sign of the times

[bragaboutme]

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...4020403/&imw=Y

I knew it was worse, but not this fast..

[d.mcc]

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...4020403/&imw=Y

I knew it was worse, but not this fast..

Hate to say it...I am a victim of the exodus. I would LOVE...to return, but there isn't much in the way of jobs that can support those of us that would come back in a heart beat if we could.

[bragaboutme]

I see your point. Many have tried to stay but simply can't. Michigan is a beautiful State, but you can't enjoy the beauty if your unemployed. This is different from when people were moving here from other states, they didn't lose their jobs for them to come here. Now people are leaving with their tax base in tow. It's sad but a reality, and the turn around won't be anytime soon.

[tetsua]

Hate to say it, but me and the wife recently became statistics of the exodus. We fought hard to stay, but when lay offs are looming, and there's a nice secure offer in another city you have to do what is financially responsible. So many things have to change before this exodus can stop in Michigan.

[Locke09]

I can verify from my own family experience that when one person leaves and becomes established elsewhere, they then begin to "pull" many others in the family[[often the ones who have just finished college) out to where they are with promises of an easier time finding a job, lower taxes, more affordable housing, etc. I'm even starting to see family members who have finished high school decide to go ahead and leave to attend college where other family members have relocated. I don't expect any of them to come back.

[ndavies]

I'm also a victim. Lost my job at thanksgiving. I start a new Job in Indiana on Monday. I'm in the process of packing up the stuff I'll need for the next few weeks.

I'd love to stay but need to work.

[tetsua]

I'm also a victim. Lost my job at thanksgiving. I start a new Job in Indiana on Monday. I'm in the process of packing up the stuff I'll need for the next few weeks.

I'd love to stay but need to work.

I heard that Ndavies, and good luck to you. Which part of Indiana is your new job in, I started a gig in Chicago just a month ago.

[Lorax]

If I can add a note of cheer to this otherwise depressing trend, I left Detroit 25 years ago, and have lived just about everywhere in the years since, but last month bought a home in Southfield which I'm in the process of restoring- it's a 56 year old mid-century modern ranch on nearly an acre of land.

I have encouraged friends here in Florida to reverse the trend as well, and have been actively trying to get them to buy homes, not as investments, but to live in. As disturbing as this trend is, I was one of the people to leave 25 years ago for greener pastures, only to find them not so green after all.

Eventhough I did well for most of those years, the homing instinct kicks in during middle age, I believe, for many of us, and hopefully enough of us will re-connect with our past and choose to make a difference.

I have found than no matter how far you travel, we're all Michiganians- with a way of thinking and doing that in my biased opinion makes us friendlier, tougher, and better equipped to handle just about anything.

[ndavies]

I'm headed to Elkhart, Indiana. A place with a worse economy than Detroit.

I'll be working for a supplier of Heavy[[semi) truck components. Their business is down, but not completely hammered like the auto companies are. It's a Sr. software engineering position. Some supervisory responsibilities along with engineering work.

[Lloyd]

I left Detroit during the mass exedus <mentioned in the article> of 1979 to 1983. At the time, Detroit was just starting to really show the decline that was to come. The Auto Industry had crashed, the economy crashed and there seemed to be no reason to stick around as it did not appear recovery was likely. Now, some 25 years later, it seems as if those feelings were right. the Auto Industry is worse off then ever, the economy is a train wreck and another exedus is making recovery less likely as time goes on.

The problem, of course, is the total lack of solutions. Exchanging emails with an old friend who stayed behind today, I was reminded of the time when casino's were heralded as the savior of Detroit but, due to the stupidity, or corruption, or maybe both, of the political leaders, instead they brought the downfall of the warehouse district as speculators bought up that once healthy area only to leave it a ghost district when the casino's were built elsewhere.

