“Oh… Detroit. Have you been there before?” 

This was the question (or at least the polite phrasing of the question) that has followed me around for the past 5 months, ever since I accepted an outstanding opportunity to move to Detroit, work for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and be a Challenge Detroit Fellow. Having grown up in Denver and gone to school in Los Angeles, hardly anyone -friends, family, or strangers- could really understand what I was thinking. I tried to explain the best I could (history! passion! revitalization! Motown!), but to be honest, I wasn’t entirely sure I knew myself. I had only been to Michigan once before I packed up my car and moved to Detroit, and to me the city was largely still a mystery. While I had many expectations I used to fend off my mostly well-meaning interrogators, I really had no idea what was in store for me and my new life in Detroit.

Now that I have safely passed the one-month mark, I finally have the answers to most of these questions I spent the summer stumbling through. So, for all those who were dissatisfied with my answer the last time around, or are just looking for a few updates, here you go:

Detroit? But you’re from Denver! You live in Los Angeles! Why on earth would you go to Detroit?

Aside from the totally unique fellowship program I would have followed pretty much anywhere, I am very much of the opinion that Detroit City Is The Place To Be (to borrow the title of a book which you should all go out and read right now). The people here are not just friendly, they are kind and invested and truly happy to know you. There are an unmanageable number of interesting, thought-provoking, and straight-up cool things going on here (more on that later). It’s ground zero for innovation in urban planning, public-private partnerships, and the development of an indomitable human spirit. And that’s just to name a few.

Do you know anyone in Detroit?

This answer has drastically changed from a few months ago to today. Coming into this program, I knew exactly zero people in Detroit. A friend of a friend had recently moved to Livonia, but other than that I was on my own. Now it’s a completely different story. First, everyone (yes really. Everyone) has been so kind and welcoming. From the managers of my building to local restaurant owners, to my new coworkers, I have never felt so welcome anywhere in my entire life. And on top of that, there are also the other 31 Challenge Detroit Fellows. While I expected to get to know my “fellow fellows” over the course of the year, I never expected it to happen so quickly or to be so much fun. I can already tell that I am in very good company. Even in the short time we’ve worked together, I can confidently say that this is one of the most passionate, compassionate, hardworking, and talented groups of people I have ever had the pleasure to be a part of.

So what exactly will you DO?

Most people asked me this referring to my job, but some wanted to know if there was anything fun to do in the city. Well, the answer is: Yes, a lot. Most of the things I do here in my spare time are no different from what any other twenty-something in America is doing. I go out to bars with my friends, visit the farmers market on Saturdays, jog around my neighborhood, and eat too much at brunch. At the same time, there are so many experiences wholly unique to Detroit, like spending the morning helping out at a friend’s urban farm or heading out to buy used furniture and ending up in the most epic abandoned school furniture warehouse you can imagine (complete with hundreds of James Brown prayer flags… Seriously.).

Are you nervous?

To be honest, I wasn’t particularly nervous leading up to my move to Detroit. A lot of that can be attributed to the fact that I just had no idea what to expect. There was a lot of uncertainty, but my decision had been made: I was going to Detroit regardless of packs of stray dogs or bankruptcy (neither of which I have personally seen or been impacted by, just in case you were curious). Today, I’m still not nervous, I’m excited. Excited by the passionate people working in the city. Excited by the opportunity for a fresh college grad like me to put her shoulder to the cause and really contribute to a larger effort. Excited to show my friends and family just how much they’re missing when they write this city off. Excited by how close I now live to Canada!

So I’ve finally been able to answer some of the questions I’ve been posed, but this year will bring on even more questions to consider: What does the Future of Detroit look like? What is my role in that future? What’s working and what’s not? How do we take advantage of the existing assets and leverage them to make Detroit even better? I know I won’t be able to answer all of this city’s questions, and even as a group we’ll barely scratch the surface. But here’s to trying, and the great year that will go with our effort!

You heard it here, folks