16 Mile? (Detroit, Southfield, Burton: crime rates, teaching jobs, safest neighborhood)

[BurtsBees]

Originally Posted by jeffncandace

Interesting to see where this went over the weekend!

My only comment is this: all these ghost stories about not going below 8 Mile without a gun, or that the statistics reflect a bloody war-zone called Detroit, while having some merit, is just silly, generally. There are bad areas, heck, even large swaths of bad areas in Detroit, but to make statements like
"get your butt back home before late and don't take wrong turns and leave those entertainment areas" is laughable. There are also GOOD areas of Detroit, and having explored some of them-and made it out alive!-I can't be made to believe someone else's race and hysteria-fueled fear over my own experience.

You guys havent lived here long enough. Sounds silly but you wouldnt understand. Take Gratiot from say 16 mile, just as a reference point, then drive south. Dont stop until you hit 6 mile. See a change?

Its a sad fact, and as more blacks move into the suburbs crime WILL go up. Its unforunate that the bad ones ruin it for the good ones but that about sums it up.

[Cato the Elder]

Originally Posted by BurtsBees

You guys havent lived here long enough. Sounds silly but you wouldnt understand. Take Gratiot from say 16 mile, just as a reference point, then drive south. Dont stop until you hit 6 mile. See a change?

Its a sad fact, and as more blacks move into the suburbs crime WILL go up. Its unforunate that the bad ones ruin it for the good ones but that about sums it up.

Again with the "you haven't lived here long enough" card. How about all the people who have lived here for decades contradicting you?

Take Woodward Ave and drive NORTH from Maple Rd. Bloomfield sure is nice, eh? Don't stop until you hit Wide Track - notice a difference?

Even then, is it even that bad?

[jeffncandace]

Originally Posted by Cato the Elder

Again with the "you haven't lived here long enough" card. How about all the people who have lived here for decades contradicting you?

I could have SWORE I already posted a response to this--where did it go?

My co-worker is 59 and was born and raised here. I showed him burtsbees post and he LITERALLY laughed out loud. There is still plenty of things to see and do in Detroit, and the odds are you will make it out alive. You may even have a good time!

I may not have been here all that long, but you can't tell me not to believe my own experiences during the time that I have! Come on!

[and the]

Before they got rid of residency, the great majority of the cops I knew who lived in the city wouldn't leave home without a gun. And by "wouldn't leave home", I mean they wouldn't even cut their GRASS without a pistol on them. Who do you think has a better insight into crime in the city? The media, who don't report homicides unless there's something unique about them? One person who's only been a crime victim a couple times? Or the guys who respond to the police radio runs for at least 40 hours per week?

I never knew how bad crime in Detroit was until I left. It felt like a giant weight was lifted off my shoulders. I didn't have to look behind me every 2 minutes while out walking the dog or while taking out the garbage or walking home from the bakery.

[BurtsBees]

Originally Posted by jeffncandace

I could have SWORE I already posted a response to this--where did it go?

My co-worker is 59 and was born and raised here. I showed him burtsbees post and he LITERALLY laughed out loud. There is still plenty of things to see and do in Detroit, and the odds are you will make it out alive. You may even have a good time!

I may not have been here all that long, but you can't tell me not to believe my own experiences during the time that I have! Come on!

Another co-worker? GASP!

Theres no doubt that there are plenty of things to do in Detroit. I go to ball games all the time, I love the Tigers. Downtown is a safe area. Its outside of that area that scares me, and its no place for a suburbanite to be. Did you grow up in southern macomb county? Did you see the changes that are occuring in the area? Talking to a 59 year old that grew up in Yuppyville, Oakland County is going to have a different perception than someone who grew up in Macomb or Wayne counties. Venture out into the East side sometime

And again to cover the same page, the 16 mile thing is a bit bogus.

[BurtsBees]

Originally Posted by and the

Before they got rid of residency, the great majority of the cops I knew who lived in the city wouldn't leave home without a gun. And by "wouldn't leave home", I mean they wouldn't even cut their GRASS without a pistol on them. Who do you think has a better insight into crime in the city? The media, who don't report homicides unless there's something unique about them? One person who's only been a crime victim a couple times? Or the guys who respond to the police radio runs for at least 40 hours per week?

I never knew how bad crime in Detroit was until I left. It felt like a giant weight was lifted off my shoulders. I didn't have to look behind me every 2 minutes while out walking the dog or while taking out the garbage or walking home from the bakery.

And thank god they got rid of the residency requirement too. What a joke that was. I talk to a few Detroit cops at my gym all the time, and they all say the same thing. Its a warzone down there, its no place for any honest person to be, other than the Downtown area.

I dont want to be here to watch the Southern-Central Macomb county area take a dive...

[jeffncandace]

Originally Posted by BurtsBees

Another co-worker? GASP!

