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

[nain rouge]

Oh, and Ypsi is the new Ann Arbor. I can't be the only one who feels that Ann Arbor is a victim of its own success.

I totally agree. The city has been whitewashed in many ways by its success. It's the same problem that engulfed downtown Royal Oak. After a certain point, the demand becomes so great that any organic culture gets priced out - enter the endless rows of super-expensive boutiques, $15 drinks, overpriced antique knickknacks purveyors, and high-end sushi places. The area becomes a monoculture of extreme affluence, which certainly makes for a vibrant neighborhood visually, but lacks diversity and cultural movement.

In cities Ypsilanti, Ferndale, and Detroit, there are still price points for everybody. Culturally, that means there's room to breath. Some people here sneer when the $1 store on the main strip in Ferndale is brought up, but that's part of what makes the downtown vital. It's not just affluent people buying $10 drinks walking around, but people doing their cheap grocery shopping, too. It's just a shame that some of the more unique businesses in Ferndale recently went under.

Don't get me wrong, Ann Arbor [[especially) and Royal Oak have a lot of great things going for them, but you can't deny that that most of downtown Royal Oak [[for instance) has become a playhouse for overgrown frat boys.

Some people are going to think I'm stuck up or judgmental for saying all that, but I don't care - I believe it.

[Wheels]

[/COLOR]

I totally agree. The city has been whitewashed in many ways by its success. It's the same problem that engulfed downtown Royal Oak. After a certain point, the demand becomes so great that any organic culture gets priced out - enter the endless rows of super-expensive boutiques, $15 drinks, overpriced antique knickknacks purveyors, and high-end sushi places. The area becomes a monoculture of extreme affluence, which certainly makes for a vibrant neighborhood visually, but lacks diversity and cultural movement.

In cities Ypsilanti, Ferndale, and Detroit, there are still price points for everybody. Culturally, that means there's room to breath. Some people here sneer when the $1 store on the main strip in Ferndale is brought up, but that's part of what makes the downtown vital. It's not just affluent people buying $10 drinks walking around, but people doing their cheap grocery shopping, too. It's just a shame that some of the more unique businesses in Ferndale recently went under.

Don't get me wrong, Ann Arbor [[especially) and Royal Oak have a lot of great things going for them, but you can't deny that that most of downtown Royal Oak [[for instance) has become a playhouse for overgrown frat boys.

Some people are going to think I'm stuck up or judgmental for saying all that, but I don't care - I believe it.

Congratulations you have just described Gentrification.

And yes I agree with Nerd that Ypsilanti is poised to be next. Depot town is a good example.

[SMRJim]

Most U-M students are grad students, not undergrads...

Not true. About 1/3 of the students are graduate students. Pretty sure that doesn't qualify as most.

[Al Publican]

I hear there is a big vibrator scene in Ann Arbor. That is, some young [[and older) folks spend a lot of time in doors enjoying themselves thinking that they are taking part in the green movement by not driving around looking for the "real thing."

[aj3647]

The area becomes a monoculture of extreme affluence, which certainly makes for a vibrant neighborhood visually, but lacks diversity and cultural movement.

How are you defining "diversity and culture" here? Not having enough poor people? Because that's what it sounds like. Ann Arbor is very diverse and very culturally vibrant compared to most Michigan cities. 17% of the city's residents are foreign born. Whatever you're hungry for, whether it be Cuban food, Ethiopian food, Vietnamese food, or Vegan cuisine, it's all within a few block radius downtown. How many cities in Michigan will you find it a common sight to see gay and lesbian couples walking down the street, hand in hand, and even kissing each other without anyone batting an eye and without fear of harassment? Is Detroit as tolerant and accepting of LGBT people as Ann Arbor? You and I both know it is not.

It's too bad for you that in your reverse stuck-up mindset, you can't see beyond sushi places and high-end bars, which EVERY freaking city has. Yes, even Detroit has expensive restaurants and bars. That's hardly all Ann Arbor is, but that's all you'll see if that's all you focus on.

As a grad student at UofM with no money, living off a modest stipend that was so low I was actually eligible for food stamps, I found plenty of ways to have fun in Ann Arbor without breaking the bank.

[DetroitPlanner]

Big Deal.... When I was an undergrad at WSU I did not have the time to go out to AA, nor was I interested in doing so. Why should UofM students be so different?

There are a lot more UofM students coming to Detroit than WSU students going to AA. Detroit has a lot more magnets than AA does. Its a simple law of physics the greater the mass, the more you will find. If a few AA students never came to Detroit, does that make Detroit somehow less?

Which Art Museum would you rather go to? U of M's or the DIA?
What does AA have besides football that would pull people there from a long distance? Not much in reality. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying its not a nice place, but when you can go to any Mongolian BBQ, why go to the one in AA? Is it that much more appealing than the one in Dearborn or Royal Oak?

Ann Arbor has plenty of activity for a city of its size. Why should they leave there just to go to Detroit unless its for something they don't have?

[iheartthed]

Big Deal.... When I was an undergrad at WSU I did not have the time to go out to AA, nor was I interested in doing so. Why should UofM students be so different?

There are a lot more UofM students coming to Detroit than WSU students going to AA. Detroit has a lot more magnets than AA does. Its a simple law of physics the greater the mass, the more you will find. If a few AA students never came to Detroit, does that make Detroit somehow less?

Which Art Museum would you rather go to? U of M's or the DIA?
What does AA have besides football that would pull people there from a long distance? Not much in reality. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying its not a nice place, but when you can go to any Mongolian BBQ, why go to the one in AA? Is it that much more appealing than the one in Dearborn or Royal Oak?

Ann Arbor has plenty of activity for a city of its size. Why should they leave there just to go to Detroit unless its for something they don't have?

It's the audience.

The difference is that 98% of the students at WSU are either 1) native to the Detroit area or 2) were a permanent resident of the Detroit area before becoming a student at WSU. And most of those students already plan to stay in the Detroit area after graduation. Contrast that to U-M, AA, where the majority of the students are not from the Detroit area, and nearly half of all students aren't from Michigan at all. Students from Ann Arbor not visiting Detroit is indicative of an image problem. Students from Detroit who don't go to Ann Arbor is more analogous to a New Yorker who hasn't visited the Statue of Liberty.