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

[48009]

You can [[or could, at least) buy a nice place here for under $100k in Corktown or Midtown and have all that you want/need.

There is no way you've ever lived outside of metro Detroit if you think Corktown is some urban utopia. Detroit's best nabes, e.g., Corntown & Midtown, can't compete against Chicago's 20th best.

[illwill]

They're also in the middle of nowhere.

You can [[or could, at least) buy a nice place here for under $100k in Corktown or Midtown and have all that you want/need.

Most of these YPs aren't moving to even nice neighborhoods like University District or Sherwood Forest because they're so far away from all the action. Same thing with moving to far-flung neighborhoods in Chciago/NY.

You might want to read up on Queens, New York. The NEWEST hot bed in NYC and now considered the next trendy borough in NYC. Oh, yeah...just being in/near the city is hot now.

[rex]

IDK 48009. Downtown/Midtown stands a chance. The business community down there is growing. People are/have/and will hopefully continue to move there. More people=more needs. Grocery, laundry, pet supplies, veterinarian, daycare, dry cleaners, auto repair, retail, phaps a cinema. You kno... the things that make a community more livable. Down/midtown has the big pieces, stadiums, casinos, hospitals, universities but is missing some the smaller stuff. There is space within those confines with residential growth potential ex. North Canfield, Brush Park. Who says Detroit has to compete on a city vs. city basis. Its not a bad place for a 22-26 year old I dont think. Phaps a little more crime than say Royal Oak. Its other parts of the city where a serious rebound seems next to impossible. I couldn't in good conscience recommend most parts of Detroit to a friend and potential resident.
If i worked downtown I would rather live downtown than commute from where i'm at now. Where i live is boring. My circumstances are sort of unique tho.

[michimoby]

They're also in the middle of nowhere.

Most of these YPs aren't moving to even nice neighborhoods like University District or Sherwood Forest because they're so far away from all the action. Same thing with moving to far-flung neighborhoods in Chciago/NY.

False.

I can't keep track of how many yuppie acquaintances I know that are moving to Bed-Stuy, Prospect Heights, etc. The pace is absolutely frenetic, and it mainly has to do with the fact that those neighborhoods, despite being off the beaten path [[well, according to Manhattanites), are still fairly accessible. This is a particular issue that Detroit will continuously face until a more robust public transit network is present. On the same side, though, a considerably high number of yuppies [[mostly with little desire to get their hands dirty in this ratrace) are nesting into the UWS/UES/TriBeCa in preparation to whittle away at their trust fund.

Hell, this little thing called Third Ward opened up a few years back in East Williamsburg before anything even existed out there. It's now one of the hottest maker-oriented coworking spaces in the entire city.

It's funny: very few people have told me that NYC is short on opportunity; sadly, most of them have been Detroiters. That's not hyperbole, and it's really quite confusing.

[Hypestyles]

I hope more city leaders/others can help improve quality of life issues in the outlying neighborhoods. folks aged 22-26 already there need help, too... generational poverty is also holding back the city's potential..

[mwilbert]

False.

I can't keep track of how many yuppie acquaintances I know that are moving to Bed-Stuy, Prospect Heights, etc. The pace is absolutely frenetic, and it mainly has to do with the fact that those neighborhoods, despite being off the beaten path [[well, according to Manhattanites), are still fairly accessible. This is a particular issue that Detroit will continuously face until a more robust public transit network is present.

This is 100% correct. People are also going to places like Long Island City and Jackson Heights. The subways make that a lot more attractive than it would be otherwise.

However, it is important to note that this wasn't really true 30 years ago; the combination of improved public safety and rocketing prices in formerly more affordable places like the East Village and SoHo make people look harder at some of the other accessible options.

If you have a car I think that at almost all times it is faster and easier to get from the University District to Midtown than it is to get from anywhere in Brooklyn to Times Square. But in NYC you don't need to pay for a car at all. And there is lots of activity in Brooklyn so you might not want to go very far at all. But I think the main thing is that there isn't much motivation to live outside downtown/midtown when it isn't that much cheaper and you don't need a big house. And you can get drunk and still get home relatively safely. That's one reason I thought having light rail up Woodward would be a be a big advantage for the Palmer Park Apartment District.

[Eber Brock Ward]

False.

I can't keep track of how many yuppie acquaintances I know that are moving to Bed-Stuy, Prospect Heights, etc. The pace is absolutely frenetic, and it mainly has to do with the fact that those neighborhoods, despite being off the beaten path [[well, according to Manhattanites), are still fairly accessible. This is a particular issue that Detroit will continuously face until a more robust public transit network is present. On the same side, though, a considerably high number of yuppies [[mostly with little desire to get their hands dirty in this ratrace) are nesting into the UWS/UES/TriBeCa in preparation to whittle away at their trust fund.

