Eastern market is a huge place to get fruits and vegetables. It has cheese, peanut and meat shops around its perimeter. You can spend hours wandering around it.
Detroit will be leading the re-making of the inner cities . As they demolish the empty houses ,they are going to put in gardens and farms. I do not know how well it will work out, but the population of Detroit is dropping rapidly. There is no way to figure how low it will go. Residents are leaving as the jobs disappear… It will be under 900,000 soon. Where it stops nobody knows.
The suburbs are nice.
I do think it’s kinda telling how, on a work trip to Indianapolis a few weeks ago, we couldn’t stop gawking at the massive homes on one of the streets.
Well, that’s a misrepresentation. The lack of access to fresh food is a serious problem in Detroit, but there are some places to get it. Just not enough, and not from chain supermarkets, and not at good prices.
And Glen Haven. And Beulah. And Honor. And Traverse City. All favorites of mine. Of course, I live in Ohio and haven’t been North in about 3 years, so what do I know about the economy. 
Ah yeah, Traverse City is pretty awesome too. I love their Cherry Festival! Such a pretty town and it seems to be doing well, such a stark difference between the southern area of the state.
I live in Farmington, which is a suburb of Detroit. I work in Southfield, which is just north of Detroit, on the west side. In the years running up to the bust, real estate in the Detroit area was going gangbusters. New industrial/business complexes were going up everywhere, and filling up quickly. New houses were sold before they were finished, and the time-on-market for used homes was a few weeks.
It should be no surprise that with the downturn, and the additional problem of having all three US automakers HQ’ed here when they were all heading down the toilet, this was a huge bubble. So yeah, you can identify a lot of unused retail and office space in Southeast Michigan, even in places like Ann Arbor and Royal Oak, two areas with a very vibrant and active downtown community. And you can find a home for sale on just about any given block.
Dearborn doesn’t suck. Farmington doesn’t suck. But they are struggling, and cutting, and trying to survive right now, much like many cities throughout the nation.
Another problem is that they’re paying city of Detroit income taxes, whereas most of the population of the state doesn’t have to pay city income taxes. Another problem is that the millage rate for Detroit. The Treasury website shows 2008 homestead rates at 65.79 mills! Randomly comparing another Wayne county area, Woodhaven, comes in at only 46.85 mills (which still seems high compared to my cheap 36.44 mills). Heck, the non-homestead rate in my township is 54.44 mills! It’s cheaper to rent from me in Macomb county than to be a homeowner in Detroit (and with better services, etc.)
IGA is kinda-sorta a chain. And Ryan’s on West Vernor is an IGA (or is it a Spartan?). But, I mostly see your point.
As for prices, though, I do most of my shopping in Mexicantown because it’s cheaper for fresh produce (and meat) than in my suburb. For every day stuff like plumb tomatoes, the difference is minor. But for things that aren’t as popular (tomatillos, certain chiles, even avocados), they’re significantly cheaper. I’ve paid as much as $5 a pound for tomatillos at Nino Salvaggio’s, versus a buck at E&L downtown.
Sugarloaf? nice pics
When we used to spend a lot of time in SW-central MI in the late-80s/90s, I was continually amazed at what a huge percentage of people were employed in or related to the auto industry - even if it meant hourslong commutes. Can’t imagine their standard of living has improved in response to recent trends in that sector.
Yeah, that’s the 800 pound gorilla. The infrastructure is there for 3 million, and there’s under a million left. The taxes and tax burden is getting bigger and bigger for people living in the city.
Oh yeah, it sucks bad, nothing to see here, especially you fibs, and everyone east of the Jackson / Saginaw line can stay there.
And if you arrive thru the GRR notice the sign that says welcome to Michigans West Coast? That’s a lie, there is no coastline in GR.
Fibs?
