Is Detroit really that unsafe?
Posted by Amazing_North3922@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 63 comments
I (UK-based M42) travel to the US a lot as I work with a US-based company. So I've been all over and tend to find the hype around unsafe cities to be overblown. However, I'm travelling to Detroit next month and far more people from the US than usual are telling me to be very careful, just stay in very specific areas, etc. Oh, and not to drink the water, lol. Any truth to the hype?
Oh and good places to see/eat would be much appreciated too.
Adept_Carpet@reddit
As long as you're not traveling there to sell drugs or get in the way of whatever criminal operations are going on there Detroit is just about the friendliest place you'd ever want to visit.
It feels like every person there works for the Chamber of Commerce, they see a tourist and immediately want to show you their favorite place. The closest thing to a warning I have is you might get swarmed by people shouting out restaurant recommendations.
Numerous_Delay_6306@reddit
nah chill, you'll be fine
Turd_Fergusons_@reddit
Most of the crime is black on black (crime)in any US city, Detroit included. It's game/drug related. Unless you plan on joining a gang, as OP already stated, setting up an illicit drug empire, or wondering a seedy part of town by yourself after dark, you'll be fine.
gaoshan@reddit
My son lives near downtown and I go regularly. It’s perfectly safe so long as you don’t do obviously stupid stuff (like get drunk and try to buy drugs from some random lurker down a dark street at 2:00am, as one does). I’ve never had even a hint of trouble in Detroit… quite the opposite.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with their water, lol. I suspect people are thinking of Flint, Michigan’s water issues but that’s a different city over an hour away from Detroit.
boilface@reddit
So I've read a lot of positive posts about Detroit, and I'm happy to see them. I don't disagree with any of them. But I would add that as somebody who has grown up in and around a few different cities, Detroit struck me as kind of unique.
Most cities I've visited or lived in, it was easy to tell what kind of neighborhood you were in. In Detroit or seemed like one block was fine and the next was no good even though to my untrained eye they looked identical
Detonation@reddit
No.
And the water thing is ignorance, it was Flint that had the water crisis not Detroit.
Adorable-East-2276@reddit
You’ll be fine. imagine these people as our version of british people who tell you to watch your phone and watch out for knife attacks in London
oliviashrewtonbong@reddit
The murder rate in detroit is 32 times higher than London though
skimaskschizo@reddit
Unless OP plans on joining a street gang while in Chicago, he’ll be fine.
Amazing_North3922@reddit (OP)
(Makes notes) DON'T join street gang. Got it.
ian9921@reddit
Well there go my summer plans
Bcatfan08@reddit
It's 23x higher, but that's more likely because the US has an incredible amount of guns and the UK doesn't. Detroit is fine though. I've been there a lot for work and never had an issue, other than you'll smell Marijuana pretty frequently.
ATaxiNumber1729@reddit
Have you been to Hull? It’s a new restaurant close to Charing Cross
h4baine@reddit
Yeah but we have guns so it's not really a fair comparison
oliviashrewtonbong@reddit
True and I had no issue in Detroit (or London)
coffeecircus@reddit
you’ll be fine. robocop is there
ian9921@reddit
But ED-209 is also there
needmoarbass@reddit
Just much, much, much smaller than London lol.
kahlilia@reddit
Yup. EXTREMELY unsafe. Don't come. We're all just waiting to jump you soon as you arrive. Please tell the other gentrifiers how unsafe it is. Maybe they'll go home.
Amazing_North3922@reddit (OP)
I knew it. I'll unpack my chinos and Ralph Lauren polo's and cancel my order of Fiji Water from the hotel.
kahlilia@reddit
Should've ordered the Fiji from Sam's; it's cheaper. But that might've involved interacting with Native Detroiters.
Bright_Ices@reddit
On that note, Salt Lake City is also a terrible, violent wasteland
Footnotegirl1@reddit
Grew up in Detroit, still have relatives there.
There was a time when there were definitely large swathes of the city that were quite dangerous, and even larger swathes that were simply devastatingly empty. At that time, cautioning people who were visiting was a legitimate thing to do. Over the last decade, there has been a huge renaissance of the Renaissance City, and things are definitely looking up for the city, and I would say that it is now really no more dangerous or problematic than any other major city in the US. And as with most issues in cities... the vast majority of any crime is between people who know each other.
The water in Detroit has always been really, really good. It's the water in Flint, MI that you had to watch out for, in large part because they intentionally stopped using Detroit water to switch to their own water, which caused a flushing of the lining of all the lead pipes and the source of their water was not as clean to start with nor was it properly treated. That was decades ago, apparently Flint water is just fine now.
Funny_Inspection6893@reddit
Detroit is still quite "empty". It's population is approximately one third of its peak.
