Relocating to Detroit

I am living the life of an extreme commuter. Home is in FL, and currently my office is in WV. Not ideal but better than relocating the family out of an area that we really like. I have accepted a new job in Marysville, MI and will probably be living in a northern Detroit suburb. What's the car title/registration/tax process like? Is there a safety inspection? I must say that as a car guy I'm a little excited and proud to be able to spend some time in that area. Guess it also means that I'll finally get to the auto show and Woodward Dream Cruise.

Any Detroit food or car or other must-go-to places appreciated.

this is always my favorite...................

Yep, I have to drive by that to get from the airport to work, so twice a week every week. Makes me happy too.

You will be learning your east/west roads are all "mile" roads. The most popular being 8 Mile Rd. This actually goes up to about 38 Mile Rd (or up to 50 Mile Rd.)
All can be found in this Wiki posting

The North/South roads run long. On these roads there is a neat numbering system that will help you figure how far North or South an address is.

Wiki said: With a few exceptions, one can determine which mile roads an address is between on major north–south roads north of Five Mile/Fenkell by using the formula: [(first two numbers of the address)-5] / 2 Example: 34879 Gratiot Avenue [(34-5)/2] = 14.5 which indicates the address is between 14 and 15 Mile Road.

You can title damn near anything in MI, including homebuilt stuff. On production cars pre 85 or so is by weight, post is by MSRP and some depreciation formula, tags on my 99 Prizrolla are like $60/year, you might spend a couple hundred on a 80s Benz. No inspections, no emissions, no front plates, depending on the neighborhood exhaust noise isn't really enforced.

The catch is to keep your car nice you cant drive it from November-mid April (road salt).

Detroit food, you have to go to at least one coney, Lafayette is the one I prefer in the Lafayette/American debate. Though Duly's definitely has an edge on the both of em(and excellent cheap breakfast, anytime, 24/7), just don't go there at night unarmed.

If you need parts for a ~1990-2000 car, Parts Galore is the big pick and pull, there's 3 of them.

Marysville you say. Who will you be working for if I may ask? I lived in Shelby Township and had a lot of customers in that area. Then moved to Beverly Hills and took a job in Port Huron. Too long of a commute for me. Let us know what you like for housing (city, rural, schools, amenities) and I'm happy to give you my thoughts on some areas to investigate.

As stated, no inspections to worry about which lets some truly scary vehicles on the road at times. Bring your current vehicle titles to a Secretary of State office look at the following link for guidance http://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,4670,7-127-50050---,00.html

Not a lot of car stuff in Port Huron/St. Clair/Marysville but the Henry Ford in Dearborn is a must see. Obviously NAIAS and Dream Cruise. Since you mentioned Dream Cruise, check out Autorama for hot rods and customs. Great show in February/March. The local car shows starting in spring through fall pop up everywhere in the area. You'll be amazed how many are put on. The Dream Cruise starts on weekends in May these days. Other areas/streets have their cruises too (Gratiot, Down River, etc)
Food-Slow's BBQ in Detroit is good. Royal Oak and Birmingham each have some great choices. Windsor, Canada is easily accessible for more options too. Closer to work for you-River Crab in St. Clair isn't bad. Vintage in downtown Port Huron is nice as is the brewery across the just south and around the corner. Depending where you pick for north suburbs you've got some nice choices. Going west to east across M-59/Hall Rd (~ to 20 Mile Rd) from I-75 to I-94- Rochester has some nice places (Chop House, Rochester Mills), Shelby Twp/Macomb Twp has the Lakeside Mall area (chain restaurants of your choosing), Clinton Township has the Partridge Creek area with a few higher end chains. We've got young kids so don't get out too much these days.

Welcome to MI!

Todd

If you want to watch some racing. head to Waterford Hills. A good spot to watch from. is the Hilltop turn (turn 4). You can see damn near the whole track from there. At least you could in 1996..

Oh, also the best corner at the track is right in front of you!!.

Last time I was there. I saw a dead heat between 2 Formula440's with a lapped FV between them. I really need to get back there!

I would advise getting a home either north or south of your workplace. The sun going east and coming home west will wear on you.

A lot of great places to eat, so I'll let the current peeps weigh in on that.

Cool people, great country.

There's Detroit Council Autocross series (Corvette Club, Alfa Romeo Owners Club and MSCC events) and SCCA autocrosses. There's also rallycrossing, but I'm not familiar with it.

