[palmberg]

I have a friend who just got transferred there. Starts the new job today, actually. I'd always heard that the city was a real shiathole, but there must be something positive about living there. Anyone?

[ManOfSteal]

It's home of the World Champion Detroit Pistons?

[xi_hyperon]

*crickets chirping*

[ManOfSteal]

It's not located in Florida?

[wdlove]

Automobile manufacturing capital of the World. Ford and General Motors.

[palmberg]

Yeah, this is what I was afraid of. Mo' money is nice, and all, but dayum...gotta think about that quality of life.

Economy
Detroit�s early carriage industry helped Henry Ford and others to make it the �automobile capital of the world.� The Detroit region continues to be home to the major U.S. automobile manufacturers, but declines in the field have caused severe unemployment in the city and its environs, and government and the health-care industry now employ more people. In addition to the manufacture of motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts, Detroit makes steel, fabricated-metal, and paper products; food and beverages; and chemicals. There is printing and publishing, and extensive salt mines lie under southwestern sections of the city. Detroit is diverse ethnically, with an African-American majority and the nation�s largest community of Arab Americans.

[ManOfSteal]

Where is your friend being transferred from?

[Randman]

I'm not from there, but I've visited plenty (though I did turn down a job there back in 2000).
The Tigers games can be fun, though they used to be better. You get plenty of concerts and all four major pro sports, including said Pistons.
Windsor is a bridge away for a change of pace. There's always news and it has an Atlantic City vibe now with the casinos.
Clubbing used to be awesome. And heading to GreekTown for a solid dinner also gets a

[palmberg]

Originally posted by manofsteal:
Where is your friend being transferred from?

Minneapolis.

[d4nth3m4n]

Originally posted by manofsteal:
It's not located in Florida?

[Kracker]
If Heaven ain't alot like Detroit
I don't wanna go
If Heaven ain't alot like Detroit
I just a soon stay home
If they ain't got no Eight Mile
Like they do up in the D
Just send me to Hell or Salt Lake City
It would be about the same to me
It would be about the same to me

[Paradime]
Detroit city
From Aretha to Aaliyah
To Bob Segar to
Joe Louis n' his arena and now me
Paradime the mic of overachievers
Smokin sewer caps bottom feeders and parking meters
A bunch of bad dudes in the mad brew and tattoos
So think twice before you pass through
Or get clapped through whack crews get hurt
We can take you for a ride (ride)
Or take you for your shirt (shirt)
I did it in the Bronx, I did in in Queens
And you can see me do it, do it, down in New Orleans
Fat backs and greens
I'm the scene of amazement
You'll be picking all your teeth up from the ****in pavement
Is that Kracker with a C
No Kracker with a K
Kracker mother ****er all God damn day
You could take Gratiot south, but that's a real rough route
You'll get found face down with your pockets hangin out

[Kracker]
If Heaven ain't alot like Detroit
I don't wanna go
If Heaven ain't alot like Detroit
I just a soon stay home
If they ain't got no Eight Mile
Like they do up in the D
Just send me to Hell or Salt Lake City
It would be about the same to me
It would be about the same to me

[Kid Rock]
My name is...
My name is...
I'm going platinum
Back up in the mother ****in saddle
You wanna battle Kid Rock bitch
Your up ****'s creek without a paddle
I'm no tattle because I do not snitch
I lick clits n' drop **** n' twats that spit
I spit like hicks and make hit's for flom
And that's what you call droppin bombs
Got a bullet head dick with a thirty aught six
And from a thousand yards I'll hit ya right in the lips...****
Mother****er's wanna talk about shining
Here's four fingers kiss my ****in diamonds
I keep climbing, but these charts ain't ****
I'm a whinin, linin, rhymin, son of a bitch
I'm the son of shotguns unsung cry
And I'm the only MC that'll never die
Cause if it's real you'll feel it so check for the name
Or look for the dog with the fade in the chain
Yeeeeeeeaaaaaahhhhhh

