What are the best suburbs to live in, just outside Detroit?|117513

I will be going to graduate school in downtown Detroit, and I_m wondering what the nicest suburbs to the city are. Ideally I would want to drive less than half an hour to get there from home. I don_t know these areas at all so if anyone can give me details about why one area is better than another in terms of safety, convenience, etc. I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

You might want to check out Ferndale in Oakland County. It borders Detroit at the famed intersection of 8 Mile and Woodward Ave. It features mainly an older housing stock built to house laborers in the 1920s and 30s.

It suffered a bit during the 70_s and 80_s but a hard-core group of loyal Ferndalians hung on to see it rebound in the 1990_s. Once the tonier folks moved into Royal Oak - the artist types were looking for new addresses and they found them in what is now called (somewhat tongue in cheek), _Fabulous Ferndale_.

The crime stats are low to moderate, and I_m sure you can more info about that on the internets. The pluses for Ferndale:
1, 15 - 30 minute commute
2, the woodward bus will take you straight to Wayne
3, you can rent a whole house for 800 bucks
4, small but interesting downtown - sushi, thai, italian, greek, dancing, a alternative movie house where you can drink beer and watch Citizen Kane
5, open minded folk ie, gay friendly if your interested
--
the downers:
-It_s close to Detroit and that - sorry to say - effects your insurance rates and individual safety. Don_t want to make a debate about it, just to state the facts.
-Under utilized park system
- Spotty city services at times
- Political and emotional conflicts between the old-timers that hung tough through the down time and the new comers who_ve just _discovered_ Ferndale.
_...what you mean you don_t like my garden gnomes? go stick that latte in your ear!_
-New openly gay mayor welcomes new thinking, which freaks some of the family-centric folk. Council meetings are always a hit.

All in all, Ferndale is a neat little town that until 1936 or so was called _Urbanrest_ because it was a new suburb built to house those city apartment dwellers who wanted a little house with a backyard to grow some tomatoes and a front porch to watch the world go by.

However, you might want to check what the University has to offer. They have a housing service tailored for grad students and you might find the perfect match of price, location and safety right on campus.

Crime is not that bad on Campus so don_t rule out Detroit. You_ll have your entire life to live in plush green suburbs with pickett fences and crabgrass trouble. Right now, might be to only time in your life when it will make sense for you to live in city.

Don_t miss the experience just because of Detroit_s reputation. You own it to your 80 year-old self to look near campus.

When you_re 80, sipping metamucil pool-side in Boca Roton, you can look back and say, _I was pretty ballsy in my 20s, lived in Detroit ..._

Southgate or Wyandotte.

royal oak or farmington hills

Beverly Hills and Redford and nice suburban areas to live in and there is not much crime at all.

Royal Oak

Southfeild, Redford, Farmington.

Grosse Pointe. They have Village shopping, Woodsy lifestlye, water galore, high standards of living (good schools, clean parks, good police/fire department), and is 15 minutes from DOWNTOWN Detroit.

Also, I wouldn_t rule out some of the nicer areas in the city such as 7 Mile/Livernois and East English Village.

WYANDOTTE!!! We are free from Detroit. We run our own Water, Electric and we have our own Downtown. It is not a far distance from Detroit and you will find alot to do in Wyandotte! We have all the stores and what ever else you may need to live here. Apartments, etc., are easy to find also. If you get the chance, just visit here before you pick the place to live while you are going to school. WE are just South of Detroit and it is easy to get to Detroit from here!!

Well, if you_re looking for the most _rich_ suburbs, I_d say places like Novi, Grosse Pointe, Northville, Bloomfield Hills, etc.

A nice place would be West Dearborn, the people are pretty friendly and the area_s nice. Dearborn is closer to Detroit than the other places I_ve listed, too.