Whaaaaaat? The post I responded to was talking about "parts of Brooklyn & Chicago's West & South sides" that "are much like Detroit."

Prospect Heights [[like 20 minutes into the city) and BedStuy [[like 25-30) are not comparable to what that poster was talking about. Neither is something like Astoria or LIC, if we're talking Queens, for the person that brought that up.

You don't see people streaming into Bensonhurst the same way you don't see people streaming into Englewood or Lawndale in Chicago, or many parts of Detroit.

For the most part, it doesn't matter the city, places that aren't accessible and that are, for all intents and purposes, in the middle of nowhere, aren't popping off for the creative/YP/youknowitwhenyouseeit crowd. And that's why, like I said, the YPs aren't moving to UD, Sherwood, etc., generally, instead causing most of the greater Downtown area to explode.

Because, with our shitty transit, that greater downtown area is about all that's really accessible and not, like I wrote, "in the middle of nowhere."

Unless of course you consider the neighborhoods you mentioned to be "far-flung," in which case it's just a semantics issue. I don't consider Prospect Heights, for example, to be "far-flung," when the commute isn't way different than like Murray Hill or the UWS or whatever if you worked downtown.

[sumas]

I hope more city leaders/others can help improve quality of life issues in the outlying neighborhoods. folks aged 22-26 already there need help, too... generational poverty is also holding back the city's potential..

That is most gracious of you. Frankly I just don't understand and never will,the amazing hostility towards Detroit.

Tonight we go to the Detroit Eviction Defense meeting, a well funded and organized group which meets weekly to keep owner occupied Homes and assist people to retain their homes through a variety of means.

After, we will have our street association meeting. Our street runs from Jefferson to Gratiot. Several new young home owners have bought into our neighborhood both white and black. Sumas

Our focus will be however on a beautiful old home donated to CapCorp, a religious group of young volunteers, similar to Americorp but religion based and associated with the Caputians. We will decide the level of support we need to provide as a community to assist in the rehab. Space is to be set aside as a community center so we have vested interest on several levels.

Things happen all over Deroit, quiet but positive.

[michimoby]

Whaaaaaat? The post I responded to was talking about "parts of Brooklyn & Chicago's West & South sides" that "are much like Detroit."

Prospect Heights [[like 20 minutes into the city) and BedStuy [[like 25-30) are not comparable to what that poster was talking about. Neither is something like Astoria or LIC, if we're talking Queens, for the person that brought that up.

You don't see people streaming into Bensonhurst the same way you don't see people streaming into Englewood or Lawndale in Chicago, or many parts of Detroit.

For the most part, it doesn't matter the city, places that aren't accessible and that are, for all intents and purposes, in the middle of nowhere, aren't popping off for the creative/YP/youknowitwhenyouseeit crowd. And that's why, like I said, the YPs aren't moving to UD, Sherwood, etc., generally, instead causing most of the greater Downtown area to explode.

Because, with our shitty transit, that greater downtown area is about all that's really accessible and not, like I wrote, "in the middle of nowhere."

Unless of course you consider the neighborhoods you mentioned to be "far-flung," in which case it's just a semantics issue. I don't consider Prospect Heights, for example, to be "far-flung," when the commute isn't way different than like Murray Hill or the UWS or whatever if you worked downtown.

It's more semantics, EBW. I'm thinking relative distance between Bed-Stuy and, say, the UES compared to Sherwood Forest and Corktown. From a perception perspective -- some Manhattanites even consider Williamsburg to be equivalent to BFE.

[Eber Brock Ward]

Totally get it on all fronts.

Funny how perception and reality can diverge, particularly in NY.

[canuck]

Totally get it on all fronts.

Funny how perception and reality can diverge, particularly in NY.

There is a world of difference between let's say Rego Park and Astoria neighborhoods in the borough of Queens. And nowadays if you are a New Yorker, you might as well consider NYC's Chinatown to be the one in Flushing, Queens rather than lower Manhattan. That is where the action is nowadays.

[noise]

If I were 22-26, what specifically would Chicago offer me that Detroit doesn't, granted I had a job in either city?

[runnerXT]

^nothing except its more expensive and dull

[313WX]

If I were 22-26, what specifically would Chicago offer me that Detroit doesn't, granted I had a job in either city?

