very rarely, though I drive by it everyday. I don't get out much lately due to work, but make an excuse to get our at least once a week...
everyone gets the wrong impression with Detroit. look at some really nice areaS like shelby twp-- macomb twp. And blue collar areas like fraser and clinton twp are descent. not run down gettos like in the D. large beuatiful homes everywhere. centrally located Sterling hts is middle class heaven as well you have everything around this city. nice parks and lakes within minimal driving distance great for boating and hills for skiing in the north if your into it. NO NATURAL DISASTERS LIKE hurricanes OR FLOODS tsunami ETC. you also have nice areas in Northville and Canton.
Maccomb county is not that great - lots of new homes but it's like the new white ghetto. suburban gangs because parents have to drive 1.5 hours each way to work, leaving the kids to fend for themselves. (IMO) The maccomb county sheriff is a joke as well. Because of the high housing starts in the area, the builders basically run the county: one of the reasons I made it a point to live in oakland county. Many builders in maccomb cty. that don't pay their trades and work with crooked title companies. Northville is old money - very, very old money. Overall the state is gorgeous: all 4 seasons and every outdoor activity you could want.
That house must have had historic value or a large lot, because the most I've seen in Carmel is $4400 per sq foot. The average is 1200/sq ft. As for Detroit... the weather is bad, the crime rate is high, and their economy is singularly focused and weak. Even if I could buy a foreclosure for $20000 and there were no holding costs (taxes and insurance), I wouldn't buy it. What makes anyone think it will increase in value? Not all places do. Their population is declining. And there is an opportunity cost to buying the property.
the new white ghetto lmao maybe around the few trailer parks or apartments and their is no gangs that are to be feared in macomb. maybe some gangster wannabe types that model after ICP, Kid rock and the other idiot M&M. most are middle class in macomb are over leveraged somewhat conservative people. I agree on the builders issue to many. they overbuilt the hell out of the area. flat land with no hills and demanding a premium for it. dont live in macomb but in shelbys northwest corner.
let me rephrase that a bit - there are more drugs in maccomb county then you could ever imagine, and kids are getting into them younger, especially east of van dyke and north of 59. the trend is directly related to the gentrification that is going on - people opting to purchase a brand new 3000 sq ft house for 310k with option arms and sacrificing thier commutes to and from work. the absence of the parents is the reason that the kids in the area are bringing more guns/knives/drugs to school in the area. When i said gangs i didn't necessairly mean 'bangers' as much as i meant kids entertaining themselves without supervision. i'm not saying all, but the trend is deffinately towards badness...
I know all the builders and developers in Macomb County. It's not any more chummy than Oakland county. There are groups of people that stick together in each major county. As far as drugs, quality of life, etc., I've been all over the country, and from a quality of life standard, there are few place that offer a better balance of beauty, clean air, low congestion, shopping and other amenities than your Rochester Hills, Washington Township, Brighton or Franklin. Even with all the problems Michigan is having. People automatically think Detroit and negative things when they hear Michigan. Michigan has some amazingly great places to live and raise a family. And then, of course, you have the beautiful inland lakes up north, as well as the Great Lakes. Take someone from out of state to the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes overlooking Lake Michigan and they will be mystified. Some of the inland lakes in Michigan have some of the cleanest freshwater in the world, and you can see 50 feet into the water (Crystal Lake and Torch Lake are like that, so is Houghton). If you blindfolded someone, brought them to Michigan, took their blindfold off, and drove them around Leelanau, they would be awed by the rolling ground, lushness, and amazingly pristine conditions. Michigan hasn't sold itself to its potential.