A Day In The Life of A Downtown Detroit Father

Generally, I wake up sometime after a morning walk or jog from Grand Circus Park to Campus Martius Park, and then back to my two bedroom apartment/makeshift low income loft over ten stories over Detroit's CBD. That jog sometimes includes picking up a gallon of milk or breakfast sandwich on the way. The cafe in my building, as well as the grand lobby, always seem to be filled with young people on laptops or reading. This is clearly our little social coffee shop in our corner of Downtown.

Both a convenience store and cafe are on the first floor of my building. When Detroit Mom is (was) pregnant or one of us is watching the little one, we generally strap her (baby) in the stroller, walk downstairs, and get whatever we need. There is no car rides necessary, no buckling children in car seats. This is important to us, because we are a one car household who is getting the best out of our two door compact car.

I usually walk to work, but sometimes take the 53 up Woodward to work. We live near both the Rosa Parks Transit Center and a People Mover stop. During times of inclement weather, I swing down a block to the People Mover and jump on for a short ride to the Grand Circus Station, where I can walk under the track (avoiding rain) to the transit stops. The bus is not luxurious, but it isn't as bad as they say. The buses are only a few minutes apart. It takes me no more than five extra minutes to do this than to drive, and saves about thirty from walking. (Click here to use Google Transit to plan your trip).

On the way to work, I pass shop keepers, elevator riders, desk clerks, parking lot attendants, and transit riders and operators, all generally friendly enough to have small talk with. I have made some nice friends just on my commute to work.

Working in Midtown, less than a mile away, is nice. At lunch, there are many choices for food within walking distance. There are pharmacies, my bank, a Radio Shack, convenience stores, and clothing stores to stop at if needed. Occasionally, I run over to Kim's Produce and pick up some fruit and veggies to juice at the office.

Sometimes I do my work (not often) in the main library, or just stop to get a good book.

On the way home, I sometimes stop for groceries at the produce place, deli/butcher, a CVS, or a convenience store. Occasionally I have to go the extra quarter mile to the full service grocery store, though that is rare. There is also a hardware store and locksmith on the way home.

Once I get home I sometimes take my daughter to blog with me in the park. Grand Circus Park is always alive with people walking dogs, while Campus Martius Park tends to have more families and tourists. There are homeless people about, but I find most of them friendly, and found that most are decent enough to not ask for change when they see you every day, and you have a little one.

While my daughter is just getting old enough to play at the playground, my building does not have one. However, at least two other Downtown buildings that we are looking into do have playgrounds for kids (Riverfront Towers has recently built a pretty extensive one, actually). Other days, Detroit Mom and I pop on the People Mover to the Broadway Station, and go utilize the play room/child care at the Boll Family YMCA for an hour, while we work out. Other times, we take our daughter to the indoor swimming pool. Still other times, we take the People Mover over to the Renaissance Center, stopping at the candy shop before we let Baby Girl play with the throngs of children on the Riverwalk. Other days we go to Greektown for a diner and a treat at Astoria. This is all of course, not even considering the events at the Downtown library, Campus Martius (family movie nights mainly) or sporting and theater events.

We have a nearby baby sitter who is just awesome. Admittedly, she was very tough to find, but worth the hassle. Sometimes Detroit Mom and I go out on a date night. We go to ballets at the Opera House, dinner and a movie, the casino, or a museum/art exhibit. Sometimes we just go get ice cream and sit and people watch in Campus Martius Park, or play a board game in the grand lobby of our building. All the while we are out, we know we are literally blocks from home. Our home of course, has cab stands outside, and is a short cab ride from all emergency services, should an emergency occur. While Detroit seems to be known for slow response times, the cabs provide some peace of mind.

Even after all this, there is even another angle to this with Detroit Mom's home office. There are benefits to locating your home office in the Central Business District, but this post is long enough as is.

So, is Detroit perfect? Far from it! However, me and mine have made it work just fine for us.