Eurostudents in Detroit, Michigan!

How to Survive in Creepy Detroit?

(Judith Leuenberger, Switzerland, 1993)

...that's a question that I asked myself 100 or even 1000 of times, especially before I left the good old (?) "homeland"!!! Additionally the thought of "everybody else" in California and "one" is stucked in Detroit, the USA - Capital of murders (...don't wanna mention any numbers!).

Okey then, let's go to Michigan! Seems that I hardly have any other choice...Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! But hardly arrived there, I had to revise my opinion, and worst prejudices!. So, that's enough blabla, now the facts about THE City:

1. Car Rental:

Removed by Christoph Jans in 1996. See 'Car Rentals'.

2. Lodging/Housing:

...usually found and provided by HP ... but since I didn't like the first place where I stayed, I had to look around by myself ...off we go! If you are in the same situation as I was, call one of the following persons:

Dolores (called Dee, she's the lady I stayed with ) Blake, 6569 Norwood, Allen Park, MI. 48101, phone (313) 386-4176:
- nice house (4 bedrooms) - in quiet neighborhood - just 5 minutes from work at DSC, Allen Park, Mi. - price per month (depending on the room size): $250 to $270
PS. Dee would like to have another student next year, if she has a room available! (She's really cool ... especially hardly at home, since she works from 4:00pm to midnight!)
University of Michigan (UoM) in Dearborn: Ask for Janice Clements: (313) 593-5570
Janice is the responsible person for the lodging at UoM! She has lots of addresses of (mainly) students who are looking for e.g. roommates! (Got Dee's address from her!)
Lawrance Technical University (Dearborn): Ask for Heidi: (313) 356-0200, Ext. 3945
They provide housing just for the summer, usually till about mid August; ask for detailed information!
Call other universities (with campus!) in this area!!!
Ask around at work among HP and Ford employees! (There's e.g. an "electronic" note board!)

3. Work environment:

It's an unique experience to work on this Ford-Site ... actually you work for HP but you have to deal as well with the customer (Ford). It's definitely different from working on HP in California ... but it's an interesting environment!

Since we are working on customer-site (Ford), we follow their (and not HP's!) rules!!! So e.g. there is an dress-code existing (I'll metion just the short-form!):

+ For Men: Suit and tie (in summer just shirt & tie :O.K.!)

+ For Women: Suit, dress, blazer, skirt (Attention: Not shorter than 3 inches above your knee!!! Otherwise it could happen, that you have to go and buy some new clothes ... I'm talking from experience!) ... but that is a too long story!!! Anyway, finally I wore most time (kind of "dressy", wide) pants! Questions? Give me a call!

4. Shops/Malls/Outlet-Stores:

---> Nice little shops (European Style?) and streets can be found if you look well enough for them! My favorite places are e.g.:

Birmingham (most are expensive stores: e.g. Ralph Lauren, Timberland etc., but you can find as well shops like GAP (to be compared with Benetton or so in Europe!) !
Ann Arbor (Student-Town ... really cool!)
little towns in the country side, e.g. Tecumseh, MI. (they have lots of little shops, as well Crafts- and Art-Shops!)...

---> There are "tons" of malls around, e.g.:

Fairlane Town Center (Dearborn)
Oakland Mall (Troy)
Twelve Oak Mall (Novi)
Somerset Collection (Troy) ...exclusive shopping center, very expensive but carries great stuff! Shops like: Neiman Marcus, Saks 5th Avenue, Rodier, Tiffany & Co. and many others!
Briarwood Mall (Ann Arbor)
etc. (most of them have the more or less the same shops!!!)

---> Outlet-Stores: The closest one is in Monroe [Tel.(313) 241-4804]:

More than 50 stores, incl. Nike, Levis, Mikasa, American Tourister etc. (ca. 35 miles southwest of Downtown Detroit)

---> Food Stores: ...not to forget!!! E.g. Farmer Jack (branches all over!), WestbornMarket (fruit and vegetables!!!) in Dearborn, Michigan Ave.! I'm sure you'll find something to eat!

5. Restaurants:

Have a look into the "Detroit Monthly" - a magazine that includes lots of interesting stuff, so e.g. a "Guide to Dining out in Detroit" [and nearby areas (incl. Windsor, Canada)] ... if you can't find the magazine in a bookstore or so, contact Mike Hurwitch (HP Software Engineer; cube # 354, Tel. [313] 390-2648) ... he's THE person for "Dining out advice"!!!

