Is Grosse Pointe still an ideal place for relocation? (Detroit: house, employment)

[Dexterguy]

Originally Posted by minibrings

I am headed into Detroit for the auto show this weekend and I hope the Mexican village area is still there as Toronto is severely lacking in good Mexican food and I am in dire need for a real Mexican fix (I'd even go to Xoximilco).

Mexican Town is still there, but the Gateway project (major I-75 construction) really makes it hard to get around in that area. The businesses are really hurting because of the construction. But it's still the same food that you probably remember! I hope you enjoy your time in Detroit.

[minibrings]

Originally Posted by Dexterguy

Mexican Town is still there, but the Gateway project (major I-75 construction) really makes it hard to get around in that area. The businesses are really hurting because of the construction. But it's still the same food that you probably remember! I hope you enjoy your time in Detroit.

Oh oh.. I have to look at my map and figure out how to get there from Cobo Hall... any suggestions?

The more I think of Detroit I start thinking ab out Coney Dogs, Vernors (!!!!), Mackinac pasties, Franklin Cider with donuts, Olga's, sushi at Noble Fish in Clawson. Sadly the place I went to for the best ever kung pao chicken in Birmingham is long gone (sigh). SORRY.. did not mean to make this a Michigan food thread. Oh Michigan cherries in the summer...

[michmoldman]

Originally Posted by guyfromchicago

Thanks for all the advice. One thing that I noticed growing up in the Detroit area and from I can tell from friends, family, people responding to this blog, etc. is how judgemental people are about where other people live (people in Grosse Pointes are mean snobs, people Downriver are "white trash", people in Oakland County thinking they're really special because thay have one upscale mall and some higher than average per capita income stats, etc.). Maybe it's because Metro Detroit is so socioeconomically segregated that it creates so many "us" and "them" stereotypes. Maybe it's because the city is such a mess that people relate only to suburban real estate agent-type boasting. If people travel, live/spend time in other places (I lived in LA, NYC, France and Chicago) they find this silly and petty (the rest of the world thinks Detroit is a horrible crime and grime nightmare with a failed economy and its suburbs will be a reflection of this) OK, I know I'm venting here, but also what's up with all the "rankism" (e.g. Novi's better than South Lyon, but not as good as Northville and not in the same league as Birmingham, "Old Money" Grosse Pointers are better than "nouveaux" parvenus in Oakland County and vice versa, etc.). GET A LIFE PEOPLE! The fact is real estate in the Detroit area is so cheap now that one doesn't have to be rich to live anywhere, so why all the attitude? It's just suburban Detroit, not some world class bation of sophistication and wealth. Anyway, thanks again

Its the Detroit lions fault! No....really, it is!

[Dexterguy]

Originally Posted by minibrings

Oh oh.. I have to look at my map and figure out how to get there from Cobo Hall... any suggestions?

The more I think of Detroit I start thinking ab out Coney Dogs, Vernors (!!!!), Mackinac pasties, Franklin Cider with donuts, Olga's, sushi at Noble Fish in Clawson. Sadly the place I went to for the best ever kung pao chicken in Birmingham is long gone (sigh). SORRY.. did not mean to make this a Michigan food thread. Oh Michigan cherries in the summer...

I have not been to the area for a while, but I think that you could probably take FORT STREET west until you get to Mexican Town.

[guyfromchicago]

If anybody cares, my wife and I have spent the last several days in the Detroit Area looking at houses in both the GP area and Oakland County (mostly Birmingham, but also Bloomfield Hills area) and here are our impressions. What I can say is that the neighborhoods of the Grosse Pointes have many wonderful, georgeous vintage homes of the variety that we used to only dream of living in when welived in LA , driving around our favorite neighborhood (Hancock Park) and it's easy to fall in love with the idea of living in the Pointes, seeing these many fine homes at what seem like "fire sale" prices, relatively speaking. That said, what is there to do In GP? Answer: not much. The Pointes are surrounded by a relatively down-scale neighborhoods of Detroit and blue-collar drabness --not to put down these areas (I grew in a blue-collar suburb), but there's not much in the way of culture and sophistication (restaurants, shopping) there, either. Where would we go for Thai or Indian takeout, not to mention the occasional splurge dining experience? The relative isolation would most likely get old pretty fast. Why live in a place where you feel like you have to go elsewhere for cool shopping, dining, etc.? The Pointes will most likely always be a nice place , but I can't see living there. Birmingham, on the other hand seemed like it had lots more to offer. We could have dinner and a movie, have somewhere to walk, etc. Plus, I wouldn't live in fear that if my kids rode their bikes a few blocks in the wrong direction they'd be entering what my wife (born in Honolulu, rasied in Santa Monica) calls the "scariest, ugliest place I've ever been in a First World country --by far" (sorry Detroit, but that's her honest impression). People in Grosse Pointe do seem to have a little bit of an Old Money attitude (despite that fact that so many of them obviously don't have much money and the fact that any middle-income household can afford one the the many seemingly modest homes in areas a little further from the lake, etc.), but so what? I don't believe it necessarily makes them snobs --they're just acting like Upper Middle Class people do all over America (although I think people like my blue collar cousins find that milieu so foreign that it seems snobby). Bottom line: Birmingham seems to have the most to offer people in terms of things to do, places to hang out, etc., in the Detroit Area -and with really good public schools, too. It saddens me that there isn't a place in the Detroit Area that that is more socioeconomically diverse, without seeming too boring, dangerous or depressing (I love Ann Arbor, but it's too far a drive). If somebody is a city person and must live in the Detroit Area, Birmingham seems to have the most to offer people with kids, which is why we made an offer on a place we loved near Downtown Birmingham.