Do you have one of these yet?

lol

Just be aware that it is a No-Fault state for auto insurance. So if you get into accident regardless of who is at fault you have to pay for your own damages and medical bills.

Also, food, pizza, even if you don't particularly like pizza, you need to go to Supino Pizzeria at least once, there's a reason its usually an hour wait.

trigun7469 wrote: Just be aware that it is a No-Fault state for auto insurance. So if you get into accident regardless of who is at fault you have to pay for your own damages and medical bills.

so your rate will probably jump quite a bit when you get insurance here. i came from an inside-the-beltway DC suburb and my rate doubled .

Buddy's Pizza

Greek Town

Olga's

Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum

Nevermind that, didn't realize Marysville's location.

Detroit is great. Plenty of people are scared of it but it's really still a safe and cool place.

Woodward Ave Brewery ("the wab") was always a good time. Pizzapopolis downtown as the effing best deep dish pizza I've ever eaten in my entire life. If you want a big one you have to order it before going there. It takes a long time for them to make so call ahead. You can get the personal pizzas while you wait and they're enough for two people. Park in the casino and get your parking ticket validated and that's free parking even if there's a game or other event going on. Throw a nickle in the slots if you feel obligated to gamble. (I did that and won $20 once, paid for lunch!)

It's just over in Dearborn but you have to check out the Henry Ford museum.

If you like electronic / dance music you should go to the Detroit Electronic Music Festival, that was a good time.

Soooo much good food, beer, and fun in that town. I can enjoy myself almost anywhere but Detroit is really great.

Vinsetta Garage is the hip new place to eat, near Royal Oak. Long waits on weekends, but cool atmosphere, especially for gearheads. In Detroit, I like Green Dot Stables for drinks and sliders. Ferndale has One Eyed Betty's for beer and pinball.

In reply to bastomatic:

Green dot is definitely an interesting trip. For full size burgers, the Bronx bar on 2nd just south of WSU is the best I've found so far. For cheap plain old greasy spoon sliders, I like the Telway on 12 mile and John R, I think, or somewhere in that general area, can't remember.

Yeah, both Telway and Hunter House are good diner spots. Also, the Red Coat Taverne is a great burger spot.

If you like coffee, there are a few great independent coffee shops in Detroit. Great Lakes Coffee on Woodward near the DMC is my favorite. Dulce de Leche in Mexicantown is great too.

While on the subject, Mexicantown is a must experience. Also check out Eastern Market on a Saturday, especially in summer. It's a huge open air farm market, with tons of local producers.

A bike ride around Belle Isle is a great way to spend a summer day. Also where they race the Detroit Grand Prix.

DR-SCCA is awesome and very active. Lots of choices for motorsport on both 4 and 2 wheels. I grew up in Michigan and while I don't miss the winter, I def miss the car culture up there. Woodward dream cruise is unlike anything you've ever seen

scardeal wrote: There's Detroit Council Autocross series (Corvette Club, Alfa Romeo Owners Club and MSCC events) and SCCA autocrosses. There's also rallycrossing, but I'm not familiar with it.

The best autocrossing and rallycrossing I have experienced in the eastern half of the USA!!

Nothing like a Corvette club autocross getting into 3rd gear slaloms!! Then the next week at an Alfa Romero event and can't even make the hairpin with my turning radius!! Have to slide it in and out or reverse!

The rallycrosses were the best run and had good locations. When I went there for the national events they were challenging but not destructive to cars. Other states have put in a little too much Rally damage risk into their events. In another state I spent $300 to fix my car after a rallycross and two other competitors just left after walking the course. Just not cool.

Then you also get to go over to Toronto for weekends. From Marysville it will be about 3.5-4 hours. going to Chicago will take 5-6 hours from there probably.

OH Also

www.michiganiceracing.com

And 70MPH speed limits.....sigh

AngryCorvair wrote:

trigun7469 wrote: Just be aware that it is a No-Fault state for auto insurance. So if you get into accident regardless of who is at fault you have to pay for your own damages and medical bills.

so your rate will probably jump quite a bit when you get insurance here. i came from an inside-the-beltway DC suburb and my rate doubled .

Yeah that part sucks. I enjoy my lower rates where I am now in VA.

I recommend this:

Oh, and the only food I've found to be decent (and I'm exaggerating a little) is the Mediterranean food. Everything else is pretty crappy.

(Of course, I miss my po-boys, muffalettas, jambalaya, gumbo, red beans and rice, ...)