My favorite places (or least recommendable ones!) are:

"Blue Nile": Ethiopian Restaurant ... unique experience (especially 'cause there's no silverware!)! Order the "feast" (...healthy food, I guess!)! Located in: Greektown-Detroit
"Chilli's": American/ Mexican Cuisine; restaurants all over!
"Fishbone's": Creolian Restaurant (New Orleans area) ... go for an alligator! (...tastes like a tough chicken!); Greektown
"Manuel's": Mexican Food ... nice Margeritas (Strawberry!!!); located in West Bloomfield (PS.: ... for Mexican Food you also can go to Mexican-Town*!)
* "Mexican Town Restaurant": nice and cheap Mexican Food; at Bagley Ave., nearby Stadiums.
"Nemo's": Typically American Food (burgers...)! Go there before a Tiger's Baseball Game!!! (It's about two blocks down from the Tiger Stadium!)
"Olive Garden": Italian Restaurants (all over!)
"PizzaPapalis": Italian? Greek? ... one is for sure: they have great deepdish "Chicago-Style" Pizzas!!! Located in Greektown
"Nikky's": Greek Restaurant in Greektown ( ... have nice, or at least special Greek Pizza!)
"Thai Palace": ... the restaurant we go to every week! (I refer to Mike!!!) Located: Michigan Avenue
"Hunan Hunan": Chinese (Fast) Food ... o.k. for a quick lunch! (Allen Park)
"Greenfield Inn": Ask your Manager to take you out for lunch... (Allen Park/Dearborn)
...there still would be more to mention, but since I don't wanna write a new "Gourmand's Guide", I better stop at this point!)

PS. Most exact addresses of the places you can find in the mentioned magazine (Detroit Monthly)!

6. Bars:

There are for sure enough bars around, but I tried not to check out all of them! No seriously, the facts are, that I didn't go too often to bars since we mostly had private parties going on ... and when there wasn't one planned? It's so easy (I quote a friend of mine: "One goes e.g. to a ballgame and drinks and drinks and ... after the match partying goes on in the parking-lot!!!" Something I first had to get used to ... if this is ever possible!)

"Old Shillelagh" (hope spelt it right!): Irish Bar with live music!!! Pretty good beer and after a second visit there, you know the songs by heart, wow! (Everybody sings along!!!)
"Cheer's": (...from the TV-Serie, although the original one is in Boston!) At the Metro Airport ... an useful place to go when you're supposed to fly out of town (e.g. me to N.Y.) and your plane has 5 hours and 45 minutes delay...
"Sully's": Little Jazz-Bar ... many of them around (see article of Thomas!) Located at Greenfield Ave.!
"Boomers": Sports Bar ... suitable for a large group!!! E.g. "Happy Hour" after work!!!
There are more places, don't panic! Especially cool places are in Ann Arbor and Royal Oak ... just go "bar hopping" there!

7. Entertainment:

General Information you can find in the "Metro Times" - a weekly magazine with lots of tips of what there is to do etc.! This magazine is free and you can find it in several bars or just in "boxes" at the streets!

Once more (esp. regarding Jazz!) I refer to Mike!!!

"Pine Knob"(Clarkston): Outside Music Theatre that offers great concerts from June/July to Sept./Oct.; for more info call the Ticket Master on (313) 645-6666 or (313) 377-0100!!! Ask as well where you can get the summer program (brochure) of Pine Knob!
Baseball Games (Tigers):The Home-Games can be pretty cool ... even though one often doesn't concentrate on the actual games ... it's more the atmosphere that counts!!! (Season from April to End Sept.)
Football Games: UoM Stadium in Ann Arbor is great! It's a unique experience to be in a crowd of 107'000 people! (It's North America's largest College Football Stadium ... I was told!)
... if you wanna do something "cultural": go e.g. to the Fox Theater (or another old one!). Info: (313) 567-6000

8. Places of interest in Detroit:

Are there any? Oh yeah, for sure! But I'm not THE sightseeing-type person, that's why I hardly did anything like that!

A. Downtown:

Bricktown
Greektown (incl. Trappers Alley)
People Mover ( ... good way to do Detroit Downtown Sight-seeing! One ride costs $ 0.50 and lasts ca. 20 minutes! Look especially at the "Art" in every single PM-Station!)
Renaissance Center: (Detroit's nicest building ... and the tallest hotel in the U.S.)
general Downriver-Area
Fox Center (incl. Theater)
Eastern Market etc.

B. Out of town:

Greenfield Village & Henry Ford Museum (Dearborn)
Belle Isle (City Park on Detroit River)
Windsor, Canada: On the other side of the Detroit River
Detroit Zoo: ... just for in case you get bored...
Amusements Parks: Boblo Island, Cedar Point etc.
for more info: --> Brochures from Info Center (refer to Point #10!)

9. Weekend-Trips:

Toronto, Canada: About 4-5 hours drive (... must be nice; had no time to go there!)
Chicago: A great city! It's a must to go there! About 4-5 hours drive!
By plane you are in an hour or 75 minutes to many places ... and the plane tickets are cheap to get nowadays! So why not going to e.g. New York? (It's good fun for weekends! Especially at Labor Day: Go to the Wigstock-Festival! No comment! )
North of Michigan (Upper Peninsula): ... must be as well wonderful for a longer weekend (e.g. Labor Day!!); about 6 hours drive!
West of Michigan: Lake Michigan Shore's are sooooooooooo nice, almost like the beaches in California!
Lake Erie
... and all these thousand little lakes all over Michigan! They are great to do water sports (... all kinds of! I learnt e.g. how to water ski, used a wave runner etc.!)
etc. (... it has no end this list!)

