If you were 22-26 yo, would you move to Detroit RIGHT NOW? Why?

[Chinman]

i am happy to have moved downtown detroit 15 years ago. 1st in a loft in eastern market & then bought a co-op in town-square. detroit downtown is culturally diverse with many thing to do day or night. i pay $680.00 month for a garage, 3 bedrooms and across from the Cut. i have the ability to use all the money that i save here to visit NYC, Chi-Yown, SFC or Europe with out paying their high prices. I get more bang for my buck living here and visiting else where. if i lived in those other places, i could not visit anywhere because could not afford to travel.

[sumas]

i am happy to have moved downtown detroit 15 years ago. 1st in a loft in eastern market & then bought a co-op in town-square. detroit downtown is culturally diverse with many thing to do day or night. i pay $680.00 month for a garage, 3 bedrooms and across from the Cut. i have the ability to use all the money that i save here to visit NYC, Chi-Yown, SFC or Europe with out paying their high prices. I get more bang for my buck living here and visiting else where. if i lived in those other places, i could not visit anywhere because could not afford to travel.

Truly good for you , we have many friends who live or have lived in Lafayette park and are/were happy with quality of life.

[nain rouge]

I think Midtown is quickly becoming a very competitive area for urban living. However, it can't compete with the cultural amenities of NYC, Chicago, Washington DC, and etc., and if it were up to me, I'd rather live in those cities for that reason. The DIA is great and there are a couple of other nice museums and venues in the city, but overall, it's easy to get burned out on Detroit's offerings. I still can't believe there isn't an automotive museum in Detroit - hell, Ypsilanti even has one! Why no one could put together the Detroit Historical Museum's classic car collection with one of the city's many vacant auto factories is beyond me.

[Gistok]

It's cheap for a reason. The Delta hub at DTW is great, but when you spend all of the money saved on flying to NYC, DC, Atlanta, et al. to see your friends and have a good time your savings are nil.

What are you talking about?? Who spends all their money to do globe trotting to visit friends??

I wait for them to come back for the holidays.... which brings up another point... few things worse than following the mad rush home at congested airports during the holidays.... to visit friends and families.

As for your comment about flying to NYC, DC, Atlanta, et al... if you move to Silicon Valley... how does that change except make it more expensive to fly the longer distance to NYC, DC and Atlanta. Some of your arguments are rather weak...

[LeannaM]

This reminds me of this article I read recently.

The Best U.S. Metros for Recent College Grads Looking for Work
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/job...ing-work/6676/


I wouldn't mind to live in a city someday, but it would probably be St. Louis because that's the closest city and I already love it. Any city farther away would be too far for me.

[jackie5275]

When I was 22, I had to establish residency in Wayne Co as I had accepted a position there and this was before residency requirments were abolished. However, it was before all the "happening places", downtown, midtown, corktown, were "happening". I did look at parts of Detroit around Old Redford & Warrendale. I did stay in Warrendale, but city income tax, high car insurance & lack of cable television [[It hadn't gotten there yet.) were the negatives that made me look elsewhere and finally leave. Lack of all the entertainment bells & whistles that are now in & around downtown didn't faze me. I still went to Tiger & Red Wing games, Greektown, & St. Andrew's downtown and mostly to clubs in Hamtramck for boozing. Now mind you, at the time, Royal Oak was the happening place to be. If I didn't have to be in Wayne County, I probably would've chosen there.

You have to remember that many of these "hot spots" are cyclical. This is a big reason why Granholm's "Cool Cities Initiave" failed. For awhile it was Royal Oak, then Ferndale, then Wyandotte, then Dearborn, now certain neighborhoods in Detroit. As long as there are places that can stay fresh & "cool", they can survive, but if they don't, it will eventually turn into an area of "been there, done that". No one will seek a place where things are stale.

[48009]

What are you talking about?? Who spends all their money to do globe trotting to visit friends??

When you're bored out of your mind in Michigan, and see all of your friends having fun in cooler cities than Detroit, you fly to see them. Assuming you have the means. Detroit and Michigan in general is currently considered a death sentence for 20-somethings around the nation. Most of them wouldn't take a pay INCREASE to move here, even with the cheaper cost of living. This is a real issue.

