Detroit I want to come home

**MotownSpartan** · September-28-09, 09:00 PM

http://www.gotryke.com/2008/12/09/de...-to-come-home/

"My dilemma is thisâ€¦ I desperately I want to come home to Detroit. A city so rich in culture and heritage, now buried beneath the rubble of failed leadership. The city that has turned out so many brilliant products and people. The city that gave us the automobile and the Motown sound, Joe Louis and Faygo pop, Aretha Franklin and Coleman Young, Berry Gordy and Damon Keith. All made in Detroit. Detroit helped shape everything about me. But as a business man with a family, I cannot overlook the fact that it costs considerably more to live in Detroit. I did the math. â€œOut hereâ€ I have more house, lower taxes, and more amenities. Better schools, cleaner safer streets and peace of mind. Did I mention â€œfresh red meat.â€? Out here I get much more for much less.
I understand that a large urban city such as Detroit is going to have more challenges than wealthier suburbs. However, I would move home in a heartbeat if I believed that Detroit was moving in the right direction, was meeting those challenges head-on, and was on a path toward better schools, safer streets and â€œa better quality of life.â€"

**Hamtragedy** · September-28-09, 09:59 PM

You can never go back home. Face the reality, live in the now. Doesn't matter when you left. The turn around our parents waited years for happened about 8 years ago, and in a flash, it was gone.

**wolverine** · September-28-09, 10:00 PM

How is this a "dilemma" for the writer? Instead of complaining about the community you wish you lived in, volunteer a Saturday to clean a park, plant a tree, or just donate some school supplies. That should be enough of a reconnection. Write something about that to replace the introductory paragraph about your successful life in the burbs.

**jt1** · September-28-09, 10:51 PM

Originally Posted by MotownSpartan

http://www.gotryke.com/2008/12/09/de...-to-come-home/

"My dilemma is thisâ€¦ I desperately I want to come home to Detroit. A city so rich in culture and heritage, now buried beneath the rubble of failed leadership. The city that has turned out so many brilliant products and people. The city that gave us the automobile and the Motown sound, Joe Louis and Faygo pop, Aretha Franklin and Coleman Young, Berry Gordy and Damon Keith. All made in Detroit. Detroit helped shape everything about me. But as a business man with a family, I cannot overlook the fact that it costs considerably more to live in Detroit. I did the math. â€œOut hereâ€ I have more house, lower taxes, and more amenities. Better schools, cleaner safer streets and peace of mind. Did I mention â€œfresh red meat.â€? Out here I get much more for much less.
I understand that a large urban city such as Detroit is going to have more challenges than wealthier suburbs. However, I would move home in a heartbeat if I believed that Detroit was moving in the right direction, was meeting those challenges head-on, and was on a path toward better schools, safer streets and â€œa better quality of life.â€"

So to paraphrase the author, "I will move to Detroit once everyone else makes it better, until then I will contribute nothing and sit on my hands waiting for others to make a difference"

I think it's safe to say that we have thousands upon thousands of people just like him/her. Empty rhetoric and nothing more.

DetroitDad · September-29-09, 12:51 AM

He might not be able too [[kids, long hours, no money, etc.).

There probably will always be spectators, critics, and those on the coliseum floor.

**rajdet** · September-29-09, 01:22 AM

I don't get it, if you really wanted to live in Detroit, you would be living in Detroit. The real purpose of this post and article is to be critical of Detroit.

**jcole** · September-29-09, 07:44 AM

Instead of just ripping on the guy, click on the link and read the article. It goes on to say:

I understand that a large urban city such as Detroit is going to have more challenges than wealthier suburbs. However, I would move home in a heartbeat if I believed that Detroit was moving in the right direction, was meeting those challenges head-on, and was on a path toward better schools, safer streets and “a better quality of life.” It is easy for some to argue that in order for me to realize my dream of returning to a better Detroit, I need to take personal actions to help make it a better Detroit. I know. I know. Stop being part of the problem and become part of the solution. Stop talking about it and be about it.We need to start being more sophisticated about how we pick our leaders and the criteria we use to choose. We need to demand accountability from our leadership. We need to become more active in our community. We need to commit to quality education for our children. We need to take responsibility for not only ourselves but for our neighbors. Absolutely, we – or rather I say I? – need to be better.

