[mochic1]

I don't know of anything specific off the top of my head, but my boyfriend might. One thought is of course, the MetroTimes classified section. Look around the area of the Book-Cadillac (Washington Ave.), Wayne State, or I have heard the Eastern Market area has some cool lofts. In doing a little research, I also thought this entry was kind of interesting....Categoryetroit culture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia > Feel free to contact us when you get close to making your decision.

Good luck!

[livstrong]

Here are a few more questions then:

Whats the mountain biking scene like in the Detroit/Ann Arbor area?
Are there any cycling trails in Detroit?
What about running trail parks?
Is the Riverfront one of the better places to go for this?

[Coldjensens]

No mountains, not even many hills really. Maybe in the U.P.

You can ride a mountain bike on dirt trails in many of the parks, but there is nothing like that in the cities. Avoid riding in the backwoods in state parks during hunting season. Some nutso hunters will shoot anything that moves. Your best bet for hills is probably on the west side of the state and in the UP. Check the Boyne mountain website and see if they have mountain biking in the summer.

Ann arbor is a decent city to ride a bike around in. In fact, they once had "Green Bikes" Which were a bunch of bikes painted bright green and left laying around the city that anyone could just pick up and use and then leave for someone else. I am not sure that they are still around. They kept getting stolen.

I cannot remember ever having seen a cycling trail in Detroit. A lot of the suburbs have bike trails. There is a very long bike trail that runs along one or more of the freeways. I think that it might be the 275. Some towns replaced old railroad tracks with bike trails. Those trails are really neat, but they are paved.

Rural Areas have dirt roads. It might be fun to ride a mountain bike out there. It was not fun to ride a racing bike on those roads.

Most parks have running/biking trails. Kensington Metropark is my favorite. Hines Park has very long trails. Mabury State park in Northville has some very nice trails through the woods. They used to allow bikes out there. Look up the HCMA website (Huron Clinton Metroparks) for information on a lot of the area parks. None are close to Downtown Detroit. Delhi is close to Ann Arbor, but it is small, mostly a canoe launch point.

I have seen people running along the Riverfront. I have also seen people running on Jefferson. (No - for you negativists, no one was chasing them). I have not seen any bikes in Detroit at all. there is no reason that you could not ride a bike here, but you would have to be very careful of traffic and watch where you went. Some places would not be a good idea for a bike rider. A lot of people run/bike inside the Detroit Athletic Club. It is really nice if you like stationary riding and running.

[Shrewsbury Road]

Let's me tell you, just jump over a couple of freeways to get back and fourth. As for living, well Downtown is setting an example for manhattan. So many fun events. And the night life, go to all those bars and restaurants in greektown or hit the casinos. If you can't enjoy living in the most lively and entertaining place in the metro detroit region than I don't know what to tell you. Really, downtown Detroit has made a comback, just let your buddies take you down there, look around, there still constructing stuff too.

[jasmin1972]

I just had a job as a nurse in Henry Ford Hospital. I live in the UK with my husband and 2kids approx in 6months time I will be moving to Detroit. Please advise on the standard of living,schools and housing market and maybe job for my marine engineer husband.thank you. from williwulf

[Coldjensens]

Which Henry Ford Hospital?


With Kids you will not want to live in the City of Detroit, but there are many many marvelous suburbs. If you are at Henry Ford Wyandotte; then Grosse Ile will probably be your best option. If you are at the downtown Henry Ford, then you may as well consider all of the suburbs within 30-50 miles, depending on your tolerance for commuting. The further out you go, the more spacious, and homey the places get. However there are a lot of places with great schools close in as well. You choices are many. Look around these threads for suggestions. This has been discussed at great length. You have so many great choices that you cna work around the type of living that you prefer. Do you like urban living, rural, small town, suburban sprawl, newer subdivisions, older neighborhoods, historic homes? You get your pick. Other than the difficulty for your husband finding a job you are coming at a great time to buy a house and with no family ties to a particular place, you have many great options.

Jobs are scarce. The economy is generally terrible. It is not easy to get a job, but there are jobs out there. You have to be well qualified, have a good attitude, be persistent and patient. There is a lot of shipping that passes through Detroit. Boating and watersports are very popular here for part of the year. What specifically does yuor husband do? Marine engineering can mean designing boats and ships, buidling boats and ships or operating ships.

Schools in many (most ) of the better suburbs range from very good to excellent. The housing market is amazing. Because the economy is terrible, prices are very very low. If you are nto moving here forever, you may want to rent. It is nearly impossible to sell a house quickly.


One thing that you will ike, Gasoline is $2.33 per US gallon. You will need cars. There is no public transportation to speak of. When you go upnorth for a weekend, you will be amazed. It is incredibly beautiful. You will ikely be stunned.

[prairiestate]

Originally Posted by deslok

I think the whole "dead" big city thing is something you will find in most midwestern cities, big or small. Perhaps it is to a greater degree in Detroit, but go downtown Chicago on a sunday. It is like a ghost town, nothing is open, nobody is around. People are at home relaxing or doing whatever. Perhaps in Detroit they are not relaxing and have just vanished, but I doubt that is the complete case.

Except, of course, for the area between State St. and the lakefront, and the entire area north of the river, which are packed with people 7 days a week. These people are, among other things, shopping on all 7 days.