Arianllyn

Close to busy Woodward Avenue, the street might be a bit dangerous for smaller children, but the Shrine Catholic school and its playground are on one side of the street, and quiet family homes with well-tended yards are on the other. Neighbors watch out for each other. A senior center is close by with many planned activities for older folks. Royal Oak's schools are excellent. Lots of shopping close by, and nearby Beaumont Hospital is excellent, particularly for cardiac care and cancer research and treatment.

Fairly quiet neighborhood, near to main traffic arteries, close to schools and recreation centers, within walking distance of many synogogues, close to shopping. Lots of kids in the neighborhood.

Close to 10 Mile Rd., I-696, and Greenfield Rd., yet still a quiet and friendly neighborhood. A good mix of families, couples, and retirees. There are many synogogues within walking distance, and Saturdays see a lot of people on their way to worship.

Quiet, friendly neighbors, green yards, trees, near main traffic arteries (Southfield Road, 10 Mile Rd., 696 Freeway, etc)., good schools. This was a great place to grow up! Also, a lot of older people are in the area. It's a good mix of families with young kids, retirees, singles, and couples. There's shopping nearby, and lots of restaurants, but not a lot of typical "night life".

Near Gratiot Avenue, yet still a quiet neighborhood. One would have to go out to Gratiot to eat out or have anything in the way of nightlife. Most stores (again, on Gratiot - there aren't any on Linnhurst to speak of) have bars on the windows 24 hours a day, but most homes do not.

The house where we lived was subjected to many drive-by shootings, and we were lucky not to be killed on many occasions. There are too few streetlights, tons of drug and violent crimes, horrible neighborhood, hideous schooling. Don't move here.

...are the two best things about W. Grand Blvd. The Fisher brings Broadway to Detroit, and increases the city's cultural level by about 100 points on a scale of 1-100. The hospital is one of the best anywhere. Plus, large portions of Wayne State University are nearby.

Nearby Peck Park provides welcome green space. Public transportation is available - during the day - on nearby John R Street, Brush Street, and Beaubien Ave., but only irregularly on Frederick Douglass Ave itself - and not at all at night. The nearby Chrysler Freeway is noisy and dangerous to small children.

Cass Avenue is a slum - there's no way 'round it. It makes up the heart of what's known as the "Cass Corridor" - a notorious drug and other crime infested area of the city. The homes are in mostly deplorable condition. There are few stores or other businesses - who would shop here? The contrast between Cass' horrible poverty and the vast wealth of Grosse Pointe - just a few blocks away - is staggering.

Woodward Avenue starts at the heart of downtown Detroit and goes all the way up to Pontiac, MI. It was the first paved "highway" in the US, and it remains a primary traffic artery to this day. Many important buildings are located along Woodward, including the Detroit Institute of Arts, the main Library, large portions of Wayne State University (including the old Administration Building), the Fox Theatre (gloriously restored), and Orchestra Hall (home of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra). However, the neighborhoods along parts of Woodward look like London after the Blitz - the Devil's Night fires of the 80s and 90s took a huge toll, and many homes were never repaired. Also, "white flight" - and later just "flight" in general - from the city left many houses empty, and they have also fallen into disrepair. Many stores have bars on the windows 24 hours a day, and just walking from a nearby parking lot to, say, Orchestra Hall, and back, can be a frightening experience. Public transportation is fairly regular during the day, but nonexistant at night - Detroit is the motor city, and not having a car is practically unpatriotic. Driving downtown along Woodward at night, one should be careful of nearby pedestrians who duck suddenly into the street, in hopes of being hit, and hitting the "lawsuit lottery".