Are suburbanites aware of how unattractive living in Metro-Detroit is to outsiders?

[ghettopalmetto]

My larger point is that relative levels of urbanity appear to be weakly correlated with relative economic health.

I didn't pick where I wanted to live based on economic health of the region. I picked where I wanted to live based on whether or not I could walk down the street to get a cup of coffee, find quality independent restaurants, arts and cultural locales in close proximity, and have access to outdoor recreation. I based my decision on whether or not I could enjoy my life for the other 128 hours of the week, not Regional GDP Growth or other statistic.

But that's just me.