<p>Who would have thunk it?! I always knew Detroit's suburbs were good, but for the city to be recognized in such a major category is definitely no small prize.</p>
<p>America's</a> Best and Worst Cities for Families - Yahoo! Real Estate</p>
<p>I am very shocked. I always knew Detroit has a lower cost of living, but is it really that great? We’ll see in the next ten years.</p>
<p>I’m shocked about the Californian cities being among the most affordable. As long as you’re making over $55,000, it’s great. Otherwise, those places are hard to survive with a low-income salary.</p>
<p>I guess if you don’t mind (i) a city government on the take, (ii) a dysfunctional school system and (iii) an under-reported crime situation, Detroit isn’t too bad.</p>
<p>I am surprised too. However, I am optimistic about the state’s future. I think Michigan will be a leader in transportation technologies (we are always going to need cars) and medical/biomedical research. The state has a lot of work to do to re-invent itself, but all of the necessary ingredients are there.</p>
<p>Seven Teens Shot in Detroit</p>
<p>[Seven</a> teens shot in Detroit | detnews.com | The Detroit News](<a href=“Detroit Local News - Michigan News - Breaking News - detroitnews.com”>Detroit Local News - Michigan News - Breaking News - detroitnews.com)</p>
<p>I live in a neighboring suburb and the city of Detroit is a mess, to put it politely.</p>
<p>Well until this recent recession/depression, the Detroit area, sans Detroit and a few suburbs, was always considered a great place to bring up a family. This just goes to show you that metropolitan Detroit isn’t as bad as so many people would like to believe.</p>
<p>Are they crazy? Detroit is terrible.</p>
<p>Actually thenextbigthing, although Detroit has a lot of bad areas, most of Detroit’s suburns are in fact very nice. Troy, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Northfield, Grosse Point etc… are among the nicer suburbs I have seen.</p>
<p>“I guess if you don’t mind (i) a city government on the take, (ii) a dysfunctional school system and (iii) an under-reported crime situation, Detroit isn’t too bad.”</p>
<p>HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA :D</p>
<p>No but Alexandre is right about the suburbs but thenextbigthing is correct. I think the report is misleading, it states Detroit (the city itself) as the best place for family, clearly I think many people can agree that it is wrong, but we can agree that the suburbs are much better to live in than the city itself. I really think the report is misleading making people think that the city Detroit (not it’s suburbs) is one of the best. No where in that report it stated suburbs or surrounding areas. So really we are talking about the city Detroit being the best place for family, we can’t say anything about it suburbs because it is not listed on this list and that statement is wrong.</p>
<p>The article is clearly referring to the surrounding suburbs of Detroit, which would definitely be good for raising a family. They’re not implying that you should raise your family in downtown Detroit.</p>
<p>Why is this thread here anyway? U of M is in Ann Arbor.</p>
<p>^rtbenson, if I’m not wrong, no where in that article does it say “suburb” or “surrounding” (hit “find”).</p>
<p>Also I see a major flaw in this data, it only compares incomes and taxes NOT crime or school quality. How are taxes and incomes alone that really going to show which cities are best for families if you don’t consider the safety of living and the quality of education?</p>
<p>to put it nicely, the entire state of Michigan is a craphole except for the university.</p>
<p>The worst part of Michigan, downtown detroit and all… dont even have to talk about that…</p>
<p>The best part of Michigan, “Troy, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Northfield, Grosse Point etc…”, are not even close to the same league as the “nice places” in other states in terms of class… for ex. Darien, CT, Scarsdale, NY … Atherton, California , Great Falls, Virginia , Winnetka, Illinois, Weston, Massachusetts… Even lakeville, CT, where Hotchkiss is at, look nicer than grosse pointe and it’s not even close to being the highest income zip code in CT …</p>
<p>The point is, once you get into greenwich connecticut, you can “feel” the wealth… same thing with all the cities above… Not quite true about the Michigan high income suburbs.</p>
<p>Also, you cant pull the average household income and cost of living argument… point is, the people living in the wealthiest cities/towns in america are usually retired people. For example… Greenwich is a city for retired bankers… the best parts of Michigan simply arent as wealthy as the typical wealthy cities</p>
<p>I was talking to a Berkeley Grad at work.</p>
<p>Berkeley kid: it’s funny how that crappy state of Michigan has such a fine university</p>
<p>Me: Yea lol…</p>
<p>Berkeley kid: How does the state find funding for the school being so poor?</p>
<p>Me: They don’t. A paltry single-digit percentage a year.</p>
<p>Berkeley kid: Lol Michigan should just break free from the state and become private then… They probably get more money from charging everyone out of state and become more elite by making the student body smaller…</p>
<p>Me: Yea…lol totally… sometimes i have to agree with the buckeyes… I dont give a dam about the whole state of Michigan… except for “MICHIGAN”</p>
<p>Alexandre. As a senior moderator I know you have the ability to eliminate or close threads. Can you please do this?</p>
<p>i thought damn was censored, as it is in many forums… that’s why I write dam. Thank you</p>
