Is detroit really as bad as people say? (Flint, Livonia: apartments, crimes)

[poolagoo]

For Starters, this dude is some right wing Nazi with an agenda here, he's just baiting you with his ignorant comments, I'd put him on ignore. I've worked in the city for the last 10 years and I never , ever, ever feel unsafe. Most crime in the city is criminal on criminal, not too many random acts. This guy is probably some suburbanite who thinks it's bad because of the black population. The city has a ton to offer in forms of entertainment, eateries, local pubs, etc. I'm in Nashville now and I notice a similar attitude amongst the RW Nazis in that if an area has any blacks they automatically consider it ghetto, then I visit the area and see that it is basically Lincoln Park/River Rouge, not great by any stretch but certainly not as horrifying as they make it seem. Maybe it's just a matter of what people can tolerate, some are just afraid of diversity, I can't relate to conservative yuppies like this guy though.

[edub]

I do hope Bing acts on his plan to demolish parts of the city. BTW, only 15% is slated to be cleared. But, similar rumors have been around for 30 years. There will always be some financial action in the downtown area and every time anything is built people like yourself buy into the hyperbole and talk of this big comeback. Like I said, that song is decades old and no matter what is built it will really be a drop in the ocean in comparison to the rest of the city. You do know that Detroit consists of a lot more than that little stretch of financially significant land along Jefferson known as "down town" right?

The $64,000 question is what they plan on doing with all the poor people - in particular the criminals. In order for this "comeback" that has been promised for decades to occur, this question must be answered.

Not only has your hyperbole been around for decades, but cornerstone projects like those you are trumpeting have all been miserable failures. I gave several examples in my prior post. Even the casinos in Detroit are losing money - how is that even possible?

Truth be told, I pray you are right. But for now, the city is in fact a disaster and your speculations have been around for decades. Being an actual business owner in Detroit, I am just too aware of the extent of the negative forces in the city. You seem to be under the impression it is possible to create a little bubble in the middle of ghetto hell and not expect the ghetto to crash the party. When one of those decades old "resurgence projects" that has been hyped for several decades includes the words "massive prison complex" I will buy the idea of a revitalized Detroit. Until then, it's the same old saw we have been hearing for decades.

But one thing is clear. At present time, 90% of Detroit where the people live and most white people never see or hear about looks worse then Beirut after the last Israeli air strike and has crime off the charts.

[poolagoo]

Originally Posted by edub

But one thing is clear. At present time, 90% of Detroit where the people live and most white people never see or hear about looks worse then Beirut after the last Israeli air strike and has crime off the charts.

This is a flat out lie, I'd say it's closer to 40% , I was there practically every day and not just in the area you refer to as "down town" . I cycled through the city 5 times a week, for exercise, never had a problem.The city has it's problems but it's a lot safer than what you are indicating.

[MxL]

Originally Posted by omgsh

I hear a lot of bad things about detroit. You guys have a really bad reputation. Is detroit really a giant ghetto like people make it seem like? Because my city (philly) doesn't really have a good rep(not as bad as detroits) but a lot of what people think about it isn't true in terms of safety and stuff, so I'm guessing detroit is the same way?

I would say that the negativity aimed at the city of Detroit is mostly deserved - HOWEVER, the surrounding metro area is a really nice place with plenty of attractive lifestyle options. Detroit itself (as in downtown and core city limits) has some fun areas and things to do, but these are few and they are overshaddowed by the ghetto areas that surround them. Not too many people (especially if they are considering starting a family) will live in the Detroit city limits. The schools are terrible, there are very limited shopping options (and I'm talking groceries/markets, not world class retail), and the crime/danger is very very high. Even if the economy was strong and housing values were stable/rising, I would not recommend living there until the city infrastructure is fixed.

On the other hand, a number of close Detroit suburbs are very good places to live (not great, but very good). Royal Oak is nice, Troy is a very safe, family oriented suburb with good shopping and some other amenities, and others such as Bloomfield, Birmingham, Auburn Hills, Grosse Point, Ann Arbor, Novi, etc. are nice areas. Smaller, more modest income neighborhoods that are very liveable and nice also exist. The problem is that you won't have a great downtown major metro to spend time in. Most people I know head to Detroit for specific events (sports, occasional casino trip, occasional restaurant), then quickly drive home. There is little walking, spending the day there, or anything like that.

