Detroit has a truly unique vibe to it...I've never experienced another city like it. Abandoned and burned out high rises, apartment buildings, churches, and homes are the norm downtown. Honestly, if you didn't know any better, you could easily think that Detroit had just recently witnessed a civil war. The GM headquarters stick out like a sore thumb and remind me of Wayne Enterprises from Batman: huge, gleaming glass buildings surrounded by comparably dark and dirty buildings. When I first moved here, saying I was terrified of downtown would've been the understatement of the year, but now I find it fascinating more than anything else. Of course you still need to be careful and use your common sense when visiting, but this place is full of gems*.
If you ever visit the Detroit area, you have to venture downtown for Slow's BBQ. It is the best BBQ I have ever had, and I don't hand out BBQ compliments often. It's located right across the street from the large abandoned train station, in a part of town that makes me wish I could've seen Detroit back in the early 1900s during its glory days.
The Heidelberg Project is fascinating to say the least. It's a little scary to get to since you have to drive through neighborhoods with abandoned and dilapidated homes, but it's worth the trip. In my opinion, it's one part Seussical, and one part Crazy Carni (think Coney Island).
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*I swear this place is going to become the next Williamsburg/Brooklyn in the next 10 years. There's been a major influx of artists & musicians in just the past ten months that I've been here, a plethora of beautiful new real estate built that is dirt cheap ($80,000 for a 2BR/2BA literally across the street from Comerica Park), and a city that is literally brimming with the ever-essential irony. Mark my words, this place is prime for a hipster takeover.
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