Detroit yes

[sumas]

I've really been thinking about this. I love this city. We have a well received published history of the east area. Involved in many civic groups. Find the energy and intellect here outstanding. Certainly there is appalling poverty, crime etc. but citizens do make a difference each and every day.

There isn't a complacency one finds in the burbs. Detroit is transforming. It is slow and arduous. There is a sense of adventure in its transformation. The pioneer spirit perhaps.

[night-timer]

As in most areas of life, there are civic-minded people who pitch in and help, and there are people who don't give a damn and only care about themselves and their own gratification. I recall being on a hockey team where I was pretty much the only person who did anything for anyone else. It ruined my enjoyment of skating, but it taught me that there really are people [[and a lot of them) who only care about themselves, even in a club environment.

[marshamusic]

I wrote something in one of my essays, that I now say in my presentations, as it always resonates with many,

"Some say that they come to save Detroit, but I say, they come to Detroit to BE saved."

[sumas]

I wrote something in one of my essays, that I now say in my presentations, as it always resonates with many,

"Some say that they come to save Detroit, but I say, they come to Detroit to BE saved."

That is charming. I have lived over the course of my life, in several suburbs. Never got a sense of belonging like I do here.

[Honky Tonk]

I wrote something in one of my essays, that I now say in my presentations, as it always resonates with many,

"Some say that they come to save Detroit, but I say, they come to Detroit to BE saved."

"Amen....."

[getmoore]

I honestly don't know what it is. We can leave. We could have left years ago. Most of our friends have left. But I see it. Everyone thinks we're crazy but I see it. I see what this city CAN be. What it WILL be. It's kind of an obsession with me now. My neighborhood is just awful compared to what it once was but for some reason I think it has reached the bottom and I'm here to help bring it back up. We need more people who care about Detroit to live here. I know sometimes it's scary. Sometimes I get discouraged but we can't let the people who are the problem get in the way. There's thousands of us who do CARE. Some of us CAN"T leave and some of us CHOOSE to stay. And some of us are just MOVING IN! It may take a while but we'll get there. Hopefully after we emerge from bankruptcy with better services, police, trash pickup etc. it will speed up the process. More people will see Detroit as an opportunity rather than a scary dangerous butt of every joke.
If that stuff doesn't happen the "turn around" will take MUCH longer. But I think it will turn around. Just don't ask me when.

[Sharnelle]

I wrote something in one of my essays, that I now say in my presentations, as it always resonates with many,

"Some say that they come to save Detroit, but I say, they come to Detroit to BE saved."

I totally see this and it relates to an issue that concerns me a lot: Detroit must avoid depicting herself as a big charity, and I think we should all be aware of the side effects of talking in these terms. Detroit needs to get past the "believin' hoping and praying" stage and make a bigger deal of her many REAL assets. There is a lot to work with here. It's time to get beyond needy, rescue, save the city messages.

[Django]

We are indeed a rare breed.

[p69rrh51]

That is charming. I have lived over the course of my life, in several suburbs. Never got a sense of belonging like I do here.

Sumas I think that depends on the individual person. I have lived in several areas of the CoD over the last 51 years and I also have many friends from neighborhoods all over the city. I have not felt a sense of belonging in this city in at least 30 years. Many of the neighborhoods I visited before the early 1980's were very tight but at the same time I never felt out of place. Right now there is only one neighborhood in the city I feel any sense of belonging. Even with the "renewed" outlook I still get that mercenary feeling from many of the newer residents of the city. As fpr my neighborhood I feel the exact same way you do and I live in the burbs. Also not every suburban resident is complacent, some have tried to help but were told to get lost, others give in ways you and I will never know.

[Scottathew]

I'm not as all-in as a resident, but working downtown and having children that go to school downtown has my family spending at least 50 hours per week in Detroit, nearly half of the time we're awake, we're in Detroit.

I'm a realist about the current challenges that face Detroit. I recognize that residents don't have the same experience that a downtown commuter-worker has, but there's good with the bad that comes with those differences.

However, above all I'm an optimist about Detroit, it's people, and the challenges ahead. Heck, I'm a cheerleader for Detroit. My family and friends get negative opinions and false statements about Detroit challenged by me.

Many suburbanites also feel a sense of love and belonging to Detroit, not like a resident can, but we most certainly do have some of the same feelings.