Palmer Woods....... (Detroit, Highland Park, Grosse Pointe: sale, houses, neighborhood)

[Shrewsbury Road]

Palmer Woods in the most exclusive neighborhoods in Detroit and was once home of the city's most powerful people and it's still a beautiful neighborhood, and yes it's better than Boston-Edison, Indian Village, Rosedale Park, I think the only neighborhood that can compete is it's neighbor Sherwood Forest. The names of the streets in Palmer Woods are: Argyle Crescent, Stranthcona Drive, Lincolnshire Drive, Woodston Drive, Lucerne Drive, Balmoral Drive, Wellesley Drive, Afton Road, Burlington Drive, Cumberland Way, Suffolk Drive,Gloucester Drive, and Lowell Drive, all beautiful. Architects don't design that like they used to from 1910 through the early sixties, mostly before the Great Depression, all the Tudor Revivals, Georgians, Colonials, it should set and example for how a subdivion should be. If this were thirty years ago it would seem like one of the most upscale of Boston, New York, or Chicago Suburbs.

[rmsi]

So how bad ARE the property taxes in PW? Anyone? There are a few houses that are exceedingly cheap ($60-70k), and then the rest for sale right now look to be from about $250k-$600k+... what makes the difference? Just upkeep? Or do the really cheap "bank-owned" homes just probably have extreme repair needs or major back taxes?

So boys living there (and wanting to stay out of Detroit Public Schools)would need to go to UofD Jesuit, and I assume girls would go up Woodward to Marian?

My wife and I are considering moving from here in Scottsdale in 1-2 years, and we are honestly looking all over the country (Seattle, Dayton, Chapel Hill, Austin) - she's from Southfield though and would like to be close to her family that's there, but not too close

Can anyone comment specifically on the safety of PW? My wife tends to be... ummmm... a bit skittish at times. It seems like a pretty diverse neighborhood (from their website) but would it matter that I'm white, she's black and our children (2 and 9mo) are biracial?

Is there anyone here that has maintained one of these "monsters" and can give a general idea of what you're looking at financially as far as basic upkeep of a Palmer Woods home - one that's 3500sqft, for example?

We are both Master's-level social workers, and so I assume (and have found online) that social work jobs are actually not terribly difficult to find there... this may be a reach, but does anyone here know much about the sustainability of a private therapy practice in metro Detroit? I'm a therapist for an HIV/AIDS service organization right now, so I figure maybe Ferndale would be a decent place to consider given my experience and skillset (HIV/AIDS, 'gay' issues, substance abuse - esp meth) - anyone have any thoughts on this?

Thanks in advance.

[and the]

I wouldn't worry about crime too much as long as you don't leave the subdivision. But remember that line from Apocalypse Now when Chef almost got eaten by the Tiger......."Don't ever leave the boat!!"

If your wife is "skittish", she's going to have to go north of 8 Mile to conveniently shop for just about anything. Some of the suburbs around there have schools of choice and there are charter schools, but I doubt you'd want to sent your kids to school in Detroit. Except maybe for Renaissance. I believe they just recently added a very nice addition onto the school. Kind of ironic that Detroit's premier public school is housed in the old Catholic Central building.

I'm guessing taxes on a $200,000.00 house would be roughly $6,000.00-$7,000.00. Insurance for house and cars? Not sure.

[renter8319]

yeah, you'd be in some pretty sketchy areas as soon as you left the sub. oakland county is a fantastic area, as well as a great area to raise a family. i'd prefer to live there.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by and the

I wouldn't worry about crime too much as long as you don't leave the subdivision. But remember that line from Apocalypse Now when Chef almost got eaten by the Tiger......."Don't ever leave the boat!!"

If your wife is "skittish", she's going to have to go north of 8 Mile to conveniently shop for just about anything. Some of the suburbs around there have schools of choice and there are charter schools, but I doubt you'd want to sent your kids to school in Detroit. Except maybe for Renaissance. I believe they just recently added a very nice addition onto the school. Kind of ironic that Detroit's premier public school is housed in the old Catholic Central building.

I'm guessing taxes on a $200,000.00 house would be roughly $6,000.00-$7,000.00. Insurance for house and cars? Not sure.

Can't forget about Cass Tech and King is actually decent too. After that, the rest of the high schools seem to be iffy at best.

[Shrewsbury Road]

What about renaissance?

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by Shrewsbury Road

What about renaissance?

and the mentioned Renaissance. Definitely the best HS in Detroit.

[Vicman]

Does Renaissance get kids from suburbs?

If DPS is serious about salvaging its student population, it should offer suburban kids free transfers to Renaissance and other reputable magnets (of course, DPS-zoned kids and kids with parents working for DPS get first dibs on placement)

In Houston the HISD is now offering free transfers to suburban students, meaning kids can get into the top magnets and the top comprehensive high schools for free

[and the]

People generally move to the suburbs to get AWAY from Detroit and the Detroit Public School system.....not to send their kids back there...

I'd send my kid to Renaissance if I didn't have any other choice. If I'm in the suburbs, I have choices.

[Vicman]

Originally Posted by and the

People generally move to the suburbs to get AWAY from Detroit and the Detroit Public School system.....not to send their kids back there...

I'd send my kid to Renaissance if I didn't have any other choice. If I'm in the suburbs, I have choices.

If DPS makes Renaissance better than many suburban public schools, then suburban parents can have their kids apply to get into Renaissance. If they don't get in, that's okay as the kids can simply go to the suburban high schools. If they get in, great!