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Moving to Detroit
- Thread starter mjk1
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I currently live in Dearborn and love it here. Then answer to your question depends on what you are looking for? I have friends living in Downtown detroit with an amazing view for around $800. I personally am a more suburbs guy so dearborn fit my personality more. If you are single I think downtown might be better in terms of entertainment etc. I know a friend that lives at a place with a culture coordinator whose job it is to arrange for events every week like wine tastings etc for the residents and their guests free of charge. Commute from Dearborn is about 20 mins without snow. I just moved here last year and this past winter was a mild one so I can't tell you how long it would take with a ton of snow but the rule is to double the time.
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I disagree with the above comment that midtown isn't safe. I'm an M4 at Wayne State, female, have lived in midtown for all the years except for this past one when I moved to the east side with my husband. I walked to all my rotations at all hours of the night along with many students. I haven't heard one report happening to a student, and have never experienced a problem. There are things that can and do happen, like in any city, but the idea that midtown isn't walkable at all hours or that it's somehow more dangerous than other urban centers just isn't true in my experience.
The bigger challenge is going to be finding somewhere to live in midtown for the price that you are looking for. Most of the complexes going up are going to be more than that, and I believe the 1 bedrooms in where I used to live (Studio One Apartments) were definitely more than 800, heat not included. The other, newer places would be more expensive than that, I would imagine. Maybe there are places in downtown like the above poster mentioned (even in midtown), but for one bedroom for that price I'm just not sure.
If you aren't aware of this, there's an incentive program that is worth looking into that gives you up to $3,500 dollars for renting in midtown: http://www.livemidtown.org/incentives
As for exact recommendations, I've only lived in Studio One and the Ellington (first year). The Ellington is really nice, right next to whole foods, but my share of a two bedroom was going up to 900 a month and I moved out three years ago. Studio One is pretty decent, kind of has a college vibe if you can be okay with that, and is okay for the price of a 2 bedroom, but one bedrooms start at $1,100. In fact, in the 2.5 years or so that I lived at Studio One, the rent went up pretty significantly twice (I also heard there's a pretty significant wait list). For other places, I would say do a search on apartments.com and see what's available on either Woodward close to the hospitals or John R, check out the prices and availability and see if something works out for you.
I second checking out places in Dearborn, Royal Oak, and Ferndale, but I would also add Hamtramck to the list as well. Hamtramck is a pretty densely populated (f0r Detroit) diverse city-within-a-city with all sorts of immigrant families from Poland, Yemen, Bangladesh, etc. Tends to attract a cool, young crowd as well because the rents are pretty reasonable and you can get a good amount of space for not much (I know someone paying around 450 for a whole second floor of a house for himself). Only about a 10 minute drive to the hospital.
The bigger challenge is going to be finding somewhere to live in midtown for the price that you are looking for. Most of the complexes going up are going to be more than that, and I believe the 1 bedrooms in where I used to live (Studio One Apartments) were definitely more than 800, heat not included. The other, newer places would be more expensive than that, I would imagine. Maybe there are places in downtown like the above poster mentioned (even in midtown), but for one bedroom for that price I'm just not sure.
If you aren't aware of this, there's an incentive program that is worth looking into that gives you up to $3,500 dollars for renting in midtown: http://www.livemidtown.org/incentives
As for exact recommendations, I've only lived in Studio One and the Ellington (first year). The Ellington is really nice, right next to whole foods, but my share of a two bedroom was going up to 900 a month and I moved out three years ago. Studio One is pretty decent, kind of has a college vibe if you can be okay with that, and is okay for the price of a 2 bedroom, but one bedrooms start at $1,100. In fact, in the 2.5 years or so that I lived at Studio One, the rent went up pretty significantly twice (I also heard there's a pretty significant wait list). For other places, I would say do a search on apartments.com and see what's available on either Woodward close to the hospitals or John R, check out the prices and availability and see if something works out for you.
