With the holiday coming up, I'm getting my plans together for the next week. Is anyone still interested in getting together for beers in RO on the 29th?
With the holiday coming up, I'm getting my plans together for the next week. Is anyone still interested in getting together for beers in RO on the 29th?
I'm in!
Protege2886 wrote: I've spent a few weekends in Ann Arbor going for drinks and a handful of U of M games. I like the area but I don't know what the commute would be like in the morning. It takes ~ 35 minutes without traffic.
Can't speak of any of the other areas- but I've lived in AA for 22 years, now, and have been commuting to Dearborn for 20. It's not a bad commute- 94 has a lot less congestion than most other freeways in the area, and there's only 3-4 days a year that it's bad due to weather- but it's bad everywhere unless you are 5 min from work.
We are about a 3/4 mile from the stadium, a mile from Yost, 2 miles from downtown- so we bike a lot. While it seems "green" on the surface, the reality is that it's a whole lot easier to park a bike than a car. And it takes only a few min longer for the ride. Nice to ride downtown, do a bottle of wine, and get back home with little hassle (yes, I could get a riding DUI, but it's not like a car, for sure).
Access to UM and ALL that's related, great restaurants, wide entertainment variety, etc etc- yes, we may take our selves to seriously, but when it's this great of a town to live in, well... The biggest drawback is taxes, but after a while, that doesn't bother you too much when you see what it goes to.
Thanks to some nice rules, I have a 4.5 car garage. But I still have access to warehouse parking in Ypsi.
In reply to alfadriver:
Thanks for the feedback on traffic. My only concern with AA is being able to afford a place with a garage.
With that in mind, I drove through Ferndale on the weekend. I'm not sold on the area East of Woodward but the area West of Woodward and North of 9 mile is really nice. I did a quick search and homes range from 20k to 550k...bit of a difference there. Seems like a decent place with only minor updates required can be had for 80-150k. Definitely an area I'll want to look into further.
I like the idea of being able to walk to downtown for a pint or hop a 5$ cab to RO.
Next on the list is Berkley.
Also, as was suggested, I picked up a map book to go over with you guys on Thursday.
Northeast of Ypsi is much cheaper than AA. Decent 1800 sq ft houses are going for $50-80k. Guy behind me bought a house and is completely renovating it. I think he'll be out less than $90k when he's done with it.
In reply to scardeal:
Thanks! I'll have to check it out
Protege2886 wrote: With that in mind, I drove through Ferndale on the weekend. I'm not sold on the area East of Woodward but the area West of Woodward and North of 9 mile is really nice.
I don't live in Detroit (I'm over in Grand Rapids), but I have a few friends who live in Ferndale and they've been very happy there. A couple of them are just west of Woodward between 8 and 9 mile, and one is on the east side of Woodward. All have garage space, nice houses, and good neighbors. I do think south of 9 mile you start to get hit or miss, but I wouldn't rule out the whole area.
Ferndale is neat for the reasons you mentioned. Plenty of bars/activity right there (I've been to the WAB a few times), easy hop to RO, and relatively close proximity to downtown.
As a non-D resident, I've found the area appealing on my visits.
Protege2886 wrote: Next on the list is Berkley. Also, as was suggested, I picked up a map book to go over with you guys on Thursday.
Let me know if you want any info on Berkley - we like it a lot. The Berkley Front is our go-to pub. Only major bummer, no coffee shops in Berkley if you're into that kind of thing.
We lived for a year in Ferndale off Hilton road, near 8 mile which would be about the most "ghetto" you can get in Ferndale. We felt very safe, never had any problems at all with our neighbors, and the downtown area, and Royal Oak, is very bike-able but not walkable from there. Decent houses in that area go for less than $50k.
You may also want to check out "Peasant" Ridge, the area east of Woodward that is Pleasant Ridge, north of Ferndale but south of 696.
Property taxes in the area are lowest in Berkley, highest in Southfield and Ferndale.
Awesome info! I will definitely keep you posted! I have time to do research before my lease ends. That being said, if I find something sooner, my early cancellation fee is less than two months rent. The math could work out better for me that way.
