Thinking about moving to Detroit?
You’re making your move to Motown at an incredible time. While longtime inhabitants might cringe over the mention of a comeback, after years of financial decline, Detroit is in the throes of a veritable economic boom.
Fueled by over “$3.4 billion in investment and development” from small businesses since 2013, there is a reverberating vibe of anticipation sweeping the city streets. With innovative shops, exciting craft breweries and scrumptious, new restaurants opening every week, it’s hard to keep up with the latest, greatest hot spots downtown.
While dynamic neighborhoods including Corktown, Midtown and Woodbridge are luring residents back into Detroit city proper, many people who move to the area still choose to live in one of the three counties that comprise the greater Detroit Metro Area. Of the nearly 4 million residents in Oakland, Wayne and Macomb counties, only about 700,000 people reside within the city of Detroit itself. Communities such as Novi, Rockford and New Baltimore boast some of the hottest housing markets in the nation.
With all of the tasty, breathtaking action unfolding around the city, it’s truly a thrilling time to be a Detroiter.
Detroit Essential Resources
City of Detroit website Everything you need to know about living in Detroit. Chock full of useful resources, including information about the City of Detroit government, calendars of city meetings and events, important city terminology and more….
Detroit Traffic
It should come as no surprise that the city that “drives America” heavily relies on the automobile for transportation. With no unified system of mass transit, buses are the primary source of public transport available to residents of the city, although the bus lines do not run in all suburban communities.
Within Detroit, The People Mover, an elevated light rail service, offers several key stops at major city centers. A new streetcar system, the M-1 Rail, is expected to be completed by the end of 2016, and will offer service down Woodward Avenue, a main corridor into and through the city.
While rush hour traffic can be maddening, many Detroit area motorists find that summertime road construction woes are the most infuriating part of their daily commute. Snow and ice during the winter months may combine for slick driving conditions, but “Orange Barrel season” (as Detroiters mournfully refer to the warmer months when construction projects are rampant) often make for the biggest headaches.
Weather in Detroit
With four very distinct and dynamic seasons, Detroit has a variable weather that will satisfy everyone. Although summertime is characteristically hot—and stickily humid— Michigan offers over “ 11,000 inland lakes” for boating, swimming and fishing, many within driving distance from the Metro area.
The same lakes that tempt residents with a refreshing dip in the swelter of July, are the perfect destination to return for ice-skating and other winter sports, when temperatures hit the single digits in chilly February.
Summer average (June — Aug): 82 ℉ high, 58 ℉ low
Winter average (Dec — Feb): 36 ℉ high, 19 ℉ low
Detroit Economy
The city of Detroit filed for Chapter 9 Bankruptcy in 2013, but the state of the economy in the city, fueled by the small business movement, is certainly on the rise. Indeed, “Michigan has just completed its sixth year of economic recovery, averaging 74,200 new jobs a year.” And the cost of living in Detroit is wonderfully low, nearly 5 percent below the national average.
Unemployment rate: 6.2% (as of June 2016)
Average weekly wages for all industries: $1,209 (fourth quarter 2015)
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