Quote:
Originally Posted by desert student
Well I'm glad that many people care soooo much about the sq miles of their city and its skyline.  I know that is the first thing people care about when they move to a new location. Funny, but last time I checked Phoenix was the fastest growing city and metro in the nation and Detriot was close to last. Hmmm, no that is odd isn't it?
NPR : Detroit Poverty Getting Worse
Detroit Listed as Nation's Most Dangerous City
Nice!  |
Everything is cyclical. Remember that in 20 years when, as I said before, the southwest is dying of thirst, the cost of living has become prohibitive for the average middle-class wage earner to live there, the big employers have left town for the next cheap boomtown, and growth (the cornerstone of Phoenix's economy) has stagnated. Beware the looming recession, and the impending fallout in the growth and construction industries- times are tough now in Detroit, but they'll get tough in Phoenix, too, soon enough.
I sort of got off topic there in this post. But I do feel the urge to chime in here. First of all, let me say that Detroit is and will always be my home. It's my hometown, my roots are there, I love it and always will. Now having said that, Detroit (the city proper, that is), has some very serious problems. It's very likely the least livable large city in this country. I lived in Phoenix, too, for a time, and most people on this forum know how I feel about Phoenix. Truth be told, I feel fortunate to have escaped from both places, but I like Detroit better for many reasons.
So first, the bad about Detroit:the crime rate, first of all, is high, no news there (but getting better, in fact); read this:
Detroit's violent crime falls
In certain parts of the city, even waste removal, sewage, and basic utilities aren't reliable. It's blighted, there is a problem with empty lots which have become public dumps, waste, vacant decaying buildings, gangs, and drugs. The schools are terrible, the police, mayor, and city council are horribly corrupt. The economy is in shambles, and unempoyment is very high right now with the struggles of the auto companies trickling down to suppliers, retail stores, restaurants, and everything else. The whole area is pretty depressed right now. It's very segregated- about 90% of the population within city limits is black. I thought that aspect of it- the segregation, that is- was just incredibly sad.
Now, having said all of that, I will attest to the fact that downtown Detroit, away from the worst neighborhoods, is pretty fun and funky, if you know where to go. Greektown alone is infinitely cooler and more interesting than anything Phoenix has to offer. And of course, there's Windsor, a great time if you're young. If you want great restaurants, culture, nightlife, downtown Detroit has it all over Phoenix- and actually, for a big city, Detroit really doesn't compare too well in that regard to other big cities, like Chicago- which again shows you how terribly pathetic downtown Phoenix is. Billings, Montana is a good comparison. Heck, Des Moines, Iowa has a more interesting downtown than Phoenix.
The truth about Detroit is that the city itself is only about 800,000 or so in population. The entire metro area has a population of about 6,000,000, and northern Oakland and Macomb Counties have some fabulous communities to live in. Great schools, great recreation opportunities, some very nice places to live all around. And of course, there's Ann Arbor, ranked as one of the best small cities in the country to live in year after year. In fact, I would say that Birmingham, Royal Oak, and Ann Arbor are all far nicer, more interesting and fun comunities to live in than anywhere in metro Phoenix. The people in southeastern MI are wonderful, so much nicer, smarter, and classier than those I met in Phoenix.
And weather- well, Detroit had miserable winters, but like mom always said, you can always put on another layer of clothes, go outside and be active, and you're fine. Cold never bothered me. It was more the lack of sun, which is why I like the winter in CO so much better. In Phoenix, you're shut inside the a/c for 6 months, unless you're a reptile. I couldn't stand it. And you know what? Winters were hardly balmy in Phoenix, not by any means, and not nearly nice enough IMO to make up for the miserable heat of the summers. Winter in Phoenix isn't truthfully that much nicer than winter in Denver. It snows here occasionally, and the temps at night in Denver are colder, but daytime conditions are often pretty comparable. Detroit's summers were beautiful- and not starting in June, by the way, as one poster said. May and September in MI are absolute heaven. And don't get me going on northern MI- just gorgeous, and so much to see & do. It's a great state, and it'll be back- trust me. AZ's having their boom now, but it won't last forever. Everything's cyclical.
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01-09-2008, 07:22 PM
Yes it does! Not only does it show that people have problems living there, it also further compounds the problem when the city services price tag exceeds that of the tax money of previous prosperous years. HMMM! Maybe that is why Detroit is sooo heavily taxed! The citizens now have to pay for services that where once kept up by a much larger, and stronger base. As a result, the residents will only further slip into poverty. Isn't it ironic how San Diego, Phoenix, Seattle, Houston, Dallas, all seem to have issues, but have exploding populations, or at least populations that are remaining steady. Meanwhile other cities, (mainly located in the midwest) are seeing dropoffs. The urban problems that sunbelt cities have(no Seattle is not sunbelt), are are different and frankly, less devastating to their economies, than those suffered by midwest cities. Notice how most up'n coming cities do not have the intense crime, and urban decay that are so common in Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, St. Louis, Cleveland,.....see a pattern yet. Heck New York, with a population TRIPLE
of Chicago, has a crime rate that is in the lowest percentile of the nations big cities. I think San Diego is the only one that preformed better. I have been to Houston may times, and can tell you that while there is urban decay, it is nothing like the third world condition that make up the west, south, and yes, even the lower north ends of Chicago today.
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