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If I've been to the Midwest? Had I not, I'd have to rewrite several laws of physics considering that I'm sitting here at ground zero of the wasteland that is Southeast Michigan.
I don't quite think I've ever said that I hate Cleveland. I'd hate to live in Cleveland, but at present I couldn't be more apathetic towards it.
At any rate, I've lived all over Metro Detroit. Vapid, old money types in Oakland, decrepit blue collar in the west and downriver, archetypal suburbs everywhere else. Royal Oak and Ferndale are the only ones who even try to be somewhat cool and unique.
You have to have endured the displeasure of living here to understand how regressive and utterly dysfunctional Metro Detroit is.
What about Birmingham? Birmingham has got to be one of the coolest suburbs in America.
If you've said anything negative about Cleveland, you just buy into the stereotypes. Cleveland has got some awesome suburbs as well. Its economy has just struggled lately, mainly due to union issues, just like southeast Michigan.
What about Birmingham? Birmingham has got to be one of the coolest suburbs in America.
If you've said anything negative about Cleveland, you just buy into the stereotypes. Cleveland has got some awesome suburbs as well. Its economy has just struggled lately, mainly due to union issues, just like southeast Michigan.
I'll say this, Detroit's suburbs are good relative to most suburbs. I'm not saying they are worse. They're just that, suburbs. There's a limit to how interesting they can be.
But then again, I personally don't see much appeal to living in a nice suburb if the arteries of the metro area lead to a dead heart. Suburbs feed off of a city. The haphazard decentralization of metro Detroit kills it as a viable urban area. We can't even get people to sit down and get along long enough to build a WalMart or a train system. And I don't even want a WalMart. It's just emblematic of the total breakdown of this metro.
I'll say this, Detroit's suburbs are good relative to most suburbs. I'm not saying they are worse. They're just that, suburbs. There's a limit to how interesting they can be.
But then again, I personally don't see much appeal to living in a nice suburb if the arteries of the metro area lead to a dead heart. Suburbs feed off of a city. The haphazard decentralization of metro Detroit kills it as a viable urban area. We can't even get people to sit down and get along long enough to build a WalMart or a train system. And I don't even want a WalMart. It's just emblematic of the total breakdown of this metro.
Just because a city is decentralized doesn't mean it cannot be sucessful and it doesn't mean that it cannot have nice urban and suburban areas. Sucessful cities like Los Angeles are decentralized, as are San Francisco and Seattle on some level.
Politics in Michigan are bad, but that is off topic for comparing suburban Minneapolis and suburban Detroit.
Just because a city is decentralized doesn't mean it cannot be sucessful and it doesn't mean that it cannot have nice urban and suburban areas. Sucessful cities like Los Angeles are decentralized, as are San Francisco and Seattle on some level.
Politics in Michigan are bad, but that is off topic for comparing suburban Minneapolis and suburban Detroit.
LA, SF, and Seattle are the powerhouses and the name brands of their metros though. Metro Detroit has none. Without a major urban flagship, there is no draw.
The politics are a huge part of the reason Detroit and Michigan have no future as it is right now. Who wants to put up with municipal childishness and stagnation?
LA, SF, and Seattle are the powerhouses and the name brands of their metros though. Metro Detroit has none. Without a major urban flagship, there is no draw.
The politics are a huge part of the reason Detroit and Michigan have no future as it is right now. Who wants to put up with municipal childishness and stagnation?
I think Detroit is more iconic than San Francisco and Seattle. Detroit is known worldwide as the "Automotive Capital of the World." Maybe the automotive industry and Michigan's economy in general isn't doing well but Detroit is one of America's most important cities and most recognizable. If Detroit was so bad and so insignificant its airport wouldn't be able to handle all of the international destinations it has and it wouldn't be able to call itself the place of the North American Auto Show. Detroit has issues just as any other city, but you need to look at the positive and expand on that and try to fix whats wrong instead of degrading the place repeatedly.
I think Detroit is more iconic than San Francisco and Seattle. Detroit is known worldwide as the "Automotive Capital of the World." Maybe the automotive industry and Michigan's economy in general isn't doing well but Detroit is one of America's most important cities and most recognizable. If Detroit was so bad and so insignificant its airport wouldn't be able to handle all of the international destinations it has and it wouldn't be able to call itself the place of the North American Auto Show. Detroit has issues just as any other city, but you need to look at the positive and expand on that and try to fix whats wrong instead of degrading the place repeatedly.
If you don't understand where I'm coming from, clearly you haven't ever lived here and interacted with the people the way I have.
The people in the city couldn't care less and, even if they did, aren't smart enough to do anything about it. If you need evidence of this, I'm sure you recall our now infamous ex-mayor who was twice reelected. Everyone with any kind of drive and education either has left or is on the way out. And the people outside the city dislike the people inside the city so much that they'd never have anything to do with it.
As I said, dysfunctional dynamics ensure that minus a game changer, the city and the state will continue to stagnate for the foreseeable future. Picturesque suburbs? Sure. But picturesque suburbs with no future.
If you don't understand where I'm coming from, clearly you haven't ever lived here and interacted with the people the way I have.
The people in the city couldn't care less and, even if they did, aren't smart enough to do anything about it. If you need evidence of this, I'm sure you recall our now infamous ex-mayor who was twice reelected. Everyone with any kind of drive and education either has left or is on the way out. And the people outside the city dislike the people inside the city so much that they'd never have anything to do with it.
As I said, dysfunctional dynamics ensure that minus a game changer, the city and the state will continue to stagnate for the foreseeable future. Picturesque suburbs? Sure. But picturesque suburbs with no future.
I lived in Oakland County for a short time in 2007-2008. I agree that the politics of Michigan and especially Wayne County are very disfunctional. I hope I don't get heat for this, but the problem is that Wayne County has too many African-Americans, whom are poor, uneducated, and vote in blocks of 98/100 for Democratic candidates that mess up the area.
I think that Oakland County itself has a bright future, unless it continues its trend of becoming more pro-union and Democratic. The car companies and other high-tech corporations have large investments in the area. Oakland County also boasts top educational institutions and some of the wealthiest enclaves in America.
Michigan will turn around. It'll take some time, but it will happen, sooner if the politics get in order.
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Location: St Simons Island, GA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by US-Traveller
Looks like Suburban Detroit is winning?
Good. Glad to see the posters are giving this some thought. I expected that a lot of the votes would be a knee-jerk reaction to what they hear about Detroit overall, but the reality is that some of the Detroit suburbs that the OP cites are the loveliest in America.
Good. Glad to see the posters are giving this some thought. I expected that a lot of the votes would be a knee-jerk reaction to what they hear about Detroit overall, but the reality is that some of the Detroit suburbs that the OP cites are the loveliest in America.
I also thought that people would be too rapped up in the City of Detroit's poor reputation.
I am glad to see that those who know the area are the ones who are voting instead of those who just dislike Michigan without having experienced what it has to offer.
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