Detroit & Windsor (Wayne, Brooklyn, Grant: university, taxi, taxes)

[East Coaster]

What's the relationship between the two cities like? Do people go back and forth a lot?

[Tex?Il?]

Yes, many in Windsor work in Detroit, and young Detroiters go over to Windsor to drink if they are 18 to 21.

[us66]

Going through Customs is kind of a pain nowadays. Canadians shop over here a lot because the Canadian dollar is no longer considered play money around here, and gasoline is a buck something less a gallon, so you'll see them filling an entire trunkload of gas cans on occasion.

[ForStarters]

The border crossing is quite busy. The line for the tunnel gets extremely backed up at peak times. I don't know the exact number of people who cross over daily, but I would guess that it is in the tens of thousands. The Detroit-Windsor border is the busiest international crossing in North America in terms of commerce, so there is heavy traffic of trucks and commercial vehicles as well. For pedestrians, there's a "Tunnel Bus" that runs between the two cities.

In 2009, the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority was given a $7 million dollar Ferry Boat Discretionary Grant to to develop a port and wharf along the Riverwalk at the foot of Downtown Detroit. Since that time, plans to create a pedestrian ferry/water taxi between Detroit and Windsor have accelerated and the project is officially on the list of the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation. The new Detroit port/wharf should be opening any time now, so I'm very optimistic about the prospect of a pedestrian ferry. Detroit is closer to Windsor than Manhattan is to Brooklyn. These two cities have a great relationship politically and are very supportive of one another. Ontario gave millions to GM when it was struggling. Canada has offered to give Michigan up to $500 million towards a new Detroit-Windsor bridge. Students at University of Windsor take classes at University of Detroit Mercy and visa versa. Detroit and Windsor truly form one major international metropolis, even though we are independent cities. The Windsor skyline merges with Detroit's outside my window, and symbolically, I think of the cities as one connected urban area.

[Wingnatic]

We have an annual Conference in Northern Michigan for Mayors for all Michigan cities , and the Mayor of Windsor is always invited as we consider Windsor part of our region and value Windsor's opinions . We've also had the International Freedom Festival since 1959 I believe with many activities spread out over days leading up to July 1st (Canada Day ) and our 4th of July ending with one of the largest firework displays in the world shot off of 3 barges in the Detroit River . This years should be sometime at the end of June and the activities haven't been announced yet . I'm sure another thread will be forthcoming . (I'm sure they will still have a tug-o-war between the Windsor Fire Dept. and the Detroit Fire Dept. across the river lol) Here's some info
Windsor

The events will probably be posted here
http://www.theparade.org/riverdays.php (broken link)

or in the newspaper here closer to date

[SadieMirsade]

An hour away from the Detroit, there's a place where they have NO policemen, NO garbage men, NO fast food, there's free healthcare, decent, free education, and they get around on bikes.
Rex L. Camino's Blog of Doom: pelee island, part 1

[East Coaster]

Originally Posted by SadieMirsade

An hour away from the Detroit, there's a place where they have NO policemen, NO garbage men, NO fast food, there's free healthcare, decent, free education, and they get around on bikes.
Rex L. Camino's Blog of Doom: pelee island, part 1

Hey, Pelee Island looks pretty neat! Thanks for that link. I'd only over heard about it in the context of it being the southern-most point of Canada, looks like a neat little week-end getaway.

I'm glad to hear that Windsor and Detroit seem to have such a neighbourly relationship. I hadn't even though about how many teen-agers must take advantage of the drinking age. OF COURSE. Growing up in Ontario, we always went to Quebec at age eighteen because of their lower drinking age.

I was reading somewhere - probably in a thread in this forum - that there are a lot of Canadian nurses who live in Windsor and work in Detroit? Is it typical for people to reside in one country and work in the other? Are these mostly people who have dual citizenship to begin with? I can't imagine Detroiters would want Canadians scooping up jobs that seem especially difficult to find right now. And how does that work with traveling across the border on a daily basis? Do people who do that get special passes, or do they have to go through the whole customs thing every time?

[Wingnatic]

There has been a shortage of nurses in the U.S. including the Detroit and surrounding area's and Canadian nurses have been welcome and fill in quite nicely . I think Canadians coming here in general on a regular basis have something called a fast pass or something like that . Michigan is only one of a few States (so far ) that have a '' enhanced '' drivers license , that serves as a passport (by foot or vehicle only ) to enter Canada and return to the U.S. I visit Canada often and have one , the State does a background check etc. before they will issue you one of these . You can also enter Mexico with one (I don't know who would go there with all the drug violence) You must have a regular passport if you intend to fly or take a ship to Canada .
We have many medical facilities and need the nurses , many Canadians also work in other fields including whats left of our auto industry . As far as us getting an attitute , I don't think there is that many Canadians working here that would make a difference in our economy , and its certainly not a noticeable amount of Canadians working here in Detroit and elsewhere . Our jobs left because other Nations offer at the very most 20% business taxes and even as low as 12.5 % in Dublin Ireland , where the U.S. its 35 % As far as the kids going over to Canada to drink , they can't handle American beer , what makes them think they can handle Canadian beer ? lol ! Most of them take turns blowing their oats out the car window on the return trip lol
Canadian Nurses in the US

[SadieMirsade]

Right now, most consumer goods, gas and food is cheaper on the US side, so of course, Canadians like to take advantage of it all while their dollar is riding high.
Eg. ground beef on the US side (Angus) can be had for about $2 US a pound and on the Canadian side it's usually double that.
Milk is almost double in Canada. Other items are pretty similar in price.
The Canadian side provides a safer environment, cheap and decent education, free heath care.
Booze is definitely cheaper in Michigan. Schooners would love that.....
But then, there's no lobster or quahogs in the Detroit river....

[skyl4rk]

There are many family connections across the border. Historically, the region was less separated than it is now. People could move where they wanted to, work where they wanted to. Families with members living on both sides of the river is still common.