I keep hearing there are some pretty nasty slums in motor city. I want to know the truth, so enlighten me Detroit locals.
Slums in Motor CIty
I read a month or so ago in The Economist that the city has shut down services for entire sections. The place is a ghost town in many areas though very dangerous as the law don't travel into some areas of abandoned housing.
GQ also had an interesting piece a couple of months ago on the people in Detroit that tear down abandoned housing. Basically they can't do it fast enough and honest people are feeling insecure and moving out because squatters are becoming so prevalent. I'm surprised that the downfall of a major US city is so toned down in the media.
GQ also had an interesting piece a couple of months ago on the people in Detroit that tear down abandoned housing. Basically they can't do it fast enough and honest people are feeling insecure and moving out because squatters are becoming so prevalent. I'm surprised that the downfall of a major US city is so toned down in the media.
I've been a brotha from Detroit all of my 22 years of existence. I live on the west-side, fortunately in a nice little neighborhood where there are artists, lawyers, and other people who are active in their community. However, there are several neighborhoods 2-3 minutes away(driving distance) in which any normal person would be wary of filling up their gas tank. I live near two key freeways, so I'm more than willing to drive to a suburb to fill up because I'm not willing to take any risks with my life. Everytime I roll through one of these neighborhoods I either see a street full of abandoned businesses, someone nodding out, a prostitute, a trap-spot or a hand-to-hand. On my street a couple houses(out of 20+) have been abandoned(underwater mortgage), but several neighbors have 4-5 cars and park some of them in the driveways of the abandoned houses in order to give the appearance that there is someone living there. There is a higher ratio of abandoned houses in other communities, also people aren't as vigilant in dealing with them . This leads to them being gutted(windows,metal,boiler) and squatted or occupied by unsavory characters. There are some decent schools, but you have to test to get into them(High School) or be lucky enough to claim(your address or relative's) the district(Elementary,Middle). With that being said, the odds of someone from a bad district testing into a good HS is nearly impossible because they have most likely had a sub-standard education up to that point. There are a lot of well-intentioned people
in the city who have neither the knowledge nor reasonable access to improve their lives and their living conditions, and that is the crux of why Detroit is what it is.
This is an interactive of an article that recently appeared in the Detroit Free Press:
http://www.freep.com/article/20111113/NE...t-since-03
in the city who have neither the knowledge nor reasonable access to improve their lives and their living conditions, and that is the crux of why Detroit is what it is.
This is an interactive of an article that recently appeared in the Detroit Free Press:
http://www.freep.com/article/20111113/NE...t-since-03
I recently visited Detroit for a weekend. I didn't get the greatest impression of the city in such a short period of time and mainly spent my time downtown. The city is very post-apocalyptic. Skyscrapers that seemed like they should be the hub of business contained nothing but chunks of concrete debris. There were no people walking around, despite the relative warmth of the weekend. Nightlife was nonexistent for the most part. The only people that were out and about were either going to the Sting concert or a rapper in one of the two major music venues. Detroit would be a great place to film a zombie movie.
From what I could tell (and what my friend confirmed) the suburbs are the worst part of Detroit. Forests are overtaking much of the city and former factories/warehouses are burned-out shells surrounded by weed-choked parking lots. It's one of the most bizarre cities I've been to. Weirdly enough, people downtown and near the Wayne State area were much nicer than people generally are in large urban areas. I'd say 12 people out of 20 would say hello, offer a smile or strike up a brief conversation when I'd pass them on the street. This is even more unexpected as I'm a physically fit white guy with a shaved head who wears metal shirts, and most of Detroit's inhabitants were black. Hell, even the yuppies in my city aren't that nice. My only guess is that the inhabitants of the city are generally poor/destitute and living in a decaying city, so why make it worse by being an asshole to your fellow man? The attitude was honestly kind of refreshing. I saw very few crackheads, junkies or homeless people compared to Denver (the city I'm most familiar with).
I was informed by multiple people to say out of many suburban area due to the gang activity and the high chance of being robbed, so it's not like I sought out any of the bad parts. Based on my brief experience, I was a hell of a lot more sketched out when I visited Baltimore and DC. Overall, I'd declare Detroit "Bad, but not as bad as the media portrays."
Detroit in a picture:
![[Image: attachment.jpg3601]](https://rooshvforum.network/attachments/attachment.jpg3601)
I'd trust jmoney29's opinion if he's local though.
From what I could tell (and what my friend confirmed) the suburbs are the worst part of Detroit. Forests are overtaking much of the city and former factories/warehouses are burned-out shells surrounded by weed-choked parking lots. It's one of the most bizarre cities I've been to. Weirdly enough, people downtown and near the Wayne State area were much nicer than people generally are in large urban areas. I'd say 12 people out of 20 would say hello, offer a smile or strike up a brief conversation when I'd pass them on the street. This is even more unexpected as I'm a physically fit white guy with a shaved head who wears metal shirts, and most of Detroit's inhabitants were black. Hell, even the yuppies in my city aren't that nice. My only guess is that the inhabitants of the city are generally poor/destitute and living in a decaying city, so why make it worse by being an asshole to your fellow man? The attitude was honestly kind of refreshing. I saw very few crackheads, junkies or homeless people compared to Denver (the city I'm most familiar with).
