Barton / McFarland

My best friend's brother's wife is from this area. When his car was in the shop I have occasionally driven him over here.

This is not a great neighborhood by any stretch. When we pulled up to his wife's house, I noticed the porch was missing. There was a big hole in the ground where the porch was supposed to be. They basically had to jump up and down the front step to get in and out of the house.

This was the kind of thing I saw through the streets I passed. She lived on Mendota I think. I saw plenty of houses falling apart, boarded up, or just vacant lots where a house once stood. And like so many other poor Detroit neighborhoods, the locals stared you down like you were impinging on their sacred territory. Not a neighborly feeling at all.

There are retail outlets along the main streets surrounding the edges of the neighborhood. You can find shops and restaurants on Chicago, Roselawn, Cloverlawn, and Joy Road. The major freeways close by are I-96, Southfield, and I-94. The buses do run in the area along the major thorough fares, but she did remark once that they ran slow. There are also a couple schools within the neighborhood as well for families.

If you have hard times knocking on your door, then you have to do what you have to do as far as living. But this not an ideal first choice neighborhood to move into.

This is an area of town that's not the best but certainly not the worst. The nice part of this neighborhood is that you have plenty nearby including restaurants, stores, and conveniences. You just may not find everything that you need. It is not far from the I-96 expressway so it's certainly easy to get to and around.

There are several schools within this area so it can be helpful for those with children. It is an area of town that has undergone some changes and therefore revitalization is needed and up and coming. There are some homes to be found which are a great value and some which need a bit of attention. Therefore it's really somewhere in the middle.

It is part of the downtown area but a bit more removed. While you can get to the amenities and nightlife of downtown Detroit, it's not as easy as other areas that are closer by. This is a spot where you can find a good deal on a home, but it may not be your very first choice.