I know that Detroit is improving all of the time, but I couldn’t handle the busy downtown atmosphere while attending the University of Detroit Mercy, the largest catholic college in the whole state of Michigan.
I told myself that I would find a job at a bank in Washtenaw County and eventually work my way into the Ann Arbor area.
Even Ypsilanti seemed like an improvement from the Detroit Metropolitan Area. My goal was to get into Ann Arbor, but the rent prices at the time far exceeded what I could afford personally. I lived in Dexter for a few years and would have stayed there if not for my girlfriend’s job at the University of Michigan. I’m a lot happier living in Ann Arbor these days, especially after being in Detroit for so many years. You don’t have to sacrifice access to good shopping and basic amenities like you do when you live in a rural suburb like Dexter. I didn’t like having to drive 20 minutes into Ann Arbor whenever I wanted to go shopping at Target, Meijer, or Walmart. People told me that I would miss the cannabis access in Detroit but I think it’s even better here in Ann Arbor. I like buying pre-rolled joints because I take them out to the Huron River and go for long walks on the river banks. Since cannabis use has been decriminalized here since the early 1970s, you don’t have to fear getting busted by a cop. They’ll just tell you to put it away, confiscate it, or issue you a small $25 ticket. Back when my parents lived here in the ‘70s and ‘80s, the pot fine was only $5.