[buzzman0077]

My wife and I are moving back after leaving for four years for med school. I am excited about the move but she is not. I am hoping that I can find something in Detroit to ground her to so that after residency we can look to stay as opposed to going back to Kansas City or Chicago. My brother, an MBA, will be moving to Chicago soon due to lack of anything similar lifestylewise in MI. I wish I had an answer for how to solve these problem but I just don't see one until the attitudes of the leadership of this state and it's primary city change.

[Lorax]

I don't blame anyone for leaving Detroit or Michigan for these reasons- hey we all need to work for a living. I think we'll all find our place, our level if you will. The reasons for leaving or staying are as varied as the people themselves.

Some may stay and start their own businesses, or may find new careers with other companies. Many young people, such as I was once, left to experience the world and get perspective. That was invaluable experience. It led me back eventually, not because I believe you can go home again, especially in America, but you can go home with a different, sometimes improved perspective.

I've lived in Chicago, for 8 years in fact, New York City for two years, Miami for 13 years. Each place was wonderful in it's own way, and full of detractions as well. I'll tell you one thing- the earth smells better in Michigan, especially in spring. Autumn is unparalleled. Winter sucks rocks. As it did in Chicago and New York, though did not suck in Miami.

Miami has as great a polarized population as Detroit or Chicago. Miami has tourists by the hundreds of thousands who regularly descend upon it, trash it, throw up on it, and leave. Chicago has a horrible gang problem, but it also has Michigan Avenue and Grant Park. Miami has the Atlantic ocean and superb weather, but it also has wretching poverty and many places where English is not a language spoken.

I guess for the individual, where you live is all in the perspective. Detroit and Michigan, which are forever tied together have in my opinion so much more to offer. Great universities, superb health facilities, magnificent natural landscapes, the Detroit Institute of Arts! Is there a decent pizza or burger place in Miami? Hell NO! What passes for pizza here is what you might scrape off your tires in most cities.

After buying this house in Soutfield last month, I intend to take my time bringing it back to it's mid-century modern splendor, and park my ass there for a long time to come.

[urbanoutdoors]

I personally don't know what to do I am a young college educated guy who wants nothing but to stay and raise my family in the D... It is all I have ever known and all I ever want to know but I too have to at least consider the possibility of moving out of state... I have tons of connections but with the state of the economy I cannot get anywhere and am forced to look at places like Chicago and Denver as possible transplant cities... I hate it, I am getting married in the fall and want to start a family but how can I when I cannot even find a job in this current economic state. I want to be that guy who helps bring green jobs to the city but I have not been able to find a job training program that will work for a current college grad or even any jobs that will support such a thing... As my friend puts it[[I bleed, piss and shit Detroit) I don't want to leave because I feel I am a part of the city and want to do everything in my power to help it but by doing that I am not helping myself... Now with thousands of layoffs at the newspapers, auto industry and DPS it seems like nearly half the city is leaving and its almost as if I have no choice but to leave the market for jobs is horrible and I am honestly at a loss...

[Lorax]

Urban, I hear you and really do empathize. But empathy is the last thing you need now, obviously a job and a future are first on the list.

My younger brother went to Denver job hunting after graduating from State in '87, and ended up back in the midwest- Cincinnati and Cleveland to be exact. He's also married with three kids, working for TD Ameritrade, and times are tough. He likened it to his future closing before him like a fist.

His wife had alot to do with moving back to Ohio, since her family is there, and they are overly close.

You may want to discuss this further with your fiancee, and make sure you're both on the same page with moving.

Your heart seems to be in Michigan, so it may be a good place to start. I live in Miami, and am moving back for at least half the year to try an revive my dying business and re-invent it in a new way.

The key is to keep living costs as low as possible. Nowhere is real estate or for that matter cost of living as low as it is in Michigan, especially for what you get in return for quality of life. Even in this economy in Denver, Chicago, or here in Miami a crappy condo is still 150,000.

Having either lived in, or traveled to these cities, Detroit and Michigan still offers more for less.

