Dearborn/Detroit areas to avoid?

Thinking about getting an Airbnb or VRBO for our Ford Museum trip. Figuring a 10-mile radius, are there any areas I should avoid?

That's a complex question.  We could say that anything with a Detroit proper address could be sketchy but that could also be a high dollar, river front high rise apt building. 

Dearborn has some very high end areas and some rather low end areas. 

The easy answer is, drive in from Ann Arbor, Mi

Where will you be the night before and where are you headed the night after? 

Just the Ford Museum system?  Given the WFH we've been doing, I'd wonder if there are a LOT of homes for rent just behind the main engineering campus- which across the street from the HFM.  

"behind" = west and sw from the The Henry Ford by a couple of miles.

In reply to John Welsh :

Ann Arbor is 3.5x his 10 mile radius.  

And don't even try to book something the weekend of Aug.20-22; because Woodward Dream Cruise.

Just did a quick search on Airbnb, and there are places that are pretty cheap where I was thinking.

HOWEVER- this area was flooded twice in the last month.  Not sure what specific neighborhoods were actually flooded, so that's something to look into.

Head a few miles North to Royal Oak, Ferndale, Birmingham etc.  Once you're North of 8 mile and into Oakland county there's no bad areas.  There's lots of awesome places in Wayne county, but harder to know  for those from out of state without local knowledge. Those areas I  range from hipster cool, to young professionals to very wealthy.    If you want the Detroit experience head to mid town or down town and you'll be safe as houses.

I like Allen Park and Dearborn which is right there.   I feel it's safe.  

Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) said:

Head a few miles North to Royal Oak, Ferndale, Birmingham etc.  Once you're North of 8 mile and into Oakland county there's no bad areas.  There's lots of awesome places in Wayne county, but harder to know  for those from out of state without local knowledge. Those areas I  range from hipster cool, to young professionals to very wealthy.    If you want the Detroit experience head to mid town or down town and you'll be safe as houses.

What he said!

Or, post some places you're considering and I'm happy to offer my input.  Free advice is worth exactly what you paid though!  
 

Seriously though, I'm happy to help people coming to my hometown.

Oakland county is home to Pontiac and Southfield, and there's plenty of sketch in those zip codes.

Thanks for the input gents.

Looks like we are going to be staying at the Hampton Inn in Allen Park instead of an Airbnb or VRBO. It should make life a little easier and take some of the uncertainty out of where we are staying. Hampton Inns are a known quality.

Toyman01 + Sized and said:

Thanks for the input gents.

Looks like we are going to be staying at the Hampton Inn in Allen Park instead of an Airbnb or VRBO. It should make life a little easier and take some of the uncertainty out of where we are staying. Hampton Inns are a known quality.

  

 

Didn't even realize there was a hotel there.  So you know, there is a train track that separates it from places to eat close by.  It's closer to Roush and Ford fabrication buildings.   

(and I see the former Allen Park police building is gone and is now a Mariott...  things change a lot)

In reply to alfadriver :

Thanks for the heads up.

That shouldn't be a problem. We will eat at the hotel in the mornings and stop somewhere for dinner while exploring in the afternoons. 

In reply to Toyman01 + Sized and :

Are you bringing a trailer?  Do you have anything simple and rust free you could bring with you?

Here's a little driving tour of some urban Detroit landmarks... 

Food:  Its been more than 10 years (maybe more like 20) since I used to work in Metro Detroit.  For specifics, I will leave that more to current locals but there are a few things that remain constant.  

The relatively small town of Dearborn, MI has the highest concentration of Arabic people anywhere outside of the Middle East.  As it was explained to me a long time ago, many were recruited by Ford Motor Co generations ago to work in the factories. Hard working people who by nature of their religion are non-drinkers and were willing to work on Sundays (since a Saturday sabath.)  

Either way, lots of great Mediterranean restaurants in the area!   Back in my day, this was the most popular:  https://www.lashishrestaurant.com/  I'm not sure if that is still the case but locals will know.  

The other thing unique to Detroit is the Detroit Coney Island restaurants.  The originals are two Greek families located downtown, right next to each other (and shown in that Ken Block video.)  The reality is you can not swing a dead cat in metro Detroit without hitting some family owned Coney Island.  They are generally diner food.  There will be a counter and booths.  For the Greek slant there will always be Gyros and Greek salads as well as chilli dogs known as Coneys.  Aside from this there will be a HUGE breakfast menu as well as burgers and more.  A lot of these places are open 24 hrs.  Detroit Coney Island Wiki

In reply to Toyman01 + Sized and :

I stay at the HI Express next door.  Be sure to scout the lots down the street. I see a lot of cool stuff. Also you can illegally go see the back side of the big tire.   
 

John Welsh said:

In reply to Toyman01 + Sized and :

Are you bringing a trailer?  Do you have anything simple and rust free you could bring with you?

Unfortunately, I'm not bringing a car trailer. I'm bringing a folding trailer, in pieces, on the ladder rack. 

Be sure to try Buddys Pizza. There is one in Dearborn on Michigan Ave. Just a few minutes from the Henry Ford.

Its nice and family friendly.

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:

Oakland county is home to Pontiac and Southfield, and there's plenty of sketch in those zip codes.

Exactly!  Having grown up, and thus fled Detroit I always hear suburbanites say how great and safe Detroit is when they either aren't in Detroit proper, and/or they only go to a few select small areas of downtown on the weekend. 
As wawazat said, it's better to post areas you're thinking about and let those that are familiar comment. The neighborhood I grew up in was bad by any measure, but literally 1 block to the south was a bit better, one block past that to the south was a freaking war zone. The west end of my block was even rougher than the east end. And I'm talking the block, not the whole street. 

John Welsh said:

 

Either way, lots of great Mediterranean restaurants in the area!   Back in my day, this was the most popular:  https://www.lashishrestaurant.com/  I'm not sure if that is still the case but locals will know.  

 

 

Lashish was closed down due to funneling money to terrorists. I think they have since re-opened because, you know, the terrorists haven't won yet. 
Seriously. They had a double set of books and funneled about $20,000,000 to Hezbollah. They the owner fled to lebanon when the feds came sniffing around post-9/11.

If you are looking to sample authintic midde-eastern quisine, try Al Shalal at 24402 W Warren, in Dearborn heights. Trust me, food is great, hospitality is typical middle-eastern. What I mean by that is they'll treat you like you are a cousin (at worst) or like a brother (at best) and feed you more than you want. The food is absolutely amazing. 

If you want to sample some of the cool parts of Detroit, and you're there on a Friday evening or a Saturday afternoon, catch whatevery movie is playing at The Redford Theater in Lahser in Detroit. A few blocks from where I grew up. I used to walk there as a kid all the time. Admission is crazy cheap, and the building is old, it was built over 100 years ago. It's been undergoing a rolling resoration for years, all funded by volunteer efforts and donated money. 
It's a gem in the middle of the city, and represents what people are fighting for when they talk about trying to save the city.