A few things that immediately come to mind:

*Reliable Mass Transit
*Walkability/Critical Mass
*Abundance of National Retailers
*Premier Downtown Shopping
*Functional City Government
*Women's Basketball Team
*Navy Pier
*Legit State Fair

[dtowncitylover]

A few things that immediately come to mind:

*Reliable Mass Transit
*Walkability/Critical Mass
*Abundance of National Retailers
*Premier Downtown Shopping
*Functional City Government
*Women's Basketball Team
*Navy Pier
*Legit State Fair

*Reliable Mass Transit- a need, yes.
*Walkability/Critical Mass- a need, yes.
*Abundance of National Retailers- we have 90% of retailers Chicago does. Anything else I can buy online.
*Premier Downtown Shopping- a need, yes.
*Functional City Government- a need, yes. Though Chicago politics is very dirty, just a well-oiled machine keeps it under wraps as much as possible
*Women's Basketball Team- don't need it to survive
*Navy Pier- don't need to survive; have Riverfront/Belle Isle
*Legit State Fair- don't need to survive.

[michimoby]

A few things that immediately come to mind:

*Functional City Government

...welllll....sorta.

[48009]

If I were 22-26, what specifically would Chicago offer me that Detroit doesn't, granted I had a job in either city?

http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Ma...f-the-Midwest/

Maybe you should hop on a plane to ORD and ask some of the hundreds of thousands of Michigan college graduates why they moved there? Then when you get back you should stop in Corktown and ask the 74 dudes there why they didn't? Let us know.

[313WX]

...welllll....sorta.

Well, I don't hear too many people in Chicago complaining about trash not being picked up, the police/fire trucks/ambulance not coming, the streetlights not coming on, crumbling infrastructure or widespread blight problems.

Even on the Southside, the government at least marginally works for them.

[48009]

Assuming this article will get lost in my other thread, so making a thread for it. This is a must read for anyone who cares about Detroit's revival. A little long, but a fantastic read. I look forward to the discussion it sparks.

http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Ma...ticle=0#artanc

Chicago has effectively become the capital of the American Midwest--at the expense of the rest of the Midwest.

[313WX]

*Abundance of National Retailers- we have 90% of retailers Chicago does. Anything else I can buy online.

I thought we were just comparing Chicago proper vs. Detroit proper?

[48009]

I thought we were just comparing Chicago proper vs. Detroit proper?

Dude stop arguing with the delusional. And if you want to compare cities, you can't compare Detroit with a world class city. At least give it a puncher's chance by comparing it to Cleveland or St Louis or Minneapolis?

[nain rouge]

You don't see people streaming into Bensonhurst the same way you don't see people streaming into Englewood or Lawndale in Chicago, or many parts of Detroit.

Great point. Access to the right amenities makes a huge difference. I've always thought that if what you wanted was a "real", classic Detroit experience, you'd move to Mexicantown, Hamtramck, the eastern half of Grosse Pointe Park, or maybe even east Dearborn, rather than try to build some new faux-Detroit in Woodbridge. But I guess people want the high culture areas with the iconic museums, theatres, and buildings. It gives them the sense of excitement they're looking for in urban life.

In other words, they're more in love with the idea of central Manhattan than they are what your typical urban American city stood for. And that's the challenge we see in revitalizing most of Detroit or South Chicago. If you can't convert it into your own private Manhattan, it's not as interesting.

[Gistok]

http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Ma...f-the-Midwest/

Maybe you should hop on a plane to ORD and ask some of the hundreds of thousands of Michigan college graduates why they moved there? Then when you get back you should stop in Corktown and ask the 74 dudes there why they didn't? Let us know.

48009.... you are absolutely full of complete and utter BULLSHIT... there are not HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of 20 something Michiganians that moved away to Chicagoland... I DARE you to show statistics to back up that BS...

From 2005-2009 the outmigration OF ALL AGES from Michigan to Illinois was 11,150 per the US Census. Nice try though.

I thought you were college educated? Don't college educated people use facts and statistics, rather than hyperbole??

[Gistok]

Oh... well this is written by a Chicagoan... well there's an unbiased opinion....

Let's see what else Chicago has to offer...

http://www.hiphopweekly.com/2013/06/...s-yes-you-can/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...=chicago-crime

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...=chicago-crime

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...tml?ref=topbar

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...tml?ref=topbar

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...=chicago-crime

http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime...-Illinois.html

Gee, like Detroit, you can meet some very smart... and some not so very smart people in Chicago.

It's funny how Google is your friend... when you try to make a very specific point... it's amazing how you can find almost ANYTHING to back up your POV....

[illwill]

http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Ma...f-the-Midwest/

Maybe you should hop on a plane to ORD and ask some of the hundreds of thousands of Michigan college graduates why they moved there? Then when you get back you should stop in Corktown and ask the 74 dudes there why they didn't? Let us know.

I suggest everyone read the comments from the article posted in Chicago Magazine, all of which are honest assessments of born and raised Chicagoan's. None of them seem to be too happy with the past and current state of their home city. Especially speaking from the inside/out. Chicago has lots of problems but I commend the native Chicagoan's for not sugar-coating or falsely hyping-up their city like many of us do. I think most of the Chicago hype is coming from out of state transplants...especially Michigan transplants [[the author).