*It is a great sports town though - that's the best thing (in my opinion) about living near Detroit. Both college and pro teams are plentiful with rich histories (save for the Lions) and all are within about 45 min of Detroit. I'm thinking about moving from the area and the sports are what I will miss the most (by far).

[magellan]

Everyone keep the attacks out of the discussion or the topic will be pitched in the trashcan.

[zthatzmanz28]

Originally Posted by Ann_Arbor

Detroit is one of the most interesting cities in the country; it has a lot of character worth preserving and will be successful city of 300,000 eventually.

Detroit is indeed a wonderful city. It has way too much character. Just a drive down Woodward is enough to show anyone its beauty.

That does not change the economic reality. It has been a dog-kill-dog environment for over 30 years. There are some factions (As Coleman said--THERE ARE NO GANGS IN DETROIT, didn't Kawamee repeat that several times during his reign?) that want to see Detroit exist as a haven for OGs and all that lifestyle represents.

I believe that this gang mentality has been allowed to prosper because of little effort (if any) being put forth by previous administrations. Like the Lions coaches understanding YOU WILL NOT WIN, so too were enforcement folks understanding YOU WILL NOT IMPEDE OGs...

IMHO

Hopefully, as I have said before, Bing will be allowed to turn that around. I just wonder IF that happens, what percentage of OGs will be allowed to exsist and maintain staus quo?

Even in the wilds, nature has a purpose for predators and will replenish the population of their PREY...

[ovi8]

Originally Posted by [JS]

I know I probably shouldn't be bumping a post from the first page, but three out of four of those areas are riddled with steel doors. It doesn't matter if you live in Bloomfield Hills if every house on your block is all barred up...

honestly it can't be that bad in those areas - the windows on the 1st levels aren't even barred - unlike Queens or Brooklyn NY... and it's not even that bad there.

[us66]

Metro Detroiters seem less likely to bar windows than people in other areas I've seen, especially in the suburbs, where window bars on houses are nearly nonexistent, even in crummy areas.

[Northsider 248]

Originally Posted by us66

Metro Detroiters seem less likely to bar windows than people in other areas I've seen, especially in the suburbs, where window bars on houses are nearly nonexistent, even in crummy areas.

There's a house a few blocks from me in RO with bars on the bathroom windows. There's one on Barrett and Couzens in Madison Heights that has bars across what looks like a bedroom window. I saw a house in Center Line with bars across the kitchen window.

The really crummy areas of the suburbs do tend to have them, but not full-on maximum security. It seems to be pretty popular in Bay City, though that's a little bit more outside the metro than we're shooting for here.

Compared to big window-barring cities like Los Angeles and Miami, though, we're way behind in that aspect. And people wonder why so many burglaries are taking place through smashed windows.

But of course, the population density is much lower. In New York, there can be as many as 500 people living on your block. The way my block is set up with it's housing, if we had 500 people living on it, there would be garbage in the streets, old food scraps rotting, a huge rodent problem, we'd have major traffic, absolutely no parking; and if everyone was sheltered, there would be 32 people living in each house.

Of course, my street is just generic suburban development mixed with minor abandonment, people blasting their music and wannabe farmers. New York, on the other hand, has 5-story tall brownstones, highrises and in some areas free public parking. Nonetheless, because it accomodates to over 500 people, the chances of getting burglarized are alot higher. I barely trust the ~48 people on my block not to bust my windows and rob me, but we're talking alot more than that in New York's case.

[edub]

There is a monumental difference between Detroit proper and the suburbs. Some of the suburbs were, until recently, among the wealthiest communities in the Country.

In the actual city, everything is barred up and just about all business is conducted through bullet proof glass. And BTW, I brought up real estate developments in the city to a very wealthy friend of mine who knows all the big real estate players in the area very well. He told me there was some plans for a downtown area resurgence but that it is all dead in the water and has been abandon. He was actually asked to invest in some of it several years ago before the lending crisis and almost did. He is very thankful he didn't.