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The area just west of River Rouge & East of Melvindale by the refinery as you go north on Fort Street....looks like a 3rd world country. I would have liked to see what Detroit looked like when the Ford's and others built the original houses in these areas. Like Highland Park....nice big old houses but now wrecked & burned....sad.
Actually, I believe the Fords, Dodge brothers, and such did not live in the Melvindale area. Their homes were in Boston Edison and of course there is the Fisher mansion on the east side.
Melvindale is a suburb were the blue collor workers lived to be in close proximity to the industry that had been thriving along the river and the refineries and few steel plants in the area.
That area coleo is talking about is Oakwood Heights. Interestingly, Marathon is planning on buying up that neighborhood. Marathon is offering at minimum $40,000 for each resident.
Wayne County | Marathon to buy homes near Detroit refinery expansion | The Detroit News (http://www.detnews.com/article/20111102/METRO01/111020425/1410/METRO01/Marathon-to-buy-homes-near-Detroit-refinery-expansion - broken link)
Ford lived in Dearborn. Many of the Car families lived in Grosse Pointe. Olds had a summer home in Grosse Ile. They were scattered about a bit.
Henry lived in Boston Edison at 140 Edison Street with wife Clara. (pre-Pointes) before building the McMansion in Dearbon off Evergreen. Then the clan decided to relocate to the Pointes. The Dodge Brothers were one or two doors down. James Couzens, Charles T Fisher, S.S Kresge and Benjamin Siegel were also counted amongst the neighbors in Boston Edison.
It was odd today. I drove out around Novi and Walled Lake. Most of the suburbs look absolutely lovely and I'd love to have a house out on the lake. Don't know if I'd enjoy living there my whole life, but it's definitely a quiet nice looking area (except for the overabundance of McMansions).
Contrast that with driving over the 696 -75 interchange and seeing Detroit's skyline at night. It's very disheartening to think that if I wanted to live in an active busy city, I'd have to sacrifice the services that I value or just move to another major city altogether.
The leaders of Detroit don't seem to get that. People want basic services and everything else will follow behind. If the leaders of Detroit can't provide that, then they need to get the f**k out of Michigan. As a 20 year old, I don't want my life to be completely made up of suburban sprawl or small towns.
Ugh. Royal Oak is alright, but it's still a suburb. They'd have to demolish all those nice single family homes and build more high-rise apartments for me to be happy with it. But obviously, that'd be an absurd thing to do because there's a major city 3 miles away with plenty of empty land to do that!
Henry lived in Boston Edison at 140 Edison Street with wife Clara. (pre-Pointes) before building the McMansion in Dearbon off Evergreen. Then the clan decided to relocate to the Pointes. The Dodge Brothers were one or two doors down. James Couzens, Charles T Fisher, S.S Kresge and Benjamin Siegel were also counted amongst the neighbors in Boston Edison.
The ford honeymoon house is in indian village and the dodge house is here on st payl and iroqouis in indian village too. A few other car people have homes in the iv too
It was odd today. I drove out around Novi and Walled Lake. Most of the suburbs look absolutely lovely and I'd love to have a house out on the lake. Don't know if I'd enjoy living there my whole life, but it's definitely a quiet nice looking area (except for the overabundance of McMansions).
Contrast that with driving over the 696 -75 interchange and seeing Detroit's skyline at night. It's very disheartening to think that if I wanted to live in an active busy city, I'd have to sacrifice the services that I value or just move to another major city altogether.
The leaders of Detroit don't seem to get that. People want basic services and everything else will follow behind. If the leaders of Detroit can't provide that, then they need to get the f**k out of Michigan. As a 20 year old, I don't want my life to be completely made up of suburban sprawl or small towns.
Ugh. Royal Oak is alright, but it's still a suburb. They'd have to demolish all those nice single family homes and build more high-rise apartments for me to be happy with it. But obviously, that'd be an absurd thing to do because there's a major city 3 miles away with plenty of empty land to do that!
Detroit's leaders is the thing I hate MOST about Detroit. What happens when a bunch of kids that can't maintain a house are left alone for too long? The house looks a mess. Detroit's government needs to be babysat just to make sure they are doing the right thing, put the entire city on probation down to the traffic cops. OR If we ever had a group of high ranking politicians that just flushed out the entire Detroit government and replaced them with a brand new staff that actually know wtf their doing. Either way Detroit would come out as a much better city.
I typed this up for a lady on Yahoo! Answers. My responses were too long since I included a lot of information about each city so I just sent her a list. But since I typed it up and there seems to be people relocating to the area I figured they could just look at my post and get information from this. Enjoy :-)
My whole family is from the area. Grandparents are from Virgina but moved here. Family here lives from Traverse City, to Rochester Hills, to Warren, to St. Clair Shores, to Port Huron, to Muskegon, to Grosse Pointe Farms, to Dearborn, to Bloomfield Township.
