May I have some of your opinions on whether or not Metro Detroit could be for me? (Warren: rental, insurance)

[isthiscitytheone]

Hey there,

I own a small company and make ~80k per year. My work is remote, so I can pretty much be wherever I feel like. I'm single, male, and around age 26 or so. I'm probably not going to live within the city limits only because of the extra taxes, the auto insurance, home insurance, higher crime rate--I know I can stretch my money further by living out in the burbs.

I don't follow sports too heavily, although I've lived in sports cities before. My favorite type of city would be like NYC, but without the sticker shock of Manhattan prices. Essentially, I'm hoping for good theater/opera/art/entertainment. I know I probably won't be able to walk to it since it's the car capital, but that's okay, I have a Subaru.

I'm not much of a nature-nature person. It's not that I don't like nature, but I won't gravitate to it naturally unless someone invites me to go. This is partially because I've spent a large chunk of my life doing nature stuff and I'm worn out from it.

I want to buy a house, 3 br, 2 bath, but I don't want to drop loads of money. I tend to minimize/maximize on things that I want in life, and I'm willing to sacrifice square footage for other things. I don't intend on marrying or having kids anytime soon either, so schools aren't really in my purview, although I keep them in mind if I want to resell one day. Would it be realistic to find a house in the 50k range? 100k?

I've been to Detroit a couple times, but only for quickly visiting friends or to go to the Detroit Economic Club. Nice, but doesn't give me a sense of the whole area. I lived in the area for a month but still feel a little adrift. From my research, I've found that Royal Oak, Ferndale, Downtown, and I think Dearborn are usually rated well. Any others? I want to have access to downtown easily, maybe to the outer burbs as well.

Thoughts? I know there are other places I could probably move to that are warmer, hipper, or whatever. The cost of living is much lower here though.

[blind spot]

Do you currently live in Metro Detroit and you're trying to figure out if you want to stay there? What drew you to metro detroit initially besides the fact that you have visited a few times?

I grew up there so I can tell you no house for $50K is going to be habitable unless you don't mind bulldozing it and building a new one. Maybe you could get a house for $100-$120K....definitely not in royal oak though...royal oak was $$$ when I lived in the area and it's not gotten cheaper.

Basically here are the reasons gleaned from your post about why you want to live in or stay in metro detroit:

-cost of living is low
-you hope to purchase a house soon
-you want an area with theater/art culture
-you want it to be like NYC without the price tag

Metro detroit has all that except for NYC that but lots of other areas do too. Metro detroit is nothing like NYC...maybe LA or Chicago might be closer to NYC but there's a price tag that comes with it.

There are other low cost metros where you could feasibly buy a house with theater and art culture. I live in one and I'm around your age. If you could explain more about what draws you to metro detroit in particular then I think I could help you. So far the things you seek could be found in several other cities...I'm just not grasping why you have picked this city in particular. I had pretty concrete reasons to move where I did...but you don't seem to have them to stay there. Do you see what I mean? Are you happy there? Do you genuinely want to make a go of it there, or is it just "well this is as good as any place?" If it's the latter I don't think I'd buy a house.

[isthiscitytheone]

In truth, there really isn't any city in the USA that's like NYC, except maybe, what Chicago's downtown? Some neighborhoods around there? What city has the transit, in particular? Probably nearly none, or very, very few. The point is to aim for a similar city kind of lifestyle but with the art at the center. I don't HAVE to have a walkable city or the same everything.

I don't really fall "in love" with cities either. My family doesn't have strong roots in the US (immigrant family) so I never found a "pull" anywhere in the US in particular. It could be anywhere, but only a few places are close to my friends, weather I like, cheap etc.

In general, I feel like I could flourish anywhere. I like houses because I really, really don't want to rent. Capital building is important to me now as I grow older, and I find it's safer than constantly showering money on landlords. My family owns a couple rental properties here and there, and if anything, I'd rather just own and rent out, rather than live and rent to.

I'm somewhat surprised that you couldn't find a 50k house lol. I was hoping something off Redfin in Warren would be okay. or in St Clair's. Somewhere quiet but close. Going off Redfin alone, the median cost of a house in Metro San Antonio, for instance, is 170k. The median for Metro Detroit is 66k. The Building Detroit site here: Building Detroit - Neighbors Wanted has some around 52, 66, 70ish.

Not that I would buy IN the city, but close would be enough..

And yes, I'm fairly happy. I guess I'm very introverted, "my world" is inside me wherever I go, so I don't think too much about whether or not this city or that city is "my city", you know?

edit: i guess I should finally say that, well... In having traveled and been around other places, I've come to the decision that I don't really like the West Coast (various reasons), I'm averse to the East Coast having grown up there (it really is expensive these days...), really don't like the heat, prefer the cold, am somewhat bored/tired of the south/southeast/southwest (been around here now for nearly a decade in various parts, also, it's really hot in the summers...), don't want to live in a rural town...which doesn't leave me many options lol. There might be a lot of room in America, but only so many spaces that I can narrow in on.

