Moving to Detroit 4 a Year - Questions! (Troy, Royal Oak: apartments, crime rates)

[Deeber]

Hello!

I am 1 23 year old student/actor from miami beach. I will be filming a movie and moving to Detroit this september and had a few questions, mostly on where to live. I am very impressed with the low rents in your city. I am considering 3 apartments - one is in the suburb of Highland Park and the other two are in the city (State Fair area & Dexter Road). What are the advantages and disadvantages to each? Is Highland Park boring and stale? I'm looking for a hustling and bustling area so I'm leaning toward Dexter Road, but your input would be appreciated

[Nearborn]

All three areas suck. Don't go to any one of them. Highland Park is not a suburb. If I were a young, single actor from Miami Beach, I'd get an apartment in a nice 1920's building in Palmer Park. Check the streets like Merton, Manderson, Merril Plaisance, Hamilton, Ponchartrain. And you can live right in a park designed by the same guy who designed New York's Central Park. Olmstead I believe. You can SEE Highland Park from there, but you won't have to actually be IN it. Other than that, I'd go downtown.

If you have your heart set on Highland Park, I'd go to the other suburb that's not a suburb, Hamtramck, and get an apartment above a bar on Joseph Campau Street. Or even Holbrook or Caniff. Don't take any sides on the current conflict in Georgia though.

[Cherry]

Good advice was given by Nearborn. Hamtramck is the place to move to if you are looking for affordable nightlife, restaurants, and pedestrian oriented businesses in Detroit. Many people working in film, media, and theater live here. I'd be willing to show you around if you're interested.

Downtown Detroit is nice, too, but more expensive. I admittedly know very little about Palmer Park, but it doesn't strike me as hustling or bustling. Am I wrong?

[Deeber]

thank you for the advice. i am a russian and i prefer to live in an area with similar demographics. is there a large russian population in highland park? is it ethnically diverse? i prefer to live in an area with a wide array of ppl. do not prefer aa areas though

[dmetro]

If I were you, I would never consider moving to Highland Park. It's anything but bustling: it's a blighted ghetto worse than any part of Detroit. Highland Park is also over 90% African American; not that there's anything wrong with that, but you probably wouldn't find a lot of Russian people in Highland Park, which is what you seem to be interested in. Hamtramck is a bustling area with lots of nightlife, and it has a large Polish population, though I wouldn't know if it has a large Russian population or not. The city of Detroit wouldn't be a horrible option, but it's important to look in the safe and clean areas. I would also recommend Royal Oak, a suburb directly north of Detroit, which has a unique downtown area and a lot of nightlife, although it's more pricey than Hamtramck.

[SuziSu]

What about Ferndale or Royal Oak or something??

Higland Park is ucky isn't it?

[Ann_Arbor]

Someone like you should live in Highland Park- why not?

[Deeber]

i am hear that crime in detroit is on rise. i am from miami but live on the beach, therefore i am departed from crime. is there a high crime instance in detroit? i am unaware highland park is mostly black - if this is true, which i am still wondering, then it must have high crime as well. i experience that black areas are also most dangerous. is this true for most of detroit and U.S.? in russia blacks is not plenitful so i do not have experience with. miami has alot of black but i stay away.

Please tell me so i know. i am have to move soon!

[lovindfw]

Any neighborhoods where there are high poverty levels you can somewhat expect crime. I am an educated Black woman that just moved to the Troy area so I cannot speak as to the Detroit area. However, I was born and raised in a small town in Mississippi that was predominately Black and I can tell you that just because the area had a high percentage of African Americans did not mean the area had a high crime rate. There are parts all over the U.S. that have high crime rates not due to the racial mix but mainly due to the poverty levels. Please do not get the wrong attitude and assume that because an area has a high concentration of a certain mix you can expect certain things...do not believe the idiotic stereotypes. I would like to think that in 2008 we can look beyond the color of a person's skin without already having an opinion as to what kind of person/baggage is living in the area. You are still young enough to have an open mind. Just wanted to provide additional insight regarding the "AA".

[Nearborn]

and it has a large Polish population, though I wouldn't know if it has a large Russian population or not.

I'd say Hamtramck USED to have a large Polish population. Now I'd say it was moderate. There does seem to be a pretty large former Soviet population. Lots of Serbs, Montenegrans, Yugoslavians, etc. Not sure about Russians.

Palmer Park isn't bustling, but if you're set on being inside the city limits of Detroit, it's close to Woodward and you can hop a bus easily to downtown or Royal Oak the other way. You'd probably be the only "Ivan" there though. On second though, I probably wouldn't go there.....Hamtramck, Downtown, Ferndale, Royal Oak....Anywhere along Woodward, even in Detroit in the Downtown or New Center Area but not outside those areas and not in Highland Park.

I'd take a good look at Hamtramck though. What's your budget? And just curious: How did you ever come by the notion that Dexter St. would be a good place for you to live???