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It seems that River Rouge is doing a bit better than Ecorse, as far as having businesses and more community involvement. I was shocked when I read Rouge levied taxes on the citizens in order to pay pensions. Up until now it seems they hid pretty well their indiscretions and were not as bold and blatant as Ecorse officials have been. At least, they do have a downtown area.
A lot of people know of these two cities as the two ugly twins on the river. But what I can't understand is that literally just across the border into Wyandotte, the homes are beautiful. What has caused the city of Ecorse, which barely touches Detroit, and has great riverfront real estate, to become such a hole? River Rouge borders a lot of Detroit and has the oh so beautiful Zug Island within its city limits, which puts it in a nastier place than Ecorse, and it also has a huge section of industry on its riverfront area. The homes are identical in these cities to the nice homes in Wyandotte, yet they are much more like Detroit. I drove through Ecorse today and noticed one very well kept, great looking house all decked out for the summer on W. Jefferson in Ecorse. It's too bad more people couldn't do this to their home there.
Has anyone here lived in either of these two cities or have any light to shed on when they took a downturn and why, and what are these cities hoping to gain? I can't think of much of any middle class people who would say "I want to buy a house in River Rouge".
In a word, corruption.You couldn't pay me $$ to live there.
There are many hardworking, good people in River Rouge. Many stay because their houses are paid off. Some don't have the financial means to leave and yet others such as myself are looking to move.City government has made positive steps in some areas. Areas such as rental properties they have taken a step backwards. I have no idea how some of the rental dumps pass inspection.There are 3 bedroom houses that have as many as 12+ occupants in addition to the roof caving in. I've been here my entire life but it seems like the last 3 years have really sucked. I'd like to think of it as a reflection of the economy but I think it's deeper than that. Whoever reads this please don't put a blanket over all the people in River Rouge and Ecorse and think we're all scum. Riff Raff exists everywhere. Take a good look at Wyandotte and you'll see what I mean.Don't get me wrong I love Wyandotte but it's starting to get it's share of problems as well as the rest of downriver. The only two places downriver that still seem to have a good grasp on things is Trenton and Grosse Ile.
Trenton High is literally falling over, (and also an average school) the population is aging durastically (there are no kids anymore, 2 of 4 elementarys have closed) property value has taken an immense tumble from its artificially inflated heights. The city government is poor, and also an old boys club. There is no sense of culture or identity. No shopping downtown, no nice restaurants anywhere. North Trenton and the areas btw Fort and the rails are terribly trashy. Cross Fort street into the Anderson neighborhood, and all you will find is arrogance. Trenton likes to think its nice, its not. Its a sh*t sandwich that happens to be made with Gucci bread. Any way you slice it, its still sh*t. And that Gucci was a knock off, bought on credit by some one with 2 mortgages, and is about to be foreclosed.
I never spent much time in Rouge or Ecourse when I was living downriver, except at Ecorse Ice arena, which is quite nice in fact. But At least these 2 cities dont pretend to be something they are not.
Trenton High is literally falling over, (and also an average school) the population is aging durastically (there are no kids anymore, 2 of 4 elementarys have closed) property value has taken an immense tumble from its artificially inflated heights. The city government is poor, and also an old boys club. There is no sense of culture or identity. No shopping downtown, no nice restaurants anywhere. North Trenton and the areas btw Fort and the rails are terribly trashy. Cross Fort street into the Anderson neighborhood, and all you will find is arrogance. Trenton likes to think its nice, its not. Its a sh*t sandwich that happens to be made with Gucci bread. Any way you slice it, its still sh*t. And that Gucci was a knock off, bought on credit by some one with 2 mortgages, and is about to be foreclosed.
I never spent much time in Rouge or Ecourse when I was living downriver, except at Ecorse Ice arena, which is quite nice in fact. But At least these 2 cities dont pretend to be something they are not.
Wow! Do you take acid? This is an utterly bizzarre description of Trenton.
If someone is interested in trenton, I suggest taht you go look at ti yourself. Stop in at a church or business or jsut find some people outside and ask them what they think of living there. It is a solidly middle class cozy place to live with decent schools. Actually Trenton schools are some of the better schools downriver. On Par with Southgate, Riverview, WEoodhaven. It had a cute, but rather limited downtown. There are places to eat, some of them are nice, some are moderate, some are chains or fast food. There is a wonderful park (Elizabeth Park) that adjoins the downtown. THere are nice areas, there are less nice areas, but there are no awful areas. Actully, one thing that I find nice about Trenton is that it does nto pretend to be anything but what it is - a soldily middle class former factory town. Just a bunch of average Janes and Joes trying to make their way through life.
If you have the money, Grosse Ile is a better option, if you do nto care about schools Wyandotte is probably a better option, but trenton is a very nice place for a middle middle class family.
Just do not take acid before you go visit or you might see ghettos, pretetnious people and secret plots to GET you everywhere you look.
Oh wait, we are discussing River Rouge and Ecorse. These are puzzling areas. They both have some decent housing stock. A potentially decent business district. Some nice areas along the water (particularly Ecorse), and what appears to be a decent and well mixed population. However both places are decaying. River rouge still has some pollution and stink in certain areas. I do not notice any such in Ecorse at least not along Jefferson or Fort. But it is amazing, you know when you cross into Wyandotte even without a sign. It is suddenly much nicer and cleaner. I am not sure what it is about Wyandotte that seems to attract people more interested in keeping up theri city. The schools are somewhat better in Wyandotte, but not great.
Wyandotte owns their own power plant so residents are not subject to the whims of Edison, which may be a considerable attraction. Wyandotte still has some large employers, particularly Hnery Ford Hospital and BASF (who recently added several hundred employees).