GR has always been proud of their proximity to Lake Michigan, though they really aren’t all that close (about 30 mi +/-). Their minor league team is called the Whitecaps because of the waves on Lake Michigan. I never understood it, having grown up in Muskegon which really is on Lake Michigan.
No, Michigan doesn’t suck at all, never has, never will. Detroit is not nearly as bad as the image. Flint does suck big time, but Grand Rapids and Lansing are pretty decent places. We have the best climate in the country, the best beaches anywhere, no hurricanes or earthquakes and very rarely a tornado. Sure, we get snowed in once in a while but we have the equipment to clean it up pretty quickly. We’re blessed with two great national universities and a host of good smaller schools. Best of all, the state has never cast an electoral vote for George W. Bush.
Yup, that’s Sugarloaf!
Keep your damn political shit out of this thread. I didn’t vote for him, either, but it’s about as appropriate as the lady wearing the NObama shirt to church.
As for the tax rate in Detroit, realize that for the price of a decent car, you can pick up a house in detroit. They are in the 20 - 40K price range due to the lack of demand, so the taxes have to go up to collect any revenue whatsoever from those folks. Bu it is a catch-22, because if your house is actually WORTH something, boy do you pay through the pooper!
I’m guessing Fucking Illinois/Indiana Bastards.
We always said/heard FIPs - people/persons.
I live in Dearborn and can attest that it doesn’t suck. Are things tight for the city and many residents right now? Yes, but it doesn’t “suck.” New businesses are opening every week, many are expanding. There’s a great diverse culture-- Middle Eastern, Polish, Italian, Latino-- in the area. The colleges in Dearborn are thriving and growing. Museums, theater, music, great dining and bars, unique retail (although we need more of this).
Things that don’t suck in Dearborn:
Neighborhood parks and pools
Active neighborhood associations
Historic Ford Homes
Historic Aviation Homes
Historic Springwells Homes
Many other gorgeous historic homes built in the ‘10s, ‘20s, and ‘30s.
Players Guild of Dearborn
Henry Ford Community College
WHFR college radio
HFCC Theater
University of Michigan-Dearborn campus
Arab American National Museum
Greenfield Village & Henry Ford Museum
Dearborn Music
Stormy Records
Green Brain Comics
Cheli’s Chili
Howell’s Bar
Kiernan’s Steakhouse & Silky’s Martini Bar
Buddy’s Pizza
Fairlane Club
Henry Ford Estate
Merchant Fine Wines
Westborn Fruit Market
Dearborn Farm Market
Farmer’s and Artisan Market in the summer
Al Ameer Restaurant
Leo’s Coney Island, Senate Coney Island, Holiday Coney Island, Kirby’s Coney Island
La Pita Restaurant
Miller’s Bar (one of the best burgers you’ll ever eat)
Homecoming Festival every August
Taste of Dearborn/Art on the Avenue
Music Under the Stars
Jazz on the Avenue
New Place Lounge
Ford Rouge Factory (with tours!)
Super Greenland Market
The Well Bar
Crave Lounge
Ford Community & Performing Arts Center
Alternative media
And more!
Dearborn doesn’t suck.
Michigan doesn’t suck.
And I’m ready to fight anyone who says otherwise. 
I hadn’t heard that the suburbs of Detroit were hurting all that bad. Wouldn’t want to live there, anyway, though. I’m thinking remote, woods, wilderness. I miss that. And the fact that they never voted for GWB just kinda locks it in. 
Grand Rapids is doing fairly well. All sorts of new buildings have gone up downtown in the past decade, and neighborhoods like East Hills have also seen a lot of redevelopment. If only we didn’t have the rest of the state dragging us down…
I work in Dearborn, when I’m not on the road. I won’t say that it sucks, but there’s no place that I’d ever want to live in Dearborn! Tiny, little city lots, bungalow style houses, and way, way overpriced. Well, don’t know today’s market, but when I was looking, tiny little 1500 square foot bungalows with a strip of grass they called a lawn were going for over $200,000!