Job Market In Detroit Area (Ann Arbor, Troy: rent, condos, neighborhood)

[randomguymike]

Anyone think its going to get any better in the next couple of year? I just got a job offer in chicago. The increase in pay will almost pay for my rent there while I find tenants for my never-going-to-sell place here.

The weather is nuetral.
The traffic, advantage Detroit
The social opportunities close to home, edge chicago
The Job market, huge edge Chicago right now.

The reason I'm looking is my fortune 550 employer will likely not exist at this time next year. During my search I've gotten calls from Dallas, Portland, Indianapolis, and Chicago. I haven't gotten a single call from Metro Detroit.

My heart says stay here (easier, plus have a girl I'm trying to win over). I just don't think the job market will get any better here. I'm incredibly well qualified and shocked I didn't get a single call from the area despite being from here and having it listed at the top of my resume as desired location.

Anyone think things will be different one year from now? If I move I likely lose the girl, and who knows when I'd be able to sell evil house.

Thanks for any comments.

[Dexterguy]

I think that everyone in Michigan and Metro Detroit is trying to think postively, what else can you do? If I had a job offer in Chicago I would seriously consider moving, it's not that long of a drive from Michigan and Metro Detroit, and I do know that the job market in Chicagoland is very good right now. Like you said the hardest part is to try to sell your house, it almost seems impossible to do. Good luck on your decision!

[nycjefftrain]

It all depends on the industry you are looking to be employed in. We keep hearing about the poor job market but everybody I know who is white collar with an education has a job right now in Metro Detroit. Most of them are recent hires at that!! Also, if you have the feeling to stay here now it will only get stronger after you leave. I don't really feel like getting into a Detroit vs. everywhere else argument right now but I've read many different articles and the area does have high-paying(non-automotive) white collar jobs. You just have to be a networking pro and make sure your resume sizzles. But then again, maybe the move will be good for you because you have a chance to experience life somewhere else. Out of the cities you listed, Chicago would be the last one on my list because its in the midwest and not far away. If you are gonna move...you might as well MOVE away and see what life is like in a completely different locale. The Detroit area and Chicagoland have many similarities simply because of their geographic location.

[cowcat]

I would not say the weather is equal. Detroit tends to get whatever Chicago gets several days later, but it's almost always weaker. Metro Detroit weather is what I call "Chicago Lite." In terms of surrounding natural beauty, Detroit has Chicago beat. Chicagoans typically go to Wisconsin for their natural beauty and...northern MI.

In terms of man-made beauty and cultural amenities, Chicago has Detroit beat easily, BUT the suburbs of Detroit have more to offer - Cranbrook, Henry Ford, Greenfield Village, Ann Arbor, etc. Suburban Chicago is mostly sprawling, strip mall, big box America with the cultural amenities almost all within city limits.

[nycjefftrain]

Very true cowcat. I find it funny for such a diverse city as Chicago that it has some really lame suburbs. Maybe this is because all energy and effort is focused in Chicago proper and all the energy and effort in the Detroit area is focused on the suburbs.

[kimba01]

Well, is it that more people actually live in downtown Chicago then they do here? So, the suburbs aren't that big of a deal? I hear alot of people that move to the suburbs actually end up back in the city because they like the city life better. (I have never been to Chicago).

[Anthera]

Originally Posted by kimba01

Well, is it that more people actually live in downtown Chicago then they do here? So, the suburbs aren't that big of a deal? I hear alot of people that move to the suburbs actually end up back in the city because they like the city life better. (I have never been to Chicago).

Bingo - Chicago has far more museums and cultural activities overall, but they are mainly located downtown. Suburbanites routinely go downtown for activities, during the day AND night. Many suburbanites will also have condos downtown as well as suburban residences.

Its completely different from Detroit. I've lived in Detroit and Chicago, I would always choose Chicago.

Detroiters are by far, much better drivers though.

[randomguymike]

Originally Posted by Anthera

Its completely different from Detroit. I've lived in Detroit and Chicago, I would always choose Chicago.

That's what I've heard from just about everybody. I'm not a snowmobiler/outdoorsey guy, which is one of the only legit arguments I've heard against. If I can avoid the other and find somewhere affordable within a couple miles of downtown, the deal is done.

[Cato the Elder]

Keep in mind that you'll drive 30 minutes minimum for most social gatherings, unless all your friends happen to live in the same neighborhood (never holds true for long in my experience). Here in metro Detroit, people tend to have close friends all within the same concentrated areas - along Woodward, along I-275, Ann Arbor, or the Pointes. You'll have some friends in one of the other areas, but most are in the same area.

In Chicago, you'll have friends all over the place b/c jobs are everywhere and you want to live close to work. Chicagoland is a sprawling metro that just blends together for the most part and there are no concentrated areas like Troy or Ann Arbor. My friends and I would usually meet at a central location near Woodfield Mall and I had the shortest drive there at 20-30 minutes. If we met in the city like at Navy Pier or near Grant Park, it would be a 45 minutes drive for most people.

[cardwellave]

Originally Posted by Cato the Elder

Keep in mind that you'll drive 30 minutes minimum for most social gatherings, unless all your friends happen to live in the same neighborhood (never holds true for long in my experience). Here in metro Detroit, people tend to have close friends all within the same concentrated areas - along Woodward, along I-275, Ann Arbor, or the Pointes. You'll have some friends in one of the other areas, but most are in the same area.

In Chicago, you'll have friends all over the place b/c jobs are everywhere and you want to live close to work. Chicagoland is a sprawling metro that just blends together for the most part and there are no concentrated areas like Troy or Ann Arbor. My friends and I would usually meet at a central location near Woodfield Mall and I had the shortest drive there at 20-30 minutes. If we met in the city like at Navy Pier or near Grant Park, it would be a 45 minutes drive for most people.

I have to take exception to that. In my experience, my parents and myself have known people from all over that work with them. People commute from wherever to Troy or to Downtown or to Southfield, or the various other office park areas, no matter what city. Now sure if you're working at a local Sear's, you're probably going to have local friends. Even this is changing with the lessening of jobs, people are coming from further.