Actually at night there are plenty of places downtown I'd rather be than in much of Pontiac. Three cities over from Pontiac you live? Hmm.. would that be lily-livered Auburn Hills? To you, downtown Royal Oak probably looks sketchy. 48201 was my zip code for several years not too long ago, and have also lived in Ferndale just 6 blocks north of 8 Mile, and now live in Redford just a couple of stone throws from the city border.
Downtown is developing(re-developing I suppose) now at a pretty good clip. There is an actual night life, and good restaurants are popping up like weeds pushing thru concrete. Yes, it doesn't take long to hit some dicey neighborhoods, but downtown itself is on the upswing.
>>Hmm.. would that be lily-livered Auburn Hills?<<
*snicker*
Um, no.
My zip was 48239 as well at one point. When I first came here one of my good friends was an EMT. She told me that if I got into an accident on the east side of Telegraph to crawl to the west or I would never get help. She also worked in Pontiac and told me just to stay away from there at night. I've seen it first hand driving through it at night. She was right.
Perhaps your tolerance for danger is high because you have lived in the areas you have. Not mine.
You can say that the Downtown area is on the upswing but maybe that's because you are reading the Free Press for your information.