{"id":17716,"date":"2016-10-31T21:09:49","date_gmt":"2016-10-31T21:09:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/?p=17716"},"modified":"2016-10-31T21:09:49","modified_gmt":"2016-10-31T21:09:49","slug":"leaving-returning-d","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/leaving-returning-d\/","title":{"rendered":"On Leaving and Returning to the D"},"content":{"rendered":"

October flew by – our inaugural Challenge\u00a0with MACC Development successfully completed, apples from my first trip to a Michigan cider mill picked, and the arrival of my business cards at HAA all making this month a memorable transition into real life in Detroit. Two months into Challenge Detroit, I think it’s\u00a0finally sinking in that I live here.<\/p>\n

One\u00a0weekend this month included a visit to Seattle, WA. I knew I was bound to experience a\u00a0level of culture shock, but I didn’t realize how much\u00a0my understanding of convenience has changed\u00a0since moving here. There are grocery stores (almost all of them bigger than Whole Foods!) nearly every six\u00a0blocks in the city; not a single empty storefront in any area we visited (apart from those under construction, which is booming); people populating the downtown and commercial centers at all hours of the day and night. I would be lying not to admit that I was jealous of the abundance of convenient amenities, consistent forms (note the plural word) of public transit, and presence main stream retailers that Seattle offers on every block. I was asked by many there (including myself…) – so why<\/em> do you live in Detroit? It’s a question I had previously felt primed to answering. Sometimes, though, especially when bombarded with a lifestyle I was once accustomed\u00a0to, it’s hard to fully explain the reasons\u00a0why.<\/p>\n

\"img_1275\"<\/p>\n

Moving to Detroit, at least right now, means making a series of lifestyle trades in exchange for a uniquely meaningful and connected experience. This city\u00a0differs structurally from others that have\u00a0names and downtowns and spirit as big as Detroit’s, and these differences alter the definition of convenience in\u00a0my daily life. But what do I get in return? I get to be a contributing member in a community that cares. I get to work at an architecture firm that plays an important role in this city’s history and future. I get to collaborate with passionate people and organizations\u00a0to incrementally improve the lives of Detroit residents. I get four sports teams to support year-round. I get to see a city transform day by day in ways that\u00a0model the future of American cities. I get to be challenged by big problems with complicated solutions, and watch them play out as I take part in change. I also get to be surrounded by talented, caring friends, and learn about the complex history of this fascinating place every day. When I reflect on\u00a0all of the opportunities that I’m lucky enough to stumble into, there’s no question about the value of a lifestyle\u00a0in Detroit, despite the additional\u00a0fifteen minutes it takes me to get to a grocery store here.<\/p>\n

My surface-level experience as a visitor to Seattle may have forced me to momentarily question my decision to live in motor city. But\u00a0Detroit doesn’t need me to tell you all the reasons why living here right now is great. And we’re getting there. We are there.<\/p>\n

\"img_1099\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

October flew by – our inaugural Challenge\u00a0with MACC Development successfully completed, apples from my first trip to a Michigan cider mill picked, and the arrival of my business cards at HAA all making this month a memorable transition into real life in Detroit. Two months into Challenge Detroit, I think it’s\u00a0finally sinking in that I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":276,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,19,260,282,65,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-livedetroit","category-detroit","category-new-beginnings","category-reflection","category-thoughts-on-cities","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/276"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17716\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}