OT: Are you bullish or skeptical on Detroit's comeback?

Just about all bad things that could happen in a large city have happened in Detroit. Take a spin on any of the big streets (Grand River, Gratiot, etc.) and try to convince yourself that most of the city will "come back" naturally without major intervention ($ and otherwise). 

I don't see it.

I thought Dax Hill was going to fix the problems until he left.  so call me "Skeptical"

I heard Amazon is looking for headquarters #2 or something. Oh wouldn't it be great if they picked Detroit. So much drama but it will be worth it if they picked a Detroit like city..... and the winner is 

New York City!!! 

Wtf. Assholes 

Industry is basically dead in this country for a variety of reasons.  If Detroit wants to thrive it should try to attract companies of the present.  

The above still doesn't get at the primary issue holding the city back, which will not be discussed here.

You're presenting a false dilemma here.  People go where jobs are.  If there's a good job in Metro Detroit, people will come here.   

The issue isn't how Detroit stacks up to other big cities, but how it stacks up to other places in the metro area.  Do you want to live downtown (or Midtown, the Jefferson corridor, etc.) or in Ferndale, Royal Oak, etc.?  That's the big question.  For years it was no contest, but now there is actual demand to live downtown, which is where those high rents come into play.  

Detroit's 'comeback' is kinda like non-surgical weight loss - however long it took to put on that gut, its going to take about the same time to take it off 

...DET's renaissance isn't going to be a lap-band procedure, but rather a slow but steady progression - but its coming (the tax base has been returning to the city)

I live in Detroit, and for me, I love it.  I like living in Michigan, however, despite having options to live in most desirable areas (i.e., I work from home and I make the requisite salary to live in those cities).  Taking away the warm and fuzzies, such as friends, family, sports teams and leagues I play in, I think it becomes a little less desirable.  

First of all, I don't think you can really compare living in Chicago, Denver, Silicon Valley, etc. to living in Detroit.  First of all, those cities didn't have to climb back from the pits of disrepair that Detroit has to climb back from.  This is both a positive and a negative.  

The things that are negatives for Detroit also exist in some top level cities as well though.  Chicago school districts are bad as well (maybe not as bad, but still crappy).  Crime is just as bad in Chicago, and even worse in certain areas.  My friends in Chicago lived in Logan Square (and so did I many years ago), and the random murders in a neighborhood where houses are priced at a million is nuts to me.  

In Detroit, rents are getting kind of silly, but there are still plenty of good options under $1000.  I lived in Corktown in a newer 2 bedroom loft that was 1400 square feet and I paid $1500 a month.  I lived walking distance from all the restaurants and bars (and in many cases they were on my block or one block away).  For $1500 a month in Silicon Valley, Denver, or Chicago, you would not get that type of space or location.  If you wanted to live in New Center or Woodbridge, you can find lots of stuff for under $1000.  If you venture out even further, there are better deals to be had.  

Buying property is where there is a huge advantage.  As I watch the condos go up in Corktown and Midtown, I am shocked by the 500k sticker price on a two bedroom condo.  If you compare other cities, however, where are you going to find a new construction two bedroom condo or townhouse that is less than one mile from downtown for 500k? Even better, is older construction.  My wife and I just bought a 1900 sq ft fully updated townhome in Woodbridge, with a garage for under 300k.  300k in Silicon Valley would not buy me a shack in Sunnyvale (believe me, I looked and the closes thing I found was a 600 sq foot literal shack in a concrete patch for 500k).  Same goes for Chicago, you are not finding a home for less than 500k that is in a "safe" area.  Furthermore, there are tons of opportunities in developing areas that are even closer to downtown than I am.  For example, North Corktown still looks like Mississippi and homes can be found at Mississippi prices.  But a brand new rehab single family home can be found in North Corktown for under 300k.  My friends who had a huge loft in corktown (over 5000 square feet), bought it for 500k a few years ago and just sold it for 1.2 million (post Ford/train station bump).  So there is an opportunity to make some money on real estate here, if that's what you are looking for.    

With respect to Entertainment, Detroit is good depending on what you like.  There are plenty of cool restaurants, bars, concert venues, but it pales in comparison to the bigger cities.  The nice thing though, is if you live in the city, you pretty much get to know all the people at these establishments, which converts to lots of "VIP" service.  If I a place is super trendy and hard to get a reservation, I can pretty much always walk in and get a table, despite the hour to two hour wait.  Similarly, at bars, you get to know the bar tenders and owners pretty quickly, which never hurts.  The one thing that sucks, is any place that is "cool" gets flooded with Quickenbros within six months.  Now, if you are someone who wants to eat at a different place every time you go out, then Detroit isn't the place for you.  There are probably 10-15 nice places for dinner that I would recommend, another 12-18 that I would recommend for less expensive dinner spots, 5-7 brunch places, 5-10 lunch spots, and that is it.  Same thing goes for bars.  If you like local music scenes and/or electronic music, Detroit is very underrated.  I see great music all the time.  National acts, not as great as other spots. 

