Moving from Europe (Detroit, Ann Arbor, Livonia: mcmansions, job, housing)

[Outsider53]

Can someone give me a take on the best place to live near Detroit? I'm looking for something safe and quiet. What's the public transportation system like?

[Brent85]

Most of Detroit's suburbs are nice. Troy, Auburn hills, Bloomfield hills, Royal oak, Sterling heights are the best in my opinion. The public transportation is not so good however.

[sugarbeet]

To some extent, the best place to live depends on two things: where you work and your life stage. Try to live close to work. If you are under 35 and/or have no kids, Royal Oak, Ferndale, downtown Detroit. If you are over 35 and/or have kids, Troy, Birmingham, Rochester, Bloomfield.

[Dexterguy]

I would try the Pointes if you can afford them, the other suburbs that others have mentioned are also a great choice. The only place that I would look into for Detroit is Downtown, if interested in renting. Transportation in all of Michigan is poor.

[Bluefly]

Detroit destroyed its public transit years ago - there's a bus system, but you can't rely on it. You still need a car. It's a little behind shift away from the automobile-dependent culture.

[Coldjensens]

We love Grosse Ile a little known island community about 20 miles south of Detroit. Very safe (Michigan's safest city - Wikipedia); very quiet. Lots of wildlife. Nice friendly community with good schools. Very much a small town.

The Grosse Pointes are really nice but pretty urban. (north ish of Detroit). Somewhat isolated because they are surrounded by icky parts of Detroit. Schools are awesome.

North Oakland county suburbs mentioned above are also nice, especially if you are into matching subdivisions and McMansions. (Excepting Royal Oak and Ferndale which are more neighborhood/city oriented). Each of these communities do have some non-subdivision housing and some have a bit of a downtown. Royal Oak Ferndale and Birmingham all have very nice downtowns.

The higher end cities (Bloomfield, Birmingham, Troy, Rochester Hills) have better roads than other communities, and great schools. They have traffic issues. They are very nice communities, but a little too much keep up with the joneses there for my taste.

If you want nice, clean subdivisions with matching strip malls and good schools you have a very wide selection of suburbs. In addition to the ones mentioned above, there is Farmington, Farmington Hills, Novi, Northville, South Lyon, Westland, Canton, Auburn Hills, Wixom, Walled Lake, . . . . . the list is endless. All are within an hour from Detroit. Some have small lakes where you can buy a lakefront house.

Plymouth is a really quaint small town near Ann Arbor. Not too far from Detroit (45 minutes). Quiet and safe there too.

Ann Arbor is an awesome and very walkable city. It is not quiet though (quite the opposite of quiet). An hour plus to Detroit.

Dearborn and Livonia are older nice suburbs. More neighborhoods than subdivisions. Dearborn has a little bit going on in the city and it has Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village - world class historic collections. If people visit the Detroit area these are on t e must see list.

Forget about public transportation. It is worthless here. Get a car.


With the exception of portions of Detroit and a few suburbs that no one has mentioned here, all of these areas range from very safe to extremely safe. You may want to avoid many of the suburbs immediately adjoining Detroit (Inkster, Wayne, parts of Romulus, River Rouge, parts of Taylor, not sure about Allen Park)

[kb245]

I need more info are you looking for suburbs or city life?
I have been in detroit 6 years and the areas are pretty different.
I was steered away from Detroit but with the new GM renovations and stuff near Wayne State I wish I would have moved down there to be able to walk more and have the ciry feel. The bad news is that grocers are in the suburbs.

Also, Birmingham is cute to walk in but not a real city atmosphere.

[Bhaalspawn]

Why are you coming to Detroit? Could you choose to settle anywhere in the country or do you have a job lined up here? If you don't have a job lined up and you just think Detroit would be a good place to live; I suggest choosing a different region. The entire state of Michigan is economically depressed and the City of Detroit itself is the nation's most pathetic big city. (We do have some nice suburbs, though.)

If you have a job lined up, what area of the metropolitan region will you be working in? Public transportation is non-existent here and it's mostly non-existent in most of the nation's large cities; you'll need a car.

[krisbern]

I would look into the northern suburbs. If public transportation is important to you, I would look at Birmingham, Troy, or Royal Oak as there is a train station in Birmingham and Royal Oak that can take you downtown. You would have to drive to the train station though.

Detroit is the motor city. As someone else mentioned, public transportation has long since been destroyed in favor of selling more cars.

Even if you did rely on public transportation, it will be difficult for you to get around to do anything else. Our state is designed primarily for automotive transportation. Unfortunately, a car is a necessity to get around.

[sandinista]

I would consider Huntington Woods, Royal Oak, Birmingham and Grosse Pointe. Forget public transportation. It exists in name only.