Royal Oak Reviews

133 reviews

I've lived in Royal Oak for almost 20 years. It has a beautiful walkable urban downtown. Leafy neighborhoods filled with early 20th century homes (e.g. craftsman bungalows) and new high rise lofts. Downtown R.O. is second biggest destination next to downtown Detroit in the metro area. The Detroit zoo is located in R.O. Great Central location; literally 15 - 20 minutes to anywhere in metro Detroit including downtown Detroit. Love it!!!!

Royal Oak has various entertainment opportunities. It is less than twenty minutes from downtown Detroit where you can attend symphonies, ballets, tigers games, concerts and more. In Royal Oak there is a lively bar scene, including fifth ave, the rock on third and hopcat.

I have really enjoyed living here. There are a lot of fun community events that are very fun and it is an overall safe community.

Review Royal Oak

great. I have lived here for a long time and I have had no problem great for family or kids. I would even say the housing snd job market is good as well.

Royal Oak is a delightful suburban city. With its charming downtown area filled with locally-owned shops, restaurants, and a lively nightlife scene, it offers the perfect blend of small-town charm and urban amenities. The well-maintained parks, excellent schools, and strong sense of community make Royal Oak a highly desirable place to call home. Whether you're a long-time resident or a newcomer, this vibrant city has something for everyone to enjoy.

I came to down town Royal Oak for a Dinner. I park in a back in street parking space. Paid $2.75 for the space, ate for 55 minutes. When I left the meter was still green. 2 weeks later I get a ticket in the mail for $20 claiming I didn’t pay. I tried contacting someone to let them know there must be something wrong with the meter. No one’s helpful with getting it fixed.

I have Lived in Royal Oak for over 15 years, and I can say that the city is very safe and has a nice community. I like the small local areas such as downtown and other small local spots. There are specific events downtown such as carnivals or parades that are fun for everyone and really bring the community together. Royal Oak is a great city, however it can be quite boring at times because of the fact that the downtown area is pretty small and there are only seasonal events a couple times a year.

A town that leaned into the culture of soft corruption ever since the postal incident in the early 90's, read the congressional hearings and note the silent responses when asked if the culture allowed for self improvement without intervention. The police have killed multiple unarmed people, one in 2018 was shot in the back 4 times and then successfully blamed it on a hole in the wall of the department that employee's voluntarily used for talking through (I'm not kidding, check it out in the court proceedings) then they built a new police station! wild. RO is easily going to lose it's shirt when the boomer population disappears. Before moving in I highly suggest going into city hall and asking any critical question about problem solving, see what kind of response you get and remember a majority of the population is government employees (they don't tell you that here unfortunately, it is not a place for young people trying to be industrious and improve life overall)

I used to live in Royal Oak and loved it. Much has changed and I do think it's a truly nice place with great restaurants and residents. City management, however, can take a good experience and ruin it. If you google Royal Oak parking, you'll quickly learn about a big issue. This issue hit me last week. I met a colleague for lunch and we parked on Washington. The parking there is laid out oddly, as they require you to back in at an angle. I watch him back in and out a couple times, trying to catch the angle right as the cars to either side had a hard time staying in the lines and encroached on him. In short, he gave up and pulled in head first. So, we come out from lunch and he has a ticket because he didn't back in...for $50!!! This pisses him off, me too for that matter. Yes, it was incorrect to pull in head first, but $50 is ridiculous. His response was that we never meet in Royal Oak again for lunch. I agreed. The City and the local businesses will keep patrons away.

Royal Oak is an amazing city where I have worked, met my fiancé, and current own a home. I love Royal Oak-it’s beautiful well-kept parks, walkable downtown area, and kind and safe neighborhoods.

Royal Oak is honestly an amazing city! There is so much to do and so many places to go! The police department keeps it so safe. The city holds so many events throughout the year, there is always something to do! The community is very inclusive and seeks to support all.

Royal Oak has a very dense and fun downtown area. I live close enough to walk there, so I go frequently to pick up lunch and drinks. Weekend events are quite frequent, along with monthly events such as a food truck rally at the farmer's market. There are also arts and music festivals for which people come from all around Michigan. The suburban neighborhoods are great for taking walks, and the community is very friendly. I would like to see more new shops downtown, because there are always a fair number of empty storefronts, which I think tends to happen because rent is so expensive. I want to see more local businesses thrive for longer.

I have grown up in royal oak, and have found it to be a peaceful and pretty safe place to live. I personally have no complaints about royal oak.

Royal Oak is a town with a growing population but without the proper knowledge to manage it. The people are nice the neighborhoods are safe.

It was a nice small town with an eclectic atmosphere in the 70s and 80s. The municipal worker's pension fund was depleted due to lack of funding, and the town's administrators solution was to rework the downtown into a party palace with constant, obnoxious "festivals" to attract people from outside the town to blow money on useless things. Motorcycles line the streets in the summer in front of all the new bars. The center area has changed dramatically into a non-family friendly bar oriented nightmare with people getting drunk and partying til the late hours. All of the eclectic shops are gone, or moved to Ferndale. They couldn't even keep a bookstore going (Barnes and Noble), now its a BW3, very low brow. The basement flooding everywhere was the final straw for us. Home values are stagnant at best.

I love Downtown Royal Oak. There are a ton of small businesses, the city puts on many local events for all different age groups, best place to live as a young adult or to raise a family. It is in prime location, 15 minutes away from Downtown Detroit, 20 minutes from Somerset, seems to be a good central point to many other major cities. Very safe, police department is very responsive, friendly and community based policing. There are a combination of apartments, townhouses, and homes in all different price ranges. Very dog friendly, kid friendly. Has a great central downtown, lots of places to eat, lots of coffee shops and places to study/work, lots of events to attend, etc.

The downtown area is great, but the residents that live in northern royal oak seem to be the least of the city’s worries. Plowing is rarely done and shoveling after snow storms is optional. Also, no fire pits!

Review Royal Oak

Royal Oak has a nice small-town feel while still being a thriving city in the midst of metro Detroit. It is a safe area if you enjoy biking, walking, or running. It is family oriented with parks in almost every neighborhood. And the downtown area is great if you want to get a drink with friends on a Saturday night.

I love living so close to grocery stores, dog parks and so many great food and coffee spots! There are so many opportunities for housing from buying to renting and the housing market is currently booming. I always feel safe here and love the people :)

I moved here a couple years ago and was pleasantly surprised by the amount of entertainment and diversity within the city. The area has been safe and as a woman I've even felt comfortable venturing out alone at night to walk the street. People will go out of their way to help you if you need it and if you move to the right part of town it can be very walker friendly. I am a 7 minute walk from dining, grocery stores and other businesses. there are places to drink but not many places to party you'd be better off hitting a bigger city like Detroit. The most disappointing part of Royal Oak would be the food and the few instances of racism I've experienced.

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