Detroit, Cleveland, or Cincinnati?

[Northeasterner1970]

Originally Posted by jjbradleynyc

Yeah, unfortunately that seems to be the case mostly, for Cleveland. I know quite a few folks who live up there--many for lifetimes, but in good suburbs. Cleveland is just not a hotspot for a ton of growth.

Detroit has a spirit and energy of super positivity and growth about it these days. I've visited 2 years ago twice, and loved what I saw. Midtown and downtown are developing/redeveloping so well! Detroit has a bright future, I think.

I think Brush Park in particular is crazy, because it was only a decade ago that it was still almost completely blighted and it’s home still abandoned. Now it seems like basically all the remaining houses in that area have been renovated and there’s a lot of new housing construction as well. Basically a 100% turnaround.

Detroit is one of the few cities in the USA that I feel like has/had truly hit rock-bottom in terms of massive amounts of decay, etc, and it now seems like it’s on the up-and-up because that’s the only way it can go.

[carcross]

Originally Posted by faksko

My wife and I live in Louisville but I've been laid off and my job offers are all outside the metro area. Which city would you recommend? This is what we're looking for:
Postwar 4 br house on min 1/2 an acre, budget $350k. Good schools, open space, and quiet are big factors.

I would recommend Detroit. The suburban schools are a bit better in Michigan (higher teacher pay), and of the three metros, the Detroit economy is the healthiest, largest, and most robust. Detroit’s metro population is over twice as big as the other two, and thus there will be more opportunities for your wife (career wise) if she is looking for some work as well.

The differences are negligible in terms of cost of living between all three. All three have nice suburban properties where you could get what you are looking for (property wise) at that price. I like all three metro areas and spent a lot of time in each, but if I had to live in one, metro Detroit stands out... especially of you are going for suburban or exurban property.