As a Detroiter hopefully this will give me a reason to start going downtown.
The current problem with the Detroit Metro area is when ever outside money comes in. Most the time the offices open in the northern/western suburbs.
I say this because most high paying jobs are in the suburbs. Because that's where the businesses are. The suburbs are doing well. At first I was very excited and hoped they'd open relatively close, but all things consider that wouldn't help the city as much.
up voted you and I agree. I grew up in what is referred to as the "Down River" area; the suburbs south of Detroit and I now live ~10-15 miles north of Detroit. After living here some 30+ years I'm ready to pack it up. Until Detroit can get rid of it's crime and the stigma that seems to linger, I have a hard time imagining anyone wanting to spend any time near the city after dark.
I own my own company and I have clients in the city; the Comerica building just to name one. If we are on a project that puts any of us down there after 5pm, we'er in pairs.
I'm originally from New York; parents moved to Detroit area when I was kid. I remember growing up listening to family constantly being concerned for our safety and when I got married about 10 years ago, I had a hard time convincing my NY relatives that Livonia was safe to visit. (Livonia is North & East of Detroit).
My mom worked in Detroit (McNamara building). She would take the bus into the city. If she missed the bus ride home, my dad and I would have to drive down to pick her up. We would always get this nervous feeling coming off I-75 by the old Tiger Stadium. The McNamara building is a federal building so it had high security which I think gave my dad some comfort but still, Detroit's crime has always over shadowed the place for as long as I've been here.
We even have stupid comments big celeberties like Ted Nugent who say we're the murder captial not because we shoot more people but because we're better shooters.
I digress... I'm hopeful things will turn around but as a father now with kids, I'm always on the lookout to get out still. Including moving my company HQ.
Hey! I grew up in the Downriver area as well (Lincoln Park specifically, about which the less said the better).
Growing up, I only ever went into Detroit for concerts and the semi-annual "Greektown" pilgrimage. Outside of that, it was blight everywhere, and I thought that is how a big city looked. It wasn't until my college years that I seen a bit more of the world and my perspective changed on urban areas.
Overall, I think Techstars moving in will be enormously positive. Cheap rents, stalwart employees (because of the bitter winters), and a "we can only go up from here" attitude is a good mix.
The only time I ever go downtown is for events at the Renaissance Center and Cobo Hall. There's really no reason to otherwise, unless you like to gamble. Pretty much everywhere outside of the immediate area around Cobo is really bad anyway.
> There's really no reason to otherwise, unless you like to gamble.
That's really not true. There's a ton of fantastic restaurants/coffee places that don't exist in the suburbs (Mudgie's, Slowe's, Great Lakes Coffee, etc), the Detroit Art Institute in Midtown (including famous works like Van Gogh's self portrait), a music scene ranging from the big pop stars at Fox Theater to the up and coming indie bands at the Magic Stick, there's all the sporting events, there's ice skating at Campus Martius during the winter and free music at Grand Circus during the summer, there's the Opera House, there's touring Broadway shows at the Fox, there's smaller but still professional theater at the Hillberry, and there's a few regular tech meetups that take place downtown (Detroit Google Developer's Group, Lambda Lounge, Detroit Craftsman's Guild). There's almost always something going on in the Downtown/Midtown area.
The other problem Detroit has is the freeways. I fail to understand why I-75 in the middle of the downtown area goes down from 4 lanes to 2 lanes of traffic. Boggles the mind. I've learned to avoid the area during major events because the freeway turns into a parking lot down there.
The Greektown area is nicer. Fairly good restaurants aimed at younger people, I've frequented that area often without a problem.
The "Down Town" area is perfectly fine. I have friends who live down town. Just when you leave that bubble protected by freeways it gets very bad very fast.
Sorry, I was kind of including the Greektown area in that general area. I don't really gamble so I usually don't go their but the food is pretty good. Most of the stops on the people mover seem to be decent neighborhoods as well.
The current problem with the Detroit Metro area is when ever outside money comes in. Most the time the offices open in the northern/western suburbs.
I say this because most high paying jobs are in the suburbs. Because that's where the businesses are. The suburbs are doing well. At first I was very excited and hoped they'd open relatively close, but all things consider that wouldn't help the city as much.