So, I haven't posted in a close to a month, in part because I have not been home since January. This has been an unusually tough winter, both in terms of weather and life in general. I will be heading home this spring for sure, so hopefully I will post more often.
Amidst the negative news of the day the music died when the DSO announced not playing due to negotiation issues, the closing of half of Detroit's public schools, and the possibility of Detroit classrooms having more than 60 students per teacher, there was a glimmer of hope (besides the Robocop statue of course) in the news during the past month: The Economist's Intelligence Unit ranked Detroit the 32nd best city to live in in the world and the fourth best to live in in the US. Way to go Detroit. I learned of this when a college chum posted it to his Facebook page - thanks AS. "NPR mentioned this study briefly this morning. The Economist's Intelligence Unit ranked 140 global cities for liveability (largely based on if you had to be transferred what would the quality of your life be). Detroit ranked 32 globally and fourth in the U.S. (behind Pittsburgh, Honolulu and Chicago)" (College Chum's Facebook Page).
Here is a link to the Economist's Intelligence Unit: http://store.eiu.com/product/475217632-sample.html.
"The Economist Intelligence Unit’s liveability rating quantifies the challenges that might be presented to an individual's lifestyle in 140 cities worldwide. Each city is assigned a score for over 30 qualitative and quantitative factors across five broad categories: stability, health care, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. The categories are compiled and weighted to provide an overall rating of 1–100, where 1 is considered intolerable and 100 is considered ideal"(The Economist, para. 2).
So, the winds of change are a coming. Unemployment dipped below 9 percent for the first time this month - lowest number in three years. Life is turning around, and Detroit IS COMING BACK!
"Liveability Ranking: Go North or Go South." The Economist. 8 June 2009. 3 March 2011. Web.
