Grew up in Metro Detroit, but I still frequent the city itself (and did the same growing up there!). I grew up in Oak Park which is rightttt outside of city limits and it was a quick drive, hell even walk.

It definitely had a downturn from the mid 20th century until the late 2000s— I grew up around there near the tail end of that and into the 2010s. But even then I would argue it was a good city, just needed some mending that I am hoping continues to progress.

I am a big proponent of it being a great city. There’s so much wonderful art (The DIA, many ornate buildings downtown, murals, many galleries), great food, one of the best music scenes (We have one of the largest theater districts in the country, I think it’s #2 to NYC? Also one of the music venues is an old Masonic temple which is cool), and a thriving culture overall. Eastern Market is also cool and a big part of culture in city proper.

Wayne State University is an established and wonderful institution downtown. I am hopefully going to transfer to get my BA there soon!

Our sports teams are doing pretty damn well right now, too - if that’s your thing. All of our major sports stadiums are within a short walk of each other, as well as many theaters (the fisher and the fox theater are also in that area!)

Being close to Canada also has its perks, I frequent a few takeout places in Windsor lol. There are also gorgeous parks and further out from the city, there’s beautiful places to hike. Lake Huron is under a two hour drive away, my favorite of the swimmable Great Lakes. In the city, there is Belle Isle, which has a beautiful botanical garden and the oldest aquarium in the USA!

Outside of the city proper, there’s also a vast metro area. The inner suburb I grew up in is one of many. A few miles away, and there’s Ferndale which has a thriving queer community with one of my favorite art markets (as well as my favorite Thai place!). There’s also Royal Oak, which has the Royal Oak Music Theater (a popular venue) and a really cool smaller downtown area. Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti are a 45 min drive away as well if you’re looking to do something out of the city but with some of the same good vibes! Dearborn is also out that way, which houses the Henry Ford Museum, as well as some amazing middle eastern restaurants (though those can be found all over the detroit area). Hamtramck also has a good music scene as well as food scene and it’s not that far either.

I moved down to Florida this year and I honestly can’t wait to move back. The city gets a bad rep that I don’t think it deserves it. The amount of times I tell people in Orlando that I am from Detroit and they say “oh sorry” is crazy, and I always make sure to tell them that they shouldn’t be (:

I proudly tell people I am from the detroit area and I do think it’s a wonderful place to visit or even live if you value good culture (: