Originally Posted by
poobert
I'm guessing by "children's hospital" he means Children's Hopsital at DMC.
More info would be good, but you might keep on with the Dearborn idea. It's burby but older and has a lot of amenities and a nice housing stock. It's close to your work, too. West Dearbornites like to differentiate themselves from East Dearbornites, and as far as I can tell it's almost entirely racial animosity, although the areas closest to Detroit have more crime issues. Avoid Downriver. The Pure Michigan Downriver video sums it up.
Troy is great if you like malls, chain stores, chain malls, mall stores, and chain malls, and not much else, but I find it to be stifling and rather savage.
Metro Detroit, being so housing heavy, seems to have a stigma attached to apartments. You could probably rent a house in the Woodward Corridor of Oakland County very cheaply. Royal Oak seems too much of a frat party but places like Berkeley and Ferndale are quiet with affordable rentals, if you don't care about having a super nice house.
Apartments in Detroit outside of Midtown, downtown, the Riverfront, and Indian Village should probably be avoided. That said, I think downtown would be a nice fit for you, if you can find a place. Downtown is quiet [[oddly) and super close to your work.