Where were you during the 1967 Detroit Riot?

**Smirnoff** · April-02-18, 05:59 AM

Just drive down Grand River, all the way......

**Former_Detroiter** · April-05-18, 02:10 AM

The riot broke out just a few days before my 18th birthday. I had just graduated high school and was preparing to move to my first home away from home, the Univ. of Mich. When a recruiter from San Francisco County visited the University a few weeks before graduation I accepted an offer for employment and moved to San Francisco. When I couldn't get my parents to relocate I moved back to Detroit in the early 2000's when they became ill. I admit I was not thrilled about moving back to Detroit after being away for so long. When my parents both passed a few years after returning to Detroit I moved to Santa Fe, NM two years later. My decision to leave Detroit had more to do with quality of life in my later years. I go back to Detroit at least 2 times each year. Each time I visit I have been both impressed by the improvements and saddened by appearance of many of the neighborhoods that have been ignored and seemingly forgotten.

**emu steve** · April-05-18, 04:04 AM

Originally Posted by Former_Detroiter

The riot broke out just a few days before my 18th birthday. I had just graduated high school and was preparing to move to my first home away from home, the Univ. of Mich. When a recruiter from San Francisco County visited the University a few weeks before graduation I accepted an offer for employment and moved to San Francisco. When I couldn't get my parents to relocate I moved back to Detroit in the early 2000's when they became ill. I admit I was not thrilled about moving back to Detroit after being away for so long. When my parents both passed a few years after returning to Detroit I moved to Santa Fe, NM two years later. My decision to leave Detroit had more to do with quality of life in my later years. I go back to Detroit at least 2 times each year. Each time I visit I have been both impressed by the improvements and saddened by appearance of many of the neighborhoods that have been ignored and seemingly forgotten.

A few elements of this story apply to me.

After my widowed father died, my sister joined me and we moved to the D.C. area.

I would not have moved away from S.E. MI while he was alive. Once he passed, I became free to chart my own course.

I would find it very hard to move back to Detroit. Once someone has lived in San Fran or D.C. or some other place with a milder climate it is hard to move back to a cold, cloudy Midwest city [[maybe this post should be under the thread for HQ2).

To me the biggest negative about S.E. MI [[and other Midwest areas) is the weather. And, of course, it is something that no one can do anything about. Even affluent people, say like Miggy or JV, living in a super expensive house still have/had to deal with the cold and snow.