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I can only speak about the Midtown Detroit where I lived from 2002 to 2008. It was a group of students, artists, musicians and old-timer bohemians that made tha

I can only speak about the Midtown Detroit where I lived from 2002 to 2008. It was a group of students, artists, musicians and old-timer bohemians that made that area great and interesting. The only common denominator was that nobody had much money. Once the suburban kids from more wealthy suburban families started to move in it was all but over. I visited recently and the rough edges and patina and unpredictability has been worn away by the safe suburban values and esthetics of the new residents. I know it gets tiresome to hear, "You don't know what it was like, man." in regards to gentrification. But I can get over-stylized brew pubs, twee boutiques, foodie small plates and corporate sponsored street fairs anywhere. Those things where not there when it was deemed "Cool". My rent was $400 that I split, the same (rather shitty) apartment now goes for $1600. When the cost of living goes up like that, you've shut our a lot of interesting people looking for a chance to do something interesting. People with money are chasing "Cool" and it's the one thing you cannot truly buy.

ellius 7y ago
I'm someone who chose the predictable suburban values, and I still say amen to your analysis (especially the final sentence). It's like people have no sense of what real character (in a person or place) is actually comprised of. And let's be honest, even the food and beer in these places are frequently mediocre.
doctorpangloss 7y ago
> Once the suburban kids from more wealthy suburban families started to move in it was all but over While I agree that bohemians are a worthy part of society, rent pricing is complicated, and that so-called wealthy suburbanites coincide with a safety exchange: greater property crime and visible homelessness for a reduction in violent crime, an exchange with complex human costs.
povertyworld 7y ago
The most annoying thing in my rapidly gentrifying neighborhood is getting yelled at for biking on the sidewalk. If there is no bike lane, and there are not commercial properties on the street, it is legal to bike on the sidewalk. Gentrifiers think they are still in NYC and yell that it's illegal to be on the sidewalk as if I'm cruising around Manhattan. They are so smug, entitled, and wrong.
virtualwhys 7y ago
> My rent was $400 that I split, the same (rather shitty) apartment now goes for $1600 or, if the owner/occupant elects to put the unit on Airbnb, $3,000-$4,000+ per month[1] (not directly related to the article, but short-term [nomad] housing is largely a thing of the past). [1] https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/31/airbnb-sharing-economy-cities-barcelona-inequality-locals https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/31/airbnb...
sverige 7y ago
I was 'cool' for a couple of years or so in Seattle in the late 80s and early 90s. Lived in the last frame house in Belltown, made art and had lots of artist friends, saw Nirvana and four other bands for $5 at Squid Row, have pictures of my out of town friends at Jimi Hendrix' original grave, ate cheap soup for lunch lots of days at Pike Place Market, and generally was so much cooler than the people I left behind in the Midwest that it was impossible to quantify. I don't miss those days. In fact, it seems like a gigantic waste of time 30 years later. Glad I got out when I did.
- LMYahooTFY 7y ago
  Would you mind elaborating? I'm curious to hear what makes you look back on it with some disdain? Is it something you would sum up as a high opportunity cost?
  - sverige 7y ago
    You could call it high opportunity cost, but only in the sense of life goals as viewed from later in life, not the usual financial sense. I recognize clearly now that at the time I was just drifting through life without any real sense of purpose. Youth is wasted on the young, as they say.
- Rediscover 7y ago
  > last frame house in Belltown Curious, was that the one on the 2200 block of Second, or the one on Lenora and Post Alley? If the latter, do You have any pics?
  - sverige 7y ago
    IIRC, it was between Broad and Cedar off of First, back on the lot toward Post Alley, across from the Labor Temple. Any pics I have are buried somewhere in storage, unfortunately. Edit: It might've been between Broad and Eagle. It's been almost 30 years and the neighborhood has completely changed. It was directly uphill from the Union 76 Superfund site, which might be the sculpture park now. I remember watching the trucks swoop in one day as they put up fences around the site. Our property was managed by a somewhat crazy SEIU member who was a direct descendant of a surviving male member of the Donner Party.

ellius 7y ago

I'm someone who chose the predictable suburban values, and I still say amen to your analysis (especially the final sentence). It's like people have no sense of what real character (in a person or place) is actually comprised of. And let's be honest, even the food and beer in these places are frequently mediocre.

doctorpangloss 7y ago

> Once the suburban kids from more wealthy suburban families started to move in it was all but over While I agree that bohemians are a worthy part of society, rent pricing is complicated, and that so-called wealthy suburbanites coincide with a safety exchange: greater property crime and visible homelessness for a reduction in violent crime, an exchange with complex human costs.

povertyworld 7y ago

The most annoying thing in my rapidly gentrifying neighborhood is getting yelled at for biking on the sidewalk. If there is no bike lane, and there are not commercial properties on the street, it is legal to bike on the sidewalk. Gentrifiers think they are still in NYC and yell that it's illegal to be on the sidewalk as if I'm cruising around Manhattan. They are so smug, entitled, and wrong.

virtualwhys 7y ago

> My rent was $400 that I split, the same (rather shitty) apartment now goes for $1600 or, if the owner/occupant elects to put the unit on Airbnb, $3,000-$4,000+ per month[1] (not directly related to the article, but short-term [nomad] housing is largely a thing of the past). [1] https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/31/airbnb-sharing-economy-cities-barcelona-inequality-locals https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/31/airbnb...

sverige 7y ago

I was 'cool' for a couple of years or so in Seattle in the late 80s and early 90s. Lived in the last frame house in Belltown, made art and had lots of artist friends, saw Nirvana and four other bands for $5 at Squid Row, have pictures of my out of town friends at Jimi Hendrix' original grave, ate cheap soup for lunch lots of days at Pike Place Market, and generally was so much cooler than the people I left behind in the Midwest that it was impossible to quantify. I don't miss those days. In fact, it seems like a gigantic waste of time 30 years later. Glad I got out when I did.

LMYahooTFY 7y ago
Would you mind elaborating? I'm curious to hear what makes you look back on it with some disdain? Is it something you would sum up as a high opportunity cost?
- sverige 7y ago
  You could call it high opportunity cost, but only in the sense of life goals as viewed from later in life, not the usual financial sense. I recognize clearly now that at the time I was just drifting through life without any real sense of purpose. Youth is wasted on the young, as they say.
Rediscover 7y ago
> last frame house in Belltown Curious, was that the one on the 2200 block of Second, or the one on Lenora and Post Alley? If the latter, do You have any pics?
- sverige 7y ago
  IIRC, it was between Broad and Cedar off of First, back on the lot toward Post Alley, across from the Labor Temple. Any pics I have are buried somewhere in storage, unfortunately. Edit: It might've been between Broad and Eagle. It's been almost 30 years and the neighborhood has completely changed. It was directly uphill from the Union 76 Superfund site, which might be the sculpture park now. I remember watching the trucks swoop in one day as they put up fences around the site. Our property was managed by a somewhat crazy SEIU member who was a direct descendant of a surviving male member of the Donner Party.