[Sanare]

My husband and I are looking for housing in Michigan and stumbled across a beautiful brick home in Flint. I've read both good and bad reviews of the area, and am not really sure what to think. We're in our mid 20s, college students with a bunch of Irish pride, we're looking at housing in the 40-45k range, and we're new to Michigan, from Oregon originally. Is this a horrible idea, or could we make it work with some intelligent safety procedures?

Thanks
K

[chh]

It would help of you put what area in Flint the home is in

[Sanare]

Neome drive

[chh]

Uh, it's probably a bad area of Flint. I can't tell you for sure, because I don't live in Flint, but the census block group it's in has a median yearly household income of $8750, so all around it are very poor probably crime ridden areas. Since I'm not in that area I don't know if it might actually not be that bad, but if you do move I'd prepare for it to be in a pretty bad area.

[jaynarie]

I don't know the street, but I do know I wouldn't live anywhere near Welch, which is like a block away.
I actually wouldn't live anywhere north of the river except (maybe) Carriage Town. Carriage town is on the other side of Hurley Hospital, roughly between the hospital and the river (only slightly more east).

The street itself looks nice on Google. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad. But it would be like living on an island.

[Meemur]

OP, read this thread from another OR resident. Read and LEARN. He could've succeeded if he did a lot more research. Flint has many, many things in common with Detroit.

This is Solderhobo's "Go East, Become Homeless" thread:

Go East... and become homeless

[jaynarie]

Originally Posted by Meemur;4125630269*

OP, read this thread from another OR resident. Read and LEARN. He could've succeeded if he did a lot more research. Flint has many, many things in common with Detroit.

This is Solderhobo's "Go East, Become Homeless" thread:

Go East... and become homeless

Neighborhood matters. I kept up with that poster's journey, and that is a typical experience in some (many) neighborhoods. But there are still some areas in both Detroit and Flint where you can live without experiencing anything like that. Detroit continues to rebound, albeit slowly in the neighborhoods. Dan Gilbert is funding a large program to work on getting home values up by rehabbing houses. Detroit is actually gaining white population. I have several coworkers shopping for houses in Detroit. It is a lengthy process because, as I said, neighborhood matters.

Flint is not rebounding nearly as quickly. Most areas are still in decline (as are many areas in Detroit), as Flint's resurgence is centered around downtown. Flint still needs jobs. (Where Detroit is slowly fixing that as Gilbert continues to gather properties and putting people in them.) A good rule of thumb in Flint is to stick between the river and I-69. This is a generalization, but for the most part, this area has been more stable (downtown and the Swartz Creek golf course areas). The College Cultural area is also very stable. And Carriage Town is about the only neighborhood undergoing a revival.

[craig11152]

Originally Posted by Sanare

My husband and I are looking for housing in Michigan and stumbled across a beautiful brick home in Flint. I've read both good and bad reviews of the area, and am not really sure what to think. We're in our mid 20s, college students with a bunch of Irish pride, we're looking at housing in the 40-45k range, and we're new to Michigan, from Oregon originally. Is this a horrible idea, or could we make it work with some intelligent safety procedures?

Thanks
K

Are you enrolled at U of M Flint? If your there for college why not rent? It might be safer than trying to sell after you graduate.
There is a reason "a beautiful brick home in Flint" is "in the 40-45k range" versus 140-145k or 240-245k or 340-345k.... like it would be in any less depressed areas.