Best areas for couple without kids? (Detroit, Ann Arbor: real estate market, apartments, rentals)

[bobishere]

You're a little late to the party, to say the least.

Ferndale and Royal Oak are not trendy anymore (especially not Royal Oak) and haven't been trendy since 2004. They're stale and people are over them now that the city has become a great place to be. And I wouldn't touch St. Clair shores with a ten-foot pole unless you like boring suburban sprawl.

The "trendy areas" are going to be in the city. Midtown, Downtown, West Village, Boston Edison, Corktown are good places to start looking. Good luck.

[lynnc99]

Originally Posted by bobishere

You're a little late to the party, to say the least.

Ferndale and Royal Oak are not trendy anymore (especially not Royal Oak) and haven't been trendy since 2004. They're stale and people are over them now that the city has become a great place to be. And I wouldn't touch St. Clair shores with a ten-foot pole unless you like boring suburban sprawl.

The "trendy areas" are going to be in the city. Midtown, Downtown, West Village, Boston Edison, Corktown are good places to start looking. Good luck.

Your reply brings up an excellent point - what's trendy at one time won't be trendy tomorrow.

And IMHO trendy is a risky way to make an investment decision, such as real estate.

[jonnynonos]

I think given the modest aspirations “trendy” here means a decent array of restaurants and boutiques, not necessarily the most globally inspired craft cocktails.

[Coldjensens]

My son lives in Ferndale while attending college downtown. He loves it there. It is a younger place with lots of small cheap houses. Lots of cool stores and shops downtown. It still has a lot of industrial bits all over the place and random neat taverns and coffee shops scattered all over. It is somewhat freewheeling. People do what they want to with their homes, lawns, etc; have rummage sales when they want to; it is more live and let live than more orderly conforming type places. Most of this neighbors are younger. Very few have children. It is the primary place in SE Michigan where alternative lifestyles are accepted (about half of his neighbors are LGBTQAA... etc.). He and his roommates are straight but they all get along fine. He hopes to find a job near Ferndale and just stay in that house indefinitely. One of his roommates' father bought the house for them to rent during school, and intends to continue renting it as an investment. He does not have a car at the moment and it has not been a problem, just an occasional inconvenience.

Detroit is a hop skip and jump away, especially midtown. There is a Meijer within walking distance. Downtown Ferndale is a long wok or short bike ride away (you do not want to drive, there is never any parking).

Royal Oak is next to Ferndale. It is more orderly, more expensive, more sophisticated. Lots of pricey but nice bars and restaurants. Much more conforming lifestyles and homes/yards. Royal Oak has the awesome Detroit Zoo.

One of my daughters went to school in Ypsi. and lived there. Ypsi is a factory town with some Ann Arbor flair slipping in. It has a few nice areas, especially Depot town. There are some area with stunning craftsman and victorian homes. The downtown is pretty run down and empty with scattered bits of zest. Ypsi downtown is really ripe for a revitalization if covid does nto kill the resurgence of downtowns. It has some really neat places, but they are scattered. One side of Ypsi is rough and crime ridden. Most of the area near the campus is OK or even nice. Some parts of Ypsi are literally across the street from Ann Arbor. Eastern Michigan University is literally right in Ypsi. It is a significant part of the City. It is the biggest teaching college in Michigan and one of the biggest in the USA.

[bobishere]

Originally Posted by lynnc99

Your reply brings up an excellent point - what's trendy at one time won't be trendy tomorrow.

And IMHO trendy is a risky way to make an investment decision, such as real estate.

No I wouldn't say that, Royal Oak is just not looked at as highly as it used to be, it's obvioulsy held it's property values very well and is still growing and a good investment. It's just that people remembered that Royal Oak and Ferndale are just suburbs, they are not big cities, they are not very special. If you want a big city lifestyle and amenities and just the overall real deal you're gonna have to live in Detroit.

[scorpio516]

A friend of mine in her very early 30s bought a house about 4 years ago in Rosedale Park/Brightmoor and she loves it. Nice classic intra-war neighborhood with a lot of period houses in good shape and is on the national register.

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by bobishere

No I wouldn't say that, Royal Oak is just not looked at as highly as it used to be, it's obvioulsy held it's property values very well and is still growing and a good investment. It's just that people remembered that Royal Oak and Ferndale are just suburbs, they are not big cities, they are not very special. If you want a big city lifestyle and amenities and just the overall real deal you're gonna have to live in Detroit.

Ferndale is way cheaper than Midtown and downtown and does not have city income taxes.

[usroute10]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

Ferndale is way cheaper than Midtown and downtown and does not have city income taxes.

With Ferndale, you have the ability to rent out a small 3 bed 1920's bungalow and split rent between 3 different occupants, so it can be cheaper to live in Ferndale. Midtown and Downtown don't have too many single family houses.

However, if you compare apple to apples, Ferndale is not cheaper. The new 4-story Ferndale Haus development in downtown Ferndale offers 1-bedroom apartments for $1,665 and 2 bedrooms for $2,395, which is in line with new apartments in midtown and downtown.

https://www.apartments.com/ferndaleh...it-mi/wmc2gpl/


The below websites still show you can get a studio or 1-bedroom apartment in midtown for $700-800 a month:

The Hamilton - 40 Davenport — Midtown Detroit, Inc.
Newberry Hall - 100 E. Willis — Midtown Detroit, Inc.
H.R. Finn Apartments - 678 Selden — Midtown Detroit, Inc.