[blind spot]

I didnt grow up over there so I can't tell you which areas are good / which aren't. If you start looking closer to dearborn I will be more helpful to you But I just looked on redfin and I don't see any 50K houses in warren, condos yes but not houses.

If you're happy where you're at then you should stay, I wasn't necessarily trying to dissuade you, just that nothing jumped out at me as a reason to stay in metro detroit. I don't think of detroit as a "primary" city unless you mean it's the biggest city in the state of MI....then you're correct but if metro detroit is close to your friends, you enjoy the weather (i hate the cold which was part of why i left) and the COL works for you then stay put!

BTW I like Sacramento and the gold country area east of it, gold country is so pretty!

[isthiscitytheone]

oh, no, I mean Detroit would be considered "second" in some people's eyes only because of the stereotypes. i think there are maybe like 5 that are considered "Everyone's here, move here!"...dc...la...nyc...chicago...sf. I dunno why, I'm just not...attracted to them, lol. i honestly do not give a crap about prestige in cities or whatever, the competition, that kind of stuff.

Here is a house that states it is "COMPLETE REMODELED" blah blah

Moderator cut: wait with links until you have at least 10 posts

Now, I dunno what it's actually like there, so I won't comment. It's technically above the dreaded 8 mile line.

and yeah, don't get me wrong. Sacramento, SF, LA, the coasts, the PNW, California, it's all very beautiful. It's just not my culture, my way of life. Funny, because my ethnic group predominates that state/region. It's just not...me, I guess. there's nothing wrong with it, no shade, no hate, just not me.

[blind spot]

I totally hear you. I used to live in orange county CA and where I live now is so much better for me. It's still a big city (there are two cities actually), plenty of arts/theater, and neat science and history museums too. And the cost of living is low. But not everyone wants to live in my state for all kinds of reasons and that's ok. No one moves here for prestige or to be rich/famous and that's part of why I like living here!

BTW 8 mile runs through some really nice suburbs like Novi, Northville, etc. Even royal oak!

[jonnynonos]

Sounds like it could work, and you could find a tiny house for that, although you might be rolling the dice with an ability to resell it.

Detroit has always had strong cultural institutions.

[belleislerunner]

You should consider the cities of Hazel Park or South Madison Heights (South of 12 mile). They are close to 75 for commuting - will get you downtown for all the cultural amenities within 15 minutes and be close to Royal Oak/Ferndale if you want a little more walkability. They are not "glamor" cities - but that isn't what you are asking for - they are safe/functional cities with little more than affordable housing stock - but proximity to everything else makes them a good bet. Start with Hazel Park.

[citylover89]

Based off of your post, this is what you want out of the area you live in:

1.) Low cost of living
2.) Would prefer a house in the 50k-100k range
3.) You have considered cities like Royal Oak, Ferndale, Downtown Detroit, and Dearborn
4.) Good theater/opera/entertainment
5.) You have considered living in a warmer, more high energy place

The reason why I put #5 is because you mentioned that you could be living in a "warmer, hipper" place..sounds like you've considered it. I want to applaud you on being 26, owning your own company, and wanting a good financial future. That's quite an accomplishment!

I think the thing is regardless of where someone lives, there is usually a trade-off of some kind. I don't think most people find one place to fully meet everything they want out of where they live. Getting a house in the 50k-100k range that is not a fixer upper and is in a decent area...That is difficult to find. You could save for years then pay cash for a home if debt is a concern.

Based off of your interests (Detroit Economic Club) and financial goals, it sounds like low cost of living is very important to you. The thing is that unless you live in Detroit, SE MI is not as cheap as you might think it is. In addition, you might have to sacrifice the cultural things you talked about with #4 because that is part of what makes cities expensive. I am not saying that Detroit does not have good cultural institutions, but someone who puts a priority on that would not be satisfied with what is available here.

You might want to consider Asheville, NC which has a reputation of having a lively arts and music scene. The weather is warmer than MI for sure. The COL appears to be around the same level of Royal Oak/Ferndale. I do not know what you do or what type of job prospects you would have down there though.

Other than the cultural things you mentioned, I think the Detroit area would be fine for you. A city like Hazel Park or Oak Park might fit your criteria (low cost and being close to culture).

[rleroy]

The Detroit area is way more expensive than you'd think. We have one of the most affluent metro areas in the country. While there ARE cheap houses, it's not likely in a place where you'd move. Buying a condo in Detroit proper could be interesting (I'm of the same age and income level, and I live right on the riverfront)

Feel free to message me if you have any questions about the city