The job front is crummy everywhere, and the prospects are dimming every day. Unemployment is higher in Michigan than most places due to the auto industry, but other businesses are surviving and doing better than most in other states.

Not knowing what your job intentions are, now may be the time since you're seemingly starting out, to experiment a little with a career you may have not thought of previously. Realize that there will be no long term job security in most careers, no matter what you choose. Those days are over. All I can say is go with your gut feelings. I don't regret living in different places, and in many ways it made me more appreciative of Detroit and Michigan, as it gave me comparisons in quality of life, people, and most of all perspective.

Keep that in mind, and move only if you want to, and only if you consider it a journey, not a means to an end.

[Ghetto_butterfly]

I'm also a victim. Lost my job at thanksgiving. I start a new Job in Indiana on Monday. I'm in the process of packing up the stuff I'll need for the next few weeks.

I'd love to stay but need to work.

I'm sorry to hear that NDavies, but I wish you good luck at your new job. I too work for a Commercial Vehicle supplier [[have been for 5 years now) and I can ssure you that this market is not doing half as bad as the PC automotive industry.

May I ask what becomes of the Vinton building project, of which you were/are one the original developpers?

[g-dub]

I was one of those "18,000 adults with a bachelor's degree or higher in 2007" who left. I miss Detroit a lot, but it was either stay and bust my ass in a restaurant for minimal pay, or leave for something more my level. I didn't go far, though, and I make a point to go back at least 4-5 times a year for a few days at a time. In a way I suppose that's a contribution, in that I take money earned elsewhere and spend it in Michigan when I visit. And, given all the restaurants and bookstores I have to visit every time I go back, I spend a fair amount.

I think initiatives like Techtown, though small, are a step in the right direction. With the right skill set and a little creativity, it is very possible to stay and have a good life. My particular situation was a little more sink or swim, and I wasn't exactly right out of college, but if there were a more organized effort on the part of universities and businesses to focus on retaining young talent then the numbers wouldn't be so shocking.

[g-dub]

I'm headed to Elkhart, Indiana. A place with a worse economy than Detroit.

Yeah, unemployment there is over 15%. Anyway, that's only like 3 1/2 hours from Detroit--makes for some easy weekend visits. I drive in from Chicago and it always feels like just an hour or so longer of a drive than I'd like.

[pffft]

...Now with thousands of layoffs at the newspapers, auto industry and DPS ...

The layoffs at the newspapers were in distribution/circulation, and not in the thousands. Not that it's good for those laid off, but it's better than in other cities, which had massive layoffs in the newsroom as well, thinning out the papers to nothing.The Detroit newsrooms have only had voluntary buyouts...there are and have been job openings in advertising, and in the newer, techier jobs in the newsrooms.

[Optima]

I concur with everyone on this thread in that we all need sustenance and if it cannot be found here, like hunters and gatherers, we go where the opportunities abound. Personally, I have been preparing for a move for a while now and quite frankly, see little opportunity in Michigan in my chosen [[or former) field. Every industry seems tenuous with the automotives slowly sinking into an abyss. Unfortunately, health care holds no appeal to me as it seems like one of the few burgeoning fields.

After expending much time, energy and expense re-careering, I have come to the conclusion that this is simply an unsustainable community. Too few contributors and far too many takers.

Currently looking at Austin as my wife may have an opportunity there...

Cm

[Optima]

I concur with everyone on this thread in that we all need sustenance and if it cannot be found here, like hunters and gatherers, we go where the opportunities abound. Personally, I have been preparing for a move for a while now and quite frankly, see little opportunity in Michigan in my chosen field. Every industry seems tenuous with the automotives slowly sinking into an abyss.

After expending much time, energy and expense, I have come to the conclusion that this is simply an unsustainable community. Too few contributors and far too many takers.

Currently looking at Austin as my wife may have an opportunity there...

Cm

[Optima]

Sorry for the duplicate postings - my first one...

[3WC]

I'm an expat as well for 4 years but I get back to town frequently; still miss a lot that MI has to offer.