Michigan roads are seriously bad this year:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Detroit/comments/7z5sqf/potholes_on_mound_road/
It's not uncommon to see places like this throughout the metro-area. There are roads that we don't go down because they're essentially impassable.
@craigmaloney man that subreddit seems kinda bleak right now
@cwebber I still see hope in there. It's a Metro-Detroit thing. 😁
@cwebber Well, I wouldn't want to sway you from heading over here to see things first-hand.
Detroit is in some ways the canary in the coalmine for large cities. We've had a lot of folks leave the area and a lot of corruption over the years. We also have a large amount of super-rich folks in the suburbs and a lot of poverty in the city. But things seem to be an an up-tick in recent years. We've had some competent leadership that realizes that you can't just ride out the problems in the city.
@cwebber The largest problem is we have a very divided Detroit. We have a race problem that has been simmering for generations, and part of the reason we don't have a mass transit system up Woodward Avenue is because the rich folks don't want "those people" having easy access to their cities.
We also have a lot of folks from Eastern Europe and the Middle East setting up residence. Many folks still come to Detroit to work here, and having the headquarters of three automakers and suppliers helps
@cwebber Detroit has unique challenges. We have amazing architecture that is crumbling, buildings that hearken back to a bygone era that now sport the scars and paint of disaffected youth, and neighborhoods where showing the slightest bit of affluence makes you a target. And we have multi-million corporations pouring money into the city as fast as they can to build it up. It's a strange dichotomy for folks who aren't as familiar with it.But we have a rich history and an awesome legacy.
@cwebber I think I answered the question but feel free to ping me with other questions you might have.
There's a columnist that I follow named Jack Lessenberry that writes very well about the problems facing Detroit and Michigan. I don't always agree with him but more often than not he is on-point and almost prophetic about Detroit and its turn-around (or lack thereof).
@cwebber @craigmaloney The person behind Quicken Loans has a big presence in Detroit with an incubator and some other things for startups.
Amazon has been hiring heavily for the last few years (through level 1 manager) for their Detroit hub.
Commerce is starting to enter the city, even if mildly lean compared to other big cities.
Near Ann Arbor (outside the detroit area proper but close) BeagleBone, Barracuda Networks and Duo Security have main/major offices.
Etc
@craigmaloney @cwebber interesting. Wife has been made redundant for the second time in 6 months, so she’s starting her own business. Looking at shared meeting rooms for seeing clients but working from home office otherwise.
In the process of starting new shed build on our property so eventually will have office and meeting area in that. The rest will be mine for car stuff. 9x10metre total, about 3x5m her office and meeting area.
@craigmaloney I would like to know more, at some point, about your perspective on Detroit and the surrounding area, especially signs of hope. About a decade "Detroit is crumbling" got a lot of press, but it's clear the city is still running. I've heard from some folks that there's a lot of interesting stuff happening in Detroit right now, but those comments were mostly vague. Would be good to hear a local's take!
Then again you keep telling me to visit... ;)