Mourning Flint (Detroit, Grand Rapids, Caro: house, rental, vacation)

[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??

[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

[jimwoods]

Things are slowing all over but nothing like Michigan.
This state is in such bad shape it will take decades to recover.
Flint is a city that was built on the auto industry and will never recover.
At least I dont think it will. The people there are so used to high wages 25$ an hour and all the bennies that I dont think they can change.
With jobs going over seas Michigan is just not posistioned to compete with this presure.

[Driller1]

Originally Posted by jimwoods

Things are slowing all over but nothing like Michigan.
This state is in such bad shape it will take decades to recover.
Flint is a city that was built on the auto industry and will never recover.
At least I dont think it will. The people there are so used to high wages 25$ an hour and all the bennies that I dont think they can change.
With jobs going over seas Michigan is just not posistioned to compete with this presure.

Sure they will change. What else can they do?

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by Nickc121

Going to North Carolina....just like everyone else it seems

I find this funny actually. Not that you are leaving. I think it is commendable to move because you feel it is best for your family. Hats off to you for making that big of a change. What I find funny is that my sister and her husband left a couple of years ago to North Carolina and while they have a nice place in a nice little town; they are just waiting for somebody to buy the house they have now down there so they can move back to the Grand Rapids area. So many moving there I wouldn't be surprised if they sold it to somebody from Michigan.

[Nickc121]

I like it alright in Grand Rapids. I dont really have very many complaints. However, I'm not a fan of all of the snow and my wife is a teacher and is unable to use her degree in GR. I would never ask her to stay somewhere that she is unable to do what she wants to do and I find the thought of moving to be exciting anyways.

As for Flint.....my whole family back had worked in the GM plants and have all taken buyouts for early retirement. Those were the only high paying jobs left. Now there is no reason at all to move to Flint. There are a lot of smart people going to school at U of M Flint but can any of them hang around? Probably not

[trmaoy]

I grew up in Flint but left after college. I moved back for one year then got a job in Detroit. I still live in the metro Detroit area, and I am in Flint all the time since my parents and sister still live there. I basically go to my family's house, hair salon and church. But I will soon move my church membership too. There are a couple of restaurants I go to but that's it. My family's neighborhood is still pretty nice so I don't have any problems in Flint. Someone said it is the most depressing city in Michigan. I don't agree with that. There are more places to eat and shop there than many small towns. And to me, the neighborhoods do not look as bad as Detroit's.

I hope oneday that investment will be made into Flint to make it more alive.

[Nickc121]

I agree that small towns are more depressing....and definitely agree that Detroit is a downgrade. But Flint certainly needs to figure out a way to keep some of its professionals. How can it ever improve if the best and the brightest have to move to find work?

[Nickc121]

Small towns CAN be more depressing I should say

[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.