Speaking of 8-mile, how bad is it really?
I can't imagine that the ENTIRE stretch is bad. That being said, I'd rather someone tell me where I can go vs. me doing my own version of Gone in 60 seconds driving out of the places I shouldn't go :P
Protege2886 wrote: With the holiday coming up, I'm getting my plans together for the next week. Is anyone still interested in getting together for beers in RO on the 29th?
Count me in!
I live on 9 mile and hoover for a hot minute we called it warrentucky. I do not recommend it. Also 8 mile isnt bad... around 275 and 8 mile. towards the city or even by ferndale its not all that great.
Protege2886 wrote: Speaking of 8-mile, how bad is it really?
From the times I've driven through it seems that 8-mile itself isn't that bad... it's more that it's the border. south in the wrong spots of there gets rough fast. 7-mile/etc. seem far rougher for continuous stretches to me.
Generally speaking though, mind your own business and keep your head up like you're supposed to be there and you'll be fine. Just don't go poking around after dark in places that you think you shouldn't be.
The best donuts are south of 8 mile - Dutch Girl on Woodward near 7 mile.
It's not that 8 mile itself is bad, but other than Pawn shops, shady used car dealers, and strip clubs there's simply nothing there to check out. It's simply the border between Detroit proper and the suburbs.
If you want to check out places in Detroit proper, that list gets complicated and long rather quickly. If I was going to live in Detroit itself though, I'd live in one of the Mies van der Rohe townhouses in Lafayette Park.
Thanks guys - I'm still learning the "keep out zones". I appreciate the help :)
Onto more interesting (and positive) discussion - junkyards.
Are there any pick-and-pull yards near by? Any close enough that will ship? I've heard www.car-part.com is a lot better if you live in the states vs. Canada.
Also, I can't wait to check out Harbor Freight. We have similar places at home (Princess Auto) and they are AMAZING! I go in for a breaker bar and I leave with an angle grinder, 220-pc socket set, and a creeper.
I'm not a huge fan of downtown royal oak, usually too douchy for me. It feels like a college bar town without the school. How about the blarney stone or some other good hole in the wall pub.
What about the Berkely front in Berkley. And that means Berkley not berkley you motherberkeleyers 
works for me!
In reply to Protege2886:
"Parts Galore" has 3 pick-and-pull yards around the area. I've used the one at 8 Mile and Hoover several times and just recently went to their Flat Rock location. Both are good yards. "Scrapbusters" in Wayne is OK but their selection of import vehicles is pretty dismal. Unfortunately it's also the closest one to where I live west of Ann Arbor. I'll second Alfadriver's opinions on Ann Arbor, too. You don't have to live right in AA either, all the surrounding townships are fine.
If any of you southern Michigan guys want to venture up north to the U.P we have a host of events Including Rally ( Regional and National ) , Autocross and Rally X once in awhile..
http://www.lsrscca.com/ ( Lake Super Region links to events )
Facebook: upscca
April 20th , 2013 we will be again hosting the Magnum Opus Pro Rally ( www.magnumopusrally.com ) here in Newberry , Michigan. 2012 we had 28 teams and are looking for upwards of 35 for next years event. We will again be using some of the stages from the 1973 and 1974 Press On Regardless Rally which had some famous international drivers like Markku Alen and Sandro Munari.
Tim
I didn't know you guys hosted rallyX...
Now I really gotta fix the truck!
Yes, we have a pretty active rallycross group here, also road rally and lots of autocrossing.
Another big junk yard is Acre auto in Waterford, there is another right next to it, but can't recall the name. Bridge lake is further north in Clarkston. There are a couple more on Gratiot around 696. Nose through the yellow pages, I hate the internet for that sort of thing. We'll mark this stuff on your map.
If you guys can see your way to hanging out until 8 I can certainly join, and if you're at the Berkley Front, that's about a 5 minute walk from my front door so I'd feel berkeleying stupid if I missed it.
Coordinating meets in Berkley knowing how that word is used on the forum is E36 M3 confusing first thing in the morning.
In reply to phaze1todd:
D'Oh! Thanks :P
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