I'm a Troll according to Yoopers.
Supposedly I am too, but most people probably don’t realize what my place of origin in life is.
Yep I guess it originates from trolls living under things so they figure we live under the bridge.
For the most part I tell people around here (Fresno) that I’m from Arizona if the question of where I’m from comes up. Strangely out west being from Michigan is somehow more exotic than being from a desert state. I kind of got tired of answering “is 8 Mile as bad they say it is?” over the years. I figure since I lived in Arizona and Michigan for 13 apiece that I can claim either as my home state.
I guess I could do that with Indiana myself. But I have lived in Michigan longer though. I get tired of answering them questions too. And personally I don't think 8 Mile is as bad as people think it is.
My Grandparents lived off 8 Mile and Grand River, we used to walk to the store all the time in the early 1980s. My Dad worked at a software development office at 275 and 8 Mile in the early 1980s. Now I wouldn’t say part of 8 Mile Road eastward towards Woodward are fantastic, but they are nowhere as bad as what you’ll find further south in the City of Detroit. If the movie was titled “Michigan Avenue” or “Fort Street” I could understand getting behind a more seedy reputation in popular culture.
I have a cousin (he lives in Fenton now) that use to live in Detroit off Grand River and Greenfield and I never had a problem over there. I walked all over that part of Detroit growing up and it was fine this was in the 80's and 90's. The worst part of Detroit back then was on the east side as the west side wasn't as bad back then. I don't think I'd walk around that area now though.
The streets that always gave me a creepy feeling were Tireman, Epworth, Concord and St. Cyril and I can give a description of how each street was.
Tireman of course runs west of Grand Blvd. on the west side of I-96 all the way across the west side between Warren and Joy Road. It goes through some pretty run down areas of Detroit and Dearborn. The part of Dearborn that butts up to Detroit is as bad as Detroit is in that area.
Epworth just goes through a desolate area on the west side east of Livernois between Warren and Joy Road and the desolate feel gives it a creepy feeling.
Concord is a street that runs on the east side about 4-5 streets east of Mt. Elliott and runs next to the old Packard Plant that until recently was crumbling and that gave it a creepy feeling, very very ghetto type feeling like the imagines of Camden, New Jersey everyone sees.
St. Cyril is a story. I remember coming upon it in 2003 when St. Cyril Church was still standing. I thought the abandoned church was very creepy feeling and the church was totally in ruins. The church is of course gone now with the rest of the neighborhood behind it for an industrial park. It's the street that makes an arc a little west of Van Dyke on the east side north of I-94.