I am including the Detroit area and it's suburbs here. Nothing like Flint (god knows who would want to live there anyways.)
Worst places to live:
Detroit (Unless you live in Boston-Eddison Historic District, Palmer Woods with the ghetto members of city council, Indian Village, with their private security patrol to protect you.)
Dearborn is a nice area with The Henry Ford museum and Greenfield village but is full of arabs, not a big problem but for some people it maybe. If you move to Dearborn move to the other side that doesn't border Detroit to avoid crime.
South Warren : along 8 mile or bordering 8 mile is bad for crime. 'The ghetto is creeping up' is what residents say and it is true.
Hazel Park : north of 9 mile is alright but south is bad because it borders Detroit. Hazel Park is mainly a blue color community that is small and close-knit and has a reputation for southern people or rednecks living in it.
Ferndale : Downtown Ferndale along 9 mile is nice but bordering Oak Park or Hazel Park it gets ghetto and scary looking.
Oakpark : Depends on where you are it can be bad or good.
Royal Oak Township (Not Royal Oak the city) : Very small and impoverished. Bordered by Oakpark, Ferndale, Detroit, Southfield, and Pleasant Ridge.
Eastpointe (East Detroit, changed the name to try and be like beautiful Grosse Pointe but will never be) : Close to Detroit, housing values are dropping, well known fights at the high school, also well known for drug houses along Gratiot.
South Roseville : Again close to Detroit and known for small crime, north Roseville is fine.
Mt. Clemons : Starting to go downhill and a lot of crime and drug busts have been happening.
Pontiac (Ponticrack) : Take Detroit, take away the casinos, take away the big businesses, take away the beautiful downtown, make all the parks scary and into drug dealing havens, take away a police department, and you got Pontiac. The city is a mini Detroit (Residents wise, housing wise, property value wise, and crime wise).
Good Places to live:
Warren : Northern Warren and Central Warren is good. Great community services, good senior services, redone city hall, lots of community events, everything for business wise (grocery store, restaurant, bar, fast food, ect. is in the city.) Easy access to i696
St. Clair Shores : The Nautical Mile of shops, restaurants, bars, ect. Beautiful parks and lake access. Marinas, Yacht Club, some neighborhoods are on canals for people with a boat to easily get on the lake. Easy access to i94 and i696
Grosse Pointe (The Park, The City, The Farms, The Shores, and The Woods) : Beautiful upscale communities along Lake St. Clair, known for their old housing, east coast like atmosphere, private residents only parks, The Village of Grosse Pointe, The Hill on Kercheval, excellent schools, and unsurpassed city services (Snow removal, recycling, trash pickup, leaf pickup in the fall, ect.) Easy access to Downtown Detroit and i94
Sterling Heights : Part of Warren Consolidated Schools and the award winning Utica Community Schools, like Warren has everything you can imagine with in a close drive. Home of Lakeside Mall (kind of empty though since building The Mall at Partridge Creek down the road). Easy access to M59 (Hall Road, can be a bad thing though during rush hour). Sterling Fest is a week long city event festival held every year.
Shelby Township : Utica Community Schools district, a lot like Warren and Sterling Heights with older housing as well as new Upper Middle Class McMansion style housing as well as upscale Condo development. Good city services and police and fire response. Downtown is mainly centered along VanDyke Ave. and Hall Rd.
Utica : Small city surrounded by Shelby Township. Part of the Utica Community Schools district. Small redone downtown area, Historic Cass Ave. housing, not a lot in the city and it is very small, but well known for its downtown. Easy access to M59
Royal Oak : Royal Oak is a fairly older developed (50s, 60s) city. The Downtown is always busy with clubs, bars, restaurants, shops, people walking in the spring and summer, no matter what time or weekday. Very safe and well developed community with a lot of parks. Upscale Lofts available in Downtown. Trendy among the 20 - 30 something age group. Easy access to i696 & i75
Pleasant Ridge - Pleasant Ridge is known for its historic homes, tree-lined streets and active citizens who dedicate their time for the betterment of the community. Located along Woodward Ave. and bordered by Northern Ferndale Pleasant Ridge is a very LGBT friendly community along with Ferndale and Royal Oak. Easy access to i696
Huntington Woods - The city of homes. Two Historic Districts and part of the Detroit Zoo is located in Huntington Woods along with the other half in Royal Oak. School districts include Berkley School District, Ferndale School District, and Oak Park School District. The Detroit Rackham Golf Course is located in the city. Easy access to i696 and i75
Berkley - Bordered by Lathrup Village, Huntington Woods, Beverly Hills, and Royal Oak. A lot of churches in the community for every imaginable religion. Serviced by the Berkley School District and Royal Oak School District. Downtown section feels like that 'classic downtown city in movies' and gives off that feel too.
