…and everything is gray and depressing.
And then I read this piece from the Metrotimes, and it all makes sense…
There is one overall theme in the article; the love-hate relationship most people have with the city.
Yet, there’s also something glorious about this city, something that you can’t find anywhere else in the world. This city’s people have a tremendous spirit, a driven sense of self, a grittiness and determination that comes only from having to haul your ass up from the bootstraps every day. Detroiters are tough, but they are true, genuine and passionate.
But the incredible people who fill this city aren’t enough to keep me, or my fellow expats, here. You need things like, oh, basic city services. Roads that don’t crumble. Being able to walk out to your car in the morning without wondering if the windows will be broken this time. That all wears down on you after a while, and eventually it can become a weight too great to bear any longer.
Having lived here for a few years now, I am proud to say I have that Detroit spirit. It’s that spirit that will get me places in life. But with the good of living here comes the bad. I can’t complain and shouldn’t say we are struggling. We own a home, can afford to heat it, we both have cellphones, 2 pets, etc… But when it comes down to it, we’re just getting by. We just can’t seem to break ahead. We both live paycheck to paycheck while we both know a better job would relatively easy to find in cities better off economically.
But yet I am sad even thinking about leaving.
Why do I feel like I owe more to this city than I have ever gotten from it?
Maybe I will finally have enough, and reach that point in my life that I just can’t take it anymore like the author.
I’m kind of hoping sooner than later….