[dtowncitylover]

When you're bored out of your mind in Michigan, and see all of your friends having fun in cooler cities than Detroit, you fly to see them. Assuming you have the means. Detroit and Michigan in general is currently considered a death sentence for 20-somethings around the nation. Most of them wouldn't take a pay INCREASE to move here, even with the cheaper cost of living. This is a real issue.

I've never done that. I don't know anyone who has, unless they were BEST friends. I look at my peers on Facebook who live in Chicago or NY and think to myself, "That's nice." And remember they are paying $1500 for a box in Brooklyn or Chicago, most likely out of their daddy's wallet.

I don't find this area a death trap at all. Michigan has plenty of things to do, as does Detroit and even the region proper. As long as I'm with my friends, most of whom have jobs and are happy here, I'm all set. And of course my family.

My generation is going to grow up and move to the suburbs. Some will stay in the city, but most, when they have kids and need room for their schitt, are gonna wanna large garage.

[mwilbert]

When you're bored out of your mind in Michigan, and see all of your friends having fun in cooler cities than Detroit, you fly to see them

Have to disagree with you here. There is a difference between seeing things in other cities that you find more attractive than those you find in Detroit [[which I find completely understandable), and being "bored out of your mind", which I find incomprehensible. In my opinion, an able-bodied adult bored in Detroit, or any large metro for that matter, isn't trying very hard not to be bored, or else has an exceptional talent for boredom.

[iheartthed]

I've never done that. I don't know anyone who has, unless they were BEST friends. I look at my peers on Facebook who live in Chicago or NY and think to myself, "That's nice." And remember they are paying $1500 for a box in Brooklyn or Chicago, most likely out of their daddy's wallet.

For all this talk about how much it costs to live in NY or Chicago versus Detroit... Your peers who live in those cities don't live in a city that just filed for bankruptcy either.

[Gistok]

For all this talk about how much it costs to live in NY or Chicago versus Detroit... Your peers who live in those cities don't live in a city that just filed for bankruptcy either.

And how has the Detroit bankrupcy case in court affected you personally??

Are city service suddenly worse than say a year ago??

[Eber Brock Ward]

We may be asking the wrong question here.

It's not as much a barrier to entry to move to Detroit at 22-26 as it is to stay ​past the honeymoon stage. And frankly, the grand experiment called Gilbertville hasn't fully run its course just yet to truly say whether or not it's effective.

I can count on both hands the number of friends in that age range that moved to Detroit 1-2 years ago and are now in the suburbs or NYC/Chicago/SF/etc. And just like any startup, launching is an infinitesimal part of the sustained success. Only time will tell.

I think this is an interesting point and precisely the reason that we moved *to* Detroit.

For a 2/2 or 3/2 in Wicker Park or Lakeview or the neighborhoods that we were looking at in Chicago, we were looking at $400-500k, and thus a mortgage payment of about $2,500/mo., before even considering insurance/taxes and the cost of sending your kid to one of the parochial or private schools.

We bought in Corktown/Woodbridge/Midtown and our mortgage payment is under $350/mo., and we're under $600/mo. for our escrow payment. We could put two kids in Friends or Waldorf, if we so wished, and pay our escrow[[!) for about the price of the Chicago mortgage alone, exclusive of taxes/insurance/schools.

So from a financial perspective for a young couple considering kids [[or even generally), Detroit can be a no-brainer, even including the fact that we had to buy a vehicle and insure/fuel/maintain it.

[noise]

When you're bored out of your mind in Michigan, and see all of your friends having fun in cooler cities than Detroit, you fly to see them. Assuming you have the means. Detroit and Michigan in general is currently considered a death sentence for 20-somethings around the nation. Most of them wouldn't take a pay INCREASE to move here, even with the cheaper cost of living. This is a real issue.

It sounds like you're not even close to your 20s, nor know what 20-somethings want.

[bailey]

I think this is an interesting point and precisely the reason that we moved *to* Detroit.

For a 2/2 or 3/2 in Wicker Park or Lakeview or the neighborhoods that we were looking at in Chicago, we were looking at $400-500k, and thus a mortgage payment of about $2,500/mo., before even considering insurance/taxes and the cost of sending your kid to one of the parochial or private schools.

