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Hi there! 👋 following bread crumbs back

M

monkeyflower

Cyburbian
Messages
58
Points
4
Some time ago, during undergrad, I lurked cyburbia a bit while a wannabe planner. Checking the referral logs on my blog the other day, I decided I'd check back and see what people are saying about me. :)

I'm a planning grad student at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. I'm a native of that area and have lived here my whole life, aside from a 1.5 year purgatory in New Jersey. As a sixth generation Detroiter, I'm one of the few idiots who thinks it's worth trying to save the place, so I'll probably be in the area for a good deal longer.
 
Budgie

Budgie

Cyburbian
Messages
5,270
Points
30
Historic lurker to poster -- thata Monkey !!!!!

Welcome back, your dreams are your ticket out .... Welcome back, to that same old place we laughed about .......
 
mendelman

mendelman

Unfrozen Caveman Planner
Staff member
Moderator
Messages
14,033
Points
58
Welcome from Chicago!

As UM double alum (BA-History 2000, MUP 2002), I say huzzah to your enthusiasm. Detriot needs people like you to turn it around. I am a former Michigan resident (born & raised in Alpena, MI), but I just couldn't stay because I love car-free urbanism, and thereis very little to none in Michigan.

But I couldn't leave the Great Lakes, so I'm still nearby, and my wife's and mine families are still in Michigan, so I like to keep up on what's happening.

Now......go give the Cube a spin for me! :-D
 
JNA

JNA

Cyburbian Plus
Messages
25,878
Points
62
monkeyflower said:
aside from a 1.5 year purgatory in New Jersey.
Click to expand...

Q. Why was your Jersey experience so bad ?

BTW welcome from north of the Ohio and east of the Wabash Rivers.
 
M

Michele Zone

Messages
7,649
Points
29
Hi and welcome. But I am wondering how much you have surfed here. I get called by my initials, MZ, a fair amount. I propose people kindly call you "monk" or "monkey" for short rather than by your initials. 8-!

I hope you enjoy your time here.
 
el Guapo

el Guapo

Capitalist
Messages
5,995
Points
31
Monkey - you make everything better now long time here before and again. Go for posting many times with punctuation and disco. Happy Detroit day. :)
 
Dan

Dan

Dear Leader
Staff member
Moderator
Messages
18,761
Points
69
You missed Kwame a couple years ago. :D

Welcome back.

 
biscuit

biscuit

Cyburbian
Messages
3,904
Points
25
Welcome from a Southerner currently residing in the city at the confluence that forms the mighty Ohio River. I almost went to UM but decided otherwise once I found out about the winters up there. brrrrrrr...
 
M

monkeyflower

Cyburbian
Messages
58
Points
4
JNA said:
Q. Why was your Jersey experience so bad ?
Click to expand...

There were good parts. Being able to hop on a train and get to NYC, Philly, and several airports (trains to the airport?! what a concept!) without using a car, for example.

The main bad part was that we were living in Princeton--we moved back home when the girl decided she didn't want a PhD after all--and that town is phenomenally hostile if you're not either a student or independantly wealthy (or, preferably, both). I'd advise anybody thinking of living in Princeton to try Trenton or New Brunswick instead. Both are underrated, in my opinion, and have less of a company town feel than Princeton.

That and the transit system is only set up for radial commutes to/from NYC. Since my commute was not radial, I had to drive in *ack* central Jersey traffic. I now think it's terribly funny when people in Michigan complain about "traffic". Or parking, for that matter. Or, especially, sprawl.
 
michaelskis

michaelskis

Cyburbian
Messages
20,232
Points
52
monkeyflower said:
aside from a 1.5 year purgatory in New Jersey. As a sixth generation Detroiter, I'm one of the few idiots who thinks it's worth trying to save the place, so I'll probably be in the area for a good deal longer.
Click to expand...

Welcome... The 313 can be saved (my mom grew up inner city) and the parts of PA and NJ are bad. (I moved from PA about 8months ago)
 
DecaturHawk

DecaturHawk

Cyburbian
Messages
880
Points
22
Welcome from Central Illinois. Sorry about those spankings the UM football team has gotten the past couple years from my Iowa Hawkeyes. Probably do it again this year. And I agree with you, Detroit is a great town that deserves every effort to bring it back. Post often.
 
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