514geekgirl@reddit
Like any big city don’t dress in an Armani suit with a giant gold chain and walk down an alleyway at 2AM otherwise you’ll be fine. I’ve walked alone in far worse places and never had an issue, I just don’t flaunt money around and take dumb risks
zoppaTheDim@reddit
No
Just like you, a lot of people judge things based on watching fictional tv shows or a trip they made thirty years ago.
Detroit has heart and is a work in progress.
Amazing_North3922@reddit (OP)
I mean, I'm not judging, thats why I'm asking? As per my post, nearly everything everyone says negatively is hype.
Recommendations for any cool places to eat much appreciated.
CandyCoatedDinosaurs@reddit
Probably better asked in r/detroit than here because a lot of Americans who have never been to Detroit, or who left more than 20 years ago, still hold an incredibly negative view of it. I currently live in the metro area, but I have lived in the city and still spend a considerable amount of time in it. Are there areas that are better to avoid? Yes. Is the average traveler likely to be in them? No. Where will you be in Detroit? Downtown? No reason to feel any less safe than in any other city. People are pretty friendly and welcoming, and you are probably even less likely to experience crime than some other larger downtowns.
That being said, Detroit is a large (area-wise) city with a lot of different disconnected neighborhoods in various stages of life, from thriving to decaying to rebirth. If you intend on traveling outside of the more touristy areas and into the surrounding neighborhoods, I do recommend you do some due diligence into what those neighborhoods are like. (Some are really cool! Some do contain a fair bit of blight.) Living there, there were definitely some places I wouldn't stop for gas, and some I avoided driving through after dark. Now, if you plan on driving in Detroit... that can be an experience for outsiders. Or so we are told.
How long will you be here? What area are you staying? Will you have a car? (Detroit is unfortunately very lacking in public transport.) What kind of things are you into? Detroit has a world class art museum (Detroit Institute of Arts) that I would always recommend to visitors, but if you can give us some more details people can certainly make recommendations.
Amazing_North3922@reddit (OP)
Thanks for this. Yeah I'll be staying downtown. As my post says, I travel a huge amount in the US, so what surprised me was the extent that people told me to be careful. Its interesting. People for sure have stereotypes within their own country that are no longer true.
h4baine@reddit
I'm from the Detroit area and a lot of people not from there treat it as this boogeyman of cities. No, it's not unsafe, especially now and in the areas you'll likely be in for work. Honestly Detroit has had a hell of a glow up since my childhood. Go enjoy it! The architecture is stunning, the food is fantastic and the people are great.
Amazing_North3922@reddit (OP)
Thanks man, this is super helpful.
Decent_Concern8751@reddit
Damn I was gonna add on to watch Detroiters (especially because it’s April in the D)
h4baine@reddit
Haha I was just thinking he's just missing April in the D!
ArcticPangolin3@reddit
OP should def try a coney dog, even if it's just at the airport. (And it's not expensive there either.)
h4baine@reddit
Man now I miss late night hanis and cheese fries lol
xeno_4_x86@reddit
Not anymore. Cities on the west coast are far more dangerous and you're more likely to encounter things like open drug use and mentally unstable individuals. Most of the crime in Detroit is targeted with people knowing eachother, not people trying to go about their business.
Hey-Bud-Lets-Party@reddit
30 years ago that was true.
Zack1018@reddit
Detroit is a pretty big city in terms of land area, anywhere within walking distance of downtown or midtown is perfectly safe. The tap water is also fine to drink.
michigan2345@reddit
r/detroit
miketugboat@reddit
In general if you are in a city go home around 10pm and you are fine. Suns up and you are fine. Public transport or walking on certain streets gets a little riskier after 10pm. But you can just call a car and take that and be fine.
In general you are fine but don't go to like east st Louis at 3am and wander around drunkenly. Feel like its that way in most countries
CountChoculasGhost@reddit
Don’t drink the water?
lol
That is crazy. You can absolutely drink the water. I grew up drinking Detroit municipal water and it was fine.
Maybe they are referring to the Flint Water Crisis. But 1. That has been fixed. And 2. That is a different city.
ManufacturerDull4689@reddit
The tap water is perfectly fine and safe to drink.
BoBoBearDev@reddit
As long as you stay in populated area, you are fine. This applies to all countries (except, do not take a ride provided by the job interview in certain countries).
Bright_Ices@reddit
Like Hollywood.
BoBoBearDev@reddit
Now that you mentioned it, use drive through in Hollywood. The jacket in the box I used to go, is dominated by homeless. Going along myself makes me the odd one out.