I was informed by multiple people to say out of many suburban area due to the gang activity and the high chance of being robbed, so it's not like I sought out any of the bad parts. Based on my brief experience, I was a hell of a lot more sketched out when I visited Baltimore and DC. Overall, I'd declare Detroit "Bad, but not as bad as the media portrays."
Detroit in a picture:
I'd trust jmoney29's opinion if he's local though.
Quote: (11-17-2011 01:57 PM)bengalltigerr Wrote:
I keep hearing there are some pretty nasty slums in motor city. I want to know the truth, so enlighten me Detroit locals.
There are slums in every American city ,as far as I could see.
And getting that way in Europe too although not so many "no go" areas.
Detroit is scary. There are some other cities in Michigan that have some serious crime problems (Flint, where one of my exes was from, close to #1 in the US).
Vice-Captain - #TeamWaitAndSee
It's quite ironic that a couple of months ago I was asking about the slums of Detroit, and now I am moving to Detroit next month. I'm gonna have to find myself a favela.
Whoa! Is that your jacket in that avatar? Pm me about that.
I just moved here in August. Its true about ruin porn. And there is always fresh broken car glass on the sidewalks. My car insurance has more than doubled. I spend most of my nights out in Royal Oak and Ferndale. There is a surprisingly active pickup meetup group that is really helpful. Detroit is all right on game nights and whenever there is a show in town, like this week. Oh, and everyone is packing heat. True story, my first date in the new city brought a gun with her. The roads suck, everyone drives 20 over, and the people are not too friendly. Did I mention there are no left turns? The safe areas are pretty expensive to go out. I've never met this many gold diggers before. But, they do have fresh seafood and a legendary boxing gym. I think these two things are the only things I truly enjoyed so far.
Quote: (01-14-2012 01:51 AM)one-two Wrote:
I just moved here in August. Its true about ruin porn. And there is always fresh broken car glass on the sidewalks. My car insurance has more than doubled. I spend most of my nights out in Royal Oak and Ferndale. There is a surprisingly active pickup meetup group that is really helpful. Detroit is all right on game nights and whenever there is a show in town, like this week. Oh, and everyone is packing heat. True story, my first date in the new city brought a gun with her. The roads suck, everyone drives 20 over, and the people are not too friendly. Did I mention there are no left turns? The safe areas are pretty expensive to go out. I've never met this many gold diggers before. But, they do have fresh seafood and a legendary boxing gym. I think these two things are the only things I truly enjoyed so far.
Sounds like somewhere in Eastern Europe
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Quote: (01-14-2012 01:51 AM)one-two Wrote:
I just moved here in August. Its true about ruin porn. And there is always fresh broken car glass on the sidewalks. My car insurance has more than doubled. I spend most of my nights out in Royal Oak and Ferndale. There is a surprisingly active pickup meetup group that is really helpful. Detroit is all right on game nights and whenever there is a show in town, like this week. Oh, and everyone is packing heat. True story, my first date in the new city brought a gun with her. The roads suck, everyone drives 20 over, and the people are not too friendly. Did I mention there are no left turns? The safe areas are pretty expensive to go out. I've never met this many gold diggers before. But, they do have fresh seafood and a legendary boxing gym. I think these two things are the only things I truly enjoyed so far.
No kidding! she brought a gun? Is she from a ghetto neighborhood?
Quote: (01-14-2012 11:05 AM)bengalltigerr Wrote:I tried to pm you but it's disabled. Don't bring that jacket there. Detroit has a huge biker culture where all the clubs are under the Outlaws. Trust me on this.
Quote: (01-14-2012 01:51 AM)one-two Wrote:
I just moved here in August. Its true about ruin porn. And there is always fresh broken car glass on the sidewalks. My car insurance has more than doubled. I spend most of my nights out in Royal Oak and Ferndale. There is a surprisingly active pickup meetup group that is really helpful. Detroit is all right on game nights and whenever there is a show in town, like this week. Oh, and everyone is packing heat. True story, my first date in the new city brought a gun with her. The roads suck, everyone drives 20 over, and the people are not too friendly. Did I mention there are no left turns? The safe areas are pretty expensive to go out. I've never met this many gold diggers before. But, they do have fresh seafood and a legendary boxing gym. I think these two things are the only things I truly enjoyed so far.
No kidding! she brought a gun? Is she from a ghetto neighborhood?
Quote: (01-14-2012 02:41 PM)el mechanico Wrote:
Quote: (01-14-2012 11:05 AM)bengalltigerr Wrote:I tried to pm you but it's disabled. Don't bring that jacket there. Detroit has a huge biker culture where all the clubs are under the Outlaws. Trust me on this.
