Moving to Detroit from Sweden; any advice?

[Zeyrek]

Hello everyone,

I will be moving to Detroit from Stockholm, Sweden next April for a job at the U.S. branch of the engineering company I work at. I am very excited to be moving to a great American city such as Detroit and was wanting to see if people on this forum had any tips for me, especially on where to live. I will be working downtown and am accustomed to city living, so I would like to find a residential neighborhood within cycling distance of work. Also, i am married and have two elementary school age boys [[5 and 7), so if there is an excellent public [[not private) school is close enough for them to walk or cycle to that would be preferable too. One reason we want to live in the city rather than the suburbs [[which I understand are nice) is to be close to Detroit's city amenities, so if the neighborhood has shops and cafes to walk to that would be very good.

Also, I am told that some parts of Detroit are some high in crime, so are there any neighborhoods I should avoid?

Any other tips you could provide as I organize my move would be appreciated. This will be my first time in the Midwest united states and I am looking forward to it very much!

Zeyrek

[riviera]

Hi Zeyrek,

You should consider living around Midtown [[or one of the more stable Detroit neighbourhoods with large houses and yards, if you can afford it and want to take a risk with crime).

For schools I think private is the way to go if you are living within Detroit, do you have a religous affiliation? There are several alrite faith based schools around. It also depends on how far you want to travel to drop off/pick up the children.

[Dexlin]

Moving to Detroit from Sweden; any advice

Bless your heart. lol

Yes; get ready for a culture shock. Heck, even a healthy place like Boston or New York would be a culture shock. Detroit is going to blow your socks off...in both very good and very bad ways. This city is an extremely aquired place. Good look, and please, please do some serious homework before making decisions.

[davewindsor]

I would recommend the neighbourhood of Indian Village. One of the local tour guides, Stewart McMillin, lives there and is always giving great reviews of the area. On the south side of Jefferson are apartment buildings and nice plazas like Harbortown. Jefferson from Indian village to downtown runs parallel to the Detroit river. It's always been one of the best areas of the city. The city is also spending a lot redeveloping the green space along the river.

[DetroitScooter]

Welcome to Detroit Yes! Feel free to ask any questions that you might have right here, we will be able to get the answers for you!

If this is indeed your first time in Detroit, I'd make a quick trip here before you move. It will help you envision any neighborhood that you might be considering and will allow you to do better research when you return home. Also, be sure to use any relocation services that your company offers, as they have done it all before.

[Pam]

Also, i am married and have two elementary school age boys [[5 and 7), so if there is an excellent public [[not private) school is close enough for them to walk or cycle to

Lafayette Park neighborhood has a school within walking distance which is supposed to be good.[[Chrysler Elementary) Other posters who live there can tell you more. [[Paging Neil )

[animatedmartian]

Lafayette Park neighborhood has a school within walking distance which is supposed to be good.[[Chrysler Elementary) Other posters who live there can tell you more. [[Paging Neil )

I agree about Lafayette Park. The area is designed in such a way that the school can be accessed by walking paths without the kids having to cross any streets. It's also a pretty safe community. I'm not sure how long the bike commute would be but it is possible though! The homes and apartments were designed by Mies van der Rohe ​so it's pretty similar in design to modern European neighborhoods. Good Luck on your search Zeyrek!

[iheartthed]

.........what engineering firms are located in downtown Detroit?

[j to the jeremy]

I had a friend from Sweden who lived in Indian Village for a while, he liked it a lot.

I would suggest finding something in the Woodbridge, Corktown, or Lafayette Park areas. The midtown area is the best for shopping and walkable neighborhoods, but it also has more apartments than houses. This is where most of the Europeans I know live.

The suburbs are much safer, and have more shopping, but you will find that NOTHING is in walking distance unless you live in "downtown" Royal Oak or Birmingham. The scale of sprawl is daunting to many people who aren't from the States.

I would suggest doing some in-depth research on the block where you decide to get a house, and asking your future neighbors how the schools, services, etc. are. Detroit can be very spotty with these things- One block can be great, the next one over can be a terrible place to live.

Good luck, and welcome! I hope you're a hockey fan because the Red Wings are basically the Swedish National team

[Bham1982]

The suburbs are much safer, and have more shopping, but you will find that NOTHING is in walking distance unless you live in "downtown" Royal Oak or Birmingham. The scale of sprawl is daunting to many people who aren't from the States.

