East Coaster moving to Detroit needs help (Ann Arbor, Farmington Hills: credit, lawyer)

[ebdr]

Hi there! Me & my DP currently living in downtown Baltimore, & are seriously looking to move to the Detroit area. We have done a lot of research on the area. We are leaning to go to either Ferndale, Royal Oak areas, etc. We have been reading the threads here for awhile. Some say there are nice areas of Detroit, and others have told others looking to move to Detroit to avoid it like the plague, and make it sould exactly like a larger Baltimore City. We are considering the City Of Detroit, and would like to know of any nice areas of the city. here in Baltimore, the only "safe" section is from the inner harbour, north to the city line. East & West Balto. is pretty much burned out boarded up rowhouses. I plan to go back to college to either take paraleagal, or Social Work courses. DP is a R.N. We know that no city is totally safe (I was born & raised here in Baltimore City, & DP is a New York native). Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!

[Tinnie]

If you really want to meet the movers and shakers in the Medical Profession, I suggest Downtown Detroit. The Riverfront Apartments, The Lofts, and the Woodward Condos are beautiful and near a great entertainment venue. Some of the best hospitals and medical facilities are located in Detroit. If you are seeking a quieter area Southfield, Royal Oak, Farmington Hills, or Canton are great areas. I believe Grosse Pointe would be to boring for young profession coming from NYC or DC. Most people who live in NYC or DC enjoy a more active lifestyle. You really should view homesites in the Downtown Detroit or Royal Oak area for professional and entertainment avenues.

[Bluefly]

Originally Posted by ebdr

Hi there! Me & my DP currently living in downtown Baltimore, & are seriously looking to move to the Detroit area. We have done a lot of research on the area. We are leaning to go to either Ferndale, Royal Oak areas, etc. We have been reading the threads here for awhile. Some say there are nice areas of Detroit, and others have told others looking to move to Detroit to avoid it like the plague, and make it sould exactly like a larger Baltimore City. We are considering the City Of Detroit, and would like to know of any nice areas of the city. here in Baltimore, the only "safe" section is from the inner harbour, north to the city line. East & West Balto. is pretty much burned out boarded up rowhouses. I plan to go back to college to either take paraleagal, or Social Work courses. DP is a R.N. We know that no city is totally safe (I was born & raised here in Baltimore City, & DP is a New York native). Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!

I have trouble believing you actually live IN Baltimore. You're delivering the typical scared suburbanite line, complete with the Inner Harbor being the only safe place (most people I know in Baltimore don't even consider the Inner Harbor part of their city since it's so bland corporate).

If you did live in Baltimore, you would know that, like Detroit, it has many wonderful, stable, and quirky neighborhoods mixed into tough areas (and there are some REALLY tough areas in Baltimore). Especially today as many Washingtonians looking for urban life have snatched up the Baltimore vibe.

But yes - more generally speaking - Baltimore is a small Detroit, complete with extravagantly wealthy suburbs.

I don't know why a previous poster wrote stay out of the city of Detroit with a smiley face. What fear mongering. You might be happiest there. It's certainly the most interesting area in the region. Try Eastern Market if you want a truly unique and urban living situation.

[ebdr]

Originally Posted by Bluefly

I have trouble believing you actually live IN Baltimore. You're delivering the typical scared suburbanite line, complete with the Inner Harbor being the only safe place (most people I know in Baltimore don't even consider the Inner Harbor part of their city since it's so bland corporate).

If you did live in Baltimore, you would know that, like Detroit, it has many wonderful, stable, and quirky neighborhoods mixed into tough areas (and there are some REALLY tough areas in Baltimore). Especially today as many Washingtonians looking for urban life have snatched up the Baltimore vibe.

But yes - more generally speaking - Baltimore is a small Detroit, complete with extravagantly wealthy suburbs.

I don't know why a previous poster wrote stay out of the city of Detroit with a smiley face. What fear mongering. You might be happiest there. It's certainly the most interesting area in the region. Try Eastern Market if you want a truly unique and urban living situation.

I do live in Downtown Baltimore on 218 N. Charles St, Baltimore, MD, 21201. I was asking about areas in gerneral in the city & burbs. The small & quirky areas like hamden, Federal Hill, harbor East, Mt. Washington, Canton, & Highland town are the exceptions. Since My dad was (retired) Baltimore City Cop out of the Southern District, him, other cops here & life long Baltimoreans agree that a majority of the east & west sides look just like beruit. I'm not here to argue with anyone, just trying to find out decent areas in the burbs & city. By the way, bluefly, I really did grow up in the Morrell Park neighborhood. You seem like most of baltimore always calling people liars, or acting like everyone is running a game. I guess there's people like bluefly in every city. Shame.