I second checking out places in Dearborn, Royal Oak, and Ferndale, but I would also add Hamtramck to the list as well. Hamtramck is a pretty densely populated (f0r Detroit) diverse city-within-a-city with all sorts of immigrant families from Poland, Yemen, Bangladesh, etc. Tends to attract a cool, young crowd as well because the rents are pretty reasonable and you can get a good amount of space for not much (I know someone paying around 450 for a whole second floor of a house for himself). Only about a 10 minute drive to the hospital.
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Watch out for I-75 and the S-curves... people don't seem to know how to navigate them without stopping. The lodge is nice to travel down if you're going to HF. If you are with St. John/Providence or Beaumont, you won't have to worry too much.
Royal Oak is a good area. If you can, look outside to other areas for a bit cheaper rent if possible. But exhaust all leads. Way back when I had a studio in Birmingham for $550/month. There are people renting a 2bed/2bath in Sterling Heights for $1200/month. There are others in Dearborn and such. Examine where you'll be and the traffic patterns, the options will present themselves.
Royal Oak is a good area. If you can, look outside to other areas for a bit cheaper rent if possible. But exhaust all leads. Way back when I had a studio in Birmingham for $550/month. There are people renting a 2bed/2bath in Sterling Heights for $1200/month. There are others in Dearborn and such. Examine where you'll be and the traffic patterns, the options will present themselves.
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I grew up in Grosse Pointe. It's an extremely family friendly, safe area with a surprisingly reasonable rental market in the deep Park (streets between Nottingham and Wayburn/Barrington). A quick glance at craigslist is showing several 2-BR flats on Beaconsfield road for 700-900$/month. You get free access to the parks for being a resident which is a huge perk, and it's a pretty easy drive to any of the downtown hospitals. I have a friend who is a Henry Ford resident and her husband is a DMC resident. They bought a place in GP Park at the beginning of residency and have been really happy.
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The problem with MI drivers, they all want to hang out in the middle lane including very slow trucks. And with narrow (2-3 lane) highways, impossible to pass. On top of that you have many driving 90+.
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I'm so sorry.
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deleted274002
Lots of good advice as to where to live here. One thing to keep in mind that many people not from the area are aware of (or whose only source of information about Detroit is what they read on Fox News) is that there are many places within the city going under significant development (new restaurants, new housing, etc.). People have mentioned Royal Oak, Ferndale, Dearborn, Grosse Pointe (there are lots of them; Grosse Pointe Park has a housing foundation grant that provides half of your rent up to $350 per month to live there) among others if you don't want to live in the city.
I've lived here for 3+ years and will continue to do so because it's a great place with lots of new things going on. One word about the Live Midtown incentive: the program is ending in 2016 and while they're trying to get more funding it's still in flux.
That said, there are lots of great neighborhoods to live in: Lafayette Park, Elmwood Park, Riverfront (the only place in the United States where you look south into Canada) Downtown, Midtown, Woodbridge, New Center, the list goes on. Keep in mind that prices are going up and while 5-6 years ago it was not unfeasible to get a decent place for $800 or less, that is less true today. PM me if you want my personal perspective on where to live.
Wow. What remarkably ignorant statements. I'm guessing you either don't live here or haven't been here very long.
1. Area around Wayne State is fairly safe. Actually, it's probably one of the safer areas in the city. As long as you're smart about how you walk down the street, you should be fine. There's an apartment complex right behind the DMC that is popular with med students and residents (they currently have a waitlist for new renters).
2. Detroit's peak population was ~1.8 million in 1950 and is now less than 700,000 (according to the census). The Detroit Metropolitan area (which includes Royal Oak, Ferndale, Dearborn, etc.) supports over 4.5 million people. For most of the period of 1950-today, that population didn't leave Michigan as it left Detroit for the suburbs. As such, many of these people use the freeways every day to get to work. There is often congestion, ESPECIALLY during the winter months or during bad weather. And Detroit's mass transit is a joke (the new M1 rail line was supposed to be a step in the right direction but it's looking like less mass transit and more of an extension of the People Mover). In other words, if you live too far away from the city you'll deal with traffic and not many public transit options. With that said, people make it work.