We bought in Corktown/Woodbridge/Midtown and our mortgage payment is under $350/mo., and we're under $600/mo. for our escrow payment. We could put two kids in Friends or Waldorf, if we so wished, and pay our escrow[[!) for about the price of the Chicago mortgage alone, exclusive of taxes/insurance/schools.

So from a financial perspective for a young couple considering kids [[or even generally), Detroit can be a no-brainer, even including the fact that we had to buy a vehicle and insure/fuel/maintain it.

I have never understood the logic/defense of "oh, if this place were in chicago it'd be double or triple the price." Of course it would be, IT's IN CHICAGO. a LOT of people want to live in Chicago.... Detroit, not so much. so yes, If you're simply doing a $ to $ comparison between chicago and Detroit, Detroit wins hands down. However, is Corktown/woodbridge/Midtown at all comparable in amenities? No. not even in the ball park. And if $s vs Chicago is the ONLY metric you're using, you could live in a walkable inner ring Like GP and have top notch schools and services too.

Here's the thing... and this is how I saw it at 20...I don't think most people look at Chicago{or whatever] and say ...oh it's expensive, I'll just go to Detroit. They look at Chicago and say, it's expensive, but I really want to live in a real city so I need to figure out how I can swing it.

Then, after living there for a while they do your math and move to the burbs.

[canuck]

Bailey, I will let EBW explain away his reasons for committing to Detroit, but personally I have to imagine that his investment contains the chance of shaping the future of a city in trouble. He and his mate may not get experience overall solidity that certain Chicago sections provide, but the potential for restructuring large swaths of the city in the next ten years once the bankruptcy debacle peters out, attracts smart educated folks like them to some of the better hoods.

[dtowncitylover]

It sounds like you're not even close to your 20s, nor know what 20-somethings want.

Thank you.

[48009]

It sounds like you're not even close to your 20s, nor know what 20-somethings want.

Um, OK. You're delusional. It's a fact that to people across the nation, Detroit is a professional death sentence. Nobody wants to be here. Most are either stuck here, don't know any better or are too scared to move. Conning 20-somethings that had nothing to do with ruining this town, to live in this warzone and help "bring it back" is the biggest scam going.

[48009]

I've never done that. I don't know anyone who has, unless they were BEST friends. I look at my peers on Facebook who live in Chicago or NY and think to myself, "That's nice." And remember they are paying $1500 for a box in Brooklyn or Chicago, most likely out of their daddy's wallet.

I don't find this area a death trap at all. Michigan has plenty of things to do, as does Detroit and even the region proper. As long as I'm with my friends, most of whom have jobs and are happy here, I'm all set. And of course my family.

My generation is going to grow up and move to the suburbs. Some will stay in the city, but most, when they have kids and need room for their schitt, are gonna wanna large garage.

Why does everyone have to be so dramatic when describing the housing stock of other major cities or acts like everyone that moves to NYC or Chicago is working some "crap" job? It's pathetic. My friends back in Chicago make $100k to $40k. Nobody moves there to live on skid row. And $1500 for a box? Hardly. And said "box" is in a building and neighborhood that's STABLE, full of college educated 20-somethings, with cops on every corner. Not in a city with hundreds of thousands of illiterate people walking around, in pretend smoke & mirror "hip" neighborhoods like corktown and midtown. It costs more to live in DESIRABLE areas. This is apparently a concept some of you continue to struggle with.

[Gistok]

Um, OK. You're delusional. It's a fact that to people across the nation, Detroit is a professional death sentence. Nobody wants to be here. Most are either stuck here, don't know any better or are too scared to move. Conning 20-somethings that had nothing to do with ruining this town, to live in this warzone and help "bring it back" is the biggest scam going.

OK... this paragraph pretty much sums up your credibility here...

[48009]

OK... this paragraph pretty much sums up your credibility here...

Sorry I don't think 20-somethings who didn't ruin this place should be conned into squandering the prime of their life in a city that currently can't offer a fraction of the amenities other large cities in the region offer. Nor should they feel guilty for leaving this place and never looking back. You may disagree with me, and that's fine; but there's no need to target credibility or dismiss opinions just because they differ from yours. That's what makes debate interesting.

