Boy was I sucker... (Detroit, Royal Oak: live in, professionals, stores)

[MS313]

Originally Posted by zthatzmanz28

Let's get together and take a walk through mid-town after 10:00 P.M? Or maybe we can drive up and down Woodward and park your new car on Seldon or maybe Willis and see what happens after 2-3 hours?

It is not "hate" to tell the truth. I have been in and out of Detroit since I could drive. I have lived there and I still work there near the DMC.

It has improved, but it is not safer, cleaner or more desirable than before. Many people I know who moved into these artsy lofts and apartments still have suburban addresses on their driver's license to avoid the huge insurance bill. I have even met people who live in these nice places and they have not paid Detroit city taxes in 3-5 years that they have lived in Detroit because they claim you only pay city tax if you work in the city...LOL

Most all the millennials go the the burbs for an evening out and most still shop in the burbs because there is either no where to shop, or it is not a great idea to go into Forman Mills on Woodward or the one on Conner and flash cash or a platinum American Express card in public.

So while it is a great suburban dream to become part of the resurrection, it is definitely not all laughs and giggles.

I'll take you up on that offer. Last Thursday for example. I went to Starters on Woodward and Forest in Midtown. Parked on a side street around 11pm and walked up woodward. I walked past even quite a few white people btw. Nothing even remotely scary happens when I'm walking around Midtown day or night. I also walk around Michigan and Livernois, and Schoolcraft and Evergreen every once in a while as well. The most memorable thing as of late was a guy asking me if I had some rocks on me.

As far as the car thing, keep your doors locked, valuables out of plane sight, try to park on a fairly busy street or at least don't be the only car on the block. It's a good idea to get a car with anti theft as well. Many common cars in Detroit are chevy malibu's (2008+), Chargers, Chrysler 300's, and Camero's. So yeah it's pretty common to see new cars in Detroit in any neighborhood. Your bound to find at least one of these cars I mentioned in any given parking lot or street in Detroit. Your also bound to find a car less than 5 years old in most parking lots or street as well.

I have a new generation malibu, I leave my car parked in SW Detroit overnight quite a bit. There are about 7 nicer cars parked over there every night. Now I'm not saying it can't happen because it absolutely can... but it's not likely to happen just for parking your car in Midtown for a couple of hours. Or half of my friend would be carless by now.

[zthatzmanz28]

Originally Posted by belleislerunner

Or they have terrible credit. My insurance is with Progressive. Tell them to switch.

Even with AAA it was only $700 for six months - full coverage.

And that's a stand alone policy (i.e. not combined with home/boat/motorcycle).

wow! My insurance bill is $800 a year for full coverage...guess Detroit is still a deal for some people?

[usroute10]

Originally Posted by zthatzmanz28

Let's get together and take a walk through mid-town after 10:00 P.M? Or maybe we can drive up and down Woodward and park your new car on Seldon or maybe Willis and see what happens after 2-3 hours?

I don't know why you continually spew this constant negativity about Midtown. It's alarming really.

"Let's get together and take a walk through mid-town after 10:00 P.M?"

-ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!!! Your viewpoints are very outdated, it's like your stick in the Bill Clinton administration years. THERE ARE plenty of young white and Asian students and professionals walking, riding their bikes, or driving to establishments like Honest John's, HopCat, Third Street Bar, and Tony V's at 10 o'clock at night AND LATER in Midtown.

-MS313 addressed your hyperbole about the cars getting broken into.

Originally Posted by zthatzmanz28

It has improved, but it is not safer, cleaner or more desirable than before. Many people I know who moved into these artsy lofts and apartments still have suburban addresses on their driver's license to avoid the huge insurance bill. I have even met people who live in these nice places and they have not paid Detroit city taxes in 3-5 years that they have lived in Detroit because they claim you only pay city tax if you work in the city...LOL

Most all the millennials go the the burbs for an evening out and most still shop in the burbs because there is either no where to shop, or it is not a great idea to go into Forman Mills on Woodward or the one on Conner and flash cash or a platinum American Express card in public.

So while it is a great suburban dream to become part of the resurrection, it is definitely not all laughs and giggles.

This article from the Detroit News from 7/12/2016 contradicts your contention that midtown is not safer. Please read:

Revival of Detroit’s Cass Corridor crowds out criminals

-Also, why would millenials who live in midtown go to the suburbs for an evening out when there are so many options in downtown, midtown, Corktown, and options in other nearby neighborhoods like the East Riverfront, Mexicantown, Hamtramck, and West Village? I could see them occasionally going to Ferndale or Royal Oak, but not regularly unless they work out there.

-Lastly, there are retail options popping up in greater downtown (like the Nike Store, Kit and Ace, Carhartt's and smaller stores like Nora, City Bird, and Thrift on the Ave - but it is definitely still lacking.

-And what about your prediction that the midtown Whole Foods store would eventually wither and die? Huh? It is still packed sun up to sun down.

[jonnynonos]

Originally Posted by usroute10

Jonny Nonos has been ON POINT this entire thread, shredding negative Nancies like NOLA101 and BimmerFanBoy into little pieces!

Didn't see this. Thanks for the compliment. I try to be an objective person but it cuts both ways and there is no point in gratuitous negativity. Plus, you have to have a heart, and hope.

Without hope and people who believe in positive change nothing good would ever get done, including the current progress in Detroit.