This is true, though no different than Detroit. Unless you live in Downtown or Midtown, you will find essentially nothing in walking distance.

And it's frankly much easier for all family members to walk around to all sorts of places at all hours in a place like Birmingham or Royal Oak than it is in Downtown or Midtown Detroit.

[iheartthed]

This is true, though no different than Detroit. Unless you live in Downtown or Midtown, you will find essentially nothing in walking distance.

That's not true.

[DetroitPlanner]

Lafayette Park neighborhood has a school within walking distance which is supposed to be good.[[Chrysler Elementary) Other posters who live there can tell you more. [[Paging Neil )

This might be a good choice. Get a Mies Van der Rhoe townhouse for a fraction of what it would cost in europe.

[Bham1982]

I would strongly recommend you move to Oakland County. There are many thousands of European expats [[mostly in engineering, mostly for the auto industry) in Oakland County. Your business colleages and friends will live in Oakland County.

There are no public schools anywhere in Detroit comparable to the better school districts in Oakland County.

If you crave urbanity, there are no neighborhoods in Detroit with more urban amenities or more walkability than Birmingham.

And, in terms of shopping and services [[especially shopping and services targeted to auto industry expats; things like bakeries, butchers and grocers for the German engineers) you will be traveling to Oakland County anyways.

Then there's all kinds of other issues, from higher taxes in Detroit, to out-of-control crime, to nonexistent services.

If you're single and want to live a hipster lifestyle for a few years, Detroit is an option. If you have kids and want a family-oriented neighborhood, it isn't a realistic option for 99.9% of people.

I guarantee that folks you speak with in your company will say the same things as me. Ask anyone in Metro Detroit outside of the DYes forum, and you will hear similar themes.

[Occurrence]

I would strongly recommend you move to Oakland County.

I strongly recommend you DON'T move to Oakland County. Just the fact they elected that idiot sheriff is reason enough not to live there.

[jt1]

I agree completely, OC IS THAT AWESOME. I'm damn fortunate to live there, despite LBP and our Sheriff.
But having said that, where is your smartass remark for those who are singing Detroit's praises just as loudly?

There is a difference. The people singing Detroit's praises are essentially saying what is good about Detroit. People like the poster I responded to are essentially saying OC is awesome and Detroit sucks. Subtle but important difference. Plus the poster I was responding to pretty much jumps in every thread about where to live emphatically stating that there is very little, if any viable place to live in Detroit. The non-sense gets really old.

Hopefully, one day I'll work really hard, save my pennies and be able to afford to move out of Detroit into the paradise that is OC. Granted that's wishful thinking since it is clear that anyone in Detroit is either too poor and ignorant to move out or is a naive hipster.

[ndavies]

I wouldn't set your heart on living in the city. You'll be moving to the suburbs shortly after your wife and children get here. Your wife won't tolerate the lack of personal safety and the minimal ammenities found in the city. The city of Detroit is not like any first world city you've ever been to.

There's a reason most of the hipsters move out of the city as soon as they have children.

Also plan on needing 2 cars. Public transit is virtually non existent in southeastern michigan.

[davewindsor]

I wouldn't set your heart on living in the city. You'll be moving to the suburbs shortly after your wife and children get here. Your wife won't tolerate the lack of personal safety and the minimal ammenities found in the city. The city of Detroit is not like any first world city you've ever been to.

There's a reason most of the hipsters move out of the city as soon as they have children.

Also plan on needing 2 cars. Public transit is virtually non existent in southeastern michigan.

Well, I'm sure the city will ever become a first world city after comments like that. If he takes a $100K a year job in the city as an engineer and lives here, an extra grand goes into the city coffers from income tax, he occupies an otherwise empty property that pays taxes to the city instead of going to tax sale, he spends money on local businesses that all contribute to raising the wealth of the city. Heck, he may even decide to stay here and buy an empty historical mansion and fix it up instead of it becoming another parking lot.

Thanks for being a part of the problem.

[Bham1982]

Thanks for being a part of the problem.

No one is going to move anywhere based on a random internet post. Folks are offering their opinions, nothing more. Sorry if you don't like folks' observations.