0

[Twehttam]

Congrats, GFC, and good luck! Either way, at least you'll be a Michigander.

[Wendy from GP]

We moved from San Fran to Grosse Pointe and LOVE it. There is actually a ton to do here. We use the parks or the water almost every day in the summer. We do have Thai food, thank you very much, and we can walk to get it. There are plenty of nice restaurants. I'm concerned that the poster from Chicago didn't have the right real estate agent helping them. There is The Hill, Cafe Nini, Jumps, City Kitchen, Lucy's, Da Eduardo, etc, etc. Also, downtown Detroit if 15 minutes away, which opens up a TON of eating options. The shopping is not ideal, but there is definitely enough to get by until you need to trek to a mall. And Somerset and Partridge Creek are only 25 minutes away. It's really quite easy. As for the schools, GP South has been rated the top public school in Michigan by Newsweek magazine for years now (with the exception of the Oakland County Magnet School). Richard Elementary and Brownell Middle School are at or near the top of the state too. You have to look at the school and not the district, because there is at least one school in Harper Woods that in in the GP district, and brings the numbers down. Plenty of cultural options too. We have a symphony and local theatre, as well as renowned speakers and bands. We have public concerts on the water at the War Memorial and in the Village in the Summer. There are family movie nights at the parks. Actually, the communities all offer loads of options. And we really appreciate living near the city, because of what it does offer culturally. I'm sorry, but if you move to B'ham, you will NEVER head into the city. In GP, it's de riguer. The reason it seems like we have fire sale prices, is that GP has more super high end mansions than anywhere else in SE Michigan. No one is in the market for these types of homes, so they are cheap. But the mid-market is equivilant to B'ham. Look at what has sold, not the listings, and compare for yourself. GP actually has one of the lowest inventories of homes for sale in the area--believe it or not.

[Cato the Elder]

What makes you go into the city so much? Auto Show? Once a year? DIA? Once a year? Pewabic Factory? Once a year during their sale? Greektown? Once a month? Tigers? Couple times a season? Lions? I don't think so. Zoo? Oops, that's in Royal Oak. I worked at Wayne State and we felt that having the best day-to-day needs around you made a whole lot more sense than having the month-to-month needs and even my job 5-10 minutes closer.

[mstengle]

Originally Posted by guyfromchicago

If anybody cares, my wife and I have spent the last several days in the Detroit Area looking at houses in both the GP area and Oakland County (mostly Birmingham, but also Bloomfield Hills area) and here are our impressions. What I can say is that the neighborhoods of the Grosse Pointes have many wonderful, georgeous vintage homes of the variety that we used to only dream of living in when welived in LA , driving around our favorite neighborhood (Hancock Park) and it's easy to fall in love with the idea of living in the Pointes, seeing these many fine homes at what seem like "fire sale" prices, relatively speaking. That said, what is there to do In GP? Answer: not much. The Pointes are surrounded by a relatively down-scale neighborhoods of Detroit and blue-collar drabness --not to put down these areas (I grew in a blue-collar suburb), but there's not much in the way of culture and sophistication (restaurants, shopping) there, either. Where would we go for Thai or Indian takeout, not to mention the occasional splurge dining experience? The relative isolation would most likely get old pretty fast. Why live in a place where you feel like you have to go elsewhere for cool shopping, dining, etc.? The Pointes will most likely always be a nice place , but I can't see living there. Birmingham, on the other hand seemed like it had lots more to offer. We could have dinner and a movie, have somewhere to walk, etc. Plus, I wouldn't live in fear that if my kids rode their bikes a few blocks in the wrong direction they'd be entering what my wife (born in Honolulu, rasied in Santa Monica) calls the "scariest, ugliest place I've ever been in a First World country --by far" (sorry Detroit, but that's her honest impression). People in Grosse Pointe do seem to have a little bit of an Old Money attitude (despite that fact that so many of them obviously don't have much money and the fact that any middle-income household can afford one the the many seemingly modest homes in areas a little further from the lake, etc.), but so what? I don't believe it necessarily makes them snobs --they're just acting like Upper Middle Class people do all over America (although I think people like my blue collar cousins find that milieu so foreign that it seems snobby). Bottom line: Birmingham seems to have the most to offer people in terms of things to do, places to hang out, etc., in the Detroit Area -and with really good public schools, too. It saddens me that there isn't a place in the Detroit Area that that is more socioeconomically diverse, without seeming too boring, dangerous or depressing (I love Ann Arbor, but it's too far a drive). If somebody is a city person and must live in the Detroit Area, Birmingham seems to have the most to offer people with kids, which is why we made an offer on a place we loved near Downtown Birmingham.





0

Good luck with your offer- but if it doesn't work out- really take a second look at the drive from Ann Arbor to downtown is not bad via I-94 - not a heavy traffic route. Ann Arbor is definetly worth it -- check it out. Birmingham is very nice as well - but with the traffic in that area- it might be about same drive time.

[Cato the Elder]

This is a joke right? You can almost always commute from 14 Mile Rd/Woodward to downtown in 20-30 minutes - under 20 miles. I did this commute for two years. Ann Arbor to downtown Detroit is over 40 miles - 50-60 minutes at best. I've done the Wayne State to U of M drive many times and it's a hike, any way you slice it.