In addition, Ferndale and Royal Oak do not offer the variety of amenities as the core of Detroit, like the larges t market district in the country, an urban trail like the Dequindre Cut, 3.5 mile long Riverfront promenade with beautiful water views and downtown views, and all of the pre-pandemic offerings - major and minor concerts, live theater @ Wayne State, symphony orchestra, Broadway Theater @ the Fisher, professional sports, WSU sports, beautiful public squares like Campus Martius and Grand Circus Park, Belle Isle (Ferndale & Royal Oak have no greenspace of significance), the museums, the Main Branch of the Public Library, Mexicantown. Royal Oak has the zoo, which is awesome.

So the poster is right. If you want the superior city experience, you live in the city, instead of suburbs that are trying to replace the city. If enough people live in the city, the income tax rate could be decreased.

[Coldjensens]

The fact is you can find decent housing in Fernanda for a fraction of the cost that you can find decent housing for in Midtown or downtown. Yes there are new luxury apartment complexes in Ferndale that may be trying to get Midtown prices or nearly so, but in midtown and downtown there are no other options. Everything is expensive not just the newest most high end places available.



In Ferndale, you have the benefits of a small community with good services and its own downtown, but still just a short drive or ride away fomr all the same benefits of living in midtown or downtown. What you do not have are the massively higher costs for housing, car insurance, taxes and the significantly higher crime rates. I agree that Midtown and downtown are better places to live if you have a lot of extra money, but they are not places you can live cheap. Theya are palces for relatively wealthy people only.



Things get a bit cheaper when you geet out a ways from the WSU/Cultural Center area, but those chepaer places are not places most people would want to live. In Ferndale, you do nto need to compromise comfort/quality/safety for affordability.



Ferndale is not a better place to live than midtown or Downtown IMO 9depending on what you want), but it is a better option if you are on a limited budget. iIt is also more of a community. A place where people stay for a while rather than a more fun but more transient place lik e midtown or downtown. You will nto find a lot of people living in mid/down town that have been there for more than five years. No withthe town emptied out due to covid, many of the downtown condos are also empty. it would be kind of lonely to be still living in the condos or apartments downtown right now. I am not sure whether that is true of mid-town. Thus, it may be better suited for a family or a couple who are looking for a permanent home.

[usroute10]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

The fact is you can find decent housing in Fernanda for a fraction of the cost that you can find decent housing for in Midtown or downtown. Yes there are new luxury apartment complexes in Ferndale that may be trying to get Midtown prices or nearly so, but in midtown and downtown there are no other options. Everything is expensive not just the newest most high end places available.

In Ferndale, you have the benefits of a small community with good services and its own downtown, but still just a short drive or ride away fomr all the same benefits of living in midtown or downtown. What you do not have are the massively higher costs for housing, car insurance, taxes and the significantly higher crime rates. I agree that Midtown and downtown are better places to live if you have a lot of extra money, but they are not places you can live cheap. Theya are palces for relatively wealthy people only.


Things get a bit cheaper when you geet out a ways from the WSU/Cultural Center area, but those chepaer places are not places most people would want to live. In Ferndale, you do nto need to compromise comfort/quality/safety for affordability.

I just gave you three examples of fairly affordable studios/1 bedroom apartments IN MIDTOWN and yet you continue to claim there are none. Let me repost them, $600-$800 a month

Originally Posted by usroute10

The Hamilton - 40 Davenport — Midtown Detroit, Inc.
Newberry Hall - 100 E. Willis — Midtown Detroit, Inc.
H.R. Finn Apartments - 678 Selden — Midtown Detroit, Inc.

Great locations, not the 'hood. The Hamilton is less than a block away from the Whole Foods/Starbucks complex. Newberry Hall is across the street from the DMC's Harper Hospital. The H.R. Finn apartments is literally next door to a new Bar-Arcade. These are affordable places in the midst of Midtown.

More:

Mount Vernon Apartments - 1 bedroom, $674 @ Alexandrine and Third - 2 blocks from Avalon Bakery

Apartment Building @ Forest and Cass - 1 bedroom, $812 Around the corner from Cass Cafe

Phillips Manor @ Woodward and Palmer - 1 bd/$800, 2 bd/$1250 - 2 blocks from Museum District

459 Prentis near Cass and Forest - studio, $749 - down the block from the Bronx Bar

I SAW PLENTY OF 2 BEDROOM APARTMENTS FOR $1200-1500/month, so $600-$750 per occupant.

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

Ferndale is not a better place to live than midtown or Downtown IMO 9depending on what you want), but it is a better option if you are on a limited budget. iIt is also more of a community. A place where people stay for a while rather than a more fun but more transient place lik e midtown or downtown. You will nto find a lot of people living in mid/down town that have been there for more than five years. No withthe town emptied out due to covid, many of the downtown condos are also empty. it would be kind of lonely to be still living in the condos or apartments downtown right now. I am not sure whether that is true of mid-town. Thus, it may be better suited for a family or a couple who are looking for a permanent home.

These are very legitimate points for a couple looking for a walkable suburb and your point does address the OP's question.