Detroit is what it is
-
10/20/2007
I lived in the city for about 25 of my 29 years. The crime problem is overblown, though many of the people I went to school with (K thru 12) are dead, in prison, welfare moms, etc. Detroit-bashers need to realize that most people who are the victims of violent crime are people involved in illegal activity, especially drug dealing. Random acts of violence are fairly rare, even in Detroit. Just don't deal drugs, rob dope houses, or get involved in other forms of vice. The only crime I experienced during my 25 years of residency was when the hubcaps were stolen off of my rental car. That being said, compared to other large cities, Detroit is pretty grim, especially on the majority of the southwest and southeast sides. You couldn't pay me any amount of money to go into those areas after dark. Lots of gangs, dope-dealing, and other typical inner-city problems. I finally moved out of the city to the suburbs this summer of 07. Ironically, it wasn't because of crime. The primary reason was cost of living. It is less expensive to live in the suburbs than to reside in the city. Car insurance was ridiculous and I was tired of having to travel to the suburbs to go to a decent grocery store, among other problems. The city government is a joke, about as trustworthy as Chicago during the 1920's. The economy for all of Michigan is horrible right now, though I have been able to maintain a job with benefits throughout our recession, albiet a crappy job. I never realized how segregated we are here until I visited my uncle in Baltimore. It blew me away to see blacks and whites eating together on the weekend. You almost never see that in Detroit, unless people are on their lunch breaks during the work week. Blacks don't trust whites, whites don't trust blacks, and blacks and whites don't trust the Arab community. Even the sports are segregated. The whites generally love the Tigers and Red Wings. The blacks are most passionate about the Pistons, though everybody is unified in their contempt for the Lions' futility (FIRE MILLEN!!!). Overall, the city of Detroit is neither as horrible as a lot of people say, but I see no evidence of any grand renaissance ever happening. When the best economic news coming out of this area is legal vice (the opening of casinos), you know the city is in real trouble. I always felt cheated when my mom and other older relatives talked about how great the city used to be. I have one more year of grad school left and after that, I will be moving out of Michigan altogether. I'll always consider myself a Detroiter, but there is nothing going on to keep me here, or to recommend this area to anyone else who has options. The only thing that I can think of that I'll miss is following the sports teams, but a good cable package will take care of that. Sorry if this is too long for some people, I just wanted to give a real opinion instead of the usual "Detroit is a wasteland".
max | Detroit, MI