Wishing Detroit would be #1 ? Well then, beat these numbers.

Metro Detroiters envy others all the time. We're always hoping that our city could be desirable. We're always hoping that people would move here, do business here, visit here and so on.

Well, simply wishing doesn't do anybody any good. Complaining here on DetroitYes, or bitching about how much life sucks here won't do anybody any good either.

Here's a list of cities that folks love to be at, because they enjoy good times there, they make an honest effort to spend their vacation days and spend their hard-earned money there. They have fun there, and make plans to return - in other words, Repeat Customers !

http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/am...VydGFpbmluZw--

So, Detroit wants to be #1 ? Well, unlike other lists, this one provides numbers to help mold a road-map so that Metro Detroiters have metrics to go by:

1. New York, N.Y.
Restaurants: 35,421
Bars: 3,844
Nightclubs: 400
Museums: 734
Live Theater Venues: 710
Sports Venues: 57
Sports Teams: 7
Forbes' Best Cities For The Outdoors Ranking: No. 21

Let's strive to beat those numbers ..... or at least come close to them.

do you understand the concept of supply and demand?

Well, NYC has 8 million people in the city alone, and a metropolitan population approaching 20 million. While Detroit has a city population of just under 900,000 and a metropolitan area of 4 million. I mean Manhattan alone has more than 1.5 million residents and many millions more who come there every day for work, entertainment, etc., so there really is no basis for your comparison. The scale of the two areas is completely different.

I'd be very happy to see Detroit and the Detroit area be as active and healthy as other U.S. cities and metros of comparable size, like Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, even San Jose and Phoenix. And I think most people who post here would be overjoyed if that goal could be reached. You even see unfavorable comparisons made here to cities that are much smaller than Detroit, like Pittsburgh, Baltimore, or Portland.

What is the point of this thread? NYC is not a good comparison for Detroit. We'll never reach those numbers -- most cities in the world won't either.

Also, there should be a rule enforced on this forum that disallows posting or mention of Forbes lists. They are the most idiotic things ever.

This Metro Detroiter doesn't envy others. Perhaps the OP needs to claim his opinions as his own.

It really is absurd to try and compare ANY city in the U.S. to NYC. New York is so much different than anything such as L.A. [[driving city), Chicago [[way smaller and only regional influence instead of worldwide), etc. Detroit should strive to be like Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, Seattle as a start.

Before the prevalent Michigan-Detroit mentality of shooting for the ground, instead of the sky takes over these thread, let's just take a stroll off-path for a few seconds .....

If you are a young swimmer, do you strive to beat your local high school bronze medalist ? Or do you strive to beat Michael Phelps ?

If you start a software company, do you strive to beat the little outfit doing business out of grandma's basement ? Or do you strive to beat Microsoft ?

Along a similar line of reasoning, if you have a city that is completely down and out, looking to rebuild ..... do you strive to beat NYC ? Or do you strive to beat a lower target ?

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Originally Posted by darwinism

If you are a young swimmer, do you strive to beat your local high school bronze medalist ? Or do you strive to beat Michael Phelps ?

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You strive to beat your personal best.

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Originally Posted by darwinism

If you start a software company, do you strive to beat the little outfit doing business out of grandma's basement ? Or do you strive to beat Microsoft ?

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You strive to develop and effectively market the best product you can.

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Originally Posted by darwinism

Along a similar line of reasoning, if you have a city that is completely down and out, looking to rebuild ..... do you strive to beat NYC ? Or do you strive to beat a lower target ?

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You strive to be the best you can be. Comparisons to others are bullshit.

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Originally Posted by lilpup

You strive to beat your personal best.

You strive to develop and effectively market the best product you can.

You strive to be the best you can be. Comparisons to others are bullshit.

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Fortunately for humankind, there is still enough 'bullshit' in our society, because there are still folks who strive to create better medicine/drugs to cure diseases, to become a better golfer than Tiger Woods, or to become a better TV personality than Oprah.

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Originally Posted by darwinism

to create better medicine/drugs to cure diseases

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not a "better than" scenario

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Originally Posted by darwinism

to become a better golfer than Tiger Woods, or to become a better TV personality than Oprah.

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subjective measures

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Originally Posted by lilpup

not a "better than" scenario

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Yes, it is.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lilpup

subjective measures

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No, they aren't.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lilpup

You strive to beat your personal best.

You strive to develop and effectively market the best product you can.

You strive to be the best you can be. Comparisons to others are bullshit.

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And a matter of perspective as well.....

To set a goal for Detroit to be on the top 10 list is one thing, but trying to top New York City as the #1 spot is really a worthless goal because it's simply unattainable in the relevant future. I just don't get the point to setting a goal that will never be attained.

Lofty goals to be sure, and it's not likely New York City will ever look up to Detroit. But the responses to the first post reveal the broken-down attitude that will continue to keep Detroit at the bottom of such lists. Counselors tell wannabe althletes to strive for a personal best -- forget about Phelps or Favre -- when they know the poor sap can't even catch a ball or tread water. So, would it have been better to give a goal to Detroit based on the features and benefits of East St. Louis or Cleveland?

Coaches of collegiate and world class athletes also emphasize personal bests.

Only lame assed business majors preach nothing beyond "crush the competition."

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Originally Posted by lilpup

Coaches of collegiate and world class athletes also emphasize personal bests.

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Not true ! Coaches at ANY level would not be coaching if the goal is to achieve "personal bests". We become coaches, whether it is Little League or Major League, is because we wish to develop Champions ! So, stop telling lies.

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Originally Posted by lilpup

Only lame assed business majors preach nothing beyond "crush the competition."

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The only lame asses seen throughout this whole thread thus far, are those who are too afraid to reach for the skies.

Detroiters will never get anywhere or achieve anything, if the predominant attitude is that it CAN'T be done.

The correct attitude would be to look at these numbers:

Restaurants: 35,421
Bars: 3,844
Nightclubs: 400
Museums: 734
Live Theater Venues: 710
Sports Venues: 57
Sports Teams: 7

And stack up our Metro Detroit numbers, such as how many restaurants do we have in the Tri-County area; how many bars, nightclubs, museums do we have through Southeast Michigan; how many Live theatre and sports venues do we have in Metro Detroit .....

Then, push for Michiganders, Ohions and Midwesterners to spend their vacation dollars going to these places here. Shoot for the skies - So what if the sky happens to be NYC. For what it's worth, NYC was once just soil and dirt too. And by the way, in case some of you folks are unaware, Roger Federer didn't win the US Open this year. Hmmm ..... I wonder if Juan Martin del Potro spent his weeks and months prior to the event just basking in the sun feeling happy that his "personal best" is all he wishes to achieve.