Thursday, October 9, 2008

Guest Post - Detroit or Chicago? A Question of Loyalty

For the second time, I present to you a guest post from Great Lakes Guru. Chicago is a swell place and it is impossible to not feel pity for Cubs fans, but it can never hold my heart like Detroit.

On Friday evening I had a discussion about the differences between Chicago and Detroit, and the perception among many of Michigan’s 20- and 30-somethings that Chicago is a superior city. To be clear, I make this disclaimer - I think Chicago is a great city, one of my favorites - plenty of culture with a good mid-west vibe.

That said, I choose Detroit over Chicago any day of the week. Detroit is a great city, definitely lagging behind Chicago for now, but Detroit has an incredible upside, and Detroit is part of Michigan, which is a huge plus in my book. Think of it this way - would any reasonable person choose the state of Illinois over the state of Michigan? No way. Michigan wins every potential category except our competing major cities. Maybe, with the backing of all of Michigan, Detroit will quickly catch up to Chicago, could even pass the Windy City in style and culture.

But making Detroit competitive with Chicago requires some effort from Michigan’s young college grads and professionals - love, loyalty, a revitalized entrepreneurial spirit, and a little elbow grease. Most who leave Michigan espouse their love for the Great Lakes State, and claim their only reason for leaving is lack of jobs. I can most certainly sympathize - I only wish that more Michiganders would sacrifice and stay home, use their talent to create jobs instead of waiting for jobs to miraculously appear.

And if you choose to leave Michigan, or if you feel you have no choice in the matter, I point you to a recent blog post on Detroit Army (editor's note: I strongly recommend reading this post). Continue to wear the old English D with pride, and spread the good word about Michigan whenever and wherever you can - we hope you come back, but if you never do return, let your love for Michigan manifest itself in your salesmanship - be positive and hopeful for Detroit - let the world know of Michigan’s greatness and potential.

But don’t boast Michigan pride only to bash our state’s job rate and shortcomings at every turn - if that’s how you really feel, just put on your Cubs hat and stay away. And even worse, if you live in Michigan and spend all your time complaining about Detroit and fantasizing about a move to Chicago, pack your treasonous bags - I’ll buy your train ticket.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I definitely prefer Detroit (Where the cops don't show up) to Chicago. (Where the cops brutalize you then cover it up)

Anonymous said...

Chicago seems like more of a city for young men and women to relive their college days. The buildings are much better there but the money that one must spend is a bit high to me. Nothing beats the good ole Detroit Pride, you could never tear me away from this great place.