Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

...aside from the fact that everyone from detroit talks like they have minty tic-tacs shoved up their nose...... 

My biz plan includes starting up bioregional editions of a digital publication. Each bioregion has its own unofficial capitol (see link) from where the bioregional editions will publish -- and the unofficial capitol of my home bioregion is Detroit.

I am thinking I may have to move there. I can do the early startup stuff here in Bumblefrak but it`s just not gonna cut it for the long haul. Obviously Detroit is the logical choice for my escape, and I may have to leave here as soon as the spring.

So in the event detroit is actually a real place and not just a lie of the military-industrial-entertainment complex designed to hide the government`s secret reverse-engineering extraterrestrial spacecraft activities...

...does detroit suck?

thanks,
—paula

Downtown does suck, except in greektown (casinos). The suburbs just outside DET are very upscale and nice! Check out Auburn Hills, Rochester, and Grand Blanc for living. They are right off the highway to det and they are really growin fast.

thanks Jay! I will see what I can find related to those on Craigslist. 

Hi Paula,

I think I can lend some insight into your situation. I grew up in Cleveland, went to college in Grove City, PA, drove through your town of Bellefonte, PA to go to countless Penn State football games & on my way home to Lancaster, PA where my family lived during my college years. And I`ve been in Detroit since 1985, which is where StartupNation HQ is located.

The bad:

Downtown Detroit compares extremely unfavorably to other cities of similar size.
Michigan`s economy is in the worst shape since I moved here in 1985.

The good:

Midwestern people are terrific.
As a big city, Detroit has cultural activities aplenty.
Buying a house is much easier than selling one.

More good:

Bellefonte gets lots more snow than Detroit.

Joel, you are familiar with Bellefonte! That`s crazy. Don`t know if you`ve been back thru recently but its all bed & breakfasts and high tea and Victorian architecture walking tours now. I really like it.

I didn`t realize Michigan`s economy was in quite such bad shape but of course that makes sense. I also didn`t realize Birmingham was Detroit metro area... I`ve looked at Detroit on Google maps a couple of times and didn`t spot it on there.

Do you not get lake effect snow? One of the things I`ve been dreading in thinking about all this is the snow.

—paula

No lake effect snow here in the eastern part of the state. Grand Rapids in the west gets a bunch falling off of Lake Michigan.

Birmingham is just north of Detroit. Woodward Avenue goes from downtown Detroit northwest & shoots right through Birmingham.

Haven`t had the pleasure to visit Bellefonte in quite a while. It sounds lovely, but it`s still smack dab in the middle of nowhere off of I-80!!

We really are smack dab in the middle of nowhere... welcome to my problem! Ha 

—paula