Resident Life in Detroit

Where You Might Want to Live

In the city limits of Detroit, Midtown, Corktown, and Downtown have gotten the most investment of all the neighborhoods and have seen the most gentrification. There are lots of cool places to live, but occupancy rates are quite high. So, you may also want to consider other neighborhoods, including Southwest Detroit, Woodbridge, Hamtramck, the University District, and New Center. There is good access to grocery stores, restaurants, etc. in all of these neighborhoods, and the overall incidence of crime in these neighborhoods is low. Two of our faculty live in the city.

Most residents live in the nearby northern suburbs of Royal Oak, Ferndale, Berkley, Madison Heights, Troy, etc. In general the schools in each of these cities are pretty solid to great, and generally boast a good set of grocery stores, restaurants, etc. Commutes range from 15-30 mins, and costs in general can be a bit higher than in the city.

The western suburbs of Dearborn, Livonia, Plymouth, Farmington Hills, West Bloomfield, and Birmingham are where most of our faculty live, and boast some of the biggest homes and best schools in the state. Dearborn has the largest Middle Eastern population in all of the US, lending it an interesting cultural flair and making it really easy to find Middle Eastern food. Places are often more expensive here, but the commute to Henry Ford Hospital can be a bit further: 20-40 mins.

The eastern suburbs of Grosse Pointe are also generally upscale with excellent schools. Commutes would be similar to the western suburbs, maybe a bit longer if you go to the more middle class areas of Sterling Heights, Warren, and Clinton Township to the north. Two of our faculty live in GP.

Henry Ford Hospital also has a limited number of apartments next to the hospital available. These are quite affordable (month to month leases are available) and couldn’t be closer. They lack some charm and the overall walkability is quite low.

Some Random Facts about Michigan & Detroit

Michigan is the 10th most populous state. It is bounded by 4 of the Great Lakes, and has 12,000 inland lakes. There are places to ski, but you may not want to send anyone a postcard from any of these places.

Detroit is the most populous city in the state: over 670,000 people in the city limits, and about 4.7 million people in the Metro Detroit area. There are 4 major league sports teams here as well as the nationally renowned Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Detroit Institute of Arts (don’t miss seeing the Diego Rivera Court!).

Ann Arbor is about 45 mins away driving and as the home of the University of Michigan, it has all of the charm and amenities of a cool college town.

Lansing is the state capital, and is about 90 mins away driving. E. Lansing is the home of Michigan State University.

Traverse City is about 4 hours away driving and is a popular vacation destination for many in Southeast Michigan because of Lake Michigan, outdoor activities, wine- & breweries, and food. In fact, many of the cities on the coast of Lake Michigan are popular in the summer with both people in Detroit and Chicago.

Windsor, Canada, is just over the river, and boasts a bustling city with great restaurants offering a lot foods from different ethnic backgrounds. Toronto is only 4 ½ hours away driving. Columbus and Cleveland are each about 3 hours away, while Chicago is about 4 ½ hours away also. Pittsburgh and Indianapolis are each about 5 hours away.