Reply to: Detroit.

[AtW]

I don't know where you got 10% from.

Not everyone want to accept and/or can handle the risks to run their own business or just be self-employed: you can't just have high end exciting jobs for 100% of population, there ain't just that many jobs: someone needs to clean buildings, just like someone needs to develop state of the art IT - in the middle you can have people who assemble cars, mine stuff etc - if you cut out that middle ground then I say they've got far more chance to go down on the dole then go up - people are just not trained for it, they don't have resources to sustain such change, Govts don't really give a tulip - it's cheaper (in a short term) for them to have someone on the dole.

[threaded]

Anyone else watch the documentary about Detroit on Saturday?

It's like a post apocolypse disaster zone in a lot places.

Detroit used to look like that when it was but a collection of Wigwams.

Baking bricks on the site was only an excuse to make more ammunition.

HTH

[Mich the Tester]

I don't know where you got 10% from.

Anyway, in answer to your main question of who is buying things. It is those who still have other jobs, and those selling in these new markets can also buy.

It's how a market works the world over.

Except it is a bit different under communist governments.

Thanks. Saved me the bother.

[Doggy Styles]

And who was buying those things if locals no longer work on something that can be exported to other countries to earn hard currency that can then be swapped to stuff like fuel, etc?

What you describe might be enough to employ 10% of laid off population, what about the rest?

I don't know where you got 10% from.

Anyway, in answer to your main question of who is buying things. It is those who still have other jobs, and those selling in these new markets can also buy.

It's how a market works the world over.

Except it is a bit different under communist governments.

[AtW]

never saw the programme, but heard about the $10 lot's

You should check the fine print - those $10 lots might some with $200k mortgage assigned to property: bank would give away house free if they had to so long as they can get their monthly payments as it would help them avoid classifying it as total loss.

[Scary]

never saw the programme, but heard about the $10 lot's

wonder if there is an oportunity to buy 10 of them and wait for the upturn, it may be a long time coming in detroit, but for $100, who cares!

Is that $10 buys it outright, or you pay a nominal $10 and take on the debt from negative equity on the property?

[portseven]

never saw the programme, but heard about the $10 lot's

wonder if there is an oportunity to buy 10 of them and wait for the upturn, it may be a long time coming in detroit, but for $100, who cares!

[Moscow Mule]

I see many of the vacant housing lots are going for £10.

How difficult would it be to buy 2-300 of them, bulldoze all of the housing material onto a few sites (<3%) and turn the rest to farming?

[Cliphead]

I went there about 15 years ago. I quite liked it; it was a bit rough, but had ‘character’ and was even quite stylish in a grungy, industrial way, and you could have a good night out in town. Quite a friendly bunch of people, not in that plastic-friendly way you’d expect from merkins, but genuinely enjoyable. It’s obviously gone downhill very sharply since though, and without the car industry it’s in a mess. You have to wonder whether some new culture or industry might rise from the ashes of a once great industrial city. Music, art, fashion or some other trendy idea. People are remarkably resilient.

I was there about the same time and enjoyed my stay. It was a bit disconcerting though when instead of the usual 'have a nice day' line from shop workers etc, the line was 'be careful'.

Taxi driver at the airport advised me to remove the fake Rolex if I was going downtown

[AtW]

A lot of the North in the UK is going to look like Detroit

Good thing I am in the Midlands...

[DimPrawn]

A lot of the North in the UK is going to look like Detroit when the UK hits bankruptcy and the cushy public sector jobs are culled there.

[AtW]

then suddenly new businesses started opening all over Buenos Aires, selling art, live music, home grown food and clothes made by fashion students

And who was buying those things if locals no longer work on something that can be exported to other countries to earn hard currency that can then be swapped to stuff like fuel, etc?

What you describe might be enough to employ 10% of laid off population, what about the rest?

[Mich the Tester]

The amazing thing was that the end of the programme was very upbeat. The biggest growing business in the inner city was urban farming. All the locals (who have farming roots in the South) had started setting up urban farms on all the derelict land - some were making more money than working for Ford from thier farm. Seems to be a happening all over the US.

Precisely what I mean. I have a good friend who’s from Argentina, but now lives on and off in Holland and Arg. He said that after the currency collapse and the massive lay offs afterwards, there was general depression for a few weeks and then suddenly new businesses started opening all over Buenos Aires, selling art, live music, home grown food and clothes made by fashion students who’d had to stop studying due to financial problems. He told me that if you’d bought a little shop or café premises in Buenos Aires after the currency collapse you’d be able to retire by now.

[Coalman]

I went there about 15 years ago. I quite liked it; it was a bit rough, but had ‘character’ and was even quite stylish in an industrial way, and you could have a good night out in town. Quite a friendly bunch of people, not in that plastic-friendly way you’d expect from merkins, but genuinely enjoyable. It’s obviously gone downhill very sharply since though, and without the car industry it’s in a mess. You have to wonder whether some new culture or industry might rise from the ashes of a once great industrial city. Music, art, fashion or some other trendy idea. People are remarkably resilient.

The amazing thing was that the end of the programme was very upbeat. The biggest growing business in the inner city was urban farming. All the locals (who have farming roots in the South) had started setting up urban farms on all the derelict land - some were making more money than working for Ford from thier farm. Seems to be a happening all over the US.

[Spacecadet]

Looks like its on iplayer and if the first few minutes are anything to go by then it looks like a worthy watch