[detshen]

Check out this link, it has great info on different neighborhoods in the city. The neighborhood section includes all the areas I have mentioned.

Model D - A Day in the Life of Southwest Detroit

[Violetdream]

I lived in Garden City for the past 7 years. I don't like it here at all. It is run down, shabby, & the school district is a joke....I have plenty experience dealing with the special education department, & for years they dismissed my concerns about my oldest. I got fed up, & had him get an independent evaluation & he was diagnosed with asperger's. He got very behind, & I'm still steaming that they just didn't care enough about a student failing to help guide us. I would never suggest this town to a family with children, but since you are single, maybe you can see beyond the dumpiness of this place & enjoy it...who knows.

I would travel through some towns & make the decision. Garden City, IMHO, is a small, ugly town that pales greatly in comparison with other places in SE Michigan.

[cardwellave]

I can certainly see where you come off with those views. There are some school districst that are a lot better. However, Garden City schools are better than Dearborn Heights and probably Dearborn (overrated schools). It's also evident that you're not happy in Michigan to begin with (Your Location: Miserable in Michigan) and this probably means you dislike where you live and maybe someone who wants to move here would like it.

I know I enjoy Garden City, and I know a lot of others that like it. It's the closest downtown, small knit older community in my area and I think it is a very nice place with a lot of potential. I wouldn't call it dumpy though. It's about the same as any of the other communities around here, Westland, Dearborn Heights, and better than Inkster or Wayne.

Like I've said maybe you can take some time off work and spend some time in SE Michigan and check out all these communities. Form your own opinions.

[detshen]

Originally Posted by jackie75

I lived in Garden City for the past 7 years. I don't like it here at all. It is run down, shabby, & the school district is a joke....I have plenty experience dealing with the special education department, & for years they dismissed my concerns about my oldest. I got fed up, & had him get an independent evaluation & he was diagnosed with asperger's. He got very behind, & I'm still steaming that they just didn't care enough about a student failing to help guide us. I would never suggest this town to a family with children, but since you are single, maybe you can see beyond the dumpiness of this place & enjoy it...who knows.

I would travel through some towns & make the decision. Garden City, IMHO, is a small, ugly town that pales greatly in comparison with other places in SE Michigan.

I'm sorry you had such a hard time getting your son the help he needed. I really don't know anything about the school system.

I wouldn't call Garden City Dumpy, it seems like an average middle class suburb, it's clean and the houses well cared for from what I can tell. I prefer the city. I don't have kids so the suburbs don't fit my lifestyle, but I wouldn't hate living there.

[cardwellave]

I went to the Garden City Historical Museum on Merriman today. Got a very good tour from a man born and raised in Garden City and still living there. It was VERY interesting to see old videos, artifacts, pictures, land plots, etc. My mom was very surprised at how much history the city has. She has lived in nearby Dearborn Heights all her life. And it was a pleasant surprise to come home down Ford Road and see the old Mattress Store which had been vacant for years have the sign for the new Pizza Buffet that it will open as soon. Great to see downtown in motion!

[babigyrl5]

Originally Posted by Acupunk

Check out this link, it has great info on different neighborhoods in the city. The neighborhood section includes all the areas I have mentioned.

Model D - A Day in the Life of Southwest Detroit

awesome link, I enjoyed it so much (cardwellave I didnt forget about your pics, I wont be home till later tonight, when i click on the link it is blocked for "entertainment" reasons)
New question that the link made me think of- I love flea markets and the link talked about one, are there many flea markets or a few within a 40 minute drive? Thats how far I have to drive to a flea market in Cincinnati but its totally worth it! Also can anyone recommend a good church? When I come to check out apartments I will only have 2 days but finding a new church home is important to me. Though Im Lutheran, denomination doesnt matter- I attend an AME church in Cincinnati. So if you like your church or heard of a good one- tell me about it please!

[nycjefftrain]

cardwell- The country needs more like you to be interested in the things that other people would cite as "useless facts". It makes you much more interesting of an individual. I do have a GC question for you....When I was about 12, my dad bought a b-day cake for me from the Garden City Bakery and to this day it was one of the best cakes I've ever tasted. The place was on Ford Rd just west of Middlebelt...is it still there?? If so, I'm going to stop by next time I'm in town...

[detshen]

Originally Posted by nycjefftrain

cardwell- The country needs more like you to be interested in the things that other people would cite as "useless facts". It makes you much more interesting of an individual. I do have a GC question for you....When I was about 12, my dad bought a b-day cake for me from the Garden City Bakery and to this day it was one of the best cakes I've ever tasted. The place was on Ford Rd just west of Middlebelt...is it still there?? If so, I'm going to stop by next time I'm in town...

Michigan needs more people like you, it's such a refreshing change from all the negative depressing posts about Michigan.

[cardwellave]

Babigyrl, the first flea market I think of is the Gibraltar Trade Center in Taylor and Mt. Clemens (Taylor being closer, about 30 minutes or less from Garden City area. The Mt. Clemens one would probably be about the same from the Ferndale area). They have HUGE weekend markets. GIBRALTAR TRADE CENTER - The Weekend Public Markets

I am not real sure about the churches, but there are lot within the city and near it. I've heard good things about St. Rafael Church on Merriman north of Ford. It is Catholic.

Maybe when you come you can look at Ferndale, GC, and SW Detroit, or wherever you are interested, real quickly just to get an idea of which you like the best. Worst case scenario, you find an apartment, then you can look around more since you aren't tied down by a mortgage.

nycjeff- Thank you for your words! I don't believe that bakery is there anymore. The only things on Ford west of Middlebelt on the north side now are....Andrew's Drugs, Hershey's shoes, a few vacant storefronts, a Filipino restaurant, an oriental store, a Liberty Tax place, an "adult novelties" store and then Kmart, followed by a Re-Max, a car dealer, a strip mall and then you're to Henry Ruff. The south side has the gas station, a Rite aid, Boland florist, Barsamian Dentistry, the Golden Feather, a tanning place, and a gigantic dollar store, a Payless, a Sherwin Williams, Jet's Pizza in a strip mall, I forget what else, CVS, Arby's, Tim Horton's, Leon's, Viking Building Supply, then Henry Ruff.

[detshen]

Originally Posted by babigyrl5

awesome link, I enjoyed it so much (cardwellave I didnt forget about your pics, I wont be home till later tonight, when i click on the link it is blocked for "entertainment" reasons)
New question that the link made me think of- I love flea markets and the link talked about one, are there many flea markets or a few within a 40 minute drive? Thats how far I have to drive to a flea market in Cincinnati but its totally worth it! Also can anyone recommend a good church? When I come to check out apartments I will only have 2 days but finding a new church home is important to me. Though Im Lutheran, denomination doesnt matter- I attend an AME church in Cincinnati. So if you like your church or heard of a good one- tell me about it please!

My boyfriends mom loves flee markets too. She goes to a lot of them in the Garden City area, I'll ask her what her favorites are. I think there must be alot because it's her favorite weekend activity.

I love the Northwest Unitarian Church in Southfield, Unitarians accept all religions so the main teachings are on being a good person and accepting all people as equals rather than specific religious teachings. I don't know if that's what you are looking for but the people are so nice.

The Northwest UU church has a majority white members, but one of the black members was talking about how she preferred anyway because the people were so great and she just happened to feel at home there. I have also been to the First Unitarian church in midtown and really liked it, but I haven't been there in years.