Why stay in Detroit?

Laura Berman of the News had a good post with three good reasons why someone should move to Detroit. Basically, you can make a difference, you don't have to deal with some problems that other big cities face (e.g., traffic), and the cost of living here is ridiculously low. Now, I share these thoughts regularly with those I try to "sell" on Detroit or provide the same answers when someone asks me why Detroit is a great place to be (especially the first and third arguments...the second is a bit of a double edged sword; I guess the third one is too). What is a negative to others is a really a positive. Ms. Berman has summed up the points nicely, so here they are:

"You're smart, you're talented, you've got new ideas.
In New York, you're a sparrow. In Detroit, you're a prized canary. This is Mecca for you, Mr. or Ms. Would-be Transplant, if you've got the brains and hustle to outwork and out-think the demoralized survivors of decades of renaissances that haven't taken root.
No other major metropolitan area will out-welcome Detroit's welcome. Give us your newcomers with moxie and talent. We'll mentor you, invest in you and invite you to parties.
The flip side of a shrinking Big Metro Area is that some problems shrink, too.
Like big city culture. Cultural attractions that require advance commitments and plans in other cities are a snap here. Whether you want to snag seats for an opera, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, a visiting ballet company or an NFL football game, you can almost always see it here without using bonus dollars or extra sweat.
You can see a Tigers game this weekend. Tell that to your brother in Boston. And the traffic? You can commute downtown in 20 minutes from 20 miles away -- choose the direction. My brother in Los Angeles can't imagine that.
Detroit's affordable. Really, really affordable.
Here, a young couple can become landed gentry -- house, backyard, good schools -- for a fraction of the cost in a similar community anywhere else. In these shrinking-city days, a shrewd would-be homeowner can pick up a tidy, three-bedroom suburban house for what one used to cost here 15 years ago.
Or, if you're young and adventurous, you can move into Detroit and try out the social consciousness and pioneer spirit progressive young adults mouth so easily from Portland, Ore., to Burlington, Vt. -- places that entertain them but no longer need them."

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20100824/OPINION03/8240359/In-Detroit-area--young--talented-have-better-shot-at-being-heard#ixzz0xYzw5xjf