Half of university grads flee Michigan (Grand Rapids, Birmingham: how much, schools, live)
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I left MI right after I graduated from college. It isn't about jobs either. MI is cold and the cities offer almost nothing.
Most states have a major urban center that is very attractive to the residents of that state. For example, Minneapolis to Minnesotans, Seattle to Washingtonians, Chicago to Ilinois people.
MI has Detroit...a dilipitated dying city offering very little to the recent college graduate. Additionally the weather really bites. MI is best for people who prefer to stay in small towns or wants to live in suburban areas like Detroit's metro - both are for families.
For single young people...MI's offerings are fairly limited. Even if the state DID have tons of jobs, it is still not an interesting or a good state to be single and finding a niche outside of the 'move home' and 'start a family' general route that Michiganders do, and what seems to keep them there.
I LOVE MICHIGAN. LOVE IT! Also, I'm not the only young person who feels that way. I don't want to live in some urban hellhole. I love our small cities, small towns, forests, lakes, snow, and wilderness. The ONLY reason I left was the lack of jobs.
I LOVE MICHIGAN. LOVE IT! Also, I'm not the only young person who feels that way. I don't want to live in some urban hellhole. I love our small cities, small towns, forests, lakes, snow, and wilderness. The ONLY reason I left was the lack of jobs.
That is also the concept from most Michiganders...all cities are urban hellholes. It actually applies to Michigan, whereas it doesn't have the same strong application elsewhere.
Our son, who is a broadcast journalism major in college, wants to stay in Michigan when he graduates. Broadcasting, unfortunately, is one of those jobs where you have to go where the very limited jobs are, and you have to generally start at the bottom of the ladder, as in a very small market, and work your way up. So if he is lucky enough to stay in Michigan, he will probably have to start out somewhere like Traverse City or Flint. He is planning on interning at one of the Detroit TV news stations during his last two years of college and really wants to work in Detroit someday. I hope that one of the stations here gives him a chance.
I'm a currently a senior in high school who may even be attending college out of state. I do not plan to reside in Michigan upon my graduate as I too prefer the larger and more popular cities ( ex: New York, San Francisco, Boston, District of Columbia, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Diego, Minneapolis, Chicago, etc...). The State of Michigan has Detroit, but its definately not a desirable place at all.
MI has Detroit...a dilipitated dying city offering very little to the recent college graduate. Additionally the weather really bites. MI is best for people who prefer to stay in small towns or wants to live in suburban areas like Detroit's metro - both are for families.
I agree, if I wanted to stay in a small town/ city than there would be options in Michigan. Though I'm looking for a different lifestyle that Michigan does not offer.
I'm a currently a senior in high school who may even be attending college out of state. I do not plan to reside in Michigan upon my graduate as I too prefer the larger and more popular cities ( ex: New York, San Francisco, Boston, District of Columbia, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Diego, Minneapolis, Chicago, etc...). The State of Michigan has Detroit, but its definately not a desirable place at all.
Grand Rapids IS an actual liveable city in MI. Family-oriented as well. Which makes it a great choice for someone who just got married or is having kids soon, and wants to live in a somewhat urban environment.
But, I think the thing is, Grand Rapids is one of the most conservative cities in the country.
Generally speaking, MI has some great university towns like Ann Arbor and East Lansing...people with progressive ideas and generally would look at a city like Denver or Portland which accepts a lot of young people's ideas and young single 22-year-olds can find similar people, etc.
I'm sure it exists in Grand Rapids on some level...but because of it's conservative nature, it attracts more conservative family-oriented people who aren't interested in those elements that a more creative youth-oriented city might provide.
That is also the concept from most Michiganders...all cities are urban hellholes. It actually applies to Michigan, whereas it doesn't have the same strong application elsewhere.
The only reason why the concept of cities being an urban hellhole applies in Michigan, is because things happened in Detroit over the last 40 years in a way that no one wanted to happen that way, but did unfortunately. Not because of anything inherint in its people. Michigan (and Ohio) have almost people as Illinois does. And for most of the 20th century, up until the 70s/early 80s) Illinois basically attracted the same people that Ohio and Michigan did. Mostly European immigrants (mostly eastern European) and southerners (mostly blacks) later Mexicans and middle easterners, etc. (Take a look at the Census 2000 maps and compare ancestry for metro Detroit and Chicagoland). They actually don't look that different.
If things didn't happen in the sequence as they did, Detroit wouldn't have gone the way, and people would still like the city, the same way that Illinoisans generally like and are proud of Chicago.
Illinois was in a way; lucky because its population and resources were concentrated in one city. Whereas in Michigan, the biggest city was largely the industrial and mostly blue collared (Detroit). Whereas the economic diversity was in a much smaller city on the other side of the state (Grand Rapids), and the progressive, liberal, academic brain-power was in another small city (Ann Arbor). Being spread out, all three cities are now less well off, and don't have the synergy required to allow Michigan to prosper in the post-industrial age.
Chicago and its suburbs in a way, was like Detroit, with Ann Arbor, and Grand Rapids evolving together as one city. The vast majority of Chicagos population for a long time (and still is sort of many of its suburbs) were simply undereducated blue collared workers from Poland, Italy, Ireland, Kentucky, the Mississippi Delta, later Mexico, etc. No different from the other rustlbelt cities. 80% of Chicagolands population really didn't do anything to make it what it is today. The only reason why Chicago suburbanites don't think Chicago is a hell-hole is because enough of it is nice and safe enough, but it almost wasn't like that. Its only because of things like large police departments of the universities: U of C, Depaul, that faught the advancing urban decay that plagued Chicago like it did in Detroit.
Ungentrified Chicago is basically rustbelt that benefits to be part of Chicago. But in a way, the gentrified part is largely composed of young people from other parts of the rustbelt rather than the coasts, so in a way remains part of the midwest.
But, I think the thing is, Grand Rapids is one of the most conservative cities in the country.
You obviously haven't been to the South. Even Atlanta makes Grand Rapids look like San Francisco, and it's the most liberal city in Georgia. Also, places like Augusta, Charlotte, Columbus, Birmingham, Nashville, Dallas, and pretty much any Southern city other than New Orleans are more conservative than Grand Rapids.
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