Anybody live in Detroit ?

[NM_Birder]

that can describe what the city is REALLY like today ?

[Takket]

1. I live in the suburbs...

you don't go to the city.

If you go to the downtown, near Comerica Park and Ford field, it is pretty safe. But I would not hang out outside the stadiums/theaters any longer than you have to, and certainly not when there is no event going on. My work brings me to some facilities in the "rough" parts of the city. You take a good look around before you get out of your car and get inside with haste. If you are in doubt, you stay inside the building or drive around the block again. And you don't go alone.

Other than that you don't go near the residential areas. Frankly, there is no reason to go there anyway even if gang crime was not so high.

[NM_Birder]

2. thanks, Do you know anything about the cit's ability to pay out pensions

social programs etc ?

Every now and then there is a news blurb of what Detroit is going thu, but never anything substantial. Street lights being turned off, water being turned off, pensions not funded, crime, unemployment, infrastructure collapse etc...... but it only gets reported as a passing story....then nothing

California was reported to be in dire financial condition,....then nothing....and all seems rosy for California now. I'm curious if Detroit is as bad as the little news snippets describe, or is Detroit REALLY on the edge of a catastrophe ?

[marmar]

3. Sorry, but that advice is bull

You can stay outside stadiums and other buildings downtown even when an event is not going on. There are people eating and enjoying downtown and midtown all the time now. That advice reeks of suburban paranoia.
Artists and investors are buying up property in the city; people are moving in from the Netherlands, France, Australia. ..... Frankly, I find the original response to your post disgusting.

[NM_Birder]

5. thanks, I don't live in Detroit, never been there, likely never will visit,

Don't really know anything about Detroit, except every once in a while there is a news story that makes it sound like it exists in some sort of "Road Warrior", post apocalyptic wasteland.

Would you say the unemployment is about the same as everywhere else ?
Do you know anything about the city going bankrupt or pensions not being fully funded ? It seems odd that Detroit is made to seem like a city that imploded, yet there aren't any comprehensive stories backing it up.

Detroit gets a pretty bad rap, and I'll admit I really thought is was all but flushed down the toilet, but got to thinking last night, and wonder what is it REALLY like ?

[A HERETIC I AM]

6. Hear, Hear!

Lived in Detroit all through the 90's. Granted that was 14 years ago, but I never worried about going downtown. Had a favorite restaurant in Greektown and never had a problem in the slightest.

[Barack_America]

9. Detroit's tax base bottomed out, that is true.

The bankruptcy is true. But that is a bit of a separate issue from what it is like to be in Detroit today. There's a lot of private capital going into downtown and midtown, which has changed drastically since I lived there. Those benefits have extended less into the neighborhoods where, frankly, the vast majority of crime occurs.

Detroit is just like any other place in this country, those with money get a different experience than those who don't.

[navarth]

16. Your fear prevents you

from experiencing some great people and great places.

If you really believe what you just said, you really should stay in the suburbs. I don't see where there's any help for you. Tragic, really. People like you are part of the problem.

I've lived in the suburbs in 2 different locations. Ech. I've lived in the City Of Detroit most years of my life, in 3 different locations. What you said is about 3% true, the rest is typical white fear bullshit. You need to work on that. Or not, we'll be fine without you.

[Cal Carpenter]

20. Speak for yourself.

[ellie]

4. My brother and I lived there in the early

2000s although we have since moved away. He visited yesterday and said that people are moving into the city and there is a good energy there. He also said these signs of life will not be reported by the media.

[FrodosPet]

10. This is true

Yes, you try to remain observant. When you stop at traffic lights, unless you are turning, stay near the middle of the light so you always have an escape route if things get crazy.

If things don't feel right, you scram. I've never personally had trouble in the city - and I drove cab and door-to-door meat sales trucks for years, making hundreds of trips into the neighborhoods.

This prosecutor said it best:

"There are PLENTY of young black males, who live in the City of Detroit, who are raised by single mothers, who do NOT, I repeat, do NOT, engage in criminal activity. "

This woman is a hero for standing up against that ignorant judge!

[Barack_America]

7. Downtown or the neighborhoods?

Drastically different beasts.

Also, what do you mean by "what the city is REALLY like?" I don't know what aspect of the city you want us to comment on.

