We have Brogan & Partners to thank for this stunning revelation….”Economy has Michiganders Ready to Leave State, Brogan Survey Finds.”
As someone who has lived in Michigan for 27 years, and continues to stay when all of my friends have left for NYC, London, Boston, San Fran etc., this annoys me for several reasons.
1. It’s like asking asking a college senior up at 3 am cramming for his history exam – if you could just magically go to sleep and get an A would you?
2. Given that anyone who doesn’t live under a rock knows life in MI is tough right now, it would be more interesting to know what those youngsters want in order not to leave. Is it a more competent government, walkable cities, affordable housing, better schools, public transportation, more diversity?
3. W/O having hard numbers, I know for a fact there are tons of talented and smart people who stay (Michigan is home to 5+ top-notch schools…just to start tracing where talent comes from.) That’s what makes companies like Brogan and mine – Braingain Marketing - THE places to work.
4. YOU DIDN’T ASK ME OR MY FRIENDS (selfish I know, but it’s my blog so I can say that)
I’m really sick of people riding the “sky is falling” mentality with Michigan just to get their name out there. Kinda like if you’re fat, talking about how your fat to all of your friends, doesn’t get you fit. If people are talking about leaving let’s find out why and stop it.
Let’s start putting out positive and helpful discourse. How about talking about what we need to get through this time? What do we need to do to get young people to stay here?
We all need to get vocal and get active. It’s really easy to sit at your desk or couch and bitch your bloody head off about why you want to move because it sucks. I ask you this - What are you doing to make it better? Note to Brogan: you could use that opportunity to tell why you stay in MI, why people want to work for you, what you do to stand out in a state that’s in transition and how you’re helping to move the creative economy forward.
Here’s what I do – I live downtown, I shop downtown, I work downtown, I vacation in Michigan, I support my community partners and volunteer. I read my daily paper and watch my local news so that I can stay in touch. I keep tabs on my politicians and write letters/make calls so that my voice is heard.
Nothing worth having comes easily. The Detroit/Michigan I envision requires a ton of change, but it starts with all of us speaking out and engaging.
I think most people want to stay in Michigan sometimes they just need to be reminded of the reasons they should. And cool, progressive companies like Brogan is one of those reasons.