I guess it may be the reason that Wyandotte is Nicer than Ecorse, but I do nto understand why Ecorse is not nicer than it is. River Rouge I understand partially - it touches Detroit and every place that touches Detroit seems to be dragged down compared to other nearby areas.
A lot of people know of these two cities as the two ugly twins on the river. But what I can't understand is that literally just across the border into Wyandotte, the homes are beautiful. What has caused the city of Ecorse, which barely touches Detroit, and has great riverfront real estate, to become such a hole? River Rouge borders a lot of Detroit and has the oh so beautiful Zug Island within its city limits, which puts it in a nastier place than Ecorse, and it also has a huge section of industry on its riverfront area. The homes are identical in these cities to the nice homes in Wyandotte, yet they are much more like Detroit. I drove through Ecorse today and noticed one very well kept, great looking house all decked out for the summer on W. Jefferson in Ecorse. It's too bad more people couldn't do this to their home there.
Has anyone here lived in either of these two cities or have any light to shed on when they took a downturn and why, and what are these cities hoping to gain? I can't think of much of any middle class people who would say "I want to buy a house in River Rouge".
The reason Ecorse and River Rouge have become holes is because back in the late 80's the two cities went bankrupt and people started losing their homes (the beginning of the current recession) and the abandoned homes became used for drug runners. The cities being bankrupt can't afford to buy up the abandoned homes, therefore we have experienced an increase in crime, homelessness, and pests (rats, roaches, etc.) among other things. So the people that do live there, like myself, have no choice because they can't afford to be somewhere else for instance Taylor or Allen Park, or have grown up there all their lives and refuse to live elsewhere, like my friend Netty for instance. Most people who can afford to live in nicer cities like Allen Park, do, why would they want to live in a neighborhood with high crime rates and things like that.
Last edited by sillyfox4lyfe; 12-23-2010 at 04:57 PM..
Reason: mispelling
Are there different parts of Rouge and Ecorse that are better or worse? How bad is the crime down there?
Anything on the southbound side (going towards Jefferson) of Southfield Road is more upperclass, anything on the northbound side (going towards M-39) is more lower class this applies to all cities bordering southfield
Cities bordering the southbound Southfield Road - Taylor, Southgate, Wyandotte, Dearborn, rich Allen Park, rich Lincoln Park, Riverview, etc.
Cities bordering the northbound Southfield Road - Detroit, Melvindale, River Rouge, poor Allen Park, poor Lincoln Park, Ecorse, etc.
Ecorse is truly a pit, but River Rouge seems like it's at least attempting to make some changes, however small they'll turn out to be.
One thing that I noticed about these two as opposed to Wyandotte is that there's alot more railroad activity there. A whole chunk of both cities is located inbetween the two railroad branches and that's the worst part of the whole area. Railroad neighborhoods seem to attract alot of odd people, including criminals.
I understand that there's a large elderly population in both cities as well. Being from Hazel Park which also has alot of elderly people, I understand how that can contribute to lesser property management, but in the case of Ecorse and River Rouge there is certainly no way it would be the only contributing factor to the city's problem because it's gotten so bad.
Trenton High is literally falling over, (and also an average school) the population is aging durastically (there are no kids anymore, 2 of 4 elementarys have closed) property value has taken an immense tumble from its artificially inflated heights. The city government is poor, and also an old boys club. There is no sense of culture or identity. No shopping downtown, no nice restaurants anywhere. North Trenton and the areas btw Fort and the rails are terribly trashy. Cross Fort street into the Anderson neighborhood, and all you will find is arrogance. Trenton likes to think its nice, its not. Its a sh*t sandwich that happens to be made with Gucci bread. Any way you slice it, its still sh*t. And that Gucci was a knock off, bought on credit by some one with 2 mortgages, and is about to be foreclosed.
I never spent much time in Rouge or Ecourse when I was living downriver, except at Ecorse Ice arena, which is quite nice in fact. But At least these 2 cities dont pretend to be something they are not.
Whoever wrote this must have gotten a ticket from one of Trenton's finest who do a great job keeping our city safe. Hope you were only passing through but if you lived here... thanks for moving property values are already going up.
I actually have a house in Oakwood Heights (moved to Indian Village), basically whats left of it... Its by the Fort Bridge (Historical bridge) and right across from Fordson Island. Its a calm area. Some of the little kids look at you funny but dont mind the knuckleheads. The homes range, from brick 4-5 room homes to bungalows, to wierd victorian looking things (Theres one on Heidt St). Its very calm, kids actually play on the streets which is something I hardly see in Detroit. It has burned homes of course and recently one of the best homes was burned when the owner got the bad end of a land contract deal, previous owner didnt pay taxes and it was forclosed before the buyer knew. Its basically homeowners who cant go anywhere else but try to make the best of it. Lots of boat dockings, Giovannis is there, great food, always packed. The reason I couldnt stay was cause of the smell. I'm from California and everyone would say you get used to it, but I didnt, I would wake up with my throat hurting and head pounding from the salt mines burning nearby. The people here try to keep the homes up, my next door resident owns three homes back to back and cuts the lawns of any abandon homes nearby, but you still get the copper bandits who figure it out.
Trenton likes to think its nice, its not. Its a sh*t sandwich that happens to be made with Gucci bread. Any way you slice it, its still sh*t. And that Gucci was a knock off, bought on credit by some one with 2 mortgages, and is about to be foreclosed.
Wow, Gucci bread? Where can I get some? Gucci bakeries?
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Trenton?
