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Really, why? why Detroiters get seriously offended and defensive when it comes to their city?
I'm new to Detroit, and I feel that my opinion about the city should not be taken too serious. Every time Detroiter asks me about how much do I like it here, and my response would be "I'm not actually a big fan" their responses would usually be something like "Are you crazy? why? what's wrong?"
I am not sure if you have "moved" around a lot, but if you haven't you would have heard / seen the same similar attitude.
Mo matter where, how bad, ugly or depressing and area is, the locals will ALWAYS have a deep love for HOME. As my wife and I have traveled around the east coast, we aNe always asked how we like it here or there. When we say it's a great place, they start to beam and want to tell us the full history of the place. If we say, uhhhh, it's ok...we always get why DON'T you like it?
IT's hard to go someplace as a transplant and start with how bad an area is and not expect people to be offended. It's another thing to have lived there your whole life and do the same.
It is that proverbial saying-- My family may be dysfunctional and I call them names, but NO ONE else better say anything bad about them..
Huckleberry3911948, even if you are from fallujah you would say the same thing about other cities!
they are not "other cities" i say them bek i know them.
but it does not matter what a former resident thinks, what matters is what current residents think, then they have a problem with the crime then it will change and not b4.
Also, instead of saying "How come a city has so many loving people be so dysfunctional? or this is the charm of Detroit?", you should say "How can a city with so many loving people bo so dysfunctional?".
"How can a city with so many loving people be so dysfunctional?"
I had the same problems when I first moved here. The culture is intimidating at first. Detroit's been through a lot of tough times and there are a lot of divisions that make this area seem hostile.
Also, it's not just non-Michiganders that have problems adjusting to the city and its culture. Every city has problems, but other cities seem to do a better job of managing those problems.
Part of what helps me to see the positives about the area is that this is my son's hometown/area and I want him to have good memories of his home when he looks back on his childhood as an adult. He's going to have so many more opportunities than I did and I want to make sure that he's able to take full advantage of living in this area, despite it's issues.
Also, I've made a concerted effort not to be so focused on what is wrong, but rather try to focus on the positive efforts that people are making to make the city/region better. I can't change other people's attitudes, but I can start to change mine.
Well.....I came to Detroit from Grand Rapids in my last year of high school. This was in the 80's, when crack was an epidemic and there was a lot of violence. I would just like to say that I liked Detroit. I am sure that part of the reason is because I am African American. We did not even have a radio station in Grand Rapids that had an R&B format and that stayed on when the sun went down. In Detroit there was so much more culture for an African American than one could find in West Michigan. Detroit had an abundance of beautiful women also. Where we actually lived in GR, on the SOUTHEAST SIDE, was worse than the area I was living in Detroit, Far East side....at that time. There were two people, at different, times that were murdered right in front of our house in G Rap. I witnessed people robbed, beaten, stabbed.......all while living in Grand Rapids. Detroit was not a big adjustment for a person with my lifestyle....as I was not into using or selling drugs and I did not hang out at bars and clubs (once I was of age). For me, Detroit beat Grand Rapids hands down.
I currently live in the Twin Cities. I moved here from Detroit proper. If I had the job opportunities in Detroit that I had here, I would still be in Detroit proper. Detroit has much to offer African Americans who grow up in areas with not a lot of African Americans. I know a many African Americans who really like Detroit. My brother-in-law, who was raised in Minneapolis, did some work in Detroit about 6 years ago and he loves Detroit. Yes, they all comment about how bad some neighborhoods look, but overall they like their experience in Detroit.
I think that there was a mass exodus of African Americans out of many cities due primarily to what was happening in the real estate market. Suburban homes became affordable to many who could not qualify for suburban homes in the past, because lending rules had become so relaxed. People in the inner ring suburbs could now afford homes in the outer ring suburbs and exurbia. However, they had to sell their homes first (that demand came from city residents).
In areas with no population growth, like Detroit metro, everything shifted outward from the center. People who lived in inner-ring suburbs could now afford to live in newer housing further out, thanks to low interest rates and relaxed lending standards. People who were in the outer suburbs could now afford to build new homes in the exurbs. People in the cities could now afford to move the the inner suburbs. Thus, the population in central cities of low or no growth metro areas took a big hit because as people moved out.....no one else was moving in (unlike the inner ring and outer ring suburbs.....housing became oversupplied as new housing was built while there was no population growth).
