<p>How far is one from another (subj.)? </p>
<p>I've heard that Detroit is somewhat scary, "dead" town with lots of crime. Does it affect UMich/Ann Arbor in any way? For example, how oos students fly in to college from their remote hometowns: do they need to go through some unsafe areas before they reach Ann Arbor?</p>
<p>I just came from a campus day yesterday and I am OOS. Detriot is about 40 miles from ann arbor. The airport the I took was DTW (you should try and book your flight to this airport because it is somewhat close to ann arbor) which is about 19 miles from detriot and 25 from ann arbor. I felt safe going from the airport to ann arbor. It did not seem like there were any crime issues along the way.</p>
<p>don't be ridiculous. you're not going to even go through detroit on your way to ann arbor. and even if you did, i'm sure you'd make to to ann arbor just fine. detroit is not that scary.</p>
<p>That's because the Detroit Airport is 20 minutes away from the city of Detroit itself.</p>
<p>The city of Detroit is tied with St. Louis for having the worst crime rate in America. No, it's not safe. I have cousins in the Dearborn area who have been stopped by police and told to turn back from certain areas in Detroit because they were not black. Although I just know somebody out there is going to try and challenge me on this, I'm going to say that Detroit is a terrible place to live in. I wouldn't say it affects Ann Arbor, or even the suburbs directly neighboring it like Dearborn or Dearborn Heights. You shouldn't encounter any more crime in Ann Arbor than you would in any other small college city.</p>
<p>The airport that everybody flies into (Detroit Metro, DTW) is halfway between Ann Arbor and Detroit. Absolutely no spill-over effect from the city. Plus, the airport is wedged between two major highways, one of which takes you directly to Ann Arbor.</p>
<p>Thanks for you replies, guys. So, how carless oos students get to Ann Arbor from the airport? What kinds of public transportation are there available? How safe they are?</p>
<p>Mapquest.com</p>
<p>Wow Waleed, thanks for feeding into that stereotype, you obviously have no idea what Detroit is like and base your opinion off of some isolated story from your cousins. Detroit has vastly improved and their are many great areas. I live a few miles outside Detroit and visit it often for sporting events and such, and the fact that you would post that just disappoints me. <em>shakes head in disgust</em></p>
<p>The cheapest mode of transportation for you (when you are visiting) would be for you to rent a car (if you are with you parents becuase you have to be 25 or older to drive). Taxi's and other shuttles will charge you around $45 one way when you can spend 20 bucks for a rent-a-car.</p>
<p>I went to Michigan a few years ago and while in Detroit my uncle had to park his car in the parking lot of a casino while we ate in a restaurant because he was reluctant to park it in the street. With that said, he said he thought Detroit was starting to get back on track.</p>
<p>ecartman,</p>
<p>I've been to Detroit many times. I know Detroit has SOME nice places, but most of it is horrible.</p>
<p>Of course, you're entitled to your own opinion.</p>
<p>myau, there is regular bus service from the airport to the UMich campus. It is safe. </p>
<p>If you are just visiting you can take a taxi.</p>
<p>Ann Arbor and Detroit coexist without much interaction. I guess you could compare their relationship to Newark and Princeton.</p>
<p>Outside of the casinos downtown and the sports arenas/stadiums, Detroit looks like Baghdad. 1 out of every 5 houses in Detroit is abandoned. Please don't visit Detroit unless you research the area first. There are nice spots to visit, just don't be stupid about it. (like going to 8 mile road and walking around at three in the morning)</p>
<p>*myau, there is regular bus service from the airport to the UMich campus. It is safe. *</p>
<p>Oh, thanks, that's what I wanted to know about - how my kid (who is considering applying there) would get to the campus (in case she gets in and ends up as UMich student) if she flies there alone.</p>
<p>When i was a student I rode the bus to and from the Michigan Union to the airport. </p>
<p>From the Campus Information Center site:</p>
<p>The cheapest way to travel back and forth from the airport is to use MSA's airBus service. They pick up in 3 locations around campus and you can pay by cash, check, or charge it to your student account. Tickets are sold at MUTO, the Michigan Union Ticket Office. A reserved seat is $8 one-way or $13 round-trip. Non-reserved seats are sold on a first come, first serve basis and cost $10 each way. Note that this shuttle only runs prior to scheduled UM school breaks.</p>
<p>I live in Detroit. It's not a scary place unless your a coward. I've never been mugged (although people have tried they never succeeded), shot at (directly) and generally, I've just been left alone. The only bad experiences I've had was having my house-broken into, and having a crackhead mistake my house for the crackhouse a few houses over. Generally, it's just not a bad place if you have any practical intelligence. See that dark alley over yonder? Don't walk down it. Only stupid tourist and visitors get mugged.</p>
<p>And being black doesn't make your chances of being mugged decrease. In fact, it makes it does the opposite. If you haven't noticed a given race will usually mug their own-that's how every race works whether you want to admit it or not. Being white makes you much less likely to get robbed. But for some reason most white people I encounter are afraid when I approach them. Probably because they just assume that every black guy in Detroit wants to mug them. Can you believe that I have to stop, raise both hands and say, "I'm here to help you" before I help tourists because they're liable to shoot me or run away if I don't blatantly announce my intentions?</p>
<p>Take it from me, I know: I live in the real, inner-city Detroit, not a suburb. My hood is actually a hood.</p>
<p>Detroit isn't all bad though. If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.</p>
<p>Yes. You shouldn't think of Detroit like the insurgency stronghold of Baghdad. This isn't Compton, people. You can make it through just fine. If you worry about random people shooting you and taking your stuff you are just feeding into the stereotype, and in my opinion you are a coward. If you are a reasonably self-sufficient male, you shouldn't have anything to rightfully worry about in Detroit.</p>
<p>U-M students should be smart about not putting themselves in risky situations, but they shouldn't be scared of the city. U-M has a role to play in getting Detroit into better shape, and I'd hope students would be eager to participate in those efforts when the chances arise. </p>
<p>Ann Arbor is a lovely oasis and that's great for day-to-day life at U-M. But there are chances to step outside and do something useful, and I hope that students don't get so hung up on Detroit's worst images that they shy away from those opportunities.</p>
<p>If you are a reasonably self-sufficient male, you shouldn't have anything to rightfully worry about in Detroit.</p>
<p>And if you are a female...? :-)</p>
<p>Detroit isn't scary, for the most part-It had the safest downtown last year. I lived there as a child. Like any large city, Detroit does have crime, but that doesn't mean you should fear for your safety. There are areas that should be avoided for the time being (until Detroit's Mayor acutally does his job and finally helps the city prosper). Some of the nicest neighborhoods are on this website <a href="http://www.citylivingdetroit.com%5B/url%5D">www.citylivingdetroit.com</a>.</p>