New Physician moving to Detroit, safety/livability

[lepetit]

all,

it would be really great if i could rent and look into the area a little more…but it really isn't practical given my work schedule. i really won't have time to look around much unfortunately despite my wanting to because i will be working quite often the whole time. i realize that from my visit to MI, if i wanted a decent sized condo (~1200 sq ft or more) in say royal oak, i would easily have to pay more than 200,000. this is a lot for my budget and really is the max i could go. the houses in grosse pointe woods were actually a lot cheaper than the condos in royal oak, so i will realistically have to focus more on grosse pointe or madison heights just because of the cost. i took a drive through kercheval grosse pointe and the houses were very nice, but just wanted to gain a sense of what i could get for something less than 200,000. i just want a quiet and safe house that would really give me less than 15 minutes to get to the hospital. it would be great if the surrounding area is nice (i.e. safe and quiet, family friendly, etc) but i realize that these areas also mean being more pricey. being in royal oak and being closer to the "hip" part of town would be nice, but that is a secondary issue to be quite honest.

[Bimmerfanboy]

Congrats on your residency placement, I'm a med student myself. I would probably recommend Royal Oak. It's within a reasonable distance of the DMC and is going to be safer. Even if Midtown isn't significantly more dangerous I think you'll just have more peace of mind up in Royal Oak. You'll be pretty stressed as a resident so it's in your best interests to minimize other worries.

[jonnynonos]

Originally Posted by Seatown1

Congrats on your residency placement, I'm a med student myself. I would probably recommend Royal Oak. It's within a reasonable distance of the DMC and is going to be safer. Even if Midtown isn't significantly more dangerous I think you'll just have more peace of mind up in Royal Oak. You'll be pretty stressed as a resident so it's in your best interests to minimize other worries.

Grosse Pointe Woods is just as safe as Royal Oak; I imagine Madison Heights is as well. Also, Ferndale is likely more affordable than Royal Oak and even closer to 75 and also very safe.

I would honestly look at Ferndale. It is very "cool" and seems to fit all your needs the best: cheapest, closest, safe and also as a bonus has a fair amount of nightlife and is adjacent to Royal Oak and Detroit.

[lucky2balive]

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

8 Mile doesn't actually run through Grosse Pointe. It turns into Vernier while the actual 8 Mile road itself turns into a side street and makes the northern border of Grosse Pointe Woods. Either way, 8 Mile has nothing to do with crime but rather it's noted as the northern dividing line that separates the city from the suburbs. The stigma is that basically all the crime and negative issues comes from Detroit and crosses 8 Mile into the suburbs. It's more political than it is factual and there's a long history of politicians making remarks about "the other side of 8 Mile" whether speaking from the city or from the suburbs. 8 Mile in the Grosse Pointe Woods area is just any other street.

Other than that, 8 Mile and Vernier through Grosse Pointe Woods is a major commuter route as well as Mack Avenue. Traffic usually is going to I-94 if not to nearby areas. Though compared to other suburbs, traffic through Grosse Pointe isn't bad at all. But yea, if you don't want a lot of traffic noise on your street, avoid Mack and Vernier,

In ANY suburb that borders 8 mile...warren for example...the further north from 8 mile you are the better...that's not JUST political...it has a LOT of basis in fact

[MIEng]

Originally Posted by lepetit

all,

it would be really great if i could rent and look into the area a little more…but it really isn't practical given my work schedule. i really won't have time to look around much unfortunately despite my wanting to because i will be working quite often the whole time. i realize that from my visit to MI, if i wanted a decent sized condo (~1200 sq ft or more) in say royal oak, i would easily have to pay more than 200,000. this is a lot for my budget and really is the max i could go. the houses in grosse pointe woods were actually a lot cheaper than the condos in royal oak, so i will realistically have to focus more on grosse pointe or madison heights just because of the cost. i took a drive through kercheval grosse pointe and the houses were very nice, but just wanted to gain a sense of what i could get for something less than 200,000. i just want a quiet and safe house that would really give me less than 15 minutes to get to the hospital. it would be great if the surrounding area is nice (i.e. safe and quiet, family friendly, etc) but i realize that these areas also mean being more pricey. being in royal oak and being closer to the "hip" part of town would be nice, but that is a secondary issue to be quite honest.

Before you decide what to do I think you should drive around Ferndale. A house for 150k and less is very doable. I just recently closed on a cute 1920's home for less than 70k. The area is safe and close to Downtown Detroit.

[lepetit]

sorry to dredge up an old thread folks, but just wanted to know if anyone had experience living at the pavilion (http://www.thepaviliondetroit.com)? i really couldn't find a good place to buy for the year, so will have to settle for renting at least this year. it seems that from the reviews, much of the place is OK just there is an issue with car thefts? any thoughts? thanks!