[newtomich]

I will be working in Southfield and I am looking for safe areas outside of the city. I don't mind driving 20 min if I have to for a safe location. Price range ~$800/month. Are Farmington Hills, Royal Oak and Novi good areas to live in? Can anyone suggest any nice apartment complexes in these areas?

I always hear that Detroit is dangerous - when people say this are they mostly referring to Detroit city itself or surrounding suburbs as well? I am not familiar with Michigan, but I do plan on making a trip to check out some suburbs.

Thanks

[caspper69]

Originally Posted by newtomich

I will be working in Southfield and I am looking for safe areas outside of the city. I don't mind driving 20 min if I have to for a safe location. Price range ~$800/month. Are Farmington Hills, Royal Oak and Novi good areas to live in? Can anyone suggest any nice apartment complexes in these areas?

I always hear that Detroit is dangerous - when people say this are they mostly referring to Detroit city itself or surrounding suburbs as well? I am not familiar with Michigan, but I do plan on making a trip to check out some suburbs.

Thanks

When people talk about Detroit, they mean Detroit (and you could live your entire life and never go there). Metro Detroit has some of the nicest suburbs of any city in America. There's a reason there's a whole wikipedia page on white flight in Detroit.

Close to Southfield, you could live anywhere north of 12 mile, and have all that you want. There are a few small enclaves between there and Birmingham (Beverly Hills comes to mind), where you could find a great apartment in the price range you want.

Honestly, you could live in about 15 different towns within 20 minutes.

What ELSE are you looking for?

[Coldjensens]

Only parts of Detroit are dangerous. Much of it is very nice. Do not be afraid to go downtown. The downtown area is decent and has a lot fo fun things going on. The dangerous parts are places that you will never go unless you are looking to buy or sell drugs guns or prostitutes. Most of the subrbs are not only safe, but they are unusually safe.

There are terrific towns all over the area. Each one tends to offer something a little bit different. The best ones (Northville, for example) are better suited for family living than singles looking for a good time. The better places for young singles are: Royal Oak, Ferndale, Downtown and Mid-town detroit, Ann Arbor and Wyandotte. Wyandotte and Ann Arbor are too far away for you. The others are close.

Novi and Farmington hills are suburbia. They are nice for families. Not bad for young adults, but not hopping/happening places. Novi is shopping malls strip malls and subdivisions. No downtown. Loads of chain stores and restaurants. Farmington Hills is subdivisions, but has a nearby town (Farmington) which has a small downtown.

Suggestions all depend on you. What are you looking for? Do you want proximity to kesington park? Shopping mall? Bars? Just a quiet place where you can sleep and watch TV on your couch?

[Indentured Servant]

Whats wrong with living is Southfield

[PosterExtraordinaire]

Originally Posted by newtomich

I will be working in Southfield and I am looking for safe areas outside of the city. I don't mind driving 20 min if I have to for a safe location. Price range ~$800/month. Are Farmington Hills, Royal Oak and Novi good areas to live in? Can anyone suggest any nice apartment complexes in these areas?

I always hear that Detroit is dangerous - when people say this are they mostly referring to Detroit city itself or surrounding suburbs as well? I am not familiar with Michigan, but I do plan on making a trip to check out some suburbs.

Thanks

All of Southfield is very safe. Why not move there?

[caspper69]

Originally Posted by Indentured Servant

Whats wrong with living is Southfield

I had a close family friend who moved to Southfield, and had a nice house, with a decent city lot.

It took him about 4 years to move away. It's not the minorities that got on his nerves, but the constant BS from everyone in the neighborhood. If it wasn't about parking on the street, it was about his dogs. If it wasn't about his dogs, it was about lights being on late, or the street light not being off in front of his house. Honestly, he's one of the most low-key guys I know, who has a family and works a white collar job. The people in his neighborhood just wanted to complain all the time.

Now, this is probably just limited to a specific block of a specific neighborhood, but Southfield might be too diverse for some to feel comfortable, and the schools aren't really that great.

If someone would feel better in a homogeneous community, there are plenty of places nearby where they can get that and still be within minutes of Southfield proper. I understand the whole PC nature of it, but some people are just more comfortable around others who are like them. It's not right or wrong, it's just how they feel.

[PosterExtraordinaire]

Originally Posted by caspper69

If someone would feel better in a homogeneous community, there are plenty of places nearby where they can get that and still be within minutes of Southfield proper. I understand the whole PC nature of it, but some people are just more comfortable around others who are like them. It's not right or wrong, it's just how they feel.

That's the skinny on it. I'd appreciate if someone came out and just said it instead of tiptoeing around it because southfield is safe, middleclass, and the schools are fine too.

[newtomich]

Thank you for the responses! I will look into Southfield as well. Can you suggest some nice/safe apartment communities in the Farmington Hills/Royal Oak area?

[Commune35]

Did someone just post nicely that its ok to be racist? It might be common for humans to be more comfortable in familiar surroundings but its different when you have a bias against someone because they look or act different and that's wrong no matter how you spin it. "Too diverse", if that aint a code word. Southfield is an upper middle class city with African Americans, Jewish Americans, Asian Americans, and White Americans etc. It has a lot of trees and is considered a very green city. Its funny how the innuendos about Southfield since Farmington, Novi and a few other adjacent communities are between 25-35% non white. Even the Bloomfield are emerging as very culturally diverse. So while many minorities are choosing Oakland and Macomb county as their home, many White Americans are moving to Wayne County and Detroit as well. It hasn't helped the bleeding from these areas but time will heal that wound. As a Southfield resident, its a great city.

[Commune35]

The Carnegie and the Lakes are nice apartments/townhouses