[NM_Birder]

13. In General

If you were to read news stories about a city that say things like, the water is being shut off, the street lights are being turned off, crime is rampant, unemployment is skyrocketing, ...the general idea that is being portrayed is that the city is near death.

what I meant by "what is it REALLY like"
So I asked if anyone could describe what Detroit is really like, as in somebody who lives there now or recently enough to have experienced what life in Detroit is REALLY like.
So far the general theme I've gotten is that 10 - 14 years ago it wasn't any worse than any other city, along with a thinly veiled warning to not go anywhere you don't have to go, and certainly not at night.
There was a comment or two about private money coming back to the city, but nothing that would make me believe the city is any worse off than any other city.

I assume that because "what is the city REALLY like" is a difficult question to decipher, the city must really not be all that different than any other city, and is not in any more danger of collapsing financially than any other. It explains why the "OMG" stories about Detroit's financial stability are hit and run shock stories, and it also explains why you don't understand WHY I would curious about Detroit's condition.

I commented yesterday that Detroit "was fucked", I may have fallen prey to the propaganda, and Detroit is just fine, or like I said no worse off than any other big city.

[Barack_America]

15. So, here's the deal, Detroit is huge.

I actually felt safer living in downtown Detroit than I did Philly because the impoverished neighborhoods were further away in Detroit. That said, I lived in a residential neighborhood in Philly, whereas I would not even contemplate doing such a thing in Detroit.

Not to sound corny, but Detroit truly is a "Tale of Two Cities" much more so than most cities in this country.

[NM_Birder]

17. basically no worse off than LA or NY ?

[etherealtruth]

8. It is a large POOR urban city

There are wonderful areas that have been experiencing a "rebirth" ... downtown, midtown and several other neighborhoods.

The city has lost a tremendous amount of people and there still are a large amount of abandoned buildings (including historic structures, commercial , industrial and residences .... almost entire neighborhoods)

There are world class hospitals, museums,hotels, theaters ... there are also areas that could be likened to scenes from war zones or Chernobyl.

There are incredibly high rates of poverty, unemployment and crime in many areas ... and there are areas with a significant police presence , quick response times.

There is NO reliable public transit ... the schools are "under-performing" (phrasing it that way is a kindness)

I spend a lot of time working in the city (I work in consulting, with an office based in an affluent suburb) ... most of the time I feel comfortable and safe while in the city (acknowledging most of my time is spent in the downtown/ mid-town/ new center areas).

I have actually been considering moving from the suburbs to the downtown/ midtown area ... however, when my children were younger (the youngest is now 18) I would not have even remotely considered this

It is a city of contrasts, it is a poor city, it is a hard city and it is a city with hope.

[Barack_America]

11. ^This is pretty much it.

The booms, the busts, the sprawl, the separation between the haves and have nots. Detroit has also been a little snapshot into America's future.

For those who would mock the city, rather than study and learn from it, I say, "welcome to your future 10-20 years from now".

[NM_Birder]

14. OK now I'm confused,

"Welcome to your future in 10-20 years",...........

Me thinks you understood exactly what I was asking with "What is Detroit REALLY like", but like everyone else you don't live there now do you ?

[navarth]

19. I believe the poster was pointing out

that our city is much like the canary in the coal mine of capitalism, so to speak. It didn't seem to me that it was directed at you. Maybe I'm wrong?

[FrodosPet]

12. Right on the mark

Strip away the blight, and Detroit is beautiful. Lush green treelined streets, amazing architecture in the houses and buildings that were maintained, fantastic location as a shipping and transportation hub.

Damn near the whole world is scared of the city. But while innocents sometimes do get killed, and sometimes people do get beat down like Steven Utash, for the most part, the violence is gang oriented - gang vs gang.

[navarth]

18. Really want to know? I recommend this as a start.

http://www.movoto.com/blog/opinions/detroit-time-lapse/

[Octafish]

21. Detroit is a great town filled with great people.

No jobs, as NAFTA and robotics have largely made auto and related manufacturing in the USA a thing of the dim past, so the prosperity parts are gone. Other than that, Detroit is what the rest of the country's cities will soon be like, thanks to austerity and Year 34 of Reaganomics.

PS: Lived and worked in Detroit and the surrounding metro region most of my adult life.