[Gistok]

48009 you start a thread on this forum asking the question "If you were 22-26 Years Old Would You Move To Detroit Right Now"....

Then you spend all your energy and all your replies saying you'd have to be insane to do so.

That's not a debate.... that's a LECTURE. Since you're mind is already made up... why did you even start this thread. To open up your mind to other possibilities? Or just to tell everyone they're crazy if they want to stay behind.

Don't be so daft... I don't think you've convinced very many people with your POV.

[Chinman]

When I was 22, I had to establish residency in Wayne Co as I had accepted a position there and this was before residency requirments were abolished. However, it was before all the "happening places", downtown, midtown, corktown, were "happening". I did look at parts of Detroit around Old Redford & Warrendale. I did stay in Warrendale, but city income tax, high car insurance & lack of cable television [[It hadn't gotten there yet.) were the negatives that made me look elsewhere and finally leave. Lack of all the entertainment bells & whistles that are now in & around downtown didn't faze me. I still went to Tiger & Red Wing games, Greektown, & St. Andrew's downtown and mostly to clubs in Hamtramck for boozing. Now mind you, at the time, Royal Oak was the happening place to be. If I didn't have to be in Wayne County, I probably would've chosen there.

You have to remember that many of these "hot spots" are cyclical. This is a big reason why Granholm's "Cool Cities Initiave" failed. For awhile it was Royal Oak, then Ferndale, then Wyandotte, then Dearborn, now certain neighborhoods in Detroit. As long as there are places that can stay fresh & "cool", they can survive, but if they don't, it will eventually turn into an area of "been there, done that". No one will seek a place where things are stale.

I was going to royal oak in the early 80's & 90's when there were shops on the street and local bar that had been there for years. by the time i moved dwn detroit...all off royal oak was bars, restaurants and night-clubs. no party store, no dress store, no shopping. dwn detroit has areas...wayne state can not become a night-club area, but will always have living blocks with bars, art houses any many little things going on. wayne state wins. i use the wayne state area to out of state peeps only to let them know the feeling of cool little area. then say "lets go here" a few blocks away. then a little area opens up with a couple of business are there.

[michimoby]

It's a fact that to people across the nation, Detroit is a professional death sentence...Conning 20-somethings that had nothing to do with ruining this town, to live in this warzone and help "bring it back" is the biggest scam going.

I disagree with your first sentence. The conversations I've had with New Yorkers about my time living in Detroit has been extremely vibrant and engaging, especially in professional settings. If anything, I'd say that my short-term experiment living in Detroit has provoked an incredible amount of discussion around the city's future. The novelty of moving to a distressed city provides a heap of positive returns for someone that moves away to other cities seeking employment.

[[Note: I realize that my above comments probably evokes a visceral reaction within a lot of lifelong Detroiters, but I think it's important to understand how those that are emotionally and financially detached from Detroit perceive those that are fully attached -- or used to be.)

Your latter statement, 48009...that requires a whole lot more digging. If anything, I'd love to see the Gilbert/Venture for America/Challenge Detroit crew get together and figure out what exactly they're trying to accomplish through their heightened sense of attention toward young professionals. If they're under the unified impression that they're out to rescue the city from itself and its past transgressions...then, yeah, a recalibration is in order.

[noise]

Um, OK. You're delusional. It's a fact that to people across the nation, Detroit is a professional death sentence. Nobody wants to be here. Most are either stuck here, don't know any better or are too scared to move. Conning 20-somethings that had nothing to do with ruining this town, to live in this warzone and help "bring it back" is the biggest scam going.

And you keep ignoring facts.

It is happening and it's working for many people. How do you answer that?

[dtowncitylover]

Most are either stuck here, don't know any better or are too scared to move.

'Cause obviously you know better and feel the need to chastise those who want to make Detroit a better city. I don't think what some 20 and 30-somethings are doing by moving into the city is squandering their prime. Yes, they aren't the reason why Detroit is in its present condition, but the generations that did are either literally dying off, like the grandparents that left, or don't have the motivation young people do because they are working or retiring, i.e. the baby boomers. It really is up to the Gen XYZ/The Millennials to do something about Detroit because we are becoming the next leaders.

And prices in Midtown and downtown are rising because they are becoming more DESIRABLE places to live.