▲ 2 points

Ask HN: Tech in Detroit. Worth a move for interesting opportunity?

by rhgraysonii·11y ago·4 comments·view on hn ↗

Hey guys,

A disclaimer: this is a question of curiosity. I'm far too happy where I am at now to up and move.

I was wondering if the tech scene in Detroit had blown up enough that it was realistic to go up and get a job and actually be well compensated.

With the news of Techstars coming, other offices already there, and a budding co-op community economy I see there to be a lot of potential to save that city. Growing up so close to DTW, I always have had a soft spot for it. I genuinely believe the city can be salvaged. The question is is the infrastructure there to support someone with our skills to help it grow and become a new place.

4 comments

Rent in downtown is fairly stupid 900+ for a microscopic single bedroom. Which yes is better then the valley, but I digress. That's in the more "high rise" apartments.

The area around Wayne State (the local college) is fairly in line with the surrounding suburbs, but the crime rate is very high. There are few infrastructure problems, as most the inhabitants are college students who bring in a lot of out of city money.

If you are willing to move past that you can find places EXTREMELY cheap. But that's where the infrastructure problems come into play. Parts of the city do look like a blight stricken war zone, it has improved a lot.

:.:.:

That being said. The suburbs are fantastic. Also the "Metro Detroit Area" is massive, literally the picture of urban sprawl.

It formed naturally as small farming towns grew and collided which each other in the post WW2 boom. Which is very nice as it means traveling 10-15 miles puts you in an entirely different income demographic, entertainment, food, decorative surroundings.

Most the start ups I currently know of are located in the Southfield/Ferndale/Royal Oak area. With some relatively closer to Wayne State (and some downtown). That's the main area of current economic development/explosion that's happening the city.

Royal Oak is undergoing a slow transformation into a strange 20-30 demo resturant/entertainment scene. And Ferndale has become the unofficial center of the Metro-LGBT community.

:.:.:

Also this being said OU has a fantastic computer security program. UofM continues to one of thee graduate schools nationwide. MSU always has strong showings. MTU further north continues to churn out great students (I went there myself). And University of Waterloo (major CS school) is literally right across the river from Detroit (kinda).

Saying the engineering and technical base of the city is strong is largely an understatement.

How does Ann Arbor fit into the community? By all accounts Ann Arbor is lovely and Google Maps reports it is about 40 minutes away from Southfield/Ferndale/Royal Oak.

Ann Arbor is great. Its very much a stereotypical liberal college town. Public transit is fine, the buss system works, and its public busses, not a lot of glowing things to say.

The music/art scene is very large, as well as the academic one with UofM being what it is.

Low crime rate, higher taxes, property I expect isn't cheap when compared to other Metro-communites but lower compared to the west coast. Very gentrified area.

The entire westside of the metro area has been experiencing very solid growth with the economic recovery. Largely since its one of the few direction the urban sprawl can still grow.

Downtown Detroit is definitely gaining speed. If you compare it to where it was just three years ago the difference is startling.

Now having two accelerators downtown (Bizdom and TechStars) I think its going to siphon off some of the top U of M and MSU graduates that are normally going to Silicon Valley.

Best proof is that its getting impossible to find an apartment downtown, rents are jumping 30-40% and buildings have two year waiting lists. More apartments are being developed but they literally can't get them built out fast enough.