Is Detroit like Cleveland? (Warren, Ann Arbor: relocation, estate, housing)

[CTownNative]

Cleveland has some really bad neighborhoods in it like Glenville.That is probably the worst neighborhood in Cleveland.But people don't burn down houses in Cleveland.

[Jake1256]

I don't think Detroit is too much like cleveland. I think it's quite different, alot of theatres, top notch up with chicago and NYC, alot of skyscrapers.

[Jake1256]

Originally Posted by Guardian

Are you kidding? In many neighborhoods towards Downtown homes are being restored and new ones are being built. In Brush Park a great example of this is Edmund Place. Once it was an old crumbling mansion but now it has been restored into condos.



Another example from Brush Park is the Ransom Gillis house. Just a few years ago it looked like this,



But now it has been stabilized and will soon be redeveloped.

yeah they're re-doing all the brush park homes, bringing them back to "houses"

[Jake1256]

I would say Detroit is nicer, more shopping, bigger city, really good resturaunts, entertainment venues, parks, riverfront.

[TheProf]

Originally Posted by Duke66

I would say Detroit is nicer, more shopping, bigger city, really good resturaunts, entertainment venues, parks, riverfront.

Than Cleveland!? Huh!!?? Either you're a hopless homer or use a seeing eye dog and cane.

[Mellie]

I've lived both in Cleveland and Detroit. And because Detroit is bigger, its problems are magnified. But I would say there is no advantage to living in Cleveland over Detroit-- and I'm talking about the city proper. I feel Detroit is much more diverse, culturally, while Cleveland, both the east and west sides, is just plain boring.

[Jake1256]

Originally Posted by TheProf

Than Cleveland!? Huh!!?? Either you're a hopless homer or use a seeing eye dog and cane.

no I don't but maybe you do that you can't see all of Detroit's new developments, all the resturaunts, the diverse downtown, the clubs, the casinos, the cityscape. Detroit has ahd 2 billion dollars in investment since around 2003. Detroit has some really nice hotels, the book cadillac, the ponchatrain, the ren cen. the list keeps going, detroit has a a new riverfront costing millions, which is now completely accessible. world known theatres, ethnic towns, mexicantown, Greektown, offering great bakeries,shopping, and great resturaunts. maybe you should get some glasses Prof.

[TheProf]

Boring, Mellie? ... ah, I think not, esp compared to Detroit. Pullleeez.

Duke, I recognize Detroit's strong areas, but to me, in city, they are limited.

Greektown is THE strongest, but it is about 1 block X 2 blocks. And much of its energy is indoors -- the casino and mall with that great boutique hotel (Athenaeum?). Mexicantown has great restaurants, but is even smaller as well as being totally car oriented; it's like an isolated little island wedged next to the freeway (I-75?). Trust me, the area around Mexicantown is VERY unappealing and unsafe; not to mention you have to drive past that spooky husk of a gem, the abandoned, verge-of-collapsing Michigan Central RR terminal. To me, Woodward, from around the nice new Campus Martius to around Wayne State is promising -- dead in some spots, but nice in others...

That said, Detroit has a ways to go to match Cleveland (and believe me, Cleveland's not perfect, but has a major leg up on Motown). Downtown Cleveland has more residents, more shops and restaurants, is far more pedestrian orient, has more retail (in malls, I grant you, and is much better served by public transit (rail and bus). The nearby Flats, once a gem, is struggling but coming back. Immediately across the Cuyahoga River, almost like a sub-downtown, is Ohio City featuring the West Side market and, again, is denser and more walk-able. It is also served, directly, by rail... oh yeah, that doesn't exist in Detroit sans, the mighty, er... People Mover.

And please don't tell me your measly cultural district is in the same universe as University Circle (and U. Circle's on the cusp of a major upgrade in terms of beefing up its retail core along with upwards of 300 apartment units and a huge Barnes & Noble along with a brand new rail transit station and bus rapid transit.

Nice as Belle Isle can be (note the "can"), I'll take our Edgewater Park along the Lake, where (yes) you can swim, walk along the rocks, (yes) fish, picnic and is abutted by the wealthiest in-city neighborhood which, itself, is immediately adjacent to Lakewood with its Chicago-like Gold Coast and shops and outdoor restaurants galore...

And that leads me to another point. Cleveland's smaller, more compact size is actually an advantage over Detroit. Our strong neighborhoods seem more accessible (by public trans or car) where as Detroit's sprawling nature makes the city seem so empty. And the truly great urban-ish areas: Royal Oak, Birmingham (though a tad hoity-toity and preppy but still nice) and Ann Arbor are wayyyy out there and must be reached by serious freeway driving.

Conversely, a number of Cleveland's urbanized, close in burbs like Lakewood, and Cleveland Heights, are so close in, accessible, old and urbanized (as in lots of old brownstone apartments), they almost seem like part of Cleveland -- if you didn't see the Welcome To ____ you'd still think you were in Cleveland.

I've said it before and won't change my tune: while not a cure all, developing some kind of rapid rail for Detroit would move that city along 10-times faster (literally, figuratively) than it will ever get without it. Continued refusal to move (mainly because of conservative, suburban bosses) will continue to keep Detroit in 2nd class status, and yes, well behind Cleveland.

Reasonable people, of course, may disagree, but I'm sure among reasonable sources I'd get a lot more people on my side than yours... if you want some indicator, peruse some of the reputable on-line travel sites and read the comments of neutral travelers to both cities (start w/ Yahoo Travel)... CASE CLOSED.

[Jake1256]

kind of excpet Detroit is much larger, and I think has more diversity in resturaunts and the downtown population.

[TheProf]

Detroit much larger: OK, I'll give you that, but in this case, bigger ins't necessarily better.

More diversity of restaurants? What's your context: downtown; city, metro area... I think you're wrong on all counts.

Downtown population: wrong again, Cleveland, at around 10K and growing, has the highest downtown population outside Chicago.