[Bluefly]

I'm not calling you a liar. Just perplexed that you would dismiss the city of Baltimore so outrightly in the same way people dismiss Detroit. People who live such places generally have a more nuanced understanding of a city's highs and lows. Obviously, I was mistaken. I'm sorry.

You should also probably not give your address on the internet. Just not a good idea.

[ebdr]

I'm not mad. I'm not worried about giving out my address. My building is guarded almost like Fort Knox. Anyways, I have tried numerous times getting involved with different neighborhood associations when I was living in different ones here. Most of the people in the associations wanted to keep doing things the same way even when what they were doing wasn't working, or afraid to try new different things to improve the neighborhood. I guess that happens in every city. It is more of a "us" versus "them" mentality. We have decided to focus more on Detroit, unless our car insurance will be higher than here than it is here.

Another reason we're getting out of MD the taxes, and general backward mentality of the state(western MD, central MD, & Eastern Shore), but I guess no matter what state a person lives in, some feel that way. Another reason is that we're tired of humid sticky summers up into October, & want 4 distinct seasons.

[Cato the Elder]

Originally Posted by ebdr

Hi there! Me & my DP currently living in downtown Baltimore, & are seriously looking to move to the Detroit area. We have done a lot of research on the area. We are leaning to go to either Ferndale, Royal Oak areas, etc. We have been reading the threads here for awhile. Some say there are nice areas of Detroit, and others have told others looking to move to Detroit to avoid it like the plague, and make it sould exactly like a larger Baltimore City. We are considering the City Of Detroit, and would like to know of any nice areas of the city. here in Baltimore, the only "safe" section is from the inner harbour, north to the city line. East & West Balto. is pretty much burned out boarded up rowhouses. I plan to go back to college to either take paraleagal, or Social Work courses. DP is a R.N. We know that no city is totally safe (I was born & raised here in Baltimore City, & DP is a New York native). Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!

We lived in Philadelphia proper for 10 years. I would say Philadelphia is on the other side of Baltimore from Detroit when it comes to urban living, but they're all basically in the same boat.

A prioritized list of what's most important to you (good groceries, opera, galleries, university vibe, museums, sports, zoo, bars, clubs, etc) would help people give suggestions.

Downtown Detroit is more like the Inner Harbor - new buildings, sports, waterfront, etc.

Midtown is not too different from the neighborhood around Johns Hopkins; it's also surrounded by some not too great areas, but it's pretty safe and scenic. The housing stock is better near JHU, but Midtown has it beat for museums. You can also take classes at Wayne State for relatively little money, unlike JHU.

Ferndale is the funky, bohemian enclave of metro Detroit. It's edgy enough that most yuppies keep away. It does not have the wattage of most metro enclaves of its sort, but it's a fun place nonetheless.

Royal Oak is the hip, more gentrified version of Ferndale. You have funky Ferndale on one side of the spectrum, and the family-friendly, Brahmin Birmingham on the other. Royal Oak kind of falls in between these two towns both geographically and in feel.

Anyway, more info would help.

[OhEdo]

Originally Posted by ebdr

It is more of a "us" versus "them" mentality. We have decided to focus more on Detroit, unless our car insurance will be higher than here than it is here.

Another reason we're getting out of MD the taxes, and general backward mentality of the state(western MD, central MD, & Eastern Shore), but I guess no matter what state a person lives in, some feel that way. Another reason is that we're tired of humid sticky summers up into October, & want 4 distinct seasons.

Until I saw MD in your post, I thought you were talking about Detroit and MI

And here I thought Michigan had a corner on the market of adversarial urban/suburban relationships... Why is this not reassuring?

[Cato the Elder]

It's basically the entire US. Even California has "Calitucky" just as there is a Michitucky and Pennsyltucky. You've got to move to the Netherlands or Belgium to find a consistently progressive worldview throughout its populace.

[ebdr]

Well, I guess we're looking for a place thats close to grocery, shopping, stores, decent mass transit service( since getting gas last night for the car is now $3.89 a gallon!) to get to/from/around Detroit, Relatively low crime, though, no place is truly crime free, a good mix of people. We are leaning to in the following order: Detroit, Ferndale, Royal Oak, Ann Arbor, Southfield, Farmington Hills. We're not into bars, but do occasionaly go out to dinner a couple times a month, enjoy concerts/theatre, baseball/hockey, & shopping.

Thank you Cato The Elder for your help!! We were considering Philly as well. The Bella Vista area, & roxborough/manyunk. We decided not to as our car insurance would be $2800.00 a year there compared to $1400.00 a year here in downtown Balto.