Make Detroit the next retirement community
Filed under: Real Estate, Retire, Recession
I recently wrote about the new average home price in Detroit: a whopping $6,035. I'm skeptical about it being a good investment because of the city's soaring vacancy rates and abysmal long-term outlook. But then I thought about it some more and had an idea: Detroit could be the new Florida.America's sub-zero savings rate and tanking stock market has left many soon-to-be retirees in grave danger as far as retirement security. What better way to make retirement affordable than to move to a place where homes can be had for a measly $6,000?
I know: Detroit's cold and bleak, but at least they'll be able to afford the heating bill. I hereby propose that as far of the federal stimulus package, the government invest in making Detroit the retirement destination for low-income workers with depleted savings. There are plenty of dilapidated commercial buildings that could be turned into tourist traps and fun activities. There's already enough infrastructure in place to turn Detroit into a cheaper version of Branson.
That seems like a much better option for Detroit than pumping endless taxpayer cash into the auto industry. Displaced autoworkers can get jobs taking care of old people, and Detroit can perform a valuable service to the rest of the country by providing an affordable retirement mecca for people whose 401(k)s have morphed into 201(k)s.
Bottom line: Tanking property values in Detroit with little sign of a turnaround could spell opportunity for public investment for a public good.



Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
3-10-2009 @ 8:53PM
adobk4 said...
It sounds so wonderful. It may have the infrastructure. However, are people and investment companies really going to want to invest in a city with so many murders and crime.
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3-15-2009 @ 7:03PM
DJ said...
Plenty of people retire to New Orleans, which has nearly double the murder rate. Look it up. Also, Detroit doesn't have hurricanes.
3-10-2009 @ 8:04PM
Lauren said...
Hi Zac- It's an interesting idea, but wow, kinda like sticking them in siberia! I grew up there, and the crummy management these days doesn't even see to it that the streets get plowed in winter. It could work if you could build them a little city within the city that they could care for themselves. That had like a grocery store and stuff right there. In summer they could make a garden. I guess it would beat not having anything.
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3-10-2009 @ 10:31PM
mari fielsen said...
I live in Detroit. Not by choice, but because of my financial situation. Detroit is the cesspool of the world. It has been the WORST experience of my life being here.
3-11-2009 @ 2:02AM
jy4 said...
Most retired people are smart enough to go to states where they will not be eaten alive by taxes and gov't intrusion. Detroit is not that place! At an average of 4k per year for property taxes the retired will soon find that the heating bills and the taxes are a huge burden. Florida is filled with retirees for a reason....
Maybe we should round up all of the illegals, drop them in Detroit, give them abandoned houses, offer no government services (but severe tax breaks, like no property taxes for 5 years) and get the hell out of the way. Then you might see something!
jy4
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3-10-2009 @ 8:57PM
Tim said...
A good idea, but I think security issues would be a top priority.
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3-11-2009 @ 12:00AM
Barb said...
I'm a Michigan native (raised in the burbs) but bought a house on the East Side of Detroit and have lived here for 18 years. I have a lovely 1920's house that I could not afford if it were 3 blocks down the road in Grosse Pointe. Other than the poor school system here, there is nothing that has happened on my block that doesn't happen elsewhere in the country (including the suburb where I grew up). My son just bought a house across the street from me with my 3 grandchildren. We have good neighbors and many friends here. There are areas of the city that are bad (same as any other big city in the country) I think Detroit gets a bad rap. Houses are going for cheap in some (but not all) areas of the city, you just have to know where to buy. My house has almost tripled what I bought it for.
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3-11-2009 @ 12:10AM
Lori said...
I am from Greater Detroit (Westland, MI) and there is NO WAY I would allow a loved to live there!!! Going to prison would be safer then living in Detroit, even the Police in Detroit don't want to get involved with the low lifes that live there. Seriously, why do you think the housing in Detroit so cheap?...!!!!
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3-11-2009 @ 1:35AM
frank said...
Why does everybody hate on detroit so much i am born and raised in detroit and i believe detroit has a lot to offer it just has to find the right break and people to push it to that point and it doesnt start with the jobs or the money or even the president Detroit has to have strong leadership and community and this is what will help them to excel to the next level.
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3-11-2009 @ 11:20AM
Bill said...
Hmmm....interesting idea but I honestly doubt you would get native Detroit residents on board with the idea let alone expect people from other places around the country to move there! One of the highest priorities for retirees seeking retirement living is a save environment. I know there are some very nice areas of Detroit, but the perception of most people is that it is a dangerous place.
There are other options for people who want inexpensive housing in a warmer and safer climate.
I applaud the creative thinking but it ain't gonna happen.
Bill Ness
http://www.55Places.com
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3-11-2009 @ 12:26PM
James Wright said...
Wow, Detroit is starting to sound like a great idea to me! Go pay cash for a house and be done with it.
RT
www.privacy.at.tc
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3-11-2009 @ 12:31PM
STLCajun said...
With property values so low, I'd actually consider urban renewal projects. Re-start the engines of the community. Try to bring in new business and rehab some of the communities. It might take a generation or two before real progress is made, but it is possible...
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3-11-2009 @ 12:35PM
sly said...
What's worse, "sub-zero savings rate" or "sub-zero tempertures" for the retired/elderly?
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3-11-2009 @ 12:36PM
Buddy said...
And what a great place that would be for B&Es...Oh, it is Detroit...I guess it doesn't matter.
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3-11-2009 @ 12:42PM
warren said...
"That seems like a much better option for Detroit than pumping endless taxpayer cash into the auto industry." I agree with not pumping in taxpayers cash into bailing out the auto industry.but you're dreaming if you think attracting retirees on a fixed income will solve any municipal problems.
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3-11-2009 @ 12:47PM
Santiago Matamoros said...
Yeah, what a great idea!
Move to a "chocolate city" where more Americans are gunned down in a year than in Iraq and Afghanistan combined.
Pack your bullet-proof vest and kevlar helmet Martha, we're going up to Motown.
I wouldn't move to that hell-hole if you paid me and gave me an Abrams tank to drive around town. The city is run by a bunch of black nationalist lunatics who recently told all of the whites in a city council meeting to go home.
http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/03/whites-told-to-go-home-at-detroit-city.html
That toilet needs to be flushed. Democrats!
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3-11-2009 @ 12:51PM
smarty said...
stupidest idea i've ever heard...detroit is the worst city in america, Rosa Parks retired to detroit...she was robbed at least three times i remember, by her own worthless people that she faught for, ironic...a house in detroit is 6000.00 because its next to an abandoned house that bums squat in and the other house next door sells crack all day, and them thugs in the D dont care they'll shoot you in front of th po-leese...haha born n raised Detroit City...tell me im wrong
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3-11-2009 @ 12:50PM
Don said...
I don't know. I've been through Detroit. It was a mess then, I can't imagine what it would look like now. I'm surprised the Canadians aren't coming across and buying up the real estate.
Of course, you could always move to Detroit and use any money you save on some serious bling! http://my-favorite-jewelry.com
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3-11-2009 @ 1:10PM
Penny said...
I spent last summer working as an intern for the company of my dreams in their office just outside Detroit. At the end of the summer, they offered me a full-time job with ridiculously high salary and benefits and basically guaranteed annual promotions.
...and I spent the next four months finding another job because I could not fathom wasting any more of my life in such a miserable shithole of a city.
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3-11-2009 @ 1:29PM
dink said...
Florida is nice because well it is "NICE!". Heating bills are low, golf, retirement not work to keep you ass alive.
This will never fly.
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