Is Detroit honestly SO terrible? (Grosse Pointe: foreclosures, homeowners insurance, buying a house)

[cardwellave]

Ha that place is right by McDonalds by my Aunt's house. Telegraph and the most mispronouced street in Dearborn Heights: Hass. I was actually at that McDonalds at 12 in the morning looking for hot chocolate which was "out of order". Would have never thought Mike's = good sausage.

[detshen]

My BF likes that store and he's super picky about quality, he gets sausage and lunch meat there.

[FireKwame]

Originally Posted by Nearborn

How is one raped "respectively"?

I think the poster means two women were raped at knifepoint at two different times/locations.

[FireKwame]

Originally Posted by MICoastieMom

Admittedly I am coming to the party late on this one. I have studied the video from YouTube with DH. He attended Holy Cross as a child, and his family still drives in from Downriver to attend services there. We have spent a fair amount of time driving the streets while he reminisces about visiting his grandparents as a boy. IMHO, and he concurs, much of the footage seemed to be shot in Southwest Detroit, particularly the Delray neighborhood. Until just a few years ago when Fisher-Body shut down, Delray was a thriving community. Because it is so isolated from other communities being completely surrounded by industry, without the stabilizing effect of Fisher-Body all the little Mom & Pop businesses were doomed and the neighborhood went downhill rapidly despite efforts to the contrary.

Yes, I know there are other areas that still bear the scars of the violence from the 60's, and still others that are in the same boat as Delray because Chrysler or GM shut down plants. My point here is that to depict all of Detroit as being as destitute as the hardest hit neighbor is grossly unfair to the rest of the city, and doesn't give any credit to areas that are working hard to maintain property values and a sense of community.

I have to disagree that the video was shot in "the hardest hit neighborhood." Drive on the East side around Detroit City Airport/Forest Lawn Cemetery and you can find many blocks were there are only one or two remaining homes (out of 40 or 50 that USED to be there) and they are surrounded by blight of the worst kind. Even the streets off of E. Outer Drive that used to be nice just a couple years ago have gone downhill fast and every fourth or fifth house on the majority of these streets is vacant and many are burnt. This goes on for miles. Check out the area just North of Osbourne High School and it is even worse. The last time I drove down E. 7 Mile Rd after dark I actually witnessed a gas station robbery and two teens shooting a gun while fleeing. This was about 8pm.

The area near St John's Hospital used to be great but look at most of it now. Very few manicured lawns anymore, but lots of waist-high grass and empty homes and drug dealers. The area is not as bad as some others, but I certainly wouldn't move there. Oh, speaking of Forest Lawn Cemetery...my aunt and uncle are buried there. We had to buy a new headstone since somebody took their's. This was AFTER somebody smashed out the little glass photo holders earlier. Somebody has a marble coffee table somewhere with our family name on it. Niiiice.

Matter of fact, if you want a visual, go to google maps and enter the address:

Google Maps

Forest Lawn Cemetery:
11851 Van Dyke St, Detroit, MI

You will get an aerial shot of the area. Scroll to the right/east and look at streets like Dubay, Wisner, Elgin, Leander, Lyford...allllll those empty lots used to be homes that have been burnt. Many of the ones that are still standing just haven't been torn down yet.

Let me just add that while there are a few small areas of Detroit that aren't too bad, I look for them to fall soon with all the home reposessions going on. I hate to think of a renewal of Devil's Night burning on October 30th.

[cardwellave]

Just off Van Dyke near Lynch

Truly unbelievable.

[kimba01]

What a waste. So sad. And to think that idiot mayor is sucking millions out of the people to waste on his ignorance when it could be used for much better things.

[RoyDeveau]

I was raised in Detroit and left when i was 13 to live with my father in kansas, who was in the military. As a child I didn't think the city was so bad, but as a child there are many things you don't see or hear about. Although I still claim the city as my hometown, I will say that Detroit appears to be rotting away. The crime is unbelievable. There are several murders each day, and robberies every night. Belle Isle was one of my favorite places to go as a child, but the last time i went 2 years ago there were two different shootings on the same night and police immediately blocked the bridge, letting no one on or off the island. It really saddens me the the city's upkeep gets worse and worse. The city has always had problems, even 50 years ago, but it seems as if detroiters don't care anymore. And the ones with any sense are leaving. I wanted to return to "the D" after highschool but the city is a rut.. if u stay too long you'll be stuck. I am 20 years old and i can honestly say I will never live in Detroit again. Most of my family is there including my mother and siblings and I am working desperately to get them out of there. The current mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, might as well be a gangster rapper. Instead of improving safety or cracking down on the crime, he's buying daimond earrings, timberland boots, throwback jerseys, and Al-Wissams for himself. I have never seen a mayor dress like that. I dont know how bad it has gotten in Detroit first hand, but i hear about it all the time. The last week i lived there, my sisters best friend was kidnapped on her way to school, a couple days later police found her in an abandoned house, raped, and beaten to death with a hammer. They should really tear all those abandoned, burned, or crack houses down, oh and another thing, why is the best high school in detroit in the middle of the worst neighborhood? a cousin of mine started attending Cass a year ago and when we went to see the school we almost ran a crack-head over, he was laying in the middle of the street, having a seizure it looked like... Its very sad. So to answer the question, YES!, DETROIT IS TERRIBLE! Everyone ignores the serious issues, even there city's leadership, because he's to busy shopping at Somerset... sad but true

[dre71]

Sorry to hear about your friend is detroit really that bad now. I left 35 years ago and havent been back since. I used to live on annin st and saw how bad my old neighborhood has gotten on live search. Why dont they just tear down the abandoned houses.

[detshen]

Originally Posted by sam721

Sorry to hear about your friend is detroit really that bad now. I left 35 years ago and havent been back since. I used to live on annin st and saw how bad my old neighborhood has gotten on live search. Why dont they just tear down the abandoned houses.

They have torn down a lot, but there are still many that need to go. Downtown, midtown, and corktown are nice because people are choosing to move their, artists and pioneer types, but the neighborhoods surrounding downtown are very bad. Many people do care, but others have given up, or they are afraid. It's frustrating because there is the idea that the whole city is bad when there is very little crime downtown and it's a nice place to to reataurants, theatres and music venues.

The mayor is a nightmare. The city needs good leadership that will support the people who want to make Detroit a great city again.

[STLCardsBlues1989]

Originally Posted by sam721

Sorry to hear about your friend is detroit really that bad now. I left 35 years ago and havent been back since. I used to live on annin st and saw how bad my old neighborhood has gotten on live search. Why dont they just tear down the abandoned houses.

It would, in my opinion, be preferable to rehab at least some of those houses. But apparently that doesn't make economic sense. Though some recently abandoned ones could be fixed up for a fair amount. But a nice house surrounded by bad houses, empty lots, and an ugly neighborhood usually isn't worth much.