Discuss Detroit » Archives - July 2007 » Moving to the city. « Previous Next »
Top of pageBottom of page

Lo_to_d
Member
Username: Lo_to_d

Post Number: 2
Registered: 07-2007
Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 9:50 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I am really starting to believe the theory that out-of-towners are more likely to move to downtown Detroit or close proximity than Detroit suburbanites. Do you agree with this? Do any of the suburbanites on this forum (or suburbanite friends) plan to move to Detroit in the near future? People who have lived in other City's realize that Royal Oak and Ferndale don't cut it for true City Living. Just curious about others thoughts on this.
Top of pageBottom of page

Detroitstar
Member
Username: Detroitstar

Post Number: 750
Registered: 01-2006
Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 9:55 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I moved downtown from Lansing a year ago. Since then I have hosted and pretty much convinced 2 friends from Rochester and 1 from Livonia to move downtown.

I think people have to have a openness for the city already for there to be any chance of them making the move. It's also a matter of convenience too. Someone coming from out of the area does not have established ties in the area so they can choose to locate wherever they want. Someone that has lived in Rochester for 20 years for example would be giving up their favorite this-and-thats.

(Message edited by DetroitSTAR on July 19, 2007)
Top of pageBottom of page

Kpm
Member
Username: Kpm

Post Number: 56
Registered: 08-2005
Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 10:00 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I considered downtown, but am curious why you think Royal Oak and Ferndale "don't cut it."
Top of pageBottom of page

Iheartthed
Member
Username: Iheartthed

Post Number: 1178
Registered: 04-2006
Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 10:01 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

>Do you agree with this?

I agree. People from other large metro's aren't as likely to hold a negative opinion of urban living as suburban Detroiters (not just Detroit, but all urban areas). When I meet people who moved to the Detroit area from other areas, it's usually a local who has steered them away from living in the city.
Top of pageBottom of page

Mdoyle
Member
Username: Mdoyle

Post Number: 140
Registered: 10-2006
Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 10:06 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

am curious why you think Royal Oak and Ferndale "don't cut it."

Because they aren't real cities.
Top of pageBottom of page

Austinb1212
Member
Username: Austinb1212

Post Number: 35
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 10:24 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I agree with Lo_to_d, I have been selling real estate downtown for two years now. Most of my clients are either moving from another state or grew up in Michigan and have lived in other states.

They have experienced urban living and want to have or help create that experience in the D.

Ferndale, Royal and Birmingham are great cities but they don't come close to offering what people that have lived in urban areas enjoy.

My clients recognize what Detroit is lacking but they also see what Detroit has to offer. Being able to walk to the DIA, WSU, the stadiums, theaters, restaurants, bars, the river. Some of these amenities the suburbs will never have.

The most important thing that downtown has to offer is the diversity. Having grown up in Michigan and living in other states and countries, I will never live in a place that is not diverse (culturally, socially, racially or economically).

One thing I have noticed living in Midtown/Downtown, is that the area is becoming very diverse.

Take a stroll on the RiverWalk you will see many different types of people and its a great thing to see.

The building I live in has people with many different backgrounds, something I'm less likely to find in a condo development in Bham or RO.
Top of pageBottom of page

Lo_to_d
Member
Username: Lo_to_d

Post Number: 3
Registered: 07-2007
Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 10:25 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

No disrespect to Royal Oak or Ferndale, but they are more like large villages. They don't have things that large cities have. However, they continue to draw our local young professionals, that is before they get bored and move out of state. Are local suburbanites still afraid of living in downtown Detroit?
Top of pageBottom of page

Miss_cleo
Member
Username: Miss_cleo

Post Number: 722
Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 10:34 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Some people just dont like city living, its as simple as that.
Top of pageBottom of page

Iheartthed
Member
Username: Iheartthed

Post Number: 1182
Registered: 04-2006
Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 10:39 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

>Some people just dont like city living, its as simple as that.

Well... duh. But this thread is addressing the stigma against it that seems to be (more so) a characteristic of suburban Detroiters than people from outside the area.
Top of pageBottom of page

Wordonthestreet
Member
Username: Wordonthestreet

Post Number: 150
Registered: 11-2003
Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 10:42 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

It is not as simple as that... There are a lot of people that would consider and love living in the city.

