eastpointe.
I was born and raised in Detroit. When I graduated from college, my first job was in Brighton, Colorado. After living there for a year, I moved to Boulder. Man, what a beautiful place. . . . but so is Michigan, but just in a different way. Yes, you will be living in Detroit, but you will be near what great things it has to offer.
I would recommend that you look for areas close to work. Grosse Point--that area. There are other people here who can make some more specific recommendations. I say "get a place close to work", so that you can minimize your commute and save money and time. This is money and time you can use for taking some really butt-kicking Michigan vacations. You can go up to the thumb for a few weekends. Or over to the Lake Michigan side of the state.
If you really want to see some Colorado-rivaling scenery, you'll need to take a longer-than-weekend trip and go to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Copper Harbor, etc. Yes, Colorado is pretty, but areas of Michigan's upper Peninsula can be even more beautiful.
Congrats on the job, but instead of wasting time, money, energy, and bits and pieces of your life sitting in traffic, instead, look to the Grosse Pointe areas, and spend your energy getting out and seeing Michigan.
Whatever you do, don't listen to some of the naysayers on this message board. They're only focused on the bad parts of Michigan. I've lived in a lot of places and, frankly, I did the mountain thing, and I still longed to get back to Michigan some day. Believe me: I've lived in a lot of places and there are WAY worse places to live than Michigan.
Let us know how things are going, where you decided to settle, etc. It will be interesting getting your impressions and how things went!
Thank you! This is what I thought Midwestern people might be like
Plenty of outdoorsy people in metro Detroit. they're just not clustered together because of workplaces, school district choices, etc. I've got a bunch of relatives in the area. One's a hardcore runner (2x Boston qualifier) who ended up in Berkley kind of midway between a Trader Joe's and a Hanson's running shop where she does one of their outdoor training groups a few times a week when she's in town. She picked Berkley because it's pretty similar to Royal Oak, but you got more bang for your housing buck.
I'm thinking a move from liberal Denver/Boulder to Metro Denver (job in Eastpointe area) is going to be a culture shock. We look like lots of other suburbanites (white, Christian, heterosexual married couple with three kids), but we appreciate a natural lifestyle. We eat organic foods much of the time, prefer hiking to the gym and want our kids to have access to the outdoors. We would love an area or neighborhood with an emphasis on supporting local culture and business and has less chain restaurants and businesses. Does that exist? Cost of living overall is so much less than we are used to I don't think that will be a huge barrier to choosing a neighborhood. Any suggestions?
In regards to the bolded part, there's not a whole lot of that in metro Detroit.
But with the rest you should be relatively OK. There are stores and farmer's markets where you can purchase organic food, and plenty of parks, lakes, and access to the outdoors. I think the Rochester/Rochester Hills area is your best bet. It would be a roughly 35 min commute without traffic so places like Troy or Sterling Heights may be better options.
There is something entirely archaic about Detroit, as though it is stuck in time, without poise for progression, like a banal snapshot of American past. Anti-intellectualism and casual racism remain problematic, and people's worldviews don't seem to extend much further beyond the local sport score-sheet. Ann Arbor is, as others have suggested, an exception to this milieu, but I'm not much of fan of it, either. Ann Arbor is intellectual and progressive, but in the most smarmy and snobbish way. It is populated with the kind of people who like to talk a lot about equality and justice, but when faced with upholding such a standard in public are highly invisible and condescending to those unlike themselves.
I'm thinking a move from liberal Denver/Boulder to Metro Denver (job in Eastpointe area) is going to be a culture shock. We look like lots of other suburbanites (white, Christian, heterosexual married couple with three kids), but we appreciate a natural lifestyle. We eat organic foods much of the time, prefer hiking to the gym and want our kids to have access to the outdoors. We would love an area or neighborhood with an emphasis on supporting local culture and business and has less chain restaurants and businesses. Does that exist? Cost of living overall is so much less than we are used to I don't think that will be a huge barrier to choosing a neighborhood. Any suggestions?
Since you have kids I wouldn't suggest Detroit proper but they have plenty of local businesses. I'm not too big on organic foods so I can't help you out with that, but there are a couple of areas I think you would enjoy. To keep your commute short, I would look around Royal Oak and Ferndale. It's roughly a 20 minute drive without traffic. I think you would enjoy Eastern Market as some other posters have mentioned as well.
Also, I apologize for the negativity that you see on this forum . It is very embarrassing to have people discourage you from coming instead of welcoming you and helping you out. Please understand that this is just a very loud minority.
