jczeranna

Define city. 5 years ago I was that guy that got on your nerves. I moved here to go to college and counted the days until I could return to "the city". I graduated, moved back and got a job working in Comerica Tower in the heart of Detroit. What came along with that is what set me against my home town. The problem? I worked and spent my days downtown, at night i had to return to the suburbs where I was forced to live. Point is the Detroit Metro Area is a donut. During the day and special events it is seemingly an alive city with energy and excitement. At 5:00 o'clock it's a mass exodus to the safety and familiarity of a 3 bedroom brick house with a front and back yard, two stall garage, white picket fence, mundane suburbia hell. Detroit no-longer works as a city should. Sure some people love living in the suburbs and you will always have them but Detroit doesn't give you the option of city living. cheers

I lived in Detroit, in-fact I grew up over there. I can say with absolute certainty that Grand Rapids is way more of a city than Detroit can ever hope to be. Sure Detroit gets most the national and international press for cities that reside in this Great State but the truth is it's a dying city whos only hope for economical upturn is in the hands of 3 casinos. I don't however think that comparing our relationship to Detroit with Philadelphia and Pittsburgh's is entirely accurate. Grand Rapids is a new kind of city, a modern city with modern thinking. A city with a future. A city who's residents still have the power to shape and mold its culture. Detroit's History has been written and the city is in ruins. Grand Rapids is a City with hope in a state that desperately needs it. I say keep the good press coming for my adopted home and hope that we can keep distancing ourselves from the black cloud that is Detroit.