 Also, some areas may overlap with what is known as Northern Michigan.These areas, such as Clare, Gladwin, and Arenac County are along the border of the two regions and can be considered parts of both, depending on your frame of reference.Portions of Metro Detroit can overlap with Central Michigan, especially the counties of Genesee, Lapeer, Livingston and St. Clair are statistically included in Metro Detroit however geographically lie in Mid Michigan.