I’ll work on that. But in the meantime, I need to reconcile my own confusion and uncertainty about what is real for me at this point in my life. Is home still home when the people and places you cherish have all but vanished? As a true Detroiter, am I incapable of building a home elsewhere? Have I temporarily relocated to this Suburban utopia waiting for my real home in the city to be rebuilt? Is the prospect of a new Detroit achievable in the foreseeable future? Against all my other life demands, do I have the time, energy, and patience to help overhaul the mess that has been made in Detroit?

Continued at http://www.gotryke.com/2008/12/09/de...-to-come-home/

Buy American · September-29-09, 07:57 AM

What are the people already living in Detroit doing to correct this horrible situation? The leaders and top politicians have been robbing you blind for years and you've let it happen. You did this by voting in the same people time after time, even giving many second and third chances to change their ways. All I read are the so called residents ripping others apart because they don't live in the City but would love to return if Detroit was a safer, more economical town to live in. I was born and raised in, educated in, married in, raised a family in, worked for, worshipped in Detroit for almost 50 years. My family did all we could to keep Detroit out of the ashes, but we were forced out by crime, intimidation to our children and ourselves, high taxes, no service and corrput politicians. Now, those who live in Detroit blame everyone but themselves for the prediciment it's in today. Sorry, I don't take any responsibility for what it's become.

**Sstashmoo** · September-29-09, 08:29 AM

Blaming someone or alluding to someone not doing enough in their community is such a deflection. Every citizen should take on the "do no harm" philosophy. One does not have to pretend to be a city worker, in the same breath, they should have enough respect for our neighborhood and neighbors to not throw garbage out of their car window, take care of their personal property, and do nothing that harms the community.

LouHat · September-29-09, 07:30 PM

This sentiment pushes all my buttons. Way back in 1965 or 1966, we were visiting grandma near Inverness and Florence, and I asked my dad if I caught a pigeon, could I take it home to Plymouth. They all laughed and said "OK, sure". And I wandered around the streets, sidewalks buckled over elm roots [[I was only nine or ten years old), and I eventually cornered one in someone's backyard [[no adult supervision, I just wandered, and it was safe, just like Plymouth, but better, way better, like what London was, I thought). I took the pigeon back and showed them, and they all backed away from their promise, and I had to leave the pigeon behind. But it was a sweet time, and a sweet city. So, how do we get back to those times? Seriously, that's what needs to be done. But how? It's frustrating.

**Brainiac** · September-29-09, 08:04 PM

Originally Posted by LouHat

This sentiment pushes all my buttons. Way back in 1965 or 1966, we were visiting grandma near Inverness and Florence, and I asked my dad if I caught a pigeon, could I take it home to Plymouth. They all laughed and said "OK, sure". And I wandered around the streets, sidewalks buckled over elm roots [[I was only nine or ten years old), and I eventually cornered one in someone's backyard [[no adult supervision, I just wandered, and it was safe, just like Plymouth, but better, way better, like what London was, I thought). I took the pigeon back and showed them, and they all backed away from their promise, and I had to leave the pigeon behind. But it was a sweet time, and a sweet city. So, how do we get back to those times? Seriously, that's what needs to be done. But how? It's frustrating.

I'm here in Michigan because of my wife - and no other reason. My job is based on the west coast, and I work remotely [[and put up with difficulties that brings). Family is here but is slowly eroding.

I want this place to be better. I want to restore our strong family roots. I'd like one day to be part of the local economic solution. For the life of me, I can't figure out any viable step forward. And I've been thinking about this deeply for years.

Where I'm at now is this: we're NEVER going back to those great times. We need to chart a new course. And I don't know what that course is.

My story is a little different than yours. Mine is from the late 70's, where I too went roaming around the streets of East Detroit, down by city airport. Kenmore street. I decided to go play at the corner park, seemingly vacant. I climbed a slide, one of those with a lookout room at the top. And I was suprised to find a neighborhood boy hiding up there. He was on his own as well. I said hi. And then he dropped his drawers and pissed on the slide.

I'll never forget that lesson of neighborhood decline. By the time 1980 came, my family was completely gone from the city.

