Should Be: Detroit - Silicon City

Detroit: High crime, cold weather, ridiculous tax structure inside city limits, no outdoor activities... just pick some podunk town in Texas, you'll be better off all around.

It's tough for Detroit to shake the negative press about it. I think there is a lot of potential. There's a re-gentrification happening and there's a growing population of artists, musicians, and tech growing in the middle of the city. It's certainly not big enough to garner any attention but it will.<p>I think it's easy for people to poo poo on Detroit. Detroit needed to burn so something better could rise from the ashes. Change always happens when things hit its lowest point.

VERY reasonably priced housing. Extremely supportive people who will help entrepreneurs in an instant. Lots more to do than the media would like to share. Fabulous live music venues. Great museums. A gazillion terrific restaurants. Four distinct seasons. A quick drive to Northern Michigan will give you views of some of the most beautiful lakes in the world. I'd never move away from here.

Generally speaking, programmers aren't poor. They can afford to live in more expensive places with little snow, less crime, more interesting companies, and VC's.

There are projects like this in Detroit already. I see everyone in this thread passing around old, tired images of a past Detroit. It hasn't been like that for awhile.<p>I started my business in Detroit and there is no other place I would choose if I did it all over again.<p>Stop passing old stereotypes about Detroit around and come see the city for yourself.

Snow is an idiotic argument. In fact if you like winter sports Michigan has an advantage in more consistant snowfall due to the proximity of the great lake (a huge benefit itself). Better to live in a place prepared to deal with snow then set up shop in the south and have you business and community shut down and clear out like a post apocalyptic city.

The labor unions will kill any such effort. The whole state of Michigan is just in LOVE with the labor union efforts that killed Detroit. Until Michigan gives up on labor unions, f'get about it.

I like the idea and have love for Detroit (I went to grad school at U of M) but there are a number of things that make this really hard, including terrible government, deep seeded racism, cold weather, etc. Also - this story is crazy. <a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11002/1114667-109.stm" rel="nofollow">http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11002/1114667-109.stm</a> And it's not like those auto workers can be employed by your startup.<p>That being said, there are a lot of smart people in the midwest, and given the challenge of finding talent in the valley, there should be more startups in the midwest. Chicago and Pittsburgh seem to be getting there but you don't hear much from other places... Any place with good universities will have some startups, but Detroit hasn't gotten much out of U of M