Detroit Is Giving Writers Free Houses in an Effort to Rebuild

Good news for struggling writers: the key to sustaining your lifestyle is to go to a city that’s struggling more.

A new nonprofit organization called Write-A-House, located in Detroit, Michigan (which, earlier this year, became the largest city in the United States to file for and enter bankruptcy) has found something creative to do with the city’s seemingly endless blocks of vacant homes—gut them from the inside-out, fix them up, and give them to writers.

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JackLuis said:

http://www.alternet.org/files/styles/story_image/public/story_images/shutterstock_136478498.jpg



Well the only thing wrong with this is, you have to live in Detroit for two years.

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JackLuis said:

Well the only thing wrong with this is, you have to live in Detroit for two years.

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sr71plt said:

But, as a writer, you can just close the curtains and it doesn't matter where you are while you write.

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JackLuis said:

True, until you have to refill the liquor cabinet, then you get to deal with the RW, Hamtramck!

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JackLuis said:

True, until you have to refill the liquor cabinet, then you get to deal with the RW, Hamtramck!

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JackLuis said:

http://www.alternet.org/files/styles/story_image/public/story_images/shutterstock_136478498.jpg
QUOTE]

I lived there for 22 yrs, way back when. Even worked in the orange building on the left for a year. It was Michigan bank at the time.

JackLuis said:

True, until you have to refill the liquor cabinet, then you get to deal with the RW, Hamtramck!

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Lived near Hamtramck for a few years. It was back when it was little Poland and kind of a cool place. The Arabs have overun and taken over it. There trying to rebuild the downtown area but the rest of the city is really run down. Makes me sad when I go visit friends and relatives.

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Desiremakesmeweak said:

"Written on an old typewriter by a fevered mind inside a tin shack at the heat of high noon to the sounds of two flies buzzin'..."

...Which I think is some legendary saying about some famous Noir book or other. So, it might be worth thinking about doing.

Best kinds of places to write, really.

The passion of a true writer overtakes the conditions. I live in a small palace with very good airconditioning, a crystal clear and well-maintained pool, an enclosed security-equipped double garage, a well-stocked kitchen (larder, for the English-speaking), a small wine cellar, multi-channel satellite television, part-time driver, a small private vault, new car and another custom one on order for later in the New Year - so yeah, I overcome the conditions too. I find that my position is more innovative, and inventively different, to the tin shack but romantically I think of it in the same way; you know, it's an external condition that you have to overcome.

Every morning I awake and think to myself: 'is that all there is?'

And the coffee genie whispers out to me: 'no, that is WHAT there is.'

And then of course the endless possibilities begin to rise to meet you from over the distant horizon of the infinite keyboard of life.

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Hypoxia said:

Or are free houses available for pr0n bloggers?

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A_Little_Show said:

Writers are often self employed. The obstacle to attracting people to free homes is the lack of available jobs. Writers bring their job with them wherever they go.

Detroit has land and buildings but not enough jobs, terrible schools, high crime, and poor services. They need to attract people who are self employed, don't have school age kids, tolerate the crime, and don't need many services. Who fits that profile better than writers?

There is a long tradition of gentrifying neighborhoods by attracting artists and childless couples. They flock together to enjoy low rents and likeminded neighbors. Service businesses pop up to serve them. The neighborhood becomes trendy. The YUPPIEs and DINKs arrive. The rents rise. The residents who predate the artists protest rising rents and perceived racial/cultural marginalization. If the riots aren't too severe, you end up with SoHo or West Village or Alphabet City in NYC. If the rioters win, you end up with Harlem NYC which has its own appeal garnered by resisting the YUPPIEs (even though its renaissance occurred when black YUPPIEs moved there before WWII).

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A_Little_Show said:

Note: the cited poor provision of services and need for residents who don't require services. Retirees and the disabled need MORE services than the general public: Public busses, specialized elder-care busses, public libraries, emergency response in less than an hour, senior centers, police protection from fraud and violence, meals on wheels, shut-in mitigation, emergency cooling in summer, emergency heat in winter, social workers, in-home health care, oxygen tanks, catheters - leading to nursing homes, hospice, and cemetery plots.

The last thing Detroit wants is retirees and the disabled unless the retirees are millionaires with long term disability insurance. The city can't provide services to its existing income tax paying population. Service using residence who pay no income taxes will not likely help the situation.

Then there are the schools… which might benefit from an increased property tax base from residents who don't have school age children… but we all know how much retirees like voting for property tax levees.

Detroit 911 response times:
Police: For the highest-priority crimes, Detroit police take about 58 minutes, on average, to answer 911 calls. And what happens after police arrive is just as disappointing: The department has an 8.7% rate of solving cases. [http://money.msn.com/now/post--a-911-response-in-detroit-takes-how-long]

Fire Rescue: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20100916/METRO08/9160409
"… Take the case of Detroit Fire Department paramedic Dave Smith, who late last month, was dispatched on a heart attack call to a dialysis center on the city's east side. When he and his partner arrived, the attendants were standing at the threshold, upset.
...
You call 911. Granny fell, you tell the operator. Or a woman's been shot. Or a man has gone into cardiac arrest. Then you wait for an ambulance. And you wait some more."

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