What are peoples opinions about detroit around the country?

i'm from the los angeles area, born and raised. three years ago, my brother was in a long distance relationship with a girl who lived near detroit. a couple times a year, he would fly out there and visit her. my sentiments were, i would NEVER love anyone enough to fly out to detroit for them. i'd heard the horrible stories and stereotypes and assumed the entire state to be just as terrible as the city.

of course, only a few months later, i met my current boyfriend, who moved to los angeles from birmingham, mi. when he told me where he was from, he quickly said, "it's the nice part! i swear!" he managed to convince me through old photos, stats (oakland county being the 2nd wealthiest county in the nation), and old episodes of home improvement (ha...).

so a few months later in march, i flew out to michigan with him to meet his family. despite the brutal weather (there was a random, massive snow storm), i completely fell in love with the birmingham area. i truly would move there today if my boyfriend really wanted to. since that visit, i've been back to michigan four times, and every single time, i end up loving the state more and more. i love the people there, the scenery, the diverse weather and the architecture. it's just amazing there.

that being said, i've yet to visit the actual city of detroit... that's not on the top of my priority list either, but the surrounding areas, i am happy to check out.

I used to live on the fringes of the Detroit metropolitan area (Ypsilanti, Belleville, Monroe). The impression that I got was that Detroit was eventually going to become a suburb of Troy.

When I travel for business I still get funny looks when I tell people I'm from Detroit. You know it is what it is.

if i had to live in detroit id just shoot myself and save someone else the trouble