Originally Posted by Detroitnerd
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.
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