Quote: (01-14-2012 01:51 AM)one-two Wrote:
I just moved here in August. Its true about ruin porn. And there is always fresh broken car glass on the sidewalks. My car insurance has more than doubled. I spend most of my nights out in Royal Oak and Ferndale. There is a surprisingly active pickup meetup group that is really helpful. Detroit is all right on game nights and whenever there is a show in town, like this week. Oh, and everyone is packing heat. True story, my first date in the new city brought a gun with her. The roads suck, everyone drives 20 over, and the people are not too friendly. Did I mention there are no left turns? The safe areas are pretty expensive to go out. I've never met this many gold diggers before. But, they do have fresh seafood and a legendary boxing gym. I think these two things are the only things I truly enjoyed so far.
No kidding! she brought a gun? Is she from a ghetto neighborhood?
He's not HA im almost certain. He said he's Muslim. Pretty sure its just his avatar.
Quote: (01-14-2012 02:41 PM)el mechanico Wrote:
Quote: (01-14-2012 11:05 AM)bengalltigerr Wrote:I tried to pm you but it's disabled. Don't bring that jacket there. Detroit has a huge biker culture where all the clubs are under the Outlaws. Trust me on this.
Quote: (01-14-2012 01:51 AM)one-two Wrote:
I just moved here in August. Its true about ruin porn. And there is always fresh broken car glass on the sidewalks. My car insurance has more than doubled. I spend most of my nights out in Royal Oak and Ferndale. There is a surprisingly active pickup meetup group that is really helpful. Detroit is all right on game nights and whenever there is a show in town, like this week. Oh, and everyone is packing heat. True story, my first date in the new city brought a gun with her. The roads suck, everyone drives 20 over, and the people are not too friendly. Did I mention there are no left turns? The safe areas are pretty expensive to go out. I've never met this many gold diggers before. But, they do have fresh seafood and a legendary boxing gym. I think these two things are the only things I truly enjoyed so far.
No kidding! she brought a gun? Is she from a ghetto neighborhood?
Thank you for the warning el mechanico! I never really wore the HA jacket as it didn't fit properly, I even thought of selling it to my cousin, but he was scared to death and wouldn't buy it.
Quote: (01-14-2012 02:56 PM)RioNomad Wrote:
Quote: (01-14-2012 02:41 PM)el mechanico Wrote:
Quote: (01-14-2012 11:05 AM)bengalltigerr Wrote:I tried to pm you but it's disabled. Don't bring that jacket there. Detroit has a huge biker culture where all the clubs are under the Outlaws. Trust me on this.
Quote: (01-14-2012 01:51 AM)one-two Wrote:
I just moved here in August. Its true about ruin porn. And there is always fresh broken car glass on the sidewalks. My car insurance has more than doubled. I spend most of my nights out in Royal Oak and Ferndale. There is a surprisingly active pickup meetup group that is really helpful. Detroit is all right on game nights and whenever there is a show in town, like this week. Oh, and everyone is packing heat. True story, my first date in the new city brought a gun with her. The roads suck, everyone drives 20 over, and the people are not too friendly. Did I mention there are no left turns? The safe areas are pretty expensive to go out. I've never met this many gold diggers before. But, they do have fresh seafood and a legendary boxing gym. I think these two things are the only things I truly enjoyed so far.
No kidding! she brought a gun? Is she from a ghetto neighborhood?
He's not HA im almost certain. He said he's Muslim. Pretty sure its just his avatar.
You're right I'm not HA and would never wanna affiliated with HA. However, I do know some HA dudes from a heavy metal bar in Socal.
Quote: (01-14-2012 01:51 AM)one-two Wrote:
I just moved here in August. Its true about ruin porn. And there is always fresh broken car glass on the sidewalks. My car insurance has more than doubled. I spend most of my nights out in Royal Oak and Ferndale. There is a surprisingly active pickup meetup group that is really helpful. Detroit is all right on game nights and whenever there is a show in town, like this week. Oh, and everyone is packing heat. True story, my first date in the new city brought a gun with her. The roads suck, everyone drives 20 over, and the people are not too friendly. Did I mention there are no left turns? The safe areas are pretty expensive to go out. I've never met this many gold diggers before. But, they do have fresh seafood and a legendary boxing gym. I think these two things are the only things I truly enjoyed so far.
Welcome to the D, one-two. Insurance is a pain, I personally know people who use the addresses of relatives in the burbs in order to pay less in car-insurance premiums(legality??).I've found that the roads are reflective of the area that your in, Detroit roads are bad, but the Bloomfield's and Farmington's have very nice roads(comparatively), the positive I take from the situation is that there are no tolls.Also, welcome to the Michigan Left. No one looks friendly because the "mean mug" is the default look in Detroit; projecting that you are no one to mess with is the first step in making sure that nothing pops off. This may be my native bias, but I find Detroit people to be the nicest people once you get through the rough exterior.There is mad income disparity, Detroit per capita is 14k, the burbs are higher with BH being 100k per capita. There are some cool places to go in the city though, I was in Midtown by WSU last week and there are some classy places if you ignore the hipsters. Quick questions: Are you in the city or the burbs? If you are in the city,what are your logistics like in terms of driving outside of Detroit to go out(RO specifically)? I've heard from a few sources that cops are just lying in wait to catch people driving home from the bar.
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