Detroit

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Are Detroit thugs going to stab my wife? (self.detroit)

submitted 3 days ago by QuillanFae to c/[email protected]

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My wife and I are traveling to the US around Christmas, first staying a couple of nights at Sonder Gabriel Richard in Downtown Detroit before heading on to NYC. We were initially unbothered by what we considered overblown and outdated stereotypes about the area.

Now my wife is hearing from coworkers and family, including family who live in Detroit, about the grave danger she's in if she stays in downtown.I'm irritated by the anxiety these people have spawned out of nothing. Maybe I'm naive but my gut still says that they're blowing things out of proportion, and at worst it's a little seedy around there.

Would any locals like to comment on how poor a choice we made staying in downtown Detroit as first time travellers to the US? We're Australian if that matters somehow.

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[–] QuillanFae 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Thank you! I mean, there are "dangerous areas" where I live too, where the reality is you have maybe a one in a million chance of something awful happening, as opposed to the one in two million you're used to. When I became an independent teen and actually spent time in all these areas my parents had described so derisively, it all just boiled down to lower median income, higher proportion of disadvantaged people drawn to cheaper housing, and a greater chance that someone's going to ask you for spare change.

My wife's extended family lives in Canton, so I think it's fair to say they do live in Detroit, but also that their opinions of downtown are informed by something they heard. Maybe "that one thing" they heard happened years ago. Who knows.

I'm actually really glad we're working Detroit into this trip too, and it's partly because I want to see first hand how distorted everyone's perception here is. Everyone here seems to have an opinion on this trip, and they all make that 😬 face about Detroit. Definitely keen to hit up the museums, art institute, and whatever else we can before jetting out.

[–] SynAcker 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Alright, so I love your attitude and your going to fit in just fine in the D. As for your wife's family, Canton is closer to Ann Arbor than it is Detroit so I chuckled a bit when you named their city. Have a great time and let us know how you end up spending your time in our fair city!

[–] Balthazar 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Yeah, Canton is not Detroit. Eight miles north of there you'll see 8 Mile Road in Northville, but despite the fact that it's the same name and an extension of the same road, it's just not the (in)famous "8 Mile" that it is closer to town.

My wife forbids saying that we live in Detroit. I instead tell people that we're from (south-east) Michigan.