[NOLA101]

Originally Posted by usroute10

-ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!!! Your viewpoints are very outdated, it's like your stick in the Bill Clinton administration years. THERE ARE plenty of young white and Asian students and professionals walking, riding their bikes, or driving to establishments like Honest John's, HopCat, Third Street Bar, and Tony V's at 10 o'clock at night AND LATER in Midtown.

Of course there are some, but speaking generally, Midtown is pretty desolate and dangerous after 10 PM, and the most likely person you will encounter walking down the street is a junkie type or someone waiting for a bus.

The restaurants in Midtown are still pretty sparse and OVERWHELMINGLY attract car-driving suburbanites just looking for a fun night out. They park right next to the restaurant, or valet.

It's not like regular Detroiters are walking/biking from their random neighborhood to have tapas in Midtown.

[NOLA101]

Originally Posted by jonnynonos

Didn't see this. Thanks for the compliment. I try to be an objective person but it cuts both ways and there is no point in gratuitous negativity. Plus, you have to have a heart, and hope.

LOL. You have posted nothing fact-related in this thread, which is exactly why you got the compliment. If you were objective you would be accused of trolling.

As I stated at the beginning of this thread, you will be attacked here on C-D Detroit if you relay facts re. Detroit, and complimented if you spew nonsense.

Posting of official Census demographic data- attacks and claims of trolling
Fabricating data about Detroit- compliments and rep points

If you don't believe this to be true, re-read this thread as Exhibit A.

[MS313]

Originally Posted by NOLA101

Of course there are some, but speaking generally, Midtown is pretty desolate and dangerous after 10 PM, and the most likely person you will encounter walking down the street is a junkie type or someone waiting for a bus.

The restaurants in Midtown are still pretty sparse and OVERWHELMINGLY attract car-driving suburbanites just looking for a fun night out. They park right next to the restaurant, or valet.

It's not like regular Detroiters are walking/biking from their random neighborhood to have tapas in Midtown.

That is false. As I said in my last post... Last Thursday. I went to Starters on Woodward and Forest in Midtown. Parked on a side street around 11pm and walked up woodward. I walked past even quite a few white people. Nothing even remotely scary happens when I'm walking around Midtown day or night. I regularly go to Midtown at night for some of the bars/ restaurants and I walk past normal looking people for the most part. There has hardly been anything dangerous about Midtown since the projects were torn down. Now back then... you couldn't pay me to walk around Midtown at night. But Midtown as a whole in 2016 is not desolate or dangerous. A lot of empty blocks are still being redeveloped in Midtown but other than that no. Wayne State surely wouldn't be saying it ranked top 50 safest college campuses in America if it was so "dangerous". Campus police does a pretty good job protecting Midtown along with DPD.

[jonnynonos]

What in the holy hell is this Midtown conversation even about?

You have 25,000 students at Wayne State in Midtown who are out at all hours and thousands of DMC employees. You also have tons of foot traffic from the museums.

I honestly don't ever remember anyone, including my mother, tell me they were ever frightened of walking around Midtown.

[usroute10]

Originally Posted by NOLA101

Of course there are some, but speaking generally, Midtown is pretty desolate and dangerous after 10 PM, and the most likely person you will encounter walking down the street is a junkie type or someone waiting for a bus.

The restaurants in Midtown are still pretty sparse and OVERWHELMINGLY attract car-driving suburbanites just looking for a fun night out. They park right next to the restaurant, or valet.

It's not like regular Detroiters are walking/biking from their random neighborhood to have tapas in Midtown.

There are 5 new bike shops that have opened in the greater downtown area the past few years:

Metropolis (Corktown)

Downtown Detroit Bike Shop (Cass Corridor)

Motorless City (Eastern Market)

Detroit Bikes (Downtown)

Shinola (Midtown)

You're telling me they are selling all of these bikes to suburbanites?

People are biking everywhere in Midtown. The poorer natives, the artists, and the hipsters. Bicycles are ubiquitous in Midtown - because the affluent population is increasing. If not, why have there been so many housing projects completed or in construction, such as the Scott and James Scott Mansion and the Cass Plaza/Naomi Apartments?

Cass Plaza before


Cass Plaza after

courtesy of detroityes.com

Originally Posted by NOLA101

The restaurants in Midtown are still pretty sparse and OVERWHELMINGLY attract car-driving suburbanites just looking for a fun night out. They park right next to the restaurant, or valet.

Earlier in this thread I gave you a list of 13 restaurants/bars that were located on along a 1/2 mile section of Woodward in Midtown. This does not even include the restaurants on Cass, Second, and Third, as well as some of the east-west running sidestreets. So to say that restaurants are sparse is not accurate in the gentrified portion of Midtown. Now the NSO/Detroit Rescue Mission part of midtown is still rough and devoid of restaurants, as well as maybe around the Detroit Medical Center.

[Bimmerfanboy]

Originally Posted by keraT

As someone who lives in Detroit, I

1) could care less about how many people once lived in Detroit. What I see today is more important than what it was decades ago? Yea history is nice but population loss doesn't mean anything to younger crowd except for a reference point. As someone whos family moved out of NYC because of high COL & small space & high population, I have no desire to be in tightly packed area. I often go back to visit family in NYC & wonder how can people live like this. Not everyone wants a super busy metro, not everyone wants lot of people around.

2) I could care less about school ranking because I don't have kids.

The things you mentioned are not top priority for many people. Even transit is not a priority for someone that loves car. yours is one POV, there are many other

You should care about school rankings because it directly affects your property values. Along with that, Detroit's school rankings are a huge deterrent to rebuilding a tax base because the city won't attract educated professionals who see having a family in the future.