10. General remarks:

At home it was for me hard to get any information about this area (Michigan, in specific Detroit)! The only article I found was in a Polyglott ("Chicago and the Great Lakes"!) ... that wasn't a lot! So, here is an address-list so that you have the opportunity to collect some info before you come to the State of "Thousands lakes", precisely to the Automobile City:

Visitor Information Center: (313) 567-1170
Michigan Travel Bureau P.O. Box 30226 Lansing, Mi. 48909-7726
(This Tourist Office has the magazine "Michigan Travel Ideas", a special edition of "Midwest Living Magazine")
Central Business District Foundation: (313) 961-1403 (Info. Package: "Starring Detroit": Lighting Plan)
Metropolitan Detroit CVB 100 Renaissance Center Suite 1950 Detroit, Mi. 48243
AAA: Get a member of AAA or buy their maps (they are the best!!!):
+ AAA's Tourbook of Michigan/Wisconsin: "Attractions, Lodging and Restaurants"
+ general maps of Detroit, suburbs, Michigan etc.
Get (buy in a bookstore or get it free in e.g. Greenfield Village) the "Visitor's Guide" of Detroit Metro a yearly (?) magazine from the Visitor's Information!

11. Last but not least...

Downtown Detroit is not as "bad" as some people assert! Sure, I would not recommend you (esp. when you're a girl!) to go Downtown by yourself, especially in the night(!) ... but when you keep your "eyes" open and if you don't provoke others, then you hardly will have any problems! (The trouble in Downtown is, that there are more conflicts between black and white people than probably in any other US-City!!!) But there's lots of stuff going on in Downtown, e.g. in summer there were lots of nice festivals, so e.g.:

Various Ethnic Festivals
Renaissance Center Festival
"Taste Fest of Detroit"
and many others...

So, don't worry about going to Detroit !!! You'll hopefully have such a great time as I had ... just meet lots of nice people and have fun with them! O.K. then, feel free to contact me if you are the lucky person who will end up in Detroit!!! (... all the others don't know what they miss!!!) ... and remember, you don't live and work in creepy Detroit (Downtown)! The suburbs are really nice (Allen Park is not bad, although up north is much nicer, but on the other hand much further away from work! I appreciated the short way to DSC!!!) Any further questions? You got my address out of the EuroStudent-Address List 1993!

So, that's all from me!!! Have a nice (nonsense: GREAT!) time in Michigan! And hopefully you feel after these 3 months as I do...honestly said, it will be hard for me to leave from here ... but since I'll come back sooner or later...

Have lots of fun!

PS. About not being in California: Try to get at least to the EuroStudent Orientation ... who knows, probably you even can connect it with a business trip and stay there at least over a long weekend...

Detroit Jazz

(Thomas Reverdy, France, 1993)

Congratulation! You won the chance to stay in Detroit during 3 months! You don't know how lucky you are, you will have the greatest Jazz experience of your live.

If you're not afraid to commute half a hour every day, try to find a room in Ann Arbor, a student only city... You will have the best choices of jazz clubs of the Metro Area (the area around Detroit).

If you are staying north of Detroit, you can find good jazz clubs in Royal Oak, Birmingham, Rochester. Especially in Rochester you have two jazz clubs: Java, a coffee house where only students (Jazz, Bebop) go and Murdock's, famous for its flutist. Java is a good place to meet students. But don't go to Rochester if you live in Ann Arbor, it is stupid.

Everywhere you are in the Metro Area, you will find more than two or three good and cheap Jazz clubs without driving half a hour. Good addresses and programs are in the Metro Times, the local free newspaper. If you don't find the Metro Times (because you are lazy), or if you want some advice, ask Mike Hurwitch, he knows a lot.

Ask Paul Maurer to take you for a Rafting trip in Pennsylvania, or the amusement park of Pittsburgh.

Two festivals you shouldn't miss: The Detroit Montreux Jazz Festival during the Labor Day week: 4 days from noon to midnight, in 3 different places, more than 80 different groups (info: 313-259-5400), and the Detroit Art Festival, gospel, blues, street art (mid September). These two festivals are free, the atmosphere is excellent, and the music is gorgeous (Dave Brubeck, ...)

You can try also some churches in Detroit, you will be surprised by the welcoming and the quality of the music.

I hope you will enjoy your stay in Detroit. This city has a very heavy story which gives its particular character. But it's also a poor and a dangerous city with a high rate of criminality. But you have still some "safe" places in Detroit Downtown: the Greektown (just a little street with many places to go) and the Plaza during the Montreux-Detroit festival. If Detroit is a poor and sad city, the suburbs are beautiful: many little lakes and luxurious houses. You will probably have the opportunity to try all kinds of jet ski or boats...

If you want to travel around the cheapest air ticket (return-flight) to NY is $170. Chicago, Toronto, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Niagara Falls ... are less than 4 hours drive from Detroit. You can get the cheapest air tickets at 1-800-FLY-CHEAP.

Michigan has some pretty places to visit, like the Traverse City Bay, ...

And the Great Lakes can be very surprising ...