If the poster decides to live in Detroit, good for him.

[Lowell]

Välkommen to Detroit and the forum!

At the very least you will feel at home with our Detroit Red Wings hockey team with its present and past core of Swedish superstar players. I take a tiny share of the pride in this as my grandmother came from Skåne.

For bikeable distance living there are three neighborhoods near downtown to consider, the cultural center / midtown area, Corktown and Lafayette Park. The first has great creative assets -- museums, libraries, theaters, the symphony, art galleries and the university. However there are not a lot of houses available if that is what you are looking for. Corktown,adjacent to downtown on the westside, has more of those and a good community structure, but it weaker on the shops and cafe side. Lafayette Park has good townhouses and great location. In addition to the above mentioned Chrysler public school, it is home to the excellent Friends School, private however so there is tuition.

Finally if you get the urge for some things Swedish you can shoot out Grand River to the Swedish Club in Farmington http://www.swedishclub.net/

[Zackdog]

With your two young sons, I feel you should consider Oakland County as well or perhaps the Grosse Pointes. Royal Oak, Berkley, Pleasant Ridge, & Birmingham are all nice with good schools and family oriented neighborhoods. While biking to work is always fun, our changing seasons and hourly weather changes makes riding a bike to work impractical for much of the year. If anything, rent in one of those neighborhoods and get to know the city for a year before planting down some roots. Unless you go to sporting or cultural events, everything you do will be done in the suburbs.

[swingline]

Unless you go to sporting or cultural events, everything you do will be done in the suburbs.

Wow. What an amazingly untrue and uninformed statement.

[Zackdog]

And what exactly would a person with 2 small children do in Detroit if they weren't attending a sporting or cultural event? Riverwalk? Not every day and not from October thru April. Out to eat? Once in awhile but gets expensive with 2 small kids. Biking? Where? In the street? The Zoo is in the suburbs. The Auto Show? That's only once a year. Shopping for kids clothes? Suburbs. Movies? Ren Cen in 35 year old theaters or the suburbs? Dentist? Suburbs. Doctor? Detroit Receiving? Nope, suburbs. After school activities? Right. Will they be able to park their car in the street and still have it be there and in the same condition the next morning? Will they feel safe? What if they need EMS? Or the Police for that matter? In the suburbs they're at your door in 5 minutes. In Detroit you're lucky they show up at all. Maybe you should show them that map that was in the Free Press a week or so ago that showed where the 3300 murders took place over the last 10 years - looked VERY spread out throughout the entire city to me. No neighborhood was immune unless it was mostly abandoned like by the old Tiger Stadium area or Del Ray. Littering is everywhere. Homeless are everywhere.

So what is untrue and uninformed?

[swingline]

And what exactly would a person with 2 small children do in Detroit if they weren't attending a sporting or cultural event? Riverwalk? Not every day and not from October thru April. Out to eat? Once in awhile but gets expensive with 2 small kids. Biking? Where? In the street? The Zoo is in the suburbs. The Auto Show? That's only once a year. Shopping for kids clothes? Suburbs. Movies? Ren Cen in 35 year old theaters or the suburbs? Dentist? Suburbs. Doctor? Detroit Receiving? Nope, suburbs. After school activities? Right. Will they be able to park their car in the street and still have it be there and in the same condition the next morning? Will they feel safe? What if they need EMS? Or the Police for that matter? In the suburbs they're at your door in 5 minutes. In Detroit you're lucky they show up at all. Maybe you should show them that map that was in the Free Press a week or so ago that showed where the 3300 murders took place over the last 10 years - looked VERY spread out throughout the entire city to me. No neighborhood was immune unless it was mostly abandoned like by the old Tiger Stadium area or Del Ray. Littering is everywhere. Homeless are everywhere.

So what is untrue and uninformed?

Hmmm Zackdog. With all the red herrings and strawman arguments in that post, it is hard to know where to start.

Actually, the attitude underlying your belief that it is impossible to raise small children in Detroit is pretty offensive. From your post it is clear that you believe that it would not be prudent for a good parent in Detroit to allow their child to venture outside and, say, play with the neighbor kids like a suburban parent might. Because, you know, there really aren't any "Detroit" kids that a good parent would want their child playing with. That's why kids' activities for Detroit parents are limited to the event-type destinations [[zoo, auto show) you mentioned, right? Otherwise, you better stay inside and hunker down, right?

