Hamtramck vs Warrendale (Detroit, Dearborn, Southfield: fit in, rentals, crime)

[Midwestern Maniac]

Hey there everyone! We are a young gay couple (I'm 25 he's 29) both Italian-Americans from Cleveland (so we know all about grit and we like it) we are moving from Chicago where we were living in a working class neighborhood near O'Hare while he did his PhD at UIC. He got into a post-doc at Wayne State so we moved to Motown. Currently in a temporary rental we found on Craigslist (we are paying by the week because we had to move quickly because we had about 10 days notice before he started so we took the first cheap temporary thing that looked legit sight unseen) in Redford. It's a bit too plain for us though even though it's nice here.


We found two rentals that we liked. One is a 2 bed upper flat in Hamtramck for $450, the other is a 3 bedroom completely remodeled bungalow in the Warrendale area of Detroit for the same price. We know generally Hamtramck is more desireable since it's an independent city and this hasn't deal with the same issues like total abandonment of neighborhoods and complete white flight. However the house in Warrendale was way nicer, way bigger and it was on a nice block surrounded by other nice blocks. We have stalked around the area and its a bit more diverse than the rest of Detroit with a couple of white and Arabic families on the block with kids. We take the fact that people are willing to raise their kids here as a good sign especially because the population here seemed very blue collar/working class (ie can't afford private school). However I wanted to ask here because I know the city of Detroit is no joke (we drove around the Brightmoor area and it was reminiscent of Dresden or Hiroshima after WW2 and I think if we hadn't ran a red light we were about to get carjacked...)

How is Warredale? I don't wanna give exact location on here for privacy sake but the general vicinity the house is in is north of the Fairlane Shopping Plaza, south of West Warren Avenue, and between the Southfield Fwy and Greenfield Road. The space is really important for us because we have big families that like to visit, a big dog, my dad isn't doing so well health/financial wise so he might have to move in with us, and my fiancé has an 8 year old son from a previous relationship that visits with us from Phoenix where his mom lives about 4 times a year for a week or two.

[MS313]

I was going to go with Hamtramck but now that I read your story this is actually a bit more difficult. You visited both areas on multiple occasions it seems and you looked at both homes, some posters may try to challenge me for this but you should probably go for Warrendale. It is probably going to be different from Redford but you can do alot worse than Warrendale (like Brightmoor for example). I made that decision based on the fact that you were 1) down to only 2 options anyway, 2) already used to that type of area (Cleveland and Chicago) 3) the house in Warrendale. Since you need more room and the house is nicer, I say why not?

[gameguy56]

I still think for a young gay couple you'd enjoy Hamtramck more. There's a lot more to do there. But if you're not as much the going out type then Warrendale would work just as well.

[WayneCounty]

Originally Posted by gameguy56

I still think for a young gay couple you'd enjoy Hamtramck more. There's a lot more to do there. But if you're not as much the going out type then Warrendale would work just as well.

I would also consider Hamtramck over Warrendale. The Hamtramck neighborhood is more thriving and diverse and I feel you guys would fit in there.

[Midwestern Maniac]

Well to add we are basically homebodies. Not much into the "scene" and cultural offerings and such. Basically we are the type of people that stay home and watch Netflix and eat Chinese food and play with our dog, nothing fancy. The biggest concern with Warrendale is crime and the fact that at one point neighborhoods that look bombed out like Brightmoor were once similar to Warrendale, gritty blue collar family areas. I am more concerned about getting mugged while walking the dog or being the victim of a home invasion than cultural offerings. We're from Cleveland where the idea of culture is natty light, some pizza and a joint for Christ sake lol.

Rephrased: is Warrendale a safe neighborhood relative to Detroit? if so is it likely to stay that way? Would you live there?

[MS313]

Originally Posted by Midwestern Maniac

Well to add we are basically homebodies. Not much into the "scene" and cultural offerings and such. Basically we are the type of people that stay home and watch Netflix and eat Chinese food and play with our dog, nothing fancy. The biggest concern with Warrendale is crime and the fact that at one point neighborhoods that look bombed out like Brightmoor were once similar to Warrendale, gritty blue collar family areas. I am more concerned about getting mugged while walking the dog or being the victim of a home invasion than cultural offerings. We're from Cleveland where the idea of culture is natty light, some pizza and a joint for Christ sake lol.

Rephrased: is Warrendale a safe neighborhood relative to Detroit? if so is it likely to stay that way? Would you live there?

Well I would live in both, I would rather live in Hamtramck because it does have more cultural offerings and the such and I just like the denser feel. The part of Warrendale that your talking about if I'm not mistaking, I wouldn't mind living in. I would be a little more cautious going up towards Joy Rd however. I would venture to say that Hamtramck is safer than Warrendale but I honestly have no clue if it is or isn't, maybe another poster who has experience in both can compare the two better as far as safety goes.

[usroute10]

I just moved back to my house in Warrendale. It is pretty much on the decline, but there are still some pockets of good, well-kept blocks. The Warren Avenue business district, especially east of Southfield, has really plummeted in the past 10 years. It seems that you closer you are to Dearborn (i.e. Greenfield Road), and if you are between Ford Road and Warren Avenue, you should be ok. Warrendale has good diversity, with even some Latinos moving to the neighborhood.

[313 TUxedo]

Originally Posted by Midwestern Maniac

<snip>

Rephrased: is Warrendale a safe neighborhood relative to Detroit? if so is it likely to stay that way? Would you live there?

Address >7200: No, No and No.
<7200, >6300: A bit, short term, for now perhaps.
Address <6300: Yes, maybe a bit longer, Yes (renting w/o kids).

[Arthur Digby Sellers]

I know that 10 to 15 years ago the Warrendale neighborhood was preferred by Detroit police and firefighters due to its proximity to Dearborn. It's traditionally been whiter and more working class than the rest of Detroit. I'm not sure if that's true anymore, but would be worth looking into.

[memema]

There is a guy who writes a blog concerning the Warrendale area. He is a lifelong (i believe) resident of the area. The OP might wish to check it out. Warrendale (Detroit) Blog