"I spent 4 years at UM and never set foot in Detroit"

[Patrick]

"I spent 4 years at UM AA and never set foot in Detroit"

The above quote was from a friend of mine who attended UM Ann Arbor in the early 2000s for undergrad. He was, like many UM students, from the east coast and not really familiar with the region. However, during his time at UM, he told me that he visited Chicago 15 or 20 times, without having any friends or knowing anyone there. hell, most of his friends never visited Detroit.

We have had countless arguments about Ann Arbor's relationship with Metro Detroit SE Michigan. I just wondered if there is really that much of a disconnect between AA and Detroit? Maybe I can even be more detailed and ask if there is a major disconnect between UM AA and Detroit.

Thoughts?

**The first time he actually visited Detroit was for a wedding this year...8 years after graduating from UM. He was blown away by the DIA and downtown.