Detroit's population (Ann Arbor, Charlotte, St. Louis: high crime, home, neighborhood)
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it's unpleasant because of lack of city services, few shops (most of which close early), etc
It's only violent, dangerous, crimeridden if you make it part of your lifestyle. most suburbanites who stereotype it as a warzone or dangerous are doing it from a clueless pedestal.
Really? What about the people that live there that "stereotype it" that way. I suppose they have left Detroit in droves because they were forced to against their will? Let me guess, the suburbanites are bribing them to leave?
Really? What about the people that live there that "stereotype it" that way. I suppose they have left Detroit in droves because they were forced to against their will? Let me guess, the suburbanites are bribing them to leave?
C'mon now. "Clueless pedestal"?
I think you'll consider where i live now a 'ghetto.' It's 100% black, and the homes that are occupied avg less than $30,000, there are plenty of unoccupied homes, "urban prairies", and drug houses. feel free to google maps me, i'm on gladstone between the lodge and woodward. there are streets next to mine that are close to 100% abandoned but also a couple blocks north from me that are very nice and all occupied like boston edison. I'm showing my age but i still walk everywhere at night, unafraid. Let the kiddies do what the kiddies want to do.
I grew up and raised in imperial courts, which were the projects in watts (los angeles). since then i have lived in many "bad" neighborhoods throughout the usa and puerto rico and some other countries. but i also lived in some nice middle class and wealthy areas too when i was living fast. and tbh, crime never impacted my qol of there or here. It's just in the background. what affects me is how long i have to walk to a shop or when that shop closes. In the hood, even a subway will close by 10pm.
So since we're talking about clueless pedestals, where have you lived?
to most people too. A2 is nice, but it's a college town. Being a college town doesn't make it cosmopolitan, doesn't make it diverse (and a2 really isn't diverse especially compared to DC). It's what it is, a bunch of college students and the life support. But maybe i'm missing something, point it out to me?
to most people too. A2 is nice, but it's a college town. Being a college town doesn't make it cosmopolitan, doesn't make it diverse (and a2 really isn't diverse especially compared to DC). It's what it is, a bunch of college students and the life support. But maybe i'm missing something, point it out to me?
The architecture of UofM, the tree canopy, the low lying areas around the river in Ann Arbor, the scale, the large number of Asians and Middle Eastern people, the sidewalk cafe's, old stone houses, the pedestrians and cyclists. Now take that and add the steroids I mentioned....and it reminds me of D.C. I'm not nearly as much a fan of Ann Arbor as I am D.C., but when I think of cities, they are similar to me. Chicago like D.C.? Nope. Detroit? No way. Atlanta? Nope. Denver? Not even close. Tampa? Nada. Nashville? No. Las Vegas? Ha. Charlotte? eh eh. Baltimore? Mmmm.. Cincinnati? Nope. Columbus, Cleveland, Memphis, Minneapolis, etc. none are like D.C. to me.
That's all I'm saying. Oh, and the education levels of residents is about the same, which might effect the kinds of cars people drive (a lot of Volvos, Audi's and Saabs), the papers they read, etc..
I think you'll consider where i live now a 'ghetto.' It's 100% black, and the homes that are occupied avg less than $30,000, there are plenty of unoccupied homes, "urban prairies", and drug houses. feel free to google maps me, i'm on gladstone between the lodge and woodward. there are streets next to mine that are close to 100% abandoned but also a couple blocks north from me that are very nice and all occupied like boston edison. I'm showing my age but i still walk everywhere at night, unafraid. Let the kiddies do what the kiddies want to do.
I grew up and raised in imperial courts, which were the projects in watts (los angeles). since then i have lived in many "bad" neighborhoods throughout the usa and puerto rico and some other countries. but i also lived in some nice middle class and wealthy areas too when i was living fast. and tbh, crime never impacted my qol of there or here. It's just in the background. what affects me is how long i have to walk to a shop or when that shop closes. In the hood, even a subway will close by 10pm.
So since we're talking about clueless pedestals, where have you lived?
If you had a choice between living where you live now and a living in a place with the same walkability and store hours but with less crime, where would you choose to live? Just because crime hasn't "impacted" you does not mean it does not exist or that you won't be a victim of crime. And if you are a woman or have a wife and kids, would you feel safe walking or having them walk in your neighborhood alone?
I realize that a lot of people live in Detroit because they can't afford to get out. Or maybe they have family obligations there or maybe they simply have gotten so used to their area that they don't want to leave. I respect that and can sympathize with them. But don't try to convince me that Detroit is no worse than other places.
I spent my whole life in Eastpointe, with a few short stints living elsewhere. And honestly, when I drive through Detroit (most parts), I shake my head in disbelief that a place can look so awful. It does look like a war zone in many parts.
to most people too. A2 is nice, but it's a college town. Being a college town doesn't make it cosmopolitan, doesn't make it diverse (and a2 really isn't diverse especially compared to DC). It's what it is, a bunch of college students and the life support. But maybe i'm missing something, point it out to me?
You're absolutely right. The college students who graduate from U of M leave immediately for Chicago.
Too many people around here elevate it higher than what it is.
If you had a choice between living where you live now and a living in a place with the same walkability and store hours but with less crime, where would you choose to live? Just because crime hasn't "impacted" you does not mean it does not exist or that you won't be a victim of crime. And if you are a woman or have a wife and kids, would you feel safe walking or having them walk in your neighborhood alone?
