Hi All,

We need help figuring out what parts of Detroit we should move to.

Detroit has a lot of supporters and a lot of nay-sayers.

Some people offering advice on it are pretty clearly just afraid of big cities [[or people who don’t look like them!), and others are 20-somethings who think being held up at gun-point just makes for a great story.

We’re in between, and we’re having trouble figuring out what the deal is with Detroit, where we’re moving this summer, though we have never visited. Now when I say “safe” I understand that this is partly a matter of luck, acting smart, and being reasonable like any other city, but we know that what part of a city you live in makes a difference.

We’ve lived in Philadelphia [[West Philly, Manayunk, South Philly, Center City) and for the last 7 years in Oakland California [[Piedmont Ave/Temescal, Emeryville) so we’re pretty comfortable with urban life. We like urban life. We don’t mind being hassled for change or seeing a little graffiti. We don’t leave valuables in our car [[which isn’t a brand new Lexus) or take walks at 3AM, and we lock our windows; no big deal.

What we’re concerned about is getting shot, mugged, home-invaded, or other crimes that are way beyond “nuisance.”

So, really, what’s the deal? What parts of Detroit should we consider? We want to be near some cafes and bars and restaurants and in a diverse area, but we also have a 1 year old so safety is really key. We’ve heard that Corktown, Midtown, and Downtown are all pretty safe, and sometimes the same for Hamtramck, Woodbridge, and New Center. Would you move your young family there?

Why are some of the houses [[like in Hamtramck for instance) so darn cheap? Is it just a supply/demand thing or are the $30,000 houses only in neighborhoods you really can’t drive through without asking to be target practice?

And are the burbs that much better? We’ve also been looking at Plymouth, Royal Oak, Ferndale, and maybe as far as Ann Arbor for a nice town-center kind of suburb where you can walk to some things.

We’d really appreciate any guidance, especially from anyone who’s also familiar with Philadelphia or Oakland [[California) and can give us neighborhood-to-neighborhood comparisons.

Looking forward to joining you all in Detroit!

JC