best downriver city and why (Detroit, Taylor: middle-class, for sale, rentals)

[terrie07]

hi i am an for american living near downtown detroit and i am looking to move downriver so i want to know from people who live there which city is the best and why

1.wyandotte
2. southgate
3. lincoln park
4. taylor

i list these becasue these are the cities i am thinking of moving to

also want honest opinions on schools, crime and areas to avoid

thanks in advance

[alwaystraveling25]

Originally Posted by terrie07

hi i am an for american living near downtown detroit and i am looking to move downriver so i want to know from people who live there which city is the best and why

1.wyandotte
2. southgate
3. lincoln park
4. taylor

i list these becasue these are the cities i am thinking of moving to

also want honest opinions on schools, crime and areas to avoid

thanks in advance

I grew up in Taylor and spent my entire life in Downriver, except for college.

Is there a reason you are looking to move downriver? I realize it is more economical then Oakland County area, but is an EXTREMELY blue-collar, fairly conservative area. Diversity is not the area's strong suit (it is very "Pro-America, anti-Everything else" because of the huge amount of people that work for and/or are connected to GM, Ford, and Chrysler).

However, of the neighborhoods you have listed, here are my choices:

1) Wyandotte. Hands down, the best. Great downtown area (Biddle Avenue), close to the water, beautiful, historic houses (in some areas). However, a long distance to the highway, so if you are commuting anywhere but downtown detroit it will take you a minute.

2) Southgate. A very middle-class, blue-collar area, but decently nice with no real rough areas (that I have been to).

3) Taylor. Taylor has some middle-close and some real lower-middle class. There are great areas, and there are areas near "Sin City" that have seen better days. Gonna get a lot of heat for that, but I spent 22 years living in Taylor, and I admit that the "Taylor-Tucky" motto applies for a huge percentage of the city's occupants (although not each one).

4) Lincoln Park. South Lincoln Park is better, but Northern Lincoln Park (as you get closer to Melvindale and Detroit City Limits) gets sketchier and sketchier.

I am not saying "Don't live there whatsoever", but if you are looking for a working-class, median income under 40,000, blue-collar area to live in and enjoy chain restaurants, then you have found a great place.

[Nearborn]

I vote for Wyandotte for fun, and Grosse Isle for residence.

Check out St. Mary's Church in Wyandotte. Very cool. I think they have a pretty good Strawberry Festival there...

[terrie07]

thanks alwaystravelin

i like southgate the best but most of the homes are to pricey for me

what areas are sin city in taylor? and i have heard to avoid the northern part of lincoln park i have loooked into wyandotte but alot of homes have no basements or are not for me

i like downriver becasue i want a working class area near my job and traveling up 75 is too much so why not go down

though i hear downriver is not very diverse at all it seems no worse than any other area of metro detroit

so which city is more diverse or least thanks for all ur help

[amac626]

1) Trenton ---- Best Parks and Rec department without question, no school of choice so the schools are not inundated with kids from other cities, great pride in the city, very well kept homes.

2) Allen Park --- Very good location, great parks, well manicured lawns, good schools.

3) Wyandotte --- Very quaint, eclectic. Least convenient location wise, tons of reasonably priced rentals.


FWIW, the other lists having Taylor and Southgate above these cities are completely off base, these cities are much more stable, nicer, with better schools and more civic activities.

[Coldjensens]

On your list, Wyandotte wins, but Trenton is a close second. Trenton has better schools. Trenton may have lower crime. The upriver side of Wyandotte can be a little rough in places. Wyandotte has the best downtown in the downriver area and one of the best in the metro Detroit area.

Parts of Lincoln Park are pretty neat, parts are pretty awful. Schools are fair to middling.

Taylor is basically urban sprawl but it has a lot of decent shopping, a great sportsplex (hockey), and a really neat park (Heritage park). We came close to buying a house that adjoins Heritage Park. However heavy traffic on Northline road and mediocre to terrible schools chased us away. Taylor is decent middle class suburban living. Nothing exciting, nothing terrible.


You left out Grosse Ile. Depending on what you are looking for, Grosse Ile is generally the top of the list for Downriver. For us, it was/is top of the list for all of S.E. Michigan. Great schools, quiet, virtually no crime (except for a recent horrid incident where a guy caught breaking into cars was cornered on the free bridge and jumped to his death. I think he was from Wyandotte, but the break ins were on the island). Grosse Ile is semi-rural and park like. It is a small tight knit and active community. The tiny business district is quaint and has all of the basic needs. Houses range from about $150,000 to $40,000,000. With lots of everything in between. There might be some small condos available under $100,000 I am not sure.

There are some great deals in all price ranges in all of downriver. A waterfront house that we saw for sale three years ago for $1 million, just sold. The new asking price was $625,000. I do not know what the sale price was, but undoubtedly below $625,000. That is out of most people's price range, but the less expensive homes have fallen nearly the same percentages.