<p>it is true. There’s no glamor around the so called nice suburbs in Michigan… and as I said…I have never seen anything like Detroit, MI. The first time my friends drove past it I had a culture shock and for the first time I fear for my life being in a car in broad daylight (We went local coz we were lost). And it’s not like I’ve never seen bad places… drove through harlem in New York and stuff</p>
<p>lol @ the ohio comment…nice guess… if you move 500 miles east</p>
<p>You stated, and I quote. </p>
<p>“to put it nicely, the entire state of Michigan is a craphole except for the university.”</p>
<p>There is no sugar coating this. You live 500 miles east of Ohio, so that makes you an expert on the entire state of Michigan? If you haven’t ever seen anything like Detroit, that even further suggests that you are neither worldly or informed about the horrible living conditions found in parts of many major cities in this country. Once again I suggest you stick to topics that you are aware of and leave the social criticisms to people who aren’t clueless.</p>
<p>Bearcats, if your measuring stick is how blue-blooded-money-ed an area is, indeed Michigan is modest by comparison ad carries a different aesthetic (closely held) – which is why parts are indeed a good deal for families – you can live well, not be house-poor, travel, enjoy disposable income and enjoy the outdoors – trees, lakes, rivers, skiing, fishing et al. That’s often what folks find to love. However, the east side of the state is not everyone’s cup of tea (a little geographically flat, for example) and I would not judge all of Michigan by those communities (no disrespect to the 'burbs). I am a transplant to Grand Rapids and have found West Michigan to be one of the most beautiful and affordable areas in which I’ve lived. Granted, it’s nowhere near as exciting as Montreal, Toronto, etc. (for me, as I did love living in those cities) but certainly on par with smaller cities and in many ways nicer than a lot of U.S. cities I’ve visited on business.</p>
<p>I agree that this state needs to make more of a contribution to U of M and tread carefully lest it continue to freefall from having a strong reputation in education (as a state) to the likes of a backwater state (which I feel it approaches with its continued spending cuts…) But I wouldn’t be too quick judge the entire population of the state with your east-coast conception of what constitutes a craphole. For example, imagine NYC or CT without power or automobiles, two innovations that more or less came from (or were commoditized by) Michigan. I’d like to also note that the people of Michigan historically made the entity of U of M possible through their philosophy and contribution over the last 100 years. So as a guest, please show your hosts a little respect.
Cheers, K</p>
<p>“If you haven’t ever seen anything like Detroit, that even further suggests that you are neither worldly or informed about the horrible living conditions found in parts of many major cities in this country.”</p>
<p>pretty telling info here about murder:
<a href=“Detroit Local News - Michigan News - Breaking News - detroitnews.com”>Detroit Local News - Michigan News - Breaking News - detroitnews.com;
crime:
<a href=“http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/Population_Rankings.pdf[/url]”>http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/Population_Rankings.pdf</a></p>
<p>unemployment rate:
"The state’s unemployment rate will likely remain the nation’s highest. "
<a href=“http://www.freep.com/article/20090618/BUSINESS06/906180600/Michigan+jobless+rate+is+highest+in+decades[/url]”>http://www.freep.com/article/20090618/BUSINESS06/906180600/Michigan+jobless+rate+is+highest+in+decades</a></p>
<p>I think it’s fair to judge a state by how likely I would have a job, how safe I would be and how likely I’d be killed. apparently it’s all the worst in the GREAT state of Michigan</p>
<p>btw, you still haven’t actually addressed any points yet. </p>
<p>“I’d like to also note that the people of Michigan historically made the entity of U of M possible through their philosophy and contribution over the last 100 years.”
I agree. But also note that the relationship has been mutual. U of M also contributed back to the state all throughout its existence. So it’s not like U of M owed the state anything and now’s payback time. The state of Michigan needs to hold their end of their deal to continue a mutual relationship.</p>
<p>kmccrindle. Imagine southwestern CT without New York City? Bearcats would have “affluent” towns such as Bridgeport, New Haven, and Hartford to brag about.</p>
<p>You want to compare Bridgeport, New Haven, and Hartford to detroit? Really?
Let’s see
I am more likely to get killed in detroit than the other three cities
<a href=“Detroit Local News - Michigan News - Breaking News - detroitnews.com”>Detroit Local News - Michigan News - Breaking News - detroitnews.com;
I am less likely to have a job in detroit than the other three cities
<a href=“http://www.freep.com/article/2009061...est+in+decades[/url]”>http://www.freep.com/article/2009061...est+in+decades</a>
I am more prone to other crimes in detroit than the other three cities
<a href=“http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/Population_Rankings.pdf[/url]”>http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/Population_Rankings.pdf</a></p>
<p>You missed my entire point bearcats, naturally. I also find it amusing how you constantly edit your comments to make my points look invalid. You stated the whole state of Michigan is a “craphole” outside of Ann Arbor. I refute that statement and suggest that CT has a few “crapholes” as well. I just don’t go around to schools on their boards and spew my venom to make myself feel superior.</p>