Schools is the tricky one. The public schools here are pretty bad. I imagine you will start seeing more private school options as more and more young people are moving back into the city.  We don't have kids yet, but we are kind of banking on this should we decide to have kids.  In the case there isn't, I think we would probably look to Grosse Pointe private school options or do some due diligence on the charter schools in the area. 

TLDR: Detroit is not for everyone, but if you have ties to Michigan and like city living it's a great option.  Rents are getting a bit high, relative to old Detroit rents but not to other cities, but there are still great deals for people looking to buy homes close to Downtown.           

Skeptical. Not enough jobs in SE Michigan in general. The primary reason I left for good in 2015.

Detroit is never “coming back” in a way comparable to the other cities you listed.  I mean seven of those cities rank in the global crane index.  Detroit is just too big - the tax revenue of the recovering neighborhoods is too diluted to make the fixes that would attract the people that need encouraging.  But it’s perfectly well back for the people who want to be a part of the recovery or get a good job offer, etc.  It was a tough decision for me between Seattle and Detroit, which Detroit ultimately lost. 

Also, LOL at the people upset by 1,500 rent.  

A bit of both. I work downtown for a large company (not Quicken Loans) and live in a pretty nice one-bedroom for under $1,200. I've never once witnessed a crime in my 3+ years working and living in the area, and I'm a little sick of those who assume they'll be mugged walking from Wright and Co. to their car. Get over yourselves.

All that said, anyone who expects Detroit to suddenly turn into a true big city has their head up their ass. The revival about Detroit isn't about it becoming a top 5 city again, yet so many (like the OP) are quick to compare it to mega cities like Chicago. It will never be a mega city again.

The revival is about the downtown area becoming livable again (which it definitely is), and the general vibe around the city. There are a lot of cool restaurants to go to, and new ones seem to open monthly. The bar scene is picking up - and you can get a beer for $5 or less at most of them, unlike every other major city, where you're likely to shell out $9+ for a Bud fucking Light. And companies are starting to rally around as well, which gives you some options if you're a well-qualified candidate.

If you have some perspective and stop expecting Detroit to become Chicago 2.0, then yes, the revival is real. If you're looking for pristine housing and five-star meals.... well, yeah, look elsewhere, duh.

Detroit is full of Hipsters from the suburbs opening up breweries and useless art galleries. Meanwhile crime sucks.. Neighborhoods are still full of crack and burned down houses. School system is garbage So the actual people of Detroit are still going through shit for the past 50 plus years. While the folks from the burbs go downtown..scream I'm from Detroit and we are on a comeback .Laughable.

yes

In the 30s and 40s Detroit was expanding and in 1960 the population was over 2M ( the 4th largest city in the US at t he time) and the area of city limits fit the population. Now the population is probably under 300K and the city size should be shrunk. Change the western and northern portions to farm land and golf courses. I remember back in the 70s, before silicon valley exploded, there were plans to create high tech corridors from Ann Arbor to Detroit, Detroit to Flint and then Flint to Ann Arbor, generally the I-94, I-75 and US23. I don't know why this plan was not followed through but it would have been great for Detroit and SE Michigan if the money was invested in such a high tech triangle back in the late 70s.

Curious where you are getting 25k layoffs at Ford?? You realize even if that happened, a lot of them would be in Europe and other regions where people don't live in Detroit.... 

I have not lived in SE Michigan since 1989 but I thought the casinos were suppose to revitalize the city. How are the casinos working out?  Have they made a difference? Now I read about how the hipsters have moved in, and have been revitalizing the downtown, with new bars and restaurants. I read several years ago that Greektown district was being revitalized? Are all these revitalized areas connected. I have not been to downtown Detroit since the mid 80s.

Bullish. 

I'm bullish on DOWNTOWN Detroit making a comeback but not the surrounding areas.  That is a key and important distinction to make.  There isn't a robust economy to support the middle class as there once was.  It's a pity Amazon didn't have a headquarter in Detroit because that would have helped.

So no, I'm not bullish about Detroit's comeback.  Downtown is booming though.