to stay or not to stay…

lemme start by saying that i love the city of Detroit (hence the name of the blog)… i would totally love to stay in the city for as long as i’m in Michigan… but i honestly can’t say whether that will or will not happen… 2 main reasons:

Affordability – currently, i live in a 1 bedroom loft in Midtown… i love where i live and of all the places i’ve lived in Metro Detroit, it’s been my favorite (over Royal Oak, Farmington Hills and West Bloomfield)… but the next house i move into has to be a 3 bedroom and if i want something like that in Midtown/Downtown it’s gonna be way out of our price range… on top of that, the ‘burbs will have a plethora of options within our price range…

Safety – it’s almost been a year living in Midtown and the wife and i have never felt our safety was in jeopardy… a good thing indeed… but we’re not stupid, we know that stuff happens all around us all the time… i’ve heard countless stories about people in our neighborhood getting mugged, robbed and/or having their car broken into/stolen… at least once a month there’s broken glass in front of my building (indicative of a car break-in)… i’m thankful that that stuff hasn’t happened to us, but i’m not so sure that part of me doesn’t fear it might one day… and it’s just plain clear that that stuff doesn’t happen nearly as often in the ‘burbs…

i grew up in the suburbs and deep down, i’m still a suburban boy… but i love the city and if i didn’t have to consider safety or affordability i wouldn’t leave it… but truth is truth, life is life, family is family… what’s best for me and my family??? even if i want to stay, can i afford it??? if i can afford it is it safe??? you all know the taxes are killer and my increased taxes don’t make me more safe (though they should, shouldn’t they?)… my increased car insurance doesn’t either…

if i left there might be some who’d accuse me of selling out… trust me, i ain’t no sell out… if i were single, there’d be no problem… but i’m not… if you don’t have the money for something, you don’t… and if it’s more practical and more livable elsewhere, your accusation towards me is more rooted out of bitterness than it is objectivity…

i want to stay Detroit… but in about a year or so i’m gonna have to make a decision… will the price of housing in Detroit change??? what about safety??? if those things change for the better, the chances of me still being an actual citizen will be better…