[Kracker]
If Heaven ain't alot like Detroit
I don't wanna go
If Heaven ain't alot like Detroit
I just a soon stay home
If they ain't got no Eight Mile
Like they do up in the D
Just send me to Hell or Salt Lake City
It would be about the same to me
It would be about the same to me

[Kracker]
Kracker's the name double X in size
And I resid on the side were the sun rise
See I'll never be touched because I'm outta reach
Call me Kracker just be ****in up spots like bleach
Worst in my division I got bitches on the file
From the Mississippi River on back to Belle Isle
I got style, but it dosn't show
I got more love for Detroit then you'll ever know
I know cats that sling crack and cats that scrap
Cats that bust beer bottles over baseball caps
Cats that get drunk and like to spark up skull cats
They keep sawed off chillin up in the trunks
Whores an 44's, scoops n' blow Faygo bitch
We pound cans of Stroh's
We run the mitten from the river way up to the farms
That's why we get these ****in D's tattooed on our arms

[Kracker]
If Heaven ain't alot like Detroit
I don't wanna go
If Heaven ain't alot like Detroit
I just a soon stay home
If they ain't got no Eight Mile
Like they do up in the D
Just send me to Hell or Salt Lake City
It would be about the same to me
It would be about the same to me

[OldManMac]

Is your friend actually going to work in Detroit? The city itself is in pretty rough shape, except for a few sections. The surrounding communities are very diverse, and there is a lot to do. I was raised in St. Clair Shores, and I raised my kids in Trenton and Novi. Michigan's economy is still lagging behind most of the rest of the country, due to the loss of manufacturing jobs over the last decade, but it will rebound.

[dencamp]

Kick ass pizza in Greek Town

Some of the best soul food in the US

Some cool neighborhood organizations that are reclaiming brown-field sites and experimenting with creating sustainable agriculture in parts of the city that are "bombed out."

A different Midwestern accent

A increasing collection of artists renting space in the city because it is so cheap.


(first things that I could think of)

[residentEvil]

i've lived in the area all my life, and actually lived downtown detroit for 4 years (just moved to a 'burb 10 months ago). loved it and want to go back. i miss my loft. i miss having ford field and comerica park in my back yard. i miss eastern market.

good: the food, the music and the sports were what i liked. greektown and mexicantown. some 20 concert venus in few block radius and 3 profession sports teams in that same radius. i lived in the heart of it all. spent many a saturday in eastern market and free boxing on sundays.

within a 15 minute drive you can reach all the 'burbs and their attractions (pistons, more concert venus, etc).

then of course, across the river you have windsor with even more bars and resaturants.

bads: no good public transportation, home/car insurance

[dencamp]

Originally posted by residentEvil:


bads: no good public transportation, home/car insurance

You have a problem with the people mover?

[OldManMac]

You mean it's working again?

[lawgeek]

From what little I've seen, Detroit has a lot of beautiful buildings and houses. Unfortunately, most of them are abandoned and in really bad shape.

[SeSawaya]

http://www.thesomersetcollection.com/

Troy and Novi are nice as well as Farmington Hills. I've only been "downtown" once and that was to go to Canada.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/wxcam/1807532/detail.html
Web cam of Detroit

[rozwado1]

I'm in Shelby, which is about 20 miles due North of the D. Downtown there's Tiger's games and the Old Shillelagh. Possibly the most fun you can have downtown (unless you like to gamble). The suburbs are nice:

rozwado1's Half-Assed Guide to Metro Detroit

West side
Birmingham: lots of classy bars and small restaurants, art galleries.
Troy: Somerset Mall
West Bloomfield: Lots of jewish people. Big houses - mostly gaudy.
Royal Oak: Lots of new apartment/condo construction. The "next big thing" for Detroit. Lots of under-30 crowd moving out there. Good bars/restaurants. Check out the Bosco for an upscale lounge.

East side
St. Clair Shores: Cool bars on "the Magnificent Mile" along the water, namely the Beach Grill.
Warren/Sterling Heights: Cheap housing, lots of blue collar auto employees. Good place to raise kids.
Grosse Pointe: Old money. Lots of rich people that need to keep up their image. BMWs and Mercedes all over. Grosse Pointe Yacht Club (get to know a member).