Farmington Hills - Bordered by Farmington, Novi, West Bloomfield, Redford Township, and Southfield. Constantly ranks as one of the safest cities in America and in Michigan. Served by Farmington Public Schools. Close to Twelve Oaks shopping center, a recently renovated downtown, boutiques, a vintage cinema, numerous restaurants, exotic car dealerships, art galleries, and public parks including Heritage Park. Easy access to i696
Beverly Hills - A village in Southfield Township. Bordered by Royal Oak, Bingham Farms, Birmingham, and Lathrup Village. Small community known for the private Detroit County Prep School, Beverly Park, and distinct housing, very clean tree lined Boulevard like streets. Easy access to i696
Birmingham - Nice well kept downtown. Not as nice as Royal Oaks but includes a lot of upscale lofts and apartments, expensive older homes,Birmingham City School District, installing new Radio Read water meters for residents, young uppity kind of people like the city.
Bloomfield Hills / Bloomfield Township - Eastside of Bloomfield Hills you will find average Ranch style homes and everyday looking houses. Westside you will find very large homes, McMansions, and Mansions. Bloomfield Hills consistently ranks as one of the top five wealthiest cities in the United States, and has the highest income of any city outside of California, Florida or Virginia. Cranbrook Schools and Art Center and Science center are located here as well as the famous Kirk in The Hills church. Bloomfield Hills School District operates the area and runs the International Academy school system also. Several private schools are located also in Bloomfield Hills and Bloomfield Township. Lots of homes are hidden from view by trees, large yards, gated entry, and private neighborhoods. Bloomfield Township offers more city services for residents such as parks, ect. Easy access to M59
West Bloomfield Township - Known for it's large homes and rolling hills, lakes, and private clubs and neighborhoods. The school districts that serve the town include the West Bloomfield School District, Farmington Hills School District, and Walled Lake School District. Cass Lake, the largest lake in the county, is in part of West Bloomfield, and Pine Lake, which has a private country club on its shore, is only a few miles away from Cass and lies completely within West Bloomfield. In addition, directly west of Pine Lake is Orchard Lake, which also has a private country club on its shore. Orchard Lake is surrounded by the city of Orchard Lake Village. Several smaller lakes are scattered around these larger ones. West Bloomfield has a large Jewish population. Small downtown area, very clean parks, responsive police, boating is a big activity, private walking trials line the city, and it is close to Novi's Twelve Oaks mall.
Rochester Hills - Historic, Distinctive, Progressive. Fairly new city formed in 1984 when voters changed the name from Avon Township to Rochester Hills with the city bordering nearby Rochester. Famous Yates Cider Mill is in Rochester Hills. Includes Oakland University, Meadowbrook Hall and Mansion (It was built between 1926 and 1929 by Matilda Dodge Wilson (the widow of auto pioneer John Francis Dodge) and her second husband, lumber broker Alfred G. Wilson.) Bordered by Oakland Township, Auburn Hills, Troy, Rochester, and Shelby Township. A lot of everything you ever need is in the city including hospitals, doctors, fast food, restaurants, bars, The Village of Rochester Hills (outdoor mall), ect. Avondale Community Schools and Rochester Community Schools service the area as well as Oakland Community College and Rochester College. Easy access to i75 and M59.
Rochester - Surrounded by Rochester Hills and bordered by Shelby Township. Busy small downtown with shops, bars, restaurants, ect. Very walkable city. Cloe to Yates Cider Mill, has several festivals downtown as well as 'The Festival of Lights' where all the buildings in downtown are covered in Christmas lights.
I didn't include cities that are more north or west because I am assuming you are looking for well developed suburbs or cities close to Detroit if you need or want to go downtown and have freeway access. All these cities I have visited, been to, driven through, or done things in. Since neither is more than 30 miles from my house. Do research on the cities websites and read about them, look at the school districts websites, contact the cities and see if they have a 'Residents Welcome Packet' to tell you about the city, view their park information on their websites, and do not forget to research community services.
I intend to move my family to Detroit.Came there for two days some areas seem ok or better then others.I wanted to know bout wayne county more interested in Monteray St.I have a big family meaning 10 kids .We are use to city life coming from Richmond,VA. Please someone help me.
Is Monterey Street just down the street from Central Academy? Which area are you looking at? East or west of the Lodge (US 10)?
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