[downthathighway]

Originally Posted by jimwoods

I just was listening to the radio and they did a poll on people graduating higher ed. there and almost all said as soon as they get their deg. they are gone form MI.

Flint went throught this in the early eightys. The people who were very low IQ started the "Flint see our new spark" a play on the ac delco plug factory, they thought they could actualy get people to visit flint for vacation.

How stupid do you have to be to think that people would not go to vegas,orlando,almost anywhere but "flint"?

Flint only partialy came back when the oil price came down and big autos started to sell again in the 90s. The future for flint is bleak at best. I know so many people with rentals open and bus. closing.

Hope blumes eternal but flint does not.

Optomism? Plans for tourist destination?
Textbook Case Here- 2 words- Auto World
Flint's plans to become a Michian Disney World.
Some may have blinked and missed those 2-3 years. LOL
About how long that stayed open(barely hanging on from day 1)

[famlife]

some of my fondest childhood memories are of autoworld... the bumper cars, that wierd ramp you could walk up and push all the buttons, that huge rotating license plate display... that huuuge rotating engine... the river, the combination smell of cigars and pomade...

i was heartbroken when they tore that down.. which is wierd cause i was completely unaffected by everything else that was being torn down, or that should've been torn down.

last i checked on realitor.com i counted at least 30-50 houses that were for sale that were under 5-10K. if i thought there was a remote possibility of that place ever picking back up, i'd go on a real estate shopping spree. i'm guessing that anyone with half a brain would. but no one is. that speaks volumes.

[famlife]

hey it's just personal experience. i know alot of people in the area (even dexter, chelsea, etc) that say that drugs are everywhere out there, and i personally know 2 people who died of heroin overdoses within 3 years. not including the death of a family member in ypsi as a direct result of using crack. maybe it somehow is just among people i know, but even friends of friends that i've talked to who live in the area are overwhelmed by the drug use among the 15-30-some yo population. and i'm not even one to hang around such types, and have been extremely affected by the presence of illegal drugs in the area.

[kaypurdue]

I don't think Flint is entirely a lost cause. There are some revitalization efforts underway. It's not going to happen overnight, and it will take a while for people to realize that the good paying factory jobs are indeed REALLY gone... but I think it still stands a pretty good chance.

I wasn't around to see Flint in its heyday... and that's the part I mourn. I was born in '81 so I have always known Flint in its empty, depressed state. Yet somehow I still manage to see the city it could be and have a desire to help make it happen. Maybe I am just a basket case, LOL.

[browneyedgurl]

Originally Posted by famlife

some of my fondest childhood memories are of autoworld... the bumper cars, that wierd ramp you could walk up and push all the buttons, that huge rotating license plate display... that huuuge rotating engine... the river, the combination smell of cigars and pomade...

Don't feel bad, I liked Autoworld a bit, too. I don't remember when it was torn down, but I just remember one day it being....gone.

I moved out of Flint in 2002, moved to Florida, moved back to Flint to finish my bachelor's degree in 2005, lived there for another year, and moved to Chicago last summer to get my master's. All I can say is, I hope Flint has a turnaround. It will never be the city it once ws, because the circumstances that made it that city, the auto industry, is gone. But I hate to think of my hometown as a lost cause. My family still lives there.

[MaStA]

This gives me something to look forward to with all of these positive comments lol.

I am moving to the Flint area in July to be an Air Force recruiter there. I'll be up there 4-5 years. Originally I was born in Trenton, MI and lived there seven years and then my family moved to Cape Coral, FL. I joined the Air Force when I was 18 and been in for a little over four years. I am looking forward to it even though I hear more people are leaving Flint than going to Flint. Maybe this is a good thing as far as recruiting for the military is concerned. I have some family a little north in St. Helen still and I am glad I will be near some family for a change. On a different note...what is there fun to do in Flint?