I realize that a lot of people live in Detroit because they can't afford to get out. Or maybe they have family obligations there or maybe they simply have gotten so used to their area that they don't want to leave. I respect that and can sympathize with them. But don't try to convince me that Detroit is no worse than other places.
I spent my whole life in Eastpointe, with a few short stints living elsewhere. And honestly, when I drive through Detroit (most parts), I shake my head in disbelief that a place can look so awful. It does look like a war zone in many parts.
I have 2 kids, the oldest is almost in college They live out in indiana near bloomington with their mother. their mother wants more or less nothing to do with me except my money so i hardly every seem them except birthdays and christmas. BUT
I'd be fine with them living on my street if it weren't for the schools. I went to a terrible school, that was essentially good for nothing. I don't want that for my kids. If I were to live in the detroit metro area i'd probably move to harper woods, eastpointe, maybe st clair shores trying to get my kids in a good school.
As to my block, it has some families. and some of the kids do play. almost never without supervision, and almost never at night but they occasionally do. crime, and again i keep saying it, is mostly between people who know each other. When murders happen around me, it doesn't phase me because i know it's just people settling scores and it has nothing to do with me. that may sound cold, but honestly it's been a good portion of my life.
what you see is burned out, destroyed buildings. in a warzone they might look similar but those are damaged from artillery and fighting. these are damaged from no one living in them, and from nature taking its toll. there are grungy and dingy "safe" cities. before i came here, i lived in juarez and el paso intermittently (i hoped from one side to the other). the media constantly beats that el paso is one of the safest cities in the usa but near the border, you get a lot of grungy, dingy, and some abandoned buildings. Part of it is the poverty, but part of it is juarez is given the bad media portrayal as one of the most violent cities in the world and so no one in el paso wants to be next to the border anymore. in actuality, it's just fine living in jaurez. those bodies can pile up as long as they don't involve you. but perception is reality and even mexicans who immigrated from jaurez RECENTLY believe it. go figure
i think to answer your question, that all equal, i prefer a place with less crime. but it's not huge on my radar. i could move out of detroit into a smaller place in the suburbs. if i wanted. to be brutally honest, i get along difficult with middle class whites. imagine my rep on CD but x1000. What's funny is i like rich whites and can come to common terms with the working class whites. but the keeping up with the jonses, extremely judgemental? nah. I pass.
The architecture of UofM, the tree canopy, the low lying areas around the river in Ann Arbor, the scale, the large number of Asians and Middle Eastern people, the sidewalk cafe's, old stone houses, the pedestrians and cyclists. Now take that and add the steroids I mentioned....and it reminds me of D.C. I'm not nearly as much a fan of Ann Arbor as I am D.C., but when I think of cities, they are similar to me. Chicago like D.C.? Nope. Detroit? No way. Atlanta? Nope. Denver? Not even close. Tampa? Nada. Nashville? No. Las Vegas? Ha. Charlotte? eh eh. Baltimore? Mmmm.. Cincinnati? Nope. Columbus, Cleveland, Memphis, Minneapolis, etc. none are like D.C. to me.
That's all I'm saying. Oh, and the education levels of residents is about the same, which might effect the kinds of cars people drive (a lot of Volvos, Audi's and Saabs), the papers they read, etc..
maybe because i live many other places, but there are plenty of streets with sidewalk cafes (in fact that's one of the saddest things lacking in detroit), cyclists and pedestrians. I never noticed A2 to have a lot of middle easterners and asians. It has some lol, but not a lot. I agree, it has more eastern asians (orientals) than anyother place in michigan.
I guess a whole host of american cities have all those qualities if not more. A2 feels like madison, maybe berkeley. it doesn't feel like a 'full' city.
The architecture of UofM, the tree canopy, the low lying areas around the river in Ann Arbor, the scale, the large number of Asians and Middle Eastern people, the sidewalk cafe's, old stone houses, the pedestrians and cyclists. Now take that and add the steroids I mentioned....and it reminds me of D.C. I'm not nearly as much a fan of Ann Arbor as I am D.C., but when I think of cities, they are similar to me. Chicago like D.C.? Nope. Detroit? No way. Atlanta? Nope. Denver? Not even close. Tampa? Nada. Nashville? No. Las Vegas? Ha. Charlotte? eh eh. Baltimore? Mmmm.. Cincinnati? Nope. Columbus, Cleveland, Memphis, Minneapolis, etc. none are like D.C. to me.
That's all I'm saying. Oh, and the education levels of residents is about the same, which might effect the kinds of cars people drive (a lot of Volvos, Audi's and Saabs), the papers they read, etc..
just noticed the city list here
memphis had beale street, a lot of restaurants with outdoor cafes. a lot of pedestrians and i remember some cyclists. beale street by itself offers more than the entire of a2.
atlanta has places like broad street in downtown which blow away anything in a2. i'm taking outdoor cafes etc
i don't remember LV in the day tbh
chicago i feel has it too, but maybe someone more knowledgeable about chicago will say it (i've been there twice) and very briefly but i remember lots of fairs, and restaurants with outdoor seating north of downtown.
don't know anything about the other cities but
everywhere from
los angeles
san diego
san francisco
miami (especially MIAMI beach)
NYC
boston
pittsburgh
all has a bunch of streets with outdoor cafes, bohemian vibes, educated people, pedestrians, etc
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They live out in indiana near bloomington with their mother. their mother wants more or less nothing to do with me except my money so i hardly every seem them except birthdays and christmas. BUT
