medical student moving to Michigan, need help!? (Detroit, Warren: sales, apartment) - (MI) - City-Data Forum

alaskaty · 03-15-2008, 05:41 PM

Hello everyone,
I'm going to be graduating from medical school in 2009, and am planning on doing my residency in one of the following cities in Michigan (I think they're all suburbs of detroit, but obviously I could be very wrong):
Warren at Henry Ford hospital
Farmington Hills at Botsford hospital
Trenton at Oakwood Southshore Medical Center
Pontiac at Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital
Garden City at Garden City Hospital
Commerce at Huron Sanai hospital

I have to set up rotations at the 3 places that I'd like to do my residency the most. I've checked out wikipedia on all these cities and I've been to all the "city websites" but I'd like to know from the people who are there or have been there.

Personal info: It'll be me and my wife, we're mid-late 20's with a 6yr old Husky. No kids at the moment, but after a year or so of living there we'd consider having one (with that being said, schools probably won't be that big of a deal).

If people would rank them 1-6 that would be awesome. Thanks for the help.

and the · 03-15-2008, 10:05 PM

Rank them for what? Livability? Quality of hospital? Here's where I'd want to live, pretty much in order, best to worst:

5. Warren at Henry Ford hospital
3. Farmington Hills at Botsford hospital
2. Trenton at Oakwood Southshore Medical Center
6. Pontiac at Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital
4. Garden City at Garden City Hospital
1. Commerce at Huron Sanai hospital

Having scored them, I'd have to say that there are very good areas within an easy drive from each of the hospitals. I wouldn't pick any of them for the type of town they're in. If you want to be within bicycle distance of the hospital, I think I'd probably rank them as I have. If you don't mind a 10 or 15minute drive, pick any one of them. (Grosse Isle is nice and not far from Trenton.....I'd check out Grosse Isle....)

alaskaty · 03-16-2008, 09:36 AM

Rank for livability and safety/cleanliness (basically not a "bad part" of the Detroit/MI) mostly. I've been able to talk with the various hospitals and people that have rotated through them, but I don't know any locals that could give me some good insight on the cities themselves (I'm from Alaska, if someone asked me if they should move to Mountan View or Muldoon, I'd say hell no, but Eagle river and South Anchorage are really nice) Thanks for the reply and response, I appreciate all the information I can gather.
Jason

buckrusty · 03-16-2008, 10:52 AM

I'm originally from the Detroit area, and I'm getting ready to move back fthere from DC here soon. If you were moving in to the D from anywhere else but Alaska, I'd tell you too that your list would be OK. But..... you're moving here from Alaska.....

My advice would be to move to the outer 'burbs at first, deal with the traffic, deal with the commute, and wait to move further into the city after you can see with your own eyes what you're getting into.

When I say "outer 'burbs", I'd be looking at Plymouth/ Canton or Rochester. I know guys that live in those areas - safe, cheap, clean, etc. Those areas are suburbia at its finest, and you would have no idea that you're on the outskirst of one of the poorest, most crime-ridden cities in America.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not another Detroit-hater, I would just play it safe if I were you. It would be a shame to move to a less-than-desirable area and have your time here suck pretty bad.

As far as your hospitals go - I'm in medical sales and have been to all of those hospitals. Pontiac, MI is a dump, and so is everything in it. Henry Ford is a nice hospital, highly respected, etc. Botsford, last I knew, was one of the last "community hospitals" in the area, and Farmington (IMHO), is nicer than Warren. Warren seems to have some pretty good parts but some real sketchy parts too. Trenton would be cool because Oakwood is part of a good sized health system here, but Trenton is in the boonies and is pretty lame.

As for me - I'm moving all the way downtown.

My $0.02

alaskaty · 03-16-2008, 04:50 PM

Thanks,
I've gotten my fair share of traffic and big city feel in Phoenix (I'm in AZ this year and 1/2 of next year). So that won't be too big of a surprise. I try not to pass judgement on places I haven't been, but honestly I haven't heard much good about Detroit, but then again it's from other people who have heard from other people etc. etc. At least from the sound of it, a few of the choices will work out pretty well. I really appreciate the help because I have to set up three rotations this next week and I'll be in MI October 2008 through December 2008 to check out these places myself.

buckrusty · 03-16-2008, 05:04 PM

Check out my post titled "If you're planning on moving to Metro Detroit....." for some more details as to where I'm coming from if you want

and the · 03-21-2008, 01:28 PM

I would pick your hospitals first and decide where you want to live second. There are very nice places to live within easy driving distance of all of those hospitals. Anywhere in the western suburbs is convenient to at least 3 hospitals on the list, like Botsford, Garden City and Henry Ford. Livonia, Canton or even Dearborn may be worth looking at. That would put you maybe a half hour to 40 minutes away from Henry Ford and anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes away from Botsford and Garden City. You looking for a house, condo or apartment? Or you could live within walking distance of Henry Ford and drive to the other two. I assume Henry Ford will be one of your three choices. It's one of the only trauma centers left standing.

I'd stay away from the eastern suburbs if you want to be as convenient as possible to the majority of hospitals on your list.

*Danielle* · 03-23-2008, 07:39 PM

My husband just completed his residency at Henry Ford in Detroit. We live in Shelby Twp...Great place to live,,,heck of a commute every morning.

kimba01 · 03-23-2008, 08:55 PM

I have lived here my whole life and while I do not know much about Trenton or Commerce, I would rank the rest as:

1. Farmington Hills (pricey, but nice)
2. Warren (runs the gamut of prices, depends what you are looking for--further away from 8 mile the better, I'd say)
3. Garden City
4. Pontiac (a small step above Detroit, if that)

Good luck! There are alot of other nice suburbs too! Shelby Twp is nice, Sterling heights is nice, Royal Oak is good-very trendy if you like that and there is Beaumont Hospital there.

DM me if you want!

neznanec · 08-13-2008, 04:38 PM

buckrusty! i'm moving to detroit in one month and i'm seriously considering a move to downtown area. i've seen your other posts - please reply to my message, cos' I have questions regarding the daily life in downtown.

is it like living in a bubble?
how is it living in downtown on a daily basis in terms of daily shopping (groceries, clothing, etc.), bars, jazz/pubs, cinemas etc.?
i imagine you need a car in detroit to get anywhere (except for the people-mover)? how expensive is car insurance in detroit?

i know detroit is different than other us cities and i've read all the negative publicity on-line, so I am really looking for some straight-forward answers. i'm from europe originally, but i have experience with living in some major us cities (SF, NY, Boston).