The Best, The Worst, Lets Cut To The Chase.....

[Detroitej72]

I would second the sentiments about East English Village, as it's one of the more beautiful areas, and shopping is quite close.

A few more areas to consider are both Palmer Woods and Sherwood Forest which have great housing stock, private security patrols, safe, very walkable and close to the shops in RO and Ferndale.

[EastsideAl]

If your friends are coming from Boston they will inevitably be disappointed by Detroit's streetlife and "walkability." That really isn't a knock on Detroit per se, but a reflection of the fact that midwestern cities were just built differently and in a different time than eastern ones, and with the exception of Chicago most of them developed without the concentrated urbanism of those older eastern cities.

So I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that they would probably be happiest in a neighborhood closer to the central city. Maybe Woodbridge, something midtownish or downtown [[better if apartments are acceptable to them), or even Lafayette Park.