They are often deterred by misinformed suburbanites about the city. Its about education and being open to something different.

I congratulate organizations like City Living Detroit, Detroit Synergy and Inside Detroit for educating and allowing people to explore a different side of the city.

I attended one of the City Living Detroit bus tours a couple of months ago and spoke to a couple from Macomb county that now want to move to the city. They said they are determined to live in Detroit, no matter how much people tell them not to. Even if it means giving up old friendships. They figure they will probably find new friends downtown that are in line with the way they think.
Top of pageBottom of page

6nois
Member
Username: 6nois

Post Number: 380
Registered: 11-2006
Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 10:51 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Like DetroitStar said its easier for people with out roots to settle in the city when they are not from the area. Also I feel there is an attraction to downtown to people who are from other areas in the state and in the country when they choose to resettle here.
Top of pageBottom of page

Parkguy
Member
Username: Parkguy

Post Number: 65
Registered: 04-2007
Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 10:53 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I moved to Rosedale Park nearly 30 years ago at the peak of the '70s exodus because of (1) the excellent location, (2) the quality of the neighborhood, and (3) the amazing value of the houses. It was a little unnerving to move INTO the city while so many middle class households were moving OUT, but we felt it was a risk that was worth taking, and it has worked out very, very well for us. Do I still go to Royal Oak and Ferndale? You bet.

In other big cities, Royal Oak (where I used to live and which I really like) and Ferndale would be neighborhoods within the city itself. Brooklyn Heights or Park Slope in Brooklyn; Fremont, Ballard, Queen Anne, or Capitol Hill in Seattle; DuPont Circle or Georgetown in D.C.; Lincoln Park, Wicker Park, or Wrigleyville in Chicago; Deep Ellum in Dallas... Pick a city, list the neighborhoods. Many of them are the size of Ferndale or Royal Oak. True, all of these metro areas have suburbs, some just as cool as RO or Fashionable Ferndale, but they've also kept their city neighborhoods (sometimes by sheer luck or by the skin of their teeth!) We hold RO and Ferndale, along with Hamtramck, so dear because they are the only places like this around here. Thank god we are quickly adding Downtown, Midtown, and Dearborn to the list. More to come?
Top of pageBottom of page

Detroithabitater
Member
Username: Detroithabitater

Post Number: 24
Registered: 10-2006
Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 10:54 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Grew up in Canton Township, as suburban as it gets. Just bought a house in Motown.
Top of pageBottom of page

Artistic
Member
Username: Artistic

Post Number: 51
Registered: 09-2006
Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 11:03 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Originally from Roseville. Grew up being told to stay out of Detroit, so of course I always ventured into the city and always saying that one day I would live here. 40 years later I hope to make it a reality. Looking at Palmer Woods for the beautiful house's there but believe I'll be downtown in Condo.
Top of pageBottom of page

Mackinaw
Member
Username: Mackinaw

Post Number: 3281
Registered: 02-2005
Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 11:28 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

It is only the mature and perceptive people from Detroit suburbs who give the city a chance. Most people just take for granted the balkanized, segregated, low-density, car-reliant landscape they grew up in, and figure that it serves them just fine. Beyond that, they feel "safe" and know that when they grow up their kids can go to the same decent school they did. Most people are risk averse and don't want to mess with something that's "good enough," so why leave the burb that's treated you so well and "risk it" in the city.

Furthermore, the lifestyle and attitudes developed while growing up in a post-war suburban landscape usually make a person incompatabile with urban life, and all the nuances that go with it, such as diversity. To quote a section from the excellent "Suburban Nation" book, on the consequences of income-segregated neighborhoods (subdivision pods) in modern suburbia:

"a child growing up in such a homogeneous environment is less likely to develop a sense of empathy for people from other walks of life and is ill prepared to live in a diverse society. The other [person] is alien to the child's experience, witnessed only through the sensationalizing eye of the television. The more homogeneous and 'safe' the environment, the less understanding there is of all that is different, and the less concern for the world beyond the subdivision walls." (45-46)

That passage says it like it is, and often holds even in pre-war, higher density/mixed use suburbs like GP (based on experience), although I'm sure many more people are open to the city here relative to people north of 8-mile because of the daily interaction with Detroit and "different" types of people that you always have if you live there. An inner-ring burb is a more realistic environment, and leads to more grounded people who can understand urban life.

