The future is Detroit

Along with the drifting pollen and darting swallows, the other airborne substance in these May breezes is the question, "Where are you going after graduation?" In years past the answer might have been, "I've got an internship with an NGO in Guatemala," or "I'm off to Brooklyn to write music reviews for the Huffington Post," or "I'm going to Japan to teach English." Not that all our seniors go far and wide. Indeed, a reliable number of our graduates settle down on Green Street or in the woods of West Halifax. Their college education may have introduced them to canonical texts and historical methods of research but their hearts and eyes fell in love with the hills and seasons of Windham County. To the question, "where are you going after graduation?" many answer with a knowing smile, "Go? Why do I have to leave?"

And indeed, compared with the over-development and unemployment of much of the United States, this corner of Vermont has much to commend it. Unlike California and Nevada, Vermont's economy is relatively stable. Unlike other small cities, Brattleboro hasn't been taken over by big box stores. We've got farmers' markets and gallery walks, street music and CSAs. The eateries up and down Main Street provide enough shifts to keep a recent graduate in rent and Frisbee games for the foreseeable future.

Lately, however, Detroit is showing up on the short list of places to go after graduation. For one thing, housing is cheap -- one student claimed he found a house for sale for under $15,000. But the big draw to the Motor City isn't just the squatting opportunities, it's the farming possibilities. Detroit is quickly becoming the model city for urban agriculture.