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deleted274002
1. Being smart about how you walk down the street is actually great advice for anywhere, not just Detroit. The area around the DMC is constantly patrolled by police and if you're leaving from the hospitals at night you can have them escort you to your car. Parking is actually on the premises. I'll agree that there are less than safe places within the city and I'm not going to pretend that Detroit is a utopia. But making relatively inaccurate statements about the area around the hospitals irritates me because it adds to the ignorance of people that don't live in Detroit.
2. "Rarely congested like they are in other cities" does NOT equal no congestion. I have driven in other cities. Surprise: traffic sucks. With that said, your previous statements gave the implication that there are rarely traffic jams. The first snow day of November or December would disagree with that statement. One of the many reasons I moved to the city vs. living in Royal Oak/Ferndale was because I hated the morning commute and its traffic. The farther the OP lives from the city, the more traffic with which they would have to deal. Further, sporting events and big concerts downtown can certainly add to the traffic.
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deleted274002
It depends. Sometimes it's bad, sometimes it's not. The potholes are consistently bad. Roads would be patched up in the spring and summer only to become crappy again during the winter. There's a joke out here: what are the seasons in Michigan? Winter and construction.
That said, I drive a small sedan with ABS and it's not a problem. Again, I wouldn't be stupid about it. Drive slower than the speed limit when the weather is really bad and be extra cautious.
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Orange cone season has begun!
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one thing you do want to make sure of in terms of cars is AWD or front wheel drive. Coming from California I had no idea this was an issue, but it is especially for drivers unfamiliar with snow. the problem is that rear wheel drive vehicles will end up skidding a lot more.
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Also all-weather or even dedicated snow tires really help with winter driving.
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FYI, Detroit's I-75 is about to start on a 20 year project. Travelling that corridor will likely be very difficult. Keep this in mind. The lodge and other avenues are going to be equally congested.
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I just had a mini panic attack and checked the freeway from my future program to Ann Arbor, where I am in escrow to buy a house.... and then sighed in relief.... then I checked that my wife would be fine too going to Detroit... LOL... makes so much sense now that the people in MI say there are only two seasons here... Winter and construction 😀
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I'll take MI drivers over people with IL plates any day of the week. At least they stay out of the left lane
...now MI and IN plates on Chicago streets are another matter though...
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Honestly anyone with a RWD car ANYWHERE that has snow should just take the bus.
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If you want to go super cheap, go Hamtramck. A couple friends of mine rented a house right next to Hamtramck city hall and loved it. Insanely good food...
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um this is me. :S
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I've lived in Royal Oak and Grosse Pointe. Royal Oak is good if you like to go out a lot, lots of young people and bars. The area itself I wasn't crazy about. It didn't have the same appeal as I though grosse pointe did. I really like grosse pointe because it's a bit quieter. There are still bars and restaurants, but its more mixed as there are young people, people with families, and retired people. Both areas are really safe, which is nice. In Royal Oak everything closes early for some reason (grocery stores, convinient stores etc..) I found that to be annoying. In terms of big stores, there are definitely far more in Grosse Pointe (multiple grocery stores, gyms, convinient stores, etc.), and it's a great area if you like to go for bike rides, or long walks as there's the beautiful waterfront. One reason I didn't want to stay in midtown is because it's always been so crowded when I've gone. That busyness and the idea of having to travel to get to grocery stores wasn't for me. In terms of process, Royal oak and Grosse pointe are definitely cheaper than downtown Detroit. That being said, an apartment in downtown Royal oak is probably even more expensive than downtown Detroit. Grosse pointe I thought was cheaper than Royal oak overall, but it depends where you go.
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