So, my conclusion is the I basically agree with Lo_to_D. I will clarify by saying that the only metro Detroiters who will move to Detroit are inner-ring dwellers who aren't caught up in the status quo, and who realize that what makes their city good is at hand in an even greater quantity/quality in a big city, like Detroit. It just becomes a matter of whether people from inner-ring metro Detroit move to Chicago, NY, or Detroit. People from the modern suburban wasteland of metro Detroit will only move to the city if their personality permits them to; meaning: they have questioned authority and thought about their place in the world and have determined that the place where they grew up is total crap, even if it is "safe." This might be inherent in their personality, or it might manifest itself after going to college, or interacting with people from the city, or meeting a very influential person who can convince them of all the problems of modern suburbia (many of these are very practical, and not just aesthetic or sociological, i.e. the high cost of car-dependance). If someone grows up in modern suburbia, and comes to realize the problems of that lifestyle all on their own, then they are truly a perceptive person. More likely than not, though, it took an outside influence or maybe even just an opportunity to travel that to spur on that epiphany.
Top of pageBottom of page

Kid_dynamite
Member
Username: Kid_dynamite

Post Number: 141
Registered: 06-2007
Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 11:51 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

"I will clarify by saying that the only metro Detroiters who will move to Detroit are inner-ring dwellers who aren't caught up in the status quo"

Mackinaw, I, for one, am someone who didnt grow up in and inner ring suburb. I grew up in Farmington Hills, and I bought a house in the city this year. I know others like me, too. I don't agree with you blanket assessment.

I also don't agree with your opinion (and the opinion of many others on this forum) of how much the burbs suck. I love where I grew up, but it's not for me at this time of my life. Maybe it will be again someday. I can't fault people for wanting to live in areas with low crime rates.

I want to see Detroit come back. In a way, I feel I like I was doing my duty in being part of the solution by moving here. I know many more people will share the same feeling in the coming decade.
Top of pageBottom of page

Detroitbill
Member
Username: Detroitbill

Post Number: 274
Registered: 09-2006
Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 1:02 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I have to agree that out of towners dont have the same perception as the local suburban population has towards living in the city (particularily downtown). In my building there are numerous people who moved in from other cities or out of state. To them it was natural to live in the city as they wanted what urban life offers. Most of the ones I see are quite pleased. They see the obvious deficiencies Downtown and Detroit has say to a city like Chicago has but overall say there is alot of good things going on also and that the Royal Oak ,Ferndale scenes are nice but again just not a large city. My suburban friends mostly wouldn'teven consider moving downtown, a few of them on the side say to me they would like to do it but aren't" brave enough". I find this totally confusing. With the exception of three years in the burbs I have lived downtown since 1988 and there is nothing brave about where I live and how I exist.I find it very convenient, affordable and enjoyable with the downtown expanding the way it is. It is like I talk to two totally different mindsets. The urban out of towners I know keep telling me that most large cities have many of the same problems as Detroit so they are not surprised at all at what goes on. They often say that Downtown Detroit is actually more convenient from where they are from as its not as dense as well as much more reasonable. To each their own. I just often feel that many of the people in our metro area are their own worse enemy when it comes to this issue.
Top of pageBottom of page

Lo_to_d
Member
Username: Lo_to_d

Post Number: 4
Registered: 07-2007
Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 1:25 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I could not agree with you more Detroitbill. That 'brave enough' statement is how I think most people feel in this region about Detroit. In many ways downtown Detroit is safer and more convienant than most cities, not to mention cheaper. I don't think people totally realize this until they actually move downtown. People are afraid of walking from Comerica Park to the river. It's a crazy misconception. I want to hear from the suburbanites who have contemplated moving downtown or are contemplating it. What's your biggest reason for not?
Top of pageBottom of page