Theres no doubt that there are plenty of things to do in Detroit. I go to ball games all the time, I love the Tigers. Downtown is a safe area. Its outside of that area that scares me, and its no place for a suburbanite to be. Did you grow up in southern macomb county? Did you see the changes that are occuring in the area? Talking to a 59 year old that grew up in Yuppyville, Oakland County is going to have a different perception than someone who grew up in Macomb or Wayne counties. Venture out into the East side sometime

And again to cover the same page, the 16 mile thing is a bit bogus.

Uh, the 59 year old-his name is Jim-grew up IN Detroit, and didn't move to Oakland county till the 70's. He's not wearing rose-colored glasses, he just doesn't see the wisdom in making broad generalizations when they simply don't fit every area.

And thanks, I agree the 16 Mile thing is bogus.

[jeffncandace]

Originally Posted by and the

Before they got rid of residency, the great majority of the cops I knew who lived in the city wouldn't leave home without a gun. And by "wouldn't leave home", I mean they wouldn't even cut their GRASS without a pistol on them. Who do you think has a better insight into crime in the city? The media, who don't report homicides unless there's something unique about them? One person who's only been a crime victim a couple times? Or the guys who respond to the police radio runs for at least 40 hours per week?

I never knew how bad crime in Detroit was until I left. It felt like a giant weight was lifted off my shoulders. I didn't have to look behind me every 2 minutes while out walking the dog or while taking out the garbage or walking home from the bakery.

LMAO. You don't think that a cop's viewpoint would be a bit SKEWED by the job they do? ALL that they see is crime--THEY'RE COPS! It's not like they spend the day seeing the GOOD side, their job takes them to the underbelly of society. Any cop from any city in the world has a skewed viewpoint of reality--they see the cup as half empty, because of where their job takes them everyday!

[deb68]

Originally Posted by RedWingsFan

I have the stay above 16 mile road mentality, as does all of my family that live in the Metro Detroit area.

Why? I'm a Michigan native. Born in Detroit, raised in Warren and know the areas well. Now I wouldn't live below 16 mile road because the schools are better north of 16 mile, the demographics are more to my liking, there's generally less crime (compare cities: Crime Rate Comparisons), you are farther away from the people of Detroit coming out to the suburbs to shop, hang out and be up to no good, there's often newer homes the further out you go, etc.

There are so many reasons. People in my family were around there growing up in Detroit. They took off as part of the white flight for the suburbs and we've all watched the decline of the city. The decline of the city is slowly spreading to the northern suburbs, especially those right on the Detroit border around 8 mile road or so. Some of the places are starting to look the same.

When I was in high school living in Warren I never thought it was a great place to be. Now I drive through there where I was from and I would never move there, it looks awful. People don't take care of their homes, crime is up, schools have gone downhill, more minorities have moved in, etc.

So most people that know the area and know it will move out further if they can afford to do so. Some people can't afford to move out further.

This is not to say that there are NO good places below 16 mile road. There will be decent pockets here and there. But I can't see why anyone would want to live within a couple of miles of such decay if they can help it.

So my personal experiences with it come from having grown up there and seeing the decline. Hearing the stories from my grandparents about the decline of the city of Detroit. From doing the research on crime statistics.

I grew up at 16 mile and Ryan and now live in Roseville. I don't feel that above 16 mile is any safer than below 16 mile. The city is moving out to the suburbs period! My mom lives in Shelby Twp which seems to have more carjackings than my area and I'm only a couple of miles from 8 mile.

Lets face it people the crime is bad everywhere because there are too many people out of work and depressed. I would not live anywhere in the Troy or Sterling Heights areas anymore due to the Arab population - way too much violence going on plus I'm tired of seeing multi families living in one household with there full living area and kitchens in the garage.

The whole area of Metro Detroit is turning into disaster land and sorry open your eyes there are people of all colors in every area the urban sprawl will continue because the people of Detroit want to live out in nicer neighborhoods too (I don't balme them) and with the way the mortgage company's are just lending to everyone....why do you think there are so many forclosures!

Yes if I could I would love to move out past Romeo- but in a few years the city will be out there too. So yes there are a few places around no matter where you go that are decent, you just have to shop around.

[reconmark]

Originally Posted by BurtsBees

And thank god they got rid of the residency requirement too. What a joke that was. I talk to a few Detroit cops at my gym all the time, and they all say the same thing. Its a warzone down there, its no place for any honest person to be, other than the Downtown area.

I dont want to be here to watch the Southern-Central Macomb county area take a dive...

So let me be clear, I don't want to presume that you are saying that because I live in northwest detroit I'm dishonest in some respect.
If you do mean that I'm dishonest because I do live in Detroit, please explain.
As a sidebar I was a police officer for almost twenty years and if I had a conversation with your cop friends, our difference on the perception of Detroit would be night and day.