Also, welcome . I hope you enjoy yourself and find what your looking for.
I'm thinking a move from liberal Denver/Boulder to Metro Denver (job in Eastpointe area) is going to be a culture shock. We look like lots of other suburbanites (white, Christian, heterosexual married couple with three kids), but we appreciate a natural lifestyle. We eat organic foods much of the time, prefer hiking to the gym and want our kids to have access to the outdoors. We would love an area or neighborhood with an emphasis on supporting local culture and business and has less chain restaurants and businesses. Does that exist? Cost of living overall is so much less than we are used to I don't think that will be a huge barrier to choosing a neighborhood. Any suggestions?
Check out the Grosse Pointe's, that will make for a very decent commute to Eastpoint. Other places I can think of could be a nightmare of a commute (Rochester, downtown Clarkston, Downton Romeo, just thinking of family friendly places that are not infested with chain stores). While Metro Detroit is flat and boring, I think you will love the upper peninsula for vacationing and long weekends. Also somebody above provided a link for the Metroparks. I have never stepped into a gym in my life, I perfer being outside regardless of the weather. With proper clothing you can enjoy the outdoors all year long, so we visit the Metroparks regularly throughout the year, regardless of the weather conditions (well, unless is like -30 outside with windchill).
Well I am grateful to the couple of you who gave me a tiny bit of encouragement, but I am becoming increasingly concerned about a culture with pervading negativity. If it sucks so badly, why don't those of you that are so unhappy move? Seriously- I'm not being snarky, rather just trying to understand this. In have lived in four states and never run into this overall misery. Is there ANYTHING to like there?
I wasn't asking if I should move or not. Just trying to get a feel for the different neighborhoods and suburbs. I see there is a Whole Foods in Bloomfield. Apparently someone in the state is supporting it. I was just wondering if there were some other areas that might be a little more interesting. Rochester and Ferndale caught my eye as well.
You're going to be fine If hyperbole were an empire, City-Data would be Rome. When you're in Metro Detroit, you might as well be in any major suburban area, from the amenities to the people. It's not full of 4.3 million people who hate their lives and where they live. In all fairness I have never lived in Metro Detroit, but that doesn't mean i'm not intimately familiar with it. With that said the Detroit area IS behind the curve compared to its peers when it comes to a few things, but you have to keep some things in mind.
Couple Things:
You clearly are of a progressive, inclusive mindset based on your posts. You appreciate the newer organic movements and there's a good chance you've had these interests long before they became trendy. Places like Boulder, Ann Arbor, and the Pacific Northwest have been this way for decades. The rest of the country really started picking up on the trend in the last 15 years. Michigan's economic situation faltered from 2001 until the auto bailout. That was time period places like Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Earth Fare ect were expanding the most. All of these brands and others did not look to expand in Michigan because it was seen as too risky. However since 2010 Michigan's economic recovery has outpaced the national average by a good margin. People are moving back to the state at a faster and faster pace. Since manufacturing isn't expanding, the bulk of the influx are people who work in Bio-tech, R&D, Engineering, Management ect. There is a growing pent up demand for the Organic places, among other things. You will see a growing presence among them all. There are already plans to expand within the entire state. More specifically in the Detroit area.
The other thing is attitude, you can and will find enclaves within the metro area of like minded inclusive people you're seeking. However you will still find the flashy pretentious materialists. You will also encounter the negative "nothing makes me happy" types. They exist everywhere. The places that you have described like Boulder weren't founded as organic progressive enclaves of acceptance, they turned into it over time with like minded people clustering together. It had to start somewhere. Look at the all the threads started about people moving to the area, they are people like you with the same concerns and questions. People concerned with diversity and a culture of good nutrition. These things are building in the area, you are just considering a move near the beginning of the transformation, i'm sure it seems intimidating, but that infrastructure is already in place.
I'm sorry if I sound like a poster on a guidance counselors wall. I moved to Michigan 6 years ago with similar reservation but I fell in love with it. It is now my adopted home state and I will be back. There are SO many things to discover, so much beauty, so much tradition, and great people. It can and will surprise you, but if you end up focusing on the things you don't like it will make it harder to recognize the things you love. Don't let negative posters on a notoriously biased website influence you. Look at the other posts they make and see if there is anything that makes them happy at all, other than griping about how much everything sucks. Come be a part of Michigan, help the rest of us continue to make it the place we are so proud of
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. It is very embarrassing to have people discourage you from coming instead of welcoming you and helping you out. Please understand that this is just a very loud minority. 
. I hope you enjoy yourself and find what your looking for.
