Livonia

Although Livonia is a city that certainly has it all, few people even know that the Rosedale Gardens Historic District even exists. Wooden houses with broad porches that have been bricked, sit in neat rows looking like a storybook. I don’t think the lawns here are even capable of growing weeds.

You will never be short of things to do in Livonia. Laurel Park Place is a small, upscale shopping mall that’s nice or there are endless other shopping opportunities. The selection of restaurants is never-ending and there are even some great bars; my personal favorite is Kickers, which houses Joey’s Comedy Club.

Livonia is a big city. I have several friends who live here and every neighborhood I’ve gone through is always full of primarily single story brick homes, manicured landscaping and tree-lined sidewalks. Houses are a little bit more expensive here when compared to other Michigan cities, but the public school district is great and there are plenty of private schools as well. If you read through statistics, it does look as though Livonia has a higher crime rate than some other areas, but considering the massive population, it’s really not as bad as it looks on paper.

It seems suburban and safe but there's an overwhelming amount of gangs and illegal activity, not only among high schoolers but junior high students as well.