Also since some of you may live near Flint (Grand Blanc and Swartz Creek area)...have you heard anything good specifically about Crystal Lake Apartments or Heatherwood Apartments? I specifically want an apartment with a garage...would prefer a duplex, but it seems Michigan doesn't even know what a duplex is haha. I am leaning towards Crystal Lake because I would like to get a dog when I move up there and Heatherwood doesn't allow pets.

Thanks,
Jared

[DRD]

Originally Posted by Nickc121

Why anyone stays in flint I will never know. I moved to Grand Rapids three years ago and that was a big improvement. However, i've since decided that Michigan is no place for young professionals starting careers and families. Going to North Carolina....just like everyone else it seems

Good Luck with the North Carolina move.

Living in the south is not all it's cracked up to be, it will be quite a shock to your system if you've never lived in the south.

Dust off your bible cause there will be lots of "thumping" going on!

A famous bumper sticker down here is "God Is My Co-Pilot", we'd all be safer if God took his airline pilots exam!

[Meer1234]

For those who feel and say Flint, Michigan is depressing or dead, I'm here to tell you different. I have lived in the Flint area almost 60 years. I know all the neighborhoods and work full time downtown (yeah..and I'm not scared yet!) I have watched the downtown area go from booming to boarded up and now I drive down Saginaw Street almost every day to check the positive changes. It is so inspiring! I have never had my cars broken into and I have never been robbed or accosted. I don't run for the suburbs at dark either. While the downtown area continues to improve, I go to the YWCA for exercise and to see friends, go to church at St. Matt's (have you ever seen a more beautiful church in your life???) and stop to eat one of those famous Supreme Deluxes with Olives or one of those Torchburgers. When everything gets fixed and looks beautiful and all the people come to see, I will stand on the corner of Kearsley and Saginaw Streets and think, "Yes, you have come around...just like we knew you would. You look good, but I always loved you, even back then."

[kaypurdue]

Originally Posted by MaStA

This gives me something to look forward to with all of these positive comments lol.

I am moving to the Flint area in July to be an Air Force recruiter there. I'll be up there 4-5 years. Originally I was born in Trenton, MI and lived there seven years and then my family moved to Cape Coral, FL. I joined the Air Force when I was 18 and been in for a little over four years. I am looking forward to it even though I hear more people are leaving Flint than going to Flint. Maybe this is a good thing as far as recruiting for the military is concerned. I have some family a little north in St. Helen still and I am glad I will be near some family for a change. On a different note...what is there fun to do in Flint?

Also since some of you may live near Flint (Grand Blanc and Swartz Creek area)...have you heard anything good specifically about Crystal Lake Apartments or Heatherwood Apartments? I specifically want an apartment with a garage...would prefer a duplex, but it seems Michigan doesn't even know what a duplex is haha. I am leaning towards Crystal Lake because I would like to get a dog when I move up there and Heatherwood doesn't allow pets.

Thanks,
Jared

When I was apartment hunting last year I checked out some of the places in Grand Blanc and Swartz Creek, and they looked fine enough for apartments. My husband and I settled on Chatwell Club in Davison. Our apartment is about 1000 square feet, 2 bed, 2 bath, and has a laundry room. They allow cats and dogs, and some of their units do have garages available. Davison is a nice community to live in and an easy commute to Flint. You could perhaps check them out as well.

There are plenty of fun things to do in and around Flint... depends on what you're into!

[wilcox street blues]

Originally Posted by famlife

some people say it's turning around, most people say it's a lost cause. any other Flint natives mourning the tragedy that is Flint? i have to say that from age 13 i wanted to leave. that was in '92, and it's only gotten crappier. i've never missed it, only the people. i wish it was half way habitable so i could live near family, but maybe that's why God has blessed me with such a wanderlust lol i enjoy visiting but i'll never move back. to be honest, i'd never even move back to lower michigan. there are some oasis' of great places there, but for how long? what if it actually gets worse??

I just have to say---"Poor old Flint" Flint is sadley missed.