Oh yeah, and that bike riding point that you made is a good one too because even though the city has all those sidewalks that many of the suburbs lack, all of them without exception are littered with needles and condoms and the like, and a good parent can't have their kid encountering that. There's all that imminent danger constantly present in Detroit . Besides, the bike will get stolen immediately anyway. All of the "Detroit" kids that have bikes must have stolen them, right?

I have no idea whether you have ever raised a family in Detroit, but your arrogant dismissal of the possibility belies what countless families I personally know, including obviously mine, have experienced. [[And I'm referring to the present, not the Leave it to Beaver era.) I don't sport rose colored glasses either. I'm perfectly aware of the challenges and shortcomings of Detroit. Crime occurs far too often. A trip to the suburbs is too often necessary for retail needs. Fortunately, my family doesn't spend that much time buying shit. You know, it's not that much of a hardship to venture out to the Best Buy in suburbs every five years or so to buy a TV or a computer. Actually, I bought my last computer at the Staples in Detroit. [[Yes, there is one on E. Jefferson.)

Yes, the public schools are a problem. No kidding. But there are some excellent private and parochial school options in Detroit. Families don't have to go to the suburbs. But I'm the first to admit that if a family can't afford or is not interested in a private school education, choices in Detroit are extremely limited. But your "untrue and uninformed" post wasn't limited to this single issue.

Your point about the movies. Yes, there's no 25 screen multiplex in the city. And it would be nice to have more movie options in the city. But despite your disdain for the renovated facility at the Ren Cen, my kids have been dropped off there many times [[without the need for a tag-along adult when they got old enough) to see a flick. And then after the movie, they and their friends [[again without the helicopter parent) have enjoyed the non-suburban experience of actually using their feet to walk to Greektown to get some ice cream or pizza.

Doctor and dentist are south of Eight Mile too. And guess what, I haven't encountered a gunshot victim in my doctor's waiting room yet. Another thing, just so you know, last I checked, the city also had a couple of hospital choices other than Detroit Receiving [[with its world class Level I trauma center).

Zackdog, everybody in this region is aware of Detroit's serious shortcomings, but your conclusion that the city is completely unlivable and that families have to escape to the suburbs for all of their everyday needs and activities is plainly "untrue and uninformed." You contribute to the region's problems when you perpetuate your misguided myths.

[Bham1982]

Actually, the attitude underlying your belief that it is impossible to raise small children in Detroit is pretty offensive.

No one has said or even implied this.

Obviously one can successfully/happily raise small children anywhere. There are examples of wonderful, thriving families from Highland Park to Bloomfield Hills.

I thought the thread was centered arround choosing "the best" areas for the circumstances described.

Yes, one can be happy in both in Inkster and in Birmingham, but, assuming one has options, it isn't unreasonable to consider one better than the other.

[Bham1982]

Oh yeah, and that bike riding point that you made is a good one too because even though the city has all those sidewalks that many of the suburbs lack,

It's true that the city has almost 100% sidewalk coverage, but IMO it's a bit misleading. Even forgetting about their relative condition, the presence of sidewalks doesn't necessarily imply walkability.

Example- SW Detroit has 100% sidewalks, is relatively dense, and has lots of street-level retail. But it isn't remotely pedestrian-friendly, IMO. I have explored SW Detroit by foot, and I won't do it any longer. I would rather try to walk through Troy.

SW Detroit homes are built right to the street, and folks chain their dogs to the front gate. The dogs can reach the sidewalk and bite pedestrians. There are also numerous strays, and they are aggressive.

In addition, SW Detroit homes don't have driveways. Folks park on the street or turn their back yards into driveways [[through the alley). This means that you're blocked from walking in the street, which forces you to encounter the dogs and [[often unruly) folks hanging out on their stoops. There is also lots of wild moped/scooter riding directly on the sidewalk.

Then add in the frequent burned out/abandoned homes, obvious gang activity, lack of working street lights, no police presence, and you don't have a pleasant, safe or convenient pedestrian environment, especially for ladies or children.