Moving to Detroit Area! Help?
 

Hi all,

I'm set to graduate from Purdue this May and I start working at Ford Motor Company in Dearborn on June 3rd.

I'll be moving to somewhere around that area and was wondering if you could give me any opinion on what might be a good place.

Currently I'm considering Livonia pretty extensively as I've heard good things about the area. I'm not choosing Dearborn because I felt like it was still a little bit closer to Detroit than I'd like to be (in that it felt a little cramped/busier).

I'm basically looking for a quieter area, with safety being a priority. Given that I have an FR-S on the way (and i'm working at Ford! what a traitor!), I'd like to move somewhere that I could maybe rent a house instead of an apartment (I have a burning desire for a garage).

Anyway, let me know what you guys think and/or have learned living in the area. It's more than appreciated!

Thanks!

A few nice areas if your not afraid of a longer commute and working in Detroit it's gonna happen if you want safety. I would kill at Bloomfield hills, Farmington hills south Lyon, or near in the direction of bad ax. Really anywhere a little ways outside the city is fine.

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Congrats on graduating and getting a great job!

IMO, Livonia sucks; there's no culture and the roads are pretty much the worst in the entire metro, totally not conducive to owning a fun car. I'd give Dearborn another shot as it has a big variety and is generally much better. Since you like more rural, try looking "downriver" [like Wyandotte, or even Brownstown]. They're quieter while still be reasonably close to Dearborn. You'll want to look carefully at Google Traffic to figure out your commute and how it's going to be when you're going to and from work, as it can range from blissful to frustrating just depending on which direction you're travelling.

Curiously, the closer you get to actual downtown Detroit, the quieter it is, since nobody lives there! The only snags are you'd have to pay city income tax and deal with the rather convoluted/nonsensical road layouts. There's a fringe of ghetto that's worth avoiding, it's kind of a halo of ghetto around downtown Detroit, where all the low income folk have been pushed out by wealthy hipsters. There are no notable hipsters downriver or in Dearborn, FYI.


All of those locations are great for the golden parachute executives that don't need to actually be in the office, but struggling through the cross-town traffic from there to Dearborn everyday would have me gouging my eyes out with a red hot turbo manifold.

I have a feeling you gonna get your Japanese car scratched in Detroit ;)

:slap: Spoken by someone with zero experience or knowledge on where cars are built. The only idiots that are that narrow here are the UAW sheep.

Yeah I'd definitely want to keep my commute down to less than 30 mins if possible. I realize I might be putting too many constraints in to make my dream location make sense.

I'm glad to know my car won't get keyed, though at Ford they do have separate parking for domestic/foreign cars. I was considering purchasing an older Fusion and driving that to work and back so I wouldn't have to risk it ... and look like I was brand loyal.

Fyi, at the interview I down right asked them "Do I have to drive a Ford?" They looked a little confused as to why I couldn't "find anything that would suit your needs in Ford's lineup" :lol:

Thanks for the input so far. It looks like southwest is the direction to go for quickest access to rural area. I guess I don't need it to be rural per se, but at some point in the future I want to invest in a barn-turned-garage.

hmm... last time i checked FRS was built in Japan?

It's been so long since I lived in Michigan I can't give you an exact answer because of the changes that take place over time. As beautiful as Farmington, Blomfield, etc. are they're much too far for a daily commute. I would take a pair of dividers and draw a circle around your job site perhaps 1/2 hour out or less and concentrate on finding the nicest you can in that circle. Google will give you a lot of answers.

I worked at GM and drove a golf to work everyday than I bought a Ford no one ever said a thing to me about it. And I hear that Ford has a separate lot but probably a rumor like GM charging to park if your driving something they don't build. I never paid to park there nor did any of my family that worked there.

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Yeah I forgot how far away it was from down town I considered most if the town around Detroit still Detroit when I lived there.

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I'm still pretty new to the Detroit area myself, but I'll offer some recommendations because I've been researching the "where to live" question for a long time now. I'm still working on it as my wife is searching for a job and when she finds one we'll relocate to a central point.


My recommendation is Plymouth. Second place would be Canton.

I'd stay as far from downtown Detroit as possible and still stay within a comfortable commute. Plymouth and Canton should be within 30 minutes just about every day.. maybe an exception if really bad accident or bad weather snarles up the highways.

They are suburbs of Detroit, but as you say.. a little quieter, much safer, and more likely to find a decent house to rent. They have lots of shopping, restaurants, etc.. Plymouth is supposed to have a fantastic downtown area.

Not that you care too much, but both areas also have great schools and city services.

As Ryephile says, i've heard good things about "downriver", but I've never researched them fully since I work in the northern suburbs.

Just my $.02

Canton and Plymouth are both good suggestions, and probably your best bets for commute/location compromise.

I'd also add Novi and Walled Lake, but your drive would be quite a bit longer than Canton or Plymouth.

As far as the parking/driving non-GM/Ford cars to GM/Ford sites... you may get heckled, almost exclusively from UAW (most other people just don't care, or at least do so jokingly) and you don't get charged or towed or anything, but the lots are typically a further walk and if you park in the wrong lot or illegally you'll typically get an annoying sticker on your window that is designed to be a real PITA to remove.

Congrats on your graduation and your new job... I'd check out one of those Focus ST's before you decide for sure :thumbsup:

Thanks! I actually /did/ test drive the Focus ST. Too much technology involved for my comforts. Also I didnt notice those extra 60 horses as much as I'd have liked. Overall though a great car in and of itself.


I've also heard good things about Plymouth (supposedly a nice downtown area during Christmas time). It's been another place I've been looking at. I think either way I'll probably try to get in somewhere with a shorter initial lease so that I can learn the area myself before committing too seriously.

Please keep the suggestions coming! This is the stuff I was looking for! :popcorn:

You could tell everyone you're waiting for the Fiesta ST to drop. Ford has been swearing up and down they're bringing the Fiesta ST for literally years now; it's been on the show circuit for over 2 years with no concrete info. So bummed.

As for living advice, definitely try to get an apartment. The housing market is SO volatile that even a foreclosure [assuming you have the time and skills to renovate] is a risky investment. Plus, maintaining a house is a guaranteed financial sinkhole and responsibility buzzkill. You can't tell I'm bitter, LOL!