Bright_Ices@reddit
I meant the ride
BoBoBearDev@reddit
Oh, that I don't know much about.
permalink_child@reddit
Detroit is very safe - so long as you are downtown. There are marginal neighborhoods on the city limits but unless you are planning to buy meth or fenty - there is no reason you would go there.
coronarybee@reddit
I’m from the metro area. It’s fine. Also the water is actually really good lol.
molten_dragon@reddit
Detroit isn't any different than most large US cities. There are neighborhoods that are unsafe but most of the city is fine. It's unlikely that you would be going to any of the unsafe areas on a work trip. Practice the same basic awareness that you would in any unfamiliar city and you'll be fine. The water in Detroit is fine to drink too. It was Flint that had the water problems, not Detroit.
The real danger is the car-swallowing potholes.
dulcimerist@reddit
Detroit is not nearly as dangerous as people make it out to be, and has some of the better tap water in the U.S.; Flint's issues stemmed from them trying to save money by switching away from Detroit's water to the Flint river.
Any hotel you stay at for work likely won't be near those areas. Downtown and all the surrounding boroughs are quite safe - the outlying areas between the city center and the suburbs can be varying degrees of rough.
As far as places to eat, just thinking of local / regional / american food, there's Detroit style pizza (Loui's or Michigan & Trumbull), coney dogs (Lafayette or American), Mexicantown has great hispanic food (Taqueria Mi Pueblo), sliders (Green Dot Stables), creole (Fishbones or Louisiana Creole Gumbo), barbecue (Redsmoke or Slow's), more upscale American restaurants (Grey Ghost or Selden Standard). Many more options abound, but aren't specifically american cuisine; in particular, we have some phenomenal middle eastern food. Across the river, Windsor has an excellent food scene as well, but I'm unsure whether you'd be able to cross freely on your visa.
As far as things to do, the Detroit Institute of Arts punches well above its weight. The Motown Museum is neat. The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn is also excellent. Cruising Belle Isle, catching a sporting event or concert downtown, and walking or biking the riverfront are some more options.
twinklestein@reddit
it looks like it is if you’re in kindergarten 😳
bcuket@reddit
i lived there for 2 years and walked/used the q-line(the train) everywhere and never had a problem. i lived in the museum district at the time.
Return_Of_The_Whack@reddit
It's like any city on earth. Be smart, know where you're going, be respectful and you'll be fine. Pull up a crime map, search a local subreddit, double check the surroundings of wherever you're staying and just use common sense.
Hopeful_Pizza_2762@reddit
Totally depends on how you treat other people.
Medium-Employ9444@reddit
Just like with many other major urban centers the danger of going to Detroit has been exaggerated. It is more dangerous than other cities in some places, but the vast majority of the city is no more dangerous than anywhere else in the country. The advice about not drinking the water comes from a scandal that took place in a suburb of Detroit a while back. The city of Flint Michigan had switched the source of their drinking water from Lake Michigan to the Flint River to save money. Unfortunately they didn’t filter the new water properly and the water started corroding the old lead pipes that transported most of the City’s water. This caused lead to contaminate the public water system leading to widespread lead poisoning, especially among young children. It was eventually cleaned up after a 10 year effort to remove and replace all of the lead piping was completed last year.
Icy-Whale-2253@reddit
It’s just a pervasive stereotype.
Also, the water thing has nothing to do with Detroit which apparently they are conflating with Flint (a completely different city over an hour away.)
Different_Cherry8326@reddit
Like all major cities in the US (and in most other countries too) Detroit has good areas and not so good areas. If you’re traveling for business, it’s unlikely that you will be visiting any of the not so good areas. And even if you were to do so, you would most likely not have any problems. Of course you can be a victim of crime anywhere, so there is never a guarantee of safety. But, no, you don’t need to be worried about visiting Detroit.
And, yes, you can drink the water.
Ok_Organization_7350@reddit
I travel to Detroit for business trips. I think it's a nice city, and I never felt unsafe.
Fun_Perception1842@reddit
Detroit used to be much more dangerous than it currently is. Over the last few years the city has been getting a lot better and is actually a really nice place to visit. There are still some rough areas, but overall the city is a lot better than it was even a decade ago.
The suburbs for the most part are very nice and perfectly safe. No concerns there.
As for the water, it’s totally fine to drink. The unsafe water issues were in Flint (roughly an hour north of Detroit), so no need to worry about the water.
Hope you enjoy Detroit and get to see some of the cool sites and attractions it has to offer while you’re there!
Away-Parsnip-3785@reddit
Detroit hit rock bottom in the 00s.
Nowadays it’s just another third tier city with a steadily recovering population of new blood seeking opportunities. It’s a hell of a lot better than a decade ago.
Common_Vagrant@reddit
Detroit is getting nicer for sure, I think over the past 10 years it’s been growing? The houses were dirt cheap and abandoned over 10 years ago, it only took a few years for people to buy into that and either live in them and/or flip them.
safarifriendliness@reddit
I wouldn’t be scared to go there or anything