[snoopygirlmi]

Oh - downtown Rochester is always packed on weekends and when there are events going on. And during the week, especially during the Big, Bright Light Show.

And Rochester Hills loves building. It's hard to find an empty plot of land these days that doesn't have another housing development going up in it. Asking price is usually in the 300-400K range. Too rich for my taste, but it is what it is.

[detwahDJ]

I would like to think that Detroit is reinventing itself after a long complacent sleep tied to the auto industry and manufacturing which has left these shores. The hole was dug deeply and now, hampered mainly by the crime issue, the growing pains are rather intense.

[ram2]

Originally Posted by EastBoundandDownChick

Like another poster said, if it was such a healthy economy why are people picking up nice 3 bedroom ranches in first and second tier suburbs for under 100K? That's unheard of in more vibrant parts of the country.

Where I live now, in NYC, you can hardly buy a crackhouse for 300K. 100K doesn't even register on the radar screen. And that same 3 bedroom ranch in the metro NYC area would probably run about 400-500K easily. Just because you see a lot of cars on 75 doesn't mean those people are necessarily going to WELL paying or STABLE jobs. The kind of beaters you see on the roads are just laughable. Especially for the Motor Capital. Most of the new job growth has been minimum wage positions, or very close to it.

The houses in my neighborhood sell for $460K minimum, but that must be low since I live in a ghetto.

Metro Detroit has more new cars on the road than any where else in the US. If you want to see beaters, go to California.

[ram2]

Originally Posted by PlymouthMI

You also mentioned you visited Royal Oak "once last year". Try going again. I dare you to find any establishment that is crowded or full.

The Vinsetta Garage.

[ram2]

Originally Posted by 2nd trick op

The automobile industry is far more short-term in its orientation than most industrial sectors. It is supposed to respond to consumer tastes (which are fickle, and tend to run against the "pop wisdom" of environmental and other concerns). In addition, it is nowhere near as "rooted" -- a big part of it has always revolved around logistics, the assembly and consolidation of parts. Some of the guys is studied (Bus Logistics) with at Penn State forty years ago who went into the auto industry made some of the best salaries, but they also pointed out that the industry often had to turn its plans upside down due to changes in Federal mandates.

If the auto industry brought down the city of Detroit, why didn't it also bring down the suburbs just as bad? First of all, only 1 of the Detroit 3 was headquartered in the city of Detroit - GM, but it's main engineering facility has been in Warren since 1955. Chrysler was in Highland Park (now in Auburn Hills) and Ford has been in Dearborn for many decades. The Detroit 3 have had assembly plants all over the US, so why is the auto industry blamed for the ills in the city of Detroit?

[mcq]

Detroit has a lot of great suburbs, particularly outside of Wayne County. I wouldn't live in the city itself and only go there for occasional events and jury duty of course. If you've got a good job lined up before coming here and pick a nice suburb to live, you will probably be doing very well. In the right industries, you have a good opportunity for good salary, plus very reasonable cost of living compared to other areas. Personally, for me, the area doesn't seem optimal for my ideal career path from this point, so I've been considering relocating for the first time in my life. But then again, I may not if something comes along. I really do like it here. I might just like to relocate within the Metro area once I am able to.

[313Weather]

Originally Posted by detwahDJ

I would like to think that Detroit is reinventing itself after a long complacent sleep tied to the auto industry and manufacturing which has left these shores. The hole was dug deeply and now, hampered mainly by the crime issue, the growing pains are rather intense.

I think you mean shrinking pains (see Detroit's restructuring plans under the EM).

Detroit's (city proper and metro area) going to have to get used to the fact that it's no longer a major city and major metropolitan area like Chicago/NYC/Philadelphia, and short of another economically-driven population boom, it never will be again.

[jonnynonos]

Originally Posted by 313Weather

I think you mean shrinking pains (see Detroit's restructuring plans under the EM).

Detroit's (city proper and metro area) going to have to get used to the fact that it's no longer a major city and major metropolitan area like Chicago/NYC/Philadelphia, and short of another economically-driven population boom, it never will be again.

It's still a large metro area with 3-5 million people in it, depending on how you measure it, and population loss has stopped to a trickle.

The thing is, what are people wringing their hands about? Yeah, some suburbs are going to gradually decline. Inner ring suburbs are potentially in trouble. Big whoop.

Detroit's neighborhoods are emptying out--while the downtown is better than it has been in decades.

Why do people pretend to care? How many of us were hanging out in Detroit's wonderful inner city neighborhoods back in the "glory days" of the 80s/90s when they were more densely populated? Is it really "worse" now because it's emptying out?

So realty in Redford is down. Who the f**k cares?

I still spend a lot of time in the suburbs of Detroit and a lot of them are nicer than they ever were; you have to be a moron to think a place like Birmingham is in any "danger;" the Woodward corridor is the exact same as it was 10 years ago. Places like Ferndale are far better than they were.

Hell I was in Westland a few weeks ago and it even looked OK.

Metro Detroit will be A-OK.

[Tekkie]

Originally Posted by jonnynonos

Metro Detroit will be A-OK.

I think that'll entirely depend on how well the job market adapts.

I think that Metro Detroit has been able to maintain, for the most part, due to the fact that the older generations who have been strapped down to the area have continued to live here, work here, and spend their money here.

The Metro area's job market is a tough nut to crack for your typical 20-something just starting out or in the beginning stages of their career. I've been on again, off again job hunting for the past three months and the non-healthcare jobs that don't require years of automotive industry experience are sparse. It's not an easy place to job hunt.

On top of that, Metro Detroit is not a hot spot for young, educated professionals to relocate to, particularly if they have no roots here. This is a big reason why cities like Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Denver, and Minneapolis have experienced a large influx in population over the last half decade, not to mention, a growing economy. For obvious reasons, you need to be able to replace your existing workforce once they start retiring. I have concerns about Detroit's ability to do that.

[Arthur Digby Sellers]

Call me crazy, but I firmly believe that having the auto industry as our main economic player is mostly a blessing. Sure, it stinks now if you are a laid off line worker that was making 6 figures with only a high school diploma, but this area wouldn't have the population, wealth and all of the other things that come with being a major region (4 sports franchises) were it not for the auto industry. The downturns are no fun, but overall the auto industry's been very good to Michigan. I think most regions would be happy to have the D3 or any of their suppliers relocate to their neck of the woods. Indeed, much of the south has been trying to make it a reality for decades now.