People are incorrect in thinking that the large black exodus from many, if not most, core cities, is due to something other than the relaxing of lending standards and the housing bubble. I think African Americans tend to like and appreciate Detroit more than most other groups do. The fact that so many left during the last decade is not demonstration of that people had become fed up with life in the city any more than they had been 20 years ago. The housing bubble simply created the opportunity that did not exist before.
I can remember when I went to a training class in Miami and how all my co-workers who took the training said it was their least favorite training location. I returned from the training with it being my favorite. Some people like grits and some people don't like grits. I was raised on grits so I like them....if you can appreciate the metaphor.
Last edited by Indentured Servant; 01-09-2012 at 02:02 PM..
People are incorrect in thinking that the large black exodus from many, if not most, core cities, is due to something other than the relaxing of lending standards and the housing bubble. I think African Americans tend to like and appreciate Detroit more than most other groups do. The fact that so many left during the last decade is not demonstration of that people had become fed up with life in the city any more than they had been 20 years ago. The housing bubble simply created the opportunity that did not exist before.
Amazing how someone in the Twin Cities can know the reason why black people move out of Detroit, but someone like myself who lives in a suburb that has been heavily populated in the last 10 years by black people fleeing the city of Detroit can have no clue what he is talking about.
(hint: the reason is crime and poor city services)
Amazing how someone in the Twin Cities can know the reason why black people move out of Detroit, but someone like myself who lives in a suburb that has been heavily populated in the last 10 years by black people fleeing the city of Detroit can have no clue what he is talking about.
(hint: the reason is crime and poor city services)
Because you obviously aren't one of them that's moving out. He is right. The housing became less expensive in the suburbs so it wasn't as hard for people to move to the burbs as it usually is. If a family wanted to move to a better neighborhood. The decreasing housing prices in the suburbs allowed them to do that much easier. Sure the reason for alot of people moving is crime a poor city services but that has been the same for years. Half of those people wouldn't have been able to move if not for the decreasing housing prices in the burbs. Another thing to think about is many families want to move to the suburbs anyway. High crime and poor city services or not. There are always many families that want to move from the city to the suburbs. Again... the housing prices in the suburbs allowed them to do that much easier.
Well.....I came to Detroit from Grand Rapids in my last year of high school. This was in the 80's, when crack was an epidemic and there was a lot of violence. I would just like to say that I liked Detroit. I am sure that part of the reason is because I am African American. We did not even have a radio station in Grand Rapids that had an R&B format and that stayed on when the sun went down. In Detroit there was so much more culture for an African American than one could find in West Michigan. Detroit had an abundance of beautiful women also. Where we actually lived in GR, on the SOUTHEAST SIDE, was worse than the area I was living in Detroit, Far East side....at that time. There were two people, at different, times that were murdered right in front of our house in G Rap. I witnessed people robbed, beaten, stabbed.......all while living in Grand Rapids. Detroit was not a big adjustment for a person with my lifestyle....as I was not into using or selling drugs and I did not hang out at bars and clubs (once I was of age). For me, Detroit beat Grand Rapids hands down.
I currently live in the Twin Cities. I moved here from Detroit proper. If I had the job opportunities in Detroit that I had here, I would still be in Detroit proper. Detroit has much to offer African Americans who grow up in areas with not a lot of African Americans. I know a many African Americans who really like Detroit. My brother-in-law, who was raised in Minneapolis, did some work in Detroit about 6 years ago and he loves Detroit. Yes, they all comment about how bad some neighborhoods look, but overall they like their experience in Detroit.
I think that there was a mass exodus of African Americans out of many cities due primarily to what was happening in the real estate market. Suburban homes became affordable to many who could not qualify for suburban homes in the past, because lending rules had become so relaxed. People in the inner ring suburbs could now afford homes in the outer ring suburbs and exurbia. However, they had to sell their homes first (that demand came from city residents).
In areas with no population growth, like Detroit metro, everything shifted outward from the center. People who lived in inner-ring suburbs could now afford to live in newer housing further out, thanks to low interest rates and relaxed lending standards. People who were in the outer suburbs could now afford to build new homes in the exurbs. People in the cities could now afford to move the the inner suburbs. Thus, the population in central cities of low or no growth metro areas took a big hit because as people moved out.....no one else was moving in (unlike the inner ring and outer ring suburbs.....housing became oversupplied as new housing was built while there was no population growth).