**wolverine** · September-29-09, 08:09 PM

I guess the whole article read to me like this

[[ I am a succesful businessman with everything I need for my family the suburbs. My life is fine, but it wouldn't be if I moved back to the city in it's current station. Yet I wish I could still live there because I love it so much. ]]

....Well that's nice. But there are MANY people who will tell the same story. It's gotten old. I could care less. Let me hear from someone who is making an effort. I know residents and outsiders who have a genuine interest in helping out the city. They take the time out of their busy schedules to volunteer or donate to a worthy cause.

If that's not your thing, you can still travel into the city on any given day and walk the riverfront, go to a Tigers game, eat at a local restaurant and not have to put up with all those problems mentioned by the writer.

**MotownSpartan** · September-30-09, 08:13 AM

Originally Posted by wolverine

I guess the whole article read to me like this

[[ I am a succesful businessman with everything I need for my family the suburbs. My life is fine, but it wouldn't be if I moved back to the city in it's current station. Yet I wish I could still live there because I love it so much. ]]

....Well that's nice. But there are MANY people who will tell the same story. It's gotten old. I could care less. Let me hear from someone who is making an effort. I know residents and outsiders who have a genuine interest in helping out the city. They take the time out of their busy schedules to volunteer or donate to a worthy cause.

If that's not your thing, you can still travel into the city on any given day and walk the riverfront, go to a Tigers game, eat at a local restaurant and not have to put up with all those problems mentioned by the writer.

What an unfortunate viewpoint. You could "care less" about the very people that are going to be needed if the city is ever going to stop its population loss and rebuild? You are only interested in hearing stories of people moving into the city? I'm sorry but the vast majority of people in the region don't live in the city and hearing honest and thoughtful commentary on what factors they considered when deciding where to live can be instructive to us all. This is especially true in this case as this blogger has shown a strong desire to move into the city [[he's not someone who would never consider it and thus a lost cause).

Of course, this isn't the only viewpoint I want to hear, I'd like to hear a diverse array of viewpoints but it seems foolish to refuse to listen to someone simply because they haven't "moved into the city."

**jt1** · September-30-09, 08:56 AM

Originally Posted by MotownSpartan

What an unfortunate viewpoint. You could "care less" about the very people that are going to be needed if the city is ever going to stop its population loss and rebuild? You are only interested in hearing stories of people moving into the city? I'm sorry but the vast majority of people in the region don't live in the city and hearing honest and thoughtful commentary on what factors they considered when deciding where to live can be instructive to us all. This is especially true in this case as this blogger has shown a strong desire to move into the city [[he's not someone who would never consider it and thus a lost cause).

Of course, this isn't the only viewpoint I want to hear, I'd like to hear a diverse array of viewpoints but it seems foolish to refuse to listen to someone simply because they haven't "moved into the city."

In a way I agree with both of you.

1. Yes, the city should embrace those that are willing to consider moving back and listen to what may encourgae them to make the move [[Agreement with your viewpoint)

2. There are however seemingly tens of thousands of people that insist they would move into the city if someone [[as in anyone but them) improve it to their liking. Many of the people making this claim are unwilling to do anything to help improve the conditions. Essentially we have people pointing a finger at the city and residents of the city saying' "Here is what I want. Let me know when it is there and I will move back. In the interim I will criticize and offer no help." Continually hearing this attitude from the tens of thousands that could help with the change but are unwilling to do so gets really old and rings pretty hollow.

The city needs residents, volunteers and more people that are willing to vote for the right people. If some of the people in [[2) were willing to do that we would have a much better chance at making real improvements in the city. Of course it is easier to state needs, criticize and sit on their hands and wait for the improvements to miraculously come to the city.

**jtf1972** · September-30-09, 04:14 PM

When I find a job, I'm coming back. I interviewed for one back in July at a place in Ferndale. In chit-chatting with the lady at the desk she was telling me that there are lots of great places to live. Ferndale, Sterling Heights, Utica... When I told her about the great deals available in the city she looked like I spoke to her in Klingon.

I'm a city boy. I moved to NYC 10 years ago to go to school & get the experience of living in a world-class city. I think it's difficult to see many of the problems Detroit has when all you know is the city & its suburbs. It's good to get away & see other things, but I still long to come home to Detroit. Detroit, for all its flaws, has more potential than anywhere else I know.

