Source
r/Detroit•
SecretOvercat

Possibly moving!

Moving to Detroit

Hello everyone. I'm possibly moving to the Detroit area from Texas in a year or two. It's dependent mainly on how much money I manage to save. My primary reasons are to be closer to friends and because I want to move to a place with longer winters and cooler weather.

  1. What do you most enjoy about Detroit?
  2. What are some potential pitfalls and drawbacks that someone thinking about moving into the city should know about before making the decision?
  3. How does suburban life measure up against city life there?
  4. I'm accustomed to living out in the country with little to no neighbors. Are there countryside-ish areas that aren't too far from basic city conveniences like grocery stores and restaurants?

Thanks in advance!

Posted Jun 18, 2022, 6:15 PM UTC

1014
TooMuchShantaeFarmington•

  1. Seasons are fun especially during fall and winter for the ice skating, zoo lights, and cider mills

  2. Car insurance will be a bitch compared to Texas

  3. Suburbs have it easier compared to the city. Better schools, closer to big box stores, lower crime

  4. I think the closest thing that fits ur bill are exurbs in the metro. Highland twp, lake Orion, Oxford, Belleville and other similar to it.

11
Goat_PeterDownriver•

Huron Charter Township and Flat Rock are options as well.

4
TheBimpoFormer Detroiter•

Watch out for the flight patterns.

1
SecretOvercatOP•

Thanks! These could be really nice and in line with what I'm looking for.

1
SecretOvercatOP•

Thanks for the insights, especially on #4. I'll check those out.

2
Simpletin_•

Detroit/The metro Detroit area is a very nice place to live I myself live in downtown Detroit and there are many things to do and see like parks, theaters, shops, a river walk, and an amazing island national park. Some draw backs of the city are noise(in some areas) and as you probably heard crime (sadly) but things are really improving here :D! Also just outside of the metro area there are some more kind of rural areas with amenities just as you said.

4
SecretOvercatOP•

Yeah, I've heard about the crime. It's definitely a concern but every city has good areas and bad areas. I imagine a little research will give a good idea as to which parts of town to avoid, and if I can manage to land in a rural part, awesome.

2
TheBimpoFormer Detroiter•

Where you live really depends on where work is. There are more rural areas, but they could be very far from work. The metro area is massive. Not quite Dallas or Houston, but approaching that scale. There’s around 6 million people here.

5
hardyth•

Houstonian since 2018 - I grew up in the suburbs of Detroit, went to school in GR, moved to Boston from 2012-2018, haven't lived in the state in a decade. Planning on moving back to the city proper now that I work remote. Single guy, 33, very excited how the city's evolved.

3
Data_Male•
  1. Most people are super nice and genuine, whether you're a stranger or long-time friend. Income to cost of living ratio is one of the best in the country
  2. I'd say the biggest pitfall is the lack of infrastructure. Public transit is all but non-existant and the roads are in disrepair. If you want to live car-free you will have to live downtown or in another downtown of a suburb like Dearborn, Royal Oak, or Ann Arbor
  3. You have the whole gambit. Much of Detroit is still blighted but a few neighborhoods and downtown are up and coming urban centers now. You also have a large number of working class "streetcar suburbs" right next to the city, a bunch of newer suburbs with mcmansions, and even still undeveloped semi-rural areas
  4. There are some semi-rural areas near Detroit. I'd try looking into Romulus, Huron, Belleville, New Boston, and Ypsilanti. You will definitely need a car in these areas
2
SecretOvercatOP•

Thanks for the info. The semi-rural recommendations in particular are good, as is the car related stuff. I'm not supposed to drive for medical reasons so that's a big thing.

1
[deleted]•

[removed]

1
PheebsPlaysKeys•

Detroit is a good city that has its issues, but people won’t bother you for the most part. I’ve lived and worked in the city for 6 years from downtown to 6/7 mile mostly west side and never been robbed, only auto theft. My catalytic converter has been stolen twice and my AC compressor too, but honestly the violent crime gets blown outta proportion. People will tell you to stay away from certain neighborhoods like Brightmoor but we all drive through there, and to me it’s heartbreaking more than anything that absolutely 0 attention or money has been put into the non-gentrified neighborhoods with very few exceptions.

1
SecretOvercatOP•

Thanks for the info. My family has had some experience with Oak Cliff in Dallas, which has a similar reputation as Detroit. It was intimidating at first glance but as long as it was daytime just driving through was fine.

0