Over my last month in Detroit (and the inner suburbs) a mere background thought really grew in my mind to a solid phenomenon.  Maybe it was the young lady, Tiffany, who I met waiting for Cold Stone Creamery ice cream in Greektown or the bus load of kids that exited into a clean and quaint Eastpointe neighborhood. Perhaps it was census figures reported in the Wikipedia articles for Redford or Eastpointe.

I’ve been meeting ex-Detroiters and Detroiters who want nothing else more than to stay away from or exit the city. Tiffany, a 22 year old who was 6-months pregnant, lived in Ann Arbor with her boyfriend. She worked as an assistant at the Kellogg Eye Center and was proudly supporting herself. She grew up in NW Detroit and doesn’t come back, except for excursions to Downtown. She thinks it’s sad that her childhood neighborhood is decimated, but has no plans to move back. She even mentioned that people “like me”, white and educated, are moving downtown, but “really only downtown and midtown”.

I was performing hand augers to delineate a patch of “oil-impacted soil” off of Gratiot in Eastpointe. Driving through the residential neighborhoods, nearly every block had a middle aged African American male mowing the lawn. The neighborhoods were immaculately maintained, and people actually waved as I drove by. Later that day, a public school bus stopped near 9 Mile and Gratiot, and EVERY student who got off was black. There wasn’t a single white child. That got me thinking about this incredible shift, a migration of sorts. Most people are aware of Detroit’s population loss. What they aren’t aware of is where they’re going and why.

I’ve had neighbors, who after finding out I’m investing in properties, ask how they can sell their properties (or ask if I’d buy theirs). I cannot, for the life of me, convince the neighbors or ex-Detroiters of the upswing or potential of the City.