Tetsua
Member
Username: Tetsua

Post Number: 1266
Registered: 01-2004
Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 1:34 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

From what I can tell, it's a younger crowd who is deciding to move into the city. More specifically the children of the generation who moved out. They're bored with the burbs, and can see the positives of the city. The older crowd is too set in their ways to see the city as anything, but a death trap.
Top of pageBottom of page

Mackinaw
Member
Username: Mackinaw

Post Number: 3284
Registered: 02-2005
Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 3:24 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Kid_dynamite, PLEASE keep reading. I did not relegate my conclusion to inner ring dwellers. That would be stupid anyway, based on your experience; of course I know that people are revolted by exurbia and move to somewhere that is completely opposite. Here is what I said:

"People from the modern suburban wasteland [the outer ring] of metro Detroit will only move to the city if their personality permits them to; meaning: they have questioned authority and thought about their place in the world and have determined that the place where they grew up is total crap, even if it is "safe." This might...manifest itself after going to college, or interacting with people from the city, or meeting a very influential person who can convince them of all the problems of modern suburbia (many of these are very practical, and not just aesthetic or sociological, i.e. the high cost of car-dependance). If someone grows up in modern suburbia, and comes to realize the problems of that lifestyle all on their own, then they are truly a perceptive person. More likely than not, though, it took an outside influence or maybe even just an opportunity to travel that to spur on that epiphany."

So, I acknowledged that plenty of people move from modern suburbia to the city. I was just postulating my theory as to how and why this happens. I hate generalizations, but sometimes they need to be sketched out to describe phenomena.

And, I maintain, modern suburbia sucks. Yes it's pretty safe, and if you can afford a car and fuel and have no interest in walking to your destinations, it's functional, but those sociological problems and the aesthetic clusterfuck which I am always describing, to me, outweigh the benefits of safety and insurance. In most suburbs, developers are only allowed to build low-density wastelands by local zoning codes-- building a traditional neighborhood with mixed-use buildings and affordable housing mixed in is generally illegal (read "Suburban Nation"--great explanations). This leads to segregation by income, poor land use, and a landscape that is just plain ugly. The drawbacks and negative consequences of our modern built environment are too many to list. It cannot be defended.
Top of pageBottom of page

Wash_man
Member
Username: Wash_man

Post Number: 458
Registered: 05-2006
Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 3:38 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

"I want to hear from the suburbanites who have contemplated moving downtown or are contemplating it. What's your biggest reason for not?"
For me it is the economy. I work in the auto industry for a supplier. Each day at work feels like it could be my last. I am not willing to take on additional debt by moving at this time. All (and I mean ALL) of my friends are aware of my desire to move downtown. Not one of them says "wow..that's cool!" or anything like that. Instead, they all think I am crazy. BTW their attitudes won't deter me. Only the economy is holding me back right now.
Top of pageBottom of page

Bigjeff
Member
Username: Bigjeff

Post Number: 100
Registered: 08-2006
Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 3:42 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I will be living downtown in about two-three years. I already spend most of my time down there already. It is just that I can not afford a place down there. Love all the different loft types and corktown places. Just can not afford the 200,000 house note yet!!!
Top of pageBottom of page

Lo_to_d
Member
Username: Lo_to_d

Post Number: 5
Registered: 07-2007
Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 3:58 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Wash_man and Bigjeff...
fyi... some developments are offering rent to own options in which half of your rent each month goes toward purchase at the end of year 1. If, after that year, you don't want to buy, you can move out. Pretty good option actually. Just a thought.
Top of pageBottom of page

Bigjeff
Member
Username: Bigjeff

Post Number: 102
Registered: 08-2006
Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 4:02 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Really, I guess i gotta get off my ass and get some info on these developments. Thanks for the heads up!
Top of pageBottom of page

Wash_man
Member
Username: Wash_man

Post Number: 459
Registered: 05-2006
Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 8:25 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Lo_to_d thanks for the tip. It's not only insecurity in the economy, but I would have to sell the house I live in. That is almost impossible right now.

Add Your Message Here
Posting is currently disabled in this topic. Contact your discussion moderator for more information.