North
Rochester: Established neighborhoods. Lots of new money. Lots of ridiculously huge houses being built on the north end of the city. White collar auto execs and business owners moving out there.
Shelby: Lots of Italians. Gotta know your Pallazolos from your Fanellis. Middle to Upper-middle class. Lots of new construction. Not much to do as far as nightlife.

South
Never go down there, so maybe somebody else can help out.

Downtown
Old Shillelagh
Tiger's Games - everybody knows they suck, but the beer is good.
Indy rock scene. My cousin is big into it, so he says it's the best in the country. There's alot of small clubs with bands playing every weekend.
Some nice apartments being built/renovated.
Traffic sucks. eg: They put a new looparound 2 blocks from the water and if you catch a red, you have to catch every red (5 total, in a very small loop. I think the big 3 picked up all the smart engineers).
Casinos if you like to gamble.

Windsor
Good place to pick up drunk 19 year old girls, and I do mean DRUNK. Never seen people drink like they do over there. I think each generation steps it up a notch.
Titty bars - good choices, reasonable pricing. Go when the exchange rate is good and check out Leopard's Lounge. I think prostitution is legal too.

Having said all this, I'm looking to get the hell out. I've lived here for 22 years and need a change of pace. The winters are pretty gray and miserable, so I'm looking for warmer weather. Oh, lots of people who live in MI tend to move to FL - not sure if that's a + or -.

[OldManMac]

South (known as Downriver)
Trenton - blue collar, lots of older homes
Wyandotte - Older, runs along Detroit River. Beautiful homes along the river. Stable community with a small, but interesting downton; enjoying a revival.

West
Farmington - older homes but getting pricey
Farmington Hills - Mix of older and newer, very pricey territory for the new stuff
Novi - Explosive growth in the last 15 years. 50 year old ranch homes run in the 200K plus range. A cheap new home is in the $350K range, going up to a few running up to 1 million. Home of Twelve Oaks Mall, the busiest mall in the state. 15 minutes from Kensington Metro Park (4,200 acres) and Island Lake State Park (about 4,000 acres). Lots of nature trails, dirt and road bike riding in these two parks.

Lots of stuff to do all over metroit Detroit. Just be prepared to spend a lot of time in your car. It's one of the most car-congested areas in the country.

[Lancer409]

if you watch top gear, you'd know that detroit IS a shithole .. but for the Ford GT (modern iteration of the Ford GT40) clarkson?!? .. think that's his name ... he'd never be in detroit but for that car hehe

[OldManMac]

Huh?

[Lancer409]

top gear is a motoring show in great britain.. i download episodes online because we dont get it here. there was one on the ford gt that started by panning the city of detroit .. the wrecked houses, dirty neighborhoods .. and all the .. "scenic niceties .." (well .. the crappy parts basically) and talking about how detroit turned into a hellhole cesspool. he said he wasnt there for vacation ... he wouldnt be in detroit if it wasnt because of the new gt40

[OldManMac]

Thanks for the clarification. Detroit itself does have some nice areas, although it's the poorest large city in America. They're caught in a bind; they need money to clean it up and rebuild, but they don't have the tax base. The last time I went to the city itself was probably 3 years ago, and that was for business, and I live about 30 miles away. I remember when I was a teen, and lived in St. Clair Shores. We used to ride our bikes to Belle Isle (about 30 miles), and we rode past beautiful old homes on Jefferson Ave., which runs along the river. The last time I took that route by car, about five years ago, it looked like a war zone. The city has taken title to over 40,000 abandoned homes that need to be knocked down. Very sad.

[shabbasuraj]

Originally posted by palmberg:
I have a friend who just got transferred there. Starts the new job today, actually. I'd always heard that the city was a real shiathole, but there must be something positive about living there. Anyone?

NOTHING.

[philzilla]

my dad was born there.

[MilkmanDan]

Answer: Its really close to Canada.