Downtown Detroit or Royal Oak/ Ferndale--Help! (Ann Arbor, Pontiac: environment, apartment complex, condos)

[jeffncandace]

I'm a 31 white male, married with 3 small kids. We just moved to Royal Oak last weekend. So far it's great! I guess I'm just pitching in to say you would prob love the Royal Oak/Ferndale/Pleasant Ridge area, as it skews younger and liberal. The commute to downtown would vary daily depending on traffic, but my guess is around a half an hour drive.
My wife and I went to downtown Detroit a few weeks ago for the 1st time. We never felt unsafe, although there were more homeless people about than what my wife was comfortable with. My feeling is if you like a "gritty", urban type feel you would probably like it okay, although since I have kids it's way out of the picture. However, you are right in thinking that insurance would be high, and grocery shopping will be a bit of a drive. Unless you want to go around the corner/block to the ghetto to a liquor store for that. I thought not. Also, the thing that shocked us is just that...neighborhood looks fine, you literally turn a corner and your in Beirut. No thanks. Hopefully though alot of people will be braver than I and be "urban pioneers" and get Detroit back on track.

[bem629]

Cool--thanks for this post. Can anyone confirm the time give or take for a Royal Oak to Downtown commute? I've heard from 20-45 minutes? Is 45 minutes on a bad day or inaccurate? Does 75 just turn into a parking lot during every rush hour--looks so close on the map!

[jeffncandace]

Originally Posted by bem629

Cool--thanks for this post. Can anyone confirm the time give or take for a Royal Oak to Downtown commute? I've heard from 20-45 minutes? Is 45 minutes on a bad day or inaccurate? Does 75 just turn into a parking lot during every rush hour--looks so close on the map!

My experience (driving, traffic reports on the news, and talking to locals) has been that 45 would probably be a bad day. You are probably looking at an average of a half an hour. The 75 does for the most part turn into a parking lot during rush hour, but coming from So Cal, I have to say it's not nearly as bad as what i'm used to.

[vwjetta1]

I am considering this same question - downtown versus royal oak or ferndale. some of the downtown highrise apartment buildings - particularly the jeffersonian and the kales building - look extremely nice to me. can anyone advise on the safety of these neighborhoods? (kales is at 76 west adams street, and the jeffersonian is at 9000 east jeffersonian. i'll be working at 3711 woodward.)

[jeffncandace]

Originally Posted by vwjetta1

I am considering this same question - downtown versus royal oak or ferndale. some of the downtown highrise apartment buildings - particularly the jeffersonian and the kales building - look extremely nice to me. can anyone advise on the safety of these neighborhoods? (kales is at 76 west adams street, and the jeffersonian is at 9000 east jeffersonian. i'll be working at 3711 woodward.)

I don't know personally...better let someone else field this one.

[nickbii]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bem629

Originally Posted by bem629
Could you please give me some advice about where to live? I'm interested in a nice large studio or small one bedroom in the $600-900 range (900 if really nice!) and I'm only going to be working 40 hours per week.

Detroit: I'm not afraid to live downtown and think it would be awesome to be able to walk to work. But I've heard there is no supermarket and that car insurance is outrageous.

There is no supermarket downtown itself, but there's a drug store and lots of little stores in the office buildings. They're not great if you need to do grocery shopping, but if you just need some straws or a bottle of Coke they'll do the trick.

There are a couple of nice grocery stores in the WSU area, which is less than 5 minutes from downtown driving. On surface streets. At rush hour.

You'll have trouble finding a Studio for more than $800. The Lofts at Woodward Center are $795, and they're right downtown and brand new. $500 seems typical, for units right downtown.

If you're going to have a car you can do much better; which makes up for the car insurance. WSU area we're talking $400 for multi-bedroom.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bem629

Originally Posted by bem629
Also, I don't want to be afraid to go for a run at night... Is safety really an issue? What are the best downtown apartments (near the People Mover area)?

Public safety's not a problem downtown. WSU is quite safe, too.

Nick

[nickbii]

Originally Posted by vwjetta1

I am considering this same question - downtown versus royal oak or ferndale. some of the downtown highrise apartment buildings - particularly the jeffersonian and the kales building - look extremely nice to me. can anyone advise on the safety of these neighborhoods? (kales is at 76 west adams street, and the jeffersonian is at 9000 east jeffersonian. i'll be working at 3711 woodward.)

The last study says downtown Detroit is much safer than the rest of the country:
http://www.tedconline.com/uploads/Do...Study_2006.pdf

The Kales is downtown, proper. The Jeffersonian is not downtown proper. I don't have any numbers for the Riverfront, but the area feels safe. Especially the apartment buildings.

Nick
removed

[bem629]

I visited Michigan a week ago and poked around and finally decided on Royal Oak. More walkable than Downtown Detroit, and just felt so alive. Anyone know anything about Urbane Apartments? I think I'm going to be in their downtown building. Looks nice, though you pay a premium ($950 for a studio, though nice).

[Cato the Elder]

If you want walkability, you can't go wrong with either Royal Oak or Ferndale, with the former a bit more professional and the latter a bit edgier. Metro Detroit is nice in that so many "main st" towns developed along Woodward corridor thanks to the railroad. It's so easy to get from town to town if you have a car. The best thing to do, as you've done, is visit in person and see what you like. We bought a house in Royal Oak last summer and love it here. People like to generalize by calling Royal Oak yuppie, but it's not that simple - Royal Oak is a big town where you get everything from urban living downtown and older Craftsman homes nearby to the area near 14 Mile Rd which puts you closer to Birmingham's downtown. We live near 14 Mile and I can get to Wayne State in anywhere from 20-40 minutes, depending on traffic. If I-75 is bad as is usually the case these days with the Lodge construction, I just cruise down Woodward which has timed lights during rushhour. Good luck!

[kyearley]

I'm a 22 year old just about to start law school at Detroit Mercy...my boyfriend and I are trying to find a nice place to live. I think we finally decided to do the suburban thing and commute downtown - reading the other posts about Royal Oak, this place really seemed to interest me. Could anyone give me a little more information about Royal Oak - such as how far it is from downtown Detroit, shopping, groceries, nightlife, safety, people, etc? Any info would be appreciated!