**windsor_shane** · September-30-09, 04:50 PM

i think its important to note this.. the writer says that he would move back if he knew detroit was moving in the right direction.. he doesn't say he would move back if someone made it all better for him. i think this is very important.. The first step to reviving Detroit needs to ASSURE people that if they choose to invest in the city, to make the jump and move to Detroit, that steps are being taken to move the city in the right direction. that improvements are being made to decease crime, that city services are being improved instend of being cut, and that city schools are safe for their kids [[this is very important)

i too very much would love to move to detroit, im in the cty almost every weekend, eating at slows or dakota inn, going to sporting events or belle island, exploring the architecture downtown or going to eastern market, john king books, etc etc
im a small city boy looking to move to the big city... but what scares me is if i move to detroit, will my girlfriend be safe? can she go out at night alone? or will i be nervous until she returns, could i invite my familey over and allow my little brothers to goto the park around the corner? correct me if im wrong but i doubt it. safety safety safety... its no. 1.

**Meddle** · September-30-09, 05:02 PM

The city that gave us the automobile and the Motown sound, Joe Louis and Faygo pop, Aretha Franklin and Coleman Young, Berry Gordy and Damon Keith.

You had me until that one. One of the most corrupt politicians in American history. Total embarrassment to the city.

**Meddle** · September-30-09, 05:08 PM

Originally Posted by LouHat

But it was a sweet time, and a sweet city. So, how do we get back to those times? Seriously, that's what needs to be done. But how? It's frustrating.

Simple answer; you don't. Those days are gone forever. I don't know of any place in the country like that any more.

**wolverine** · September-30-09, 07:38 PM

Originally Posted by MotownSpartan

What an unfortunate viewpoint. You could "care less" about the very people that are going to be needed if the city is ever going to stop its population loss and rebuild? You are only interested in hearing stories of people moving into the city? I'm sorry but the vast majority of people in the region don't live in the city and hearing honest and thoughtful commentary on what factors they considered when deciding where to live can be instructive to us all.

The problem with my post is it came off in a tone I didn't intend. I personally have nothing against the writer. And I do think this was a good thread topic btw.

"You could care less about the very people that are need if the city is ever going to stop its population loss and rebuild"

MotownSpartan, let me ask you. Does it sound like the writer will ever return? He spent a good chunk of paragraph saying how great his life was in the burbs. What I care less about is people who complain that Detroit can't be the way they want it. Really, we all understand [[I hope by now). Is this something we all haven't heard? Try being a part of the solution for once, and write back on that.

"You are only interested in hearing stories of people moving to the city?"

Hm, I never said that. But hey, that would be nice to hear some, but I'd love to hear from people who had a great experience visiting the city as well. I enjoy that. But I do not like complainers.

Now thank you for twisting things out of perspective.

**Fury13** · September-30-09, 08:45 PM

By the way, what the hell is an "urban city"? You know, that's redundant. Redundant. The same thing.

Unless... "urban" is codespeak... ooooooh...

ziggyselbin · September-30-09, 09:55 PM

Originally Posted by Meddle

You had me until that one. One of the most corrupt politicians in American history. Total embarrassment to the city.

Exactly how was Mayor Young corrupt? I want specific incidents of corruption by the Mayor. When was he ever as Mayor or state senator convicted of a crime? ..........I'll save you the time he wasn't.

**Tripper** · September-30-09, 10:08 PM

Me too...I want to go home.

**Meddle** · September-30-09, 11:28 PM

Originally Posted by ziggyselbin

Exactly how was Mayor Young corrupt?

You're kidding right?

**jtf1972** · October-01-09, 12:00 AM

Originally Posted by Meddle

You're kidding right?

Quit meddling.

**MrJones** · October-01-09, 12:06 AM

I want to go back to High School. Had a million friends, went to a million parties. Had a few girlfriends...
It's funny though, the school's still there, but nothing else was familiar. The parking lot where I heard The Beatles, Led Zeppelin & The Who, now thumps with some different music.
I was so out of place it hurt.

The spirit of Detroit isn't dead, but it has evolved into something completely different from what it once was.
Hopefully someday it will evolve into something which makes me feel more welcome again.
After my address is in Detroit once again, I'll look back at these as the good old days.