People are incorrect in thinking that the large black exodus from many, if not most, core cities, is due to something other than the relaxing of lending standards and the housing bubble. I think African Americans tend to like and appreciate Detroit more than most other groups do. The fact that so many left during the last decade is not demonstration of that people had become fed up with life in the city any more than they had been 20 years ago. The housing bubble simply created the opportunity that did not exist before.
I can remember when I went to a training class in Miami and how all my co-workers who took the training said it was their least favorite training location. I returned from the training with it being my favorite. Some people like grits and some people don't like grits. I was raised on grits so I like them....if you can appreciate the metaphor.
I agree. Detroit offers alot more entertainment for black people than most US cities. If Detroit had a good job market and more diverse economy and more opportunities it would defiantly be a hot spot for African Americans.
Many Detroiters are just defensive for the sake of being defensive. You can hear it in people's tone quite often around here.
Compared to most major cities however (and it shows in the population trends, which show very little inbound population migration and stagnant population growth/shrinkage), Detroit is pretty insular. So not only do you have the problem of Detroiters who have never experienced much outside of Detroit, you also have the problem of very few people from other cultural backgrounds locating to the city, to offer something differen or creative. In effect, Detroiters come to believe what's happening in Detroit is happening everywhere, or consider what's normal here as normal everywhere (which couldn't be further from the truth). The thing is the only way Detroit can change what people dislike about it, or grow from its mistakes, is by accepting constructive criticism from people who don't live here, or from former Detroiters who now live elsewhere. A major city like Detroit is supposed to have lifestyle options for all types of people (if it wants to consider itself a major city), not just for those who want nothing more than a big house and the freedom to drive a car everywhere. However, it's hard to criticize someone when they've been raised to believe what they have is impressive or good (denial is the word).
No offense, but this sounds EXACTLY like Memphis and is exactly why I can't wait to leave Memphis. No wonder they call Memphis the "Detroit of the South".
Amazing how someone in the Twin Cities can know the reason why black people move out of Detroit, but someone like myself who lives in a suburb that has been heavily populated in the last 10 years by black people fleeing the city of Detroit can have no clue what he is talking about.
(hint: the reason is crime and poor city services)
Well, I am confident that I know more about Detroit and what goes on there today, with family and friends still there and with me going back at least 5 times a year, than someone like you who lives in East Detroit and sees Detroit only a cesspool.
A person with knowledge and sound reasoning skills would easily conclude that since many cities across the nation, including Chicago, Cleveland, Oakland, Atlanta, St. Louis and others, experienced greater rates of black population loss than in previous decades, that the reason must be a NATIONAL phenomenon and not a LOCAL phenomenon. You would like to believe that it is crime and schools, but you never thing to realize that crime has been much higher, on a per capita basis that controls for population changes, than it has been the last decade. The murder rate in Detroit, during the late 80’s, peaked at 68 murders per 100,000 residents. During the last decade the murder rate has not gotten near that rate. During the 80’s, the black population in the city of Detroit was still growing and peaked at about 790,000 in 2001. Thus, the 80’s would have seen a massive loss of black population if crime was driving blacks out like you erroneously theorize. This is not to say that blacks are not tired and upset with crime, but that crime and violence has been an unfortunate constant and has not previously resulted in a massive move to the suburbs. Plainly stated, your theory is simply dead wrong and really is nothing more than projection.
It’s so simple to see that the housing bubble created this shift that one has to not want to see its truth to not see it. They were giving houses away, almost. There were even types of loans where one did not even have to show proof of income. Mortgage companies and banks were profiting from originating loans. Appraisers were profiting and agents were profiting and people were not concerned about race as much as there were about making money. People living in inner-ring suburbs finally had the opportunity to move to newer suburbs and bigger homes. However, they had to sell their homes to move up and the only group that saw inner-ring suburbs as a move up, in the housing free for all, was people living in the central cities. Everyone was moving up because low interest loans, relaxed lending standards and allowing renters who could never qualify for loans in the past, get subprime loans, allowed a large shift from cities to suburbs for blacks. This happened in many major cities……not just Detroit. However, I am sure you will continue keep blinders and keep projecting that your feelings and motivation is the feeling and motivation of black Detroiters.
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