Providence living

[GTP2008]

moving to soutfield...
anyone have good recs for where to live? apartment complexes?
thanks

[jillg]

We lived in West Bloomfield (20 min from Providence) and it was very nice and quiet. The complex is called the Arbors and we signed when they were running a special. We paid $995 per month, but the regular price was $1395 for 2 BR and 2 Baths (upstairs). My husband worked from the apt, so it was perfect for us.
There is also Royal Oak if you like areas where there are tons of bars, restaurants and shopping. Other people I know lived in Troy, Farmington Hills, and Southfield. I know there are many other options, but those are the first ones that come to mind.

[GTP2008]

whats the drive like on a regular day?
day in traffic?
day in snow and ice?

[GTP2008]

anyone know of nice places in royal oak?

[hypotenuse]

Try not to live in Southfield. It isn't the end of the world, but Southfield in general isn't the greatest neighborhood. I would never live there.

[rnagy54]

My wife and I live in Novi in River Oaks West Apartments. It's a 20min drive any time of day unless there is an accident on the freeway. Check this out River Oaks West Apartments - Home is where the resort is… (http://www.riveroakswest.com) . This place is great and has everything we like including 100 different bars and restaraunts, 2 movie theaters, and a mall all within 5 min drive. We love it here. Good luck.

Ryan

[options]

anyone know of nice places in royal oak?

We found our royal Oak apt. on craigs list.

[Scott1981]

if i had to do it all again, i would have stayed in novi. the place that i stayed was affordable, nice, and i had no problems living there (village green on franklin)..... but novi had more to do and my wife and i found ourselves traveling there frequently.

[rnagy54]

My wife just told me about a coworker who has a brand new Avenger that he took home for work with a bunch of fliers and information for work for a meeting he was putting on. He parked in a carport in a gated community and came out in the morning to find his car on cinder blocks, stripped from the inside out. Make sure you ask about any recent criminal activity in the area, because Rochester is a NICE neighborhood, but obviously not immune to crime, especially here in Detroit area.

Later,
Nagy

[mpz013]

yea southfield isn't that bad...but if you dont wanna spend much you could live in farmington/redford. I'm from this area and I know these areas aren't bad and they are cheap. But if you wanna have fun and a night life Royal Oak is definitely the place to go, although it may cost you more.

[DocSAMMD]

ARE U GUYS SERIOUS. Right next door to providence hospital there are a couple of apartment complexes next door. You do not want to get caught on the I696 heading to either Troy or Novi from 3-6pm. Bloomfield is expensive thats North. with all the great pot holes detroit ends up fixing, traffic sucks because Providence is trully the center on the northern districts of Detroit. Yea its not the safest yet with gas prices and the amount u save. Imagine u have an apartment next door and when u are on call u can go home and chill instead of staying in the resident lounge.

FAMILIES are different. If I had kids I would not live here. No parks and I would worry about my spouse.

[Scott1981]

well even without kids there is no way i would live in the direct vicinity of providence. i stayed in village green on franklin and i knew plenty of others that lived in southfield apartments. both in much better areas than immedietely near the hospital, yet there is never any traffic to or from the hospital from those two places ANY time of the day or night. plus they are both within a 10-15 minute drive door to door.

[Scott1981]

however, i do hear you about the traffic on 696 going to novi at around 4-5 pm.... ouch.

[DocSAMMD]

Man i live In the North Park towers I pay 715 a month with heat and ac included. yea its a concrete block yet i drive everyday to northville for this boring elective and u really have to watch your timing. I understand thats thanks to our schedules we may be the only people on the road I love being next door. Now u are right some complexes are shady yet I really believe people should check it out. Plus I concrete apt u never deal with your neighbors.

[slfarnsw]

I also wouldn't recommend Southfield...it's pretty dumpy to say the least. We just moved to Birmingham and LOVE IT!!! It's very nice, and I can get to the hospital in 13 minutes (with good weather....haven't gone through a MI winter yet). It's pretty pricey here, but good deals can be found if you know where to look. Also, for anyone intersted in renting a house....hire a realtor. It doesn't cost you a dime (they get paid by the homeowner), and it makes things so much easier on you. Also, they can usually negotiate the rent down. Case in point.....I was able to get a 2,000 sq. foot 3 bed/3 bath house in Birmingham for $1300/month.