Looking for some honest advice about Detroit.I’m a single guy in my early 30s from a big city in Canada, thinking about spending a week in Detroit outside of winter, mostly just driving around and exploring out of curiosity.I know Detroit has a reputation, but is it really as bad as people say? I’m comfortable in big cities and rougher areas, so I’m not expecting anything fancy. I’m more interested in seeing the city for what it actually is.I’ll hit some touristy stuff (sports game, concert, etc.) but I’m way more interested in local neighbourhoods, hidden gems, markets, casual bars or diners, bowling alleys, and everyday American stuff like high school or college football, local sports, or community hangouts. I like being a fly on the wall and checking out where locals actually spend time.If you live there or know the city well: what areas are worth checking out, and which should I avoid? Any must see neighbourhoods or experiences for a solo visitor?
I know this is not what you're looking for but: As a lifelong resident of Michigan, I have lived all over the state, including the upper peninsula. Go literally anywhere else besides freakin Detroit or anywhere that denies being "Detroit" - the entire Thumb is just Detroit.Ree etc, but if you still go anyway: North of all that, almost but not quite out of the apocalyptic hellscape zone, is Frankenmuth, which has the year-round (even in summer!) "Bronner's Christmas Wonderland" which quite a unique place. The town is is cool because it is Bavarian themed. Not "American", more like a fusion, but still a cool attraction.
>>2849521What's so terrible about this hellscape in your opinion? What do the regular working class do and have to say about the place? What keeps them there? There just seems to be so many people there, I can't imagine the entire place is irredeemable. And by thumb I assume you mean the lower peninsula?
It is a ghost town, a former industry hub beating heart, but has since lapsed, gone out of business and fallen into decay, except people never moved away because the location was so firmly entrenched that it cannot be replaced. Imagine the conditions of the hood, or third world countries. Or Tortuga from PotC. Detroit is easily one of the (The?) dirtiest, most dangerous, saddest holes in the entire US. While it is improving compared to 10 years ago, it will never recover fully, and will always be a black hole. >What do the regular working class do and have to say about the place? What keeps them there?You get stuck in a slavish limited life loop and can't escape. I think the majority of people are struggling and wish they could escape, but are simply unable to. NOBODY willingly moves to Detroit unless they already have a cushy job lined up. Most regular non-rich in Detroit want to leave Detroit.You would literally be better off visiting anywhere else for fun. Big cities suck anyway, check out any smaller ones which are at least 1 hour or further away. If you MUST big city, then take your pick of any of the ones that are big enough to show up on a catchall map. If you drive straight west 2-3 hours, to the opposite coast, there are plenty of touristy beachy towns which have a much higher standard of living and are cool and unique compared to every landlocked area. On the way, you could visit Lansing and Grand Rapids. Or Jackson, Battle Creek, Kalamazoo.Secondary Detroit tip alongside Frankenmuth if you don't heed my warning: If you visit any convention, you will be (mostly) safely isolated within a tiny tourist/fan fantasy world for a few days. Anime, ren faires, comics, scifi, anything you like, Detroit has plenty of conventions.
>>2849582>And by thumb I assume you mean the lower peninsula?The lower peninsula is shaped like a hand, so the right-area is called the thumb.
>>2849483I went to Detroit two years ago and loved it. The downtown area is kino.>it's so dangerous, broooooooIt's not the 80s robocop area anymore. Just don't go to the hoods surrounding the center, which there is zero reason to be in anyway
>>2849582Native here, Its not the worst city in America but its just flat and full of decaying concrete. Not a bad place to live but nothing really to see for a traveler. Michigan is nice outside of the winter but you really need to go along the lake Michigan coast (Holland, Saugatuck in the south and Traverse City and Petoskey in the north). You also have Grand Rapids over there if you need to explore a city which is nicer but smaller. Frankenmuth is nice like the other person said.If you are dead set on Detroit, the river walk is nice, casinos can be fun, sports are big here, the DIA. I do like the old buildings (that arent abandoned) downtown, and its plenty safe if you dont drive into the ghetto. Detroit does have a lot of good old bars if you are drinker.
I am from Traverse City. I have lived in Detroit. These anons are giving you mixed messages but I'll tell you the way I see it as a Michigander. A lot of people from outside of the city are scared of it. It's not that scary if you have experience with any other city. Eating, drinking, sports, maybe going to a concert, those are the kinds of experiences you can expect to have there. Going to a place like Traverse City where I'm from as a fudgie at this time of the year is not much fun. It's a tourism town centered around the beautiful beaches etc in the summer and the tourism basically dries up in the winter. Unless you're into stuff like hunting or snowmobiling Tragic City is not where you want to be right now. So really any kind of trip you plan you should be thinking about the seasonal context. About the Frankenmuth suggestion that's more of a place you would want to visit with a family. Take the kids to Bronners, walk around and see the kitchy German stuff, then finish off with the obligatory chicken dinner at Zehnders. I couldn't imagine spending more than one day of my life in that place.
As someone who lives an hour and a half away from Detroit these are my opinions. Detroit is a place you go to for a thing and then leave. Its not really a place to just visit.The downtown is very nice and has had a lot of money poured into it. Check out a pro sports game, the Detroit Institute of Art is a world class art museum, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra is a great if you're into that sort of thing, The Henry Ford Museum is pretty cool and if you go during the summer it's worth spending some time in Greenfield Village.Food-wise I lean on Eater for advice https://detroit.eater.com/ it led me to try out El Rey de Las Arepas which was fantastic in a hole-in-the-wall kind of way. If you check that page you may notice it mentions Ann Arbor. Ann Arbor is not Detroit and is its own thing.
