Reviews & Comments
Detroit, MI
A different experience. Not necessarily a good one -
12/7/2006I've lived in and around Detroit for 30 yrs. It's not so good. There are a lot(950,000) of poor people in the city. Not much business growth. Worst foreclosue rate. #2 fattest people in America. Probably some of the most unhealthy too. That includes me. Doh! The weather is not good. Gray a lot. Not many nice parks. Not a lot of people walking around. Especially for a city of 900,000+ people. There is not a single Target or major Dept store anywhere in the city limits of Detroit. They probably don't want any part of it. Auto business are shrinking. Detroit doesn't have anything else to fall back on. Can't even forsee what it would be. I think they should legalize sports gambling and possibly even legalize mary jane. It's about all they can do. At least it would become somewhat of a destination for those reasons. Otherwise what else does it offer over any other major city? There is no riverfront development although it's been on the river for 300 years! Yeah, a slab of concrete doesn't count. They also cut the police force in half. Try getting a response if you live in Detroit. I would also be willing to bet Detroit has the highest number of people who don't pay their property taxes. Also there is so much baron and abaondoned land in the city. They need to downsize. But nobody want to buy any of it. Yet. Here's a funny. When they opened up the Hard Rock Cafe it was like the moon landing or something. And recently I've even heard rumors that Hard Rock is going to leave... That could just be rumor though but I wouldn't be surprised. There is one CVS store downtown but you better hurry because it closes at 6... After that you gotta drive a ways to get basic necessities. Oh there is no grocery store downtown either. At all.
Here's some positives:
Downtown is better than the outerlying neighborhoods and city. More to do and looks better. Good selection of bars and restaurants. Just not the chain flashy type. Decent casinos. But still no free drinks and the buffets are still expensive IMHO. There are bums but not as many as I saw in San Fran. But that's probably because there's usually really no one to haggle. There is some cool architecture and history. Comerica Park is one of the best ball parks in America IMHO. I've been to a few. For about 2 months June~July the weather is actually pretty nice. Ever since the Super Bowl in 2006 it's has perked up a bit. Downtown that is. Detroit offers a unique experience but one you'll probably not feel the need to repe
Grosse Pointe Park, MI
GROSSE POINTE CITY NOT PARK -
12/5/2006I live in Grosse Pointe City which often get's lumped in as Grosse Pointe Park. Kind of a difference but not a big one. GP Park has a lot of rentals and borders more on Detroit but it also does have some large nice expensive houses. Anyway Grosse Pointe City, Park, Woods, Farms and Shores are all considered "The Pointes". It's a very asthetic place to live. The neighborhoods are very nice and the schools are great. There are lots of large trees and in the summer it's a great place to walk around. A lot of resident's take care of their houses which are all different tudor style houses. It's a family oriented area. Also GP borders Lake St. Clair and if you're a boater that's really nice in the summer. But there are no beaches for swimming.
Now the bad part:
Grosse pointe borders Detroit which IMHO is the GHETTO NUCLEUS. They say Detroit's suburbs are the most segregated in America. And seeing how nice Grosse Pointe is knowing how close Detroit is is kind of amazing. There are actually fences blocking off streets that at one time were open. Being so close to Detroit stifles GP from bringing in any good retail and restaurants. I think because their afraid all the Detroit riff raff will come in and frequent it. I don't blame them but all that does is force GP'ers to drive 20 or 30 miles to suburbs like Troy or Rochester to go to places like Trader Joes or a NICE target or P.F. Changs. Also GP has a lot of old residents. Which makes it less likely for change.
All in all if you have to live in the Detroit Area GP offers a really asthetic neighborhoody experience you will not get in any other suburb in Detroit. It is kind of expensive though.
on a side note I sometimes feel bad always dogging Detroit but hey, I wouldn't if it wasn't such a pit. I'm rooting for Detroit to come back but it's not looking good. Especially with all the Auto companies going belly up. None of the citizens have much education or willpower. Everyone always seems to say they need help. Why can't they help themselves? I mean how much effort does it take to pick up the trash from around your house. or get a gallon of paint or cut your grass or not rob somebody...
They need some good role models. Not T.I. or 3-6 mafia.