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1. • CommentAuthorbuzzorhowl
   • CommentTimeJun 18th 2009 edited

    (6169.1)
   Just read Warren's new post about Trixie Bedlam moving to Detroit, and it prodded me to start a thread. I've actually been less-than-seriously contemplating doing a similar thing lately. Ever since the financial collapse I've been rather enamored of the idea of living at subsistence level in Detroit, carving out a super-cheap lifestyle in a barely-functioning house and spending most of my days trying to work on my writing. What's more, the bookstore where I've worked for 9 years is now officially going under in September, so it's not like I have any longterm financial ties to where I am now. It seems I'm not the only one contemplating this sort of thing, based on the above, on this NY Times article, and a bunch of other stuff I've run across in various places on the net.
   
   So what do you guys think? Is this pure craziness? Is this idea functional? Would you ever be bold enough to do it? (In all seriousness, I kinda doubt I will be.) Tell me about it.
2. •  
     CommentAuthorPaul Sizer
   • CommentTimeJun 18th 2009

    (6169.2)
   Andrew, you better talk to Detroit dwellers with a great deal of seriousness about this plan. Economics in Michigan are grim, capital "G" GRIM. Our unemployment rate is 14.9% as of Monday, and the whole east side of the state is rocking with all the car company implosions.
   
   I'm not saying "Don't Do It", I'm saying go in with your eyes WIDE open, and your brain full of facts from actual Detroiters.
3. •  
     CommentAuthorRootfireember
   • CommentTimeJun 18th 2009

    (6169.3)
   I have step-relatives over there; and I've been there a few times. Not my favorite place. Call me a jaded Michigander (and I am), but I don't think the economy for the state's going to be getting better for a very, very long time. Not sure how job prospects are over there; but I'm sure there are 'troit locals around here who can help you out, and wish you the best of luck if you go through with it.
   
   I understand that the city taxes for detroit are fairly high, so the super-cheap barely-functioning house might be more expensive than originally thought.
   see also:
   Ruins of Detroit Thread
   and
   Ruins of Detroit Pt2
4. • CommentAuthorbuzzorhowl
   • CommentTimeJun 18th 2009

    (6169.4)
   That city taxes part is a significant wrinkle. I should look into that.
   
   And yeah, Paul, the whole there-are-no-jobs thing is something I understand very well. If I were to do this whole thing, it would be with the plan of not needing to work a traditional job. Which is all blue-sky at this point, but realistically, this isn't something I could do for at least a year anyway (job or no job, I have a lease here), so there's plenty of time for me to figure all this out.
5. •  
     CommentAuthorEmmymau
   • CommentTimeJun 18th 2009

    (6169.5)
   If you don't need a traditional job and can support yourself in some way that doesn't involve the auto industry or finding a service-industry job (they've all been taken up by laid-off auto workers and their families) then it's worthwhile.
   
   Do be aware of the double whammy of the run-down houses frequently being in high-crime areas. Do be aware that in many of Detroit's poorer neighborhoods, there's a high level of xenophobia--that is, if you don't look like them or come from around there, they may not be friendly at first, or ever. Do be aware that it's really frickin' hard to get around if you don't have a car--public transportation is dismally unorganized and not as reliable as in other places, and the weather is bike-unfriendly for about six months of the year.
   
   That said, I still gotta encourage it, because I love the city. I grew up in/around Detroit, have moved away several times but have always gone back (by choice, not necessity). My heart will always be in that crappy city. Erm...I don't have much else right at the moment but will try to answer questions or work contacts, if you need 'em.
6. • CommentAuthormunin218
   • CommentTimeJun 18th 2009

    (6169.6)
   Live in Ann Arbor. ;P
7. • CommentAuthorDarthshatner
   • CommentTimeJun 19th 2009 edited

    (6169.7)
   Because it had to be done.
   
   
8. •  
     CommentAuthorMontiLee
   • CommentTimeJun 21st 2009

    (6169.8)
   As some one who grew up IN Detroit, as opposed to some celebrities who claim Detroit as home but only stopped by to pee against the outside of whatever bar they were drinking in, and currently lives in Royal Oak, I can tell you that unless you're looking to make a few hundred grand a year or are an auto worker, it's really not that bad in the state of Michigan.
   
   Detroit is another matter.
   
   You don't want to live in the City. There are plenty of Inner Ring communities (Oak Park, Ferndale, Royal Oak, Hazel Park) that have reasonable homes to buy and apartments to rent. Detroit suffers from a Victim's Complex - everything is The Man's fault. Seriously. There are more storefront churches in the City than anywhere else in the country, and you would think that for so much religion, the neighborhoods would be better kept. And speaking of God - expect to hear His name evoked. Constantly. It's the name of the cape they hide under when something bad happens. No one (and yeah, I'm throwing a large Generalized-colored blanket) does anything because God will eventually provide. They may all be dead when He finally gets around to it, but eventually it will happen.
   
   Reasons to not Live In The City (from someone who actually lived there):
   

   
   
   • if you buy a house, the taxes alone would kill you - City services are non-existent for what you pay.
   
   
   • the City Council is an absolute joke and a member is about to head to prison for bribery. Plus, Martha Reeves has a seat. For no real reason other than a few dozen people voted for her.
   
   
   • public transit that's as reliable as an alcoholic uncle, and it doesn't go really go anywhere
   
   
   • if you own anything that will need to be insured - car, motorcycle, home, apartment, life - you will need a second job just for the premiums. Detroit has the highest number of uninsured drivers in the country, and if you drive around enough, you will be hit by one. And they they will try to mug you, but probably not successfully, as the criminals who aren't savvy enough to own guns aren't smart enough to rob anything with any real conviction.
   
   

   
   
   Yes the City has a derelict glamor that's appealing for those that don't live here, but once you're settled and after after a few months of shootings, the receipt of your first insurance bill, and the first time you need the police and they don't show up for 45 minutes because some idiot redistricted the precincts as to place them no where near where people actually live, you may be looking towards more fertile stomping grounds. Like Wisconsin.
   
   I will mention that unless you are a rapper, Detroit lacks anything resembling a Artist's Community. For the people suggesting Ann Arbor, it's far more insulated than one would imagine and has a higher opinion of itself than is necessary. It's college town with an over-inflated sense of self.