Royal Oak or Ann Arbor

[jeanniepep]

I think the OP is a bi-racial individual, not part of a bi-racial couple.

But, I also think nobody in Ferndale really tends to notice or care that much about race.

[sajae90]

Originally Posted by electric_lady

Nobody in Ferndale would care if you are a bi-racial couple. They probably wouldn't even notice. Just MHO.

NOOOOO LOL I was saying that I was bi-racial, not that I'm in a bi-racial relationship!

[sajae90]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

Diversity is not limited to black and white. True diversity is a mix of Black, white, Asian, Hispanic, middle eastern, American Indian, (what else is there?). Many of these groups are recorded as "white" in census data. I am not sure how bi-racial people are counted in the census. Maybe they put them half in each category. Further, you are probably looking at 2000 census data. Things may have changed since 2000. I will leave it for the people who live there to tell you, but I think that the population may have become more mixed since 2000.

However in general, in this area, most places are pretty segregated. I see a few places that seem to be fairly evenly mixed between black and white (River Rouge and Ecorse for example) but those are not places that you would want to live. What you apparently want to avoid is some of the outlying suburbs where there are essentially no black people at all. For example, in our community of about 12,000, there are two biracial families and one black family that i am aware of. They are lost amongst a sea of "Whites" This is apparently what you are trying to avoid. It is hard to avoid. S.E. Michigan is pretty segregated, even amongst so called whites. Dearborn is mostly middle eastern people. Hispanics tend to concentrate in SouthWest Detroit, especially near the "Mexican Villiage" There are certain communities in north Oakland county where Korean people tend to congregate. Detroit is almsot entirely black as are certain suburbs (Inkster for example). People of Slavic and Polish descent seem to be concentrated downriver (if your last name does not have a dozen silent consonants, you may not fit in). I do not think that any group tries to make others unwelcome, it is just that they have congregate by background and continue to do so. People of other backgrounds do not always feel comfortable so except for a few pioneers, they do not go there.

Royal Oak and especially Ferndale do not seem to be one of those places. I am not aware to any prevailing cultural background. Further, their proximity to Detroit provides for a good mix of races, even if more black people live on t he Detroit side of the line. Still the business customers and city events seem to be fairly decently mixed. It is nowhere close to a 50/50 mix, but it is a better mix than in a lot of other places. Certainly more than 2%.

Ann Arbor is more mixed, but the surrounding suburbs are mostly white.

Oh okay THANKS a lot...your info is very useful. I feel better now about Royal Oak AND ferndale. Both are pretty nice although royal oak has the better downtown area. There are a couple of events I'm going to in Royal Oak (Ocktoberfest) to see how I would like it. Thanks

[hsxeric]

Both nice towns. Ann Arbor is more diverse, but that also brings the issue of having to put up with frat boys with too much testosterone. If you want a more chill area that still has fun and excitement but isn't a "college town," I'd go with Royal Oak. It's close to Ferndale, which is another cool area you might want to look into. It's a little more diverse and only a few miles from Mid and Downtown Detroit.