I happened to have some time on my hands while in Novi yesterday, and thought I’d pay a visit to one of my favorite used CD stores.
Sadly, I was greeted by a bright orange “FOR LEASE” sign, as I imagine most other people who visited stores in that strip mall had been before me. Rest in peace, Switched On CD’s.
Coming back, I noticed that there were lots of those signs along Grand River. Though the colors were different, the message was the same: “The ship is sinking”.
Maybe I’m naive here, but I had considered Novi, or most of western Oakland County, for that matter, to be the last outpost of affluence in Michigan. Sure, you have your Pointes way on the east side of the state, but once you get “out in the country”, there are relatively fewer ties to the auto industry.
So while I’d like to dream up some kind of excuse, like the iTunes Music Store taking a massive bite out of the used CD market, I’m starting to think that maybe people just couldn’t afford CD’s like they used to.
Of course, part of my trip included picking from the rapidly decaying carcass that is CompUSA #591. Terrible as their recent business model may be, maybe people around here just can swing a new computer like they used to be able to.
I’d venture a guess and say that 30% of the Town Center was empty… which, considering its location and friendly-to-pedestrians layout, simply should not be.
Being completely isolated (economically) from the state’s major industries, it’s only recently that I’ve taken notice on this level. Sure, I knew the housing market was all but trashed, and I knew that working for an auto company (or one of their suppliers) puts you squarely in Job Security Limbo… but damn.
How bad is it out there? And why isn’t anybody fixing it?
Ann Arbor (and to a lesser extent Ypsi) is isolated from it b/c so much here is tied to UM where most jobs are supported through federal money. Sure funding for research (at least the research into things that don’t kill, maim, or explode) has been a bit on the decline, but it’s nothing like the domestic auto industry. It really does look like a rough go elsewhere in the state. A few months ago I thought I was going to GTFO and find work elsewhere, this state is pretty damn depressing these days. Um, but yeah, Michigan, shitty, eh?
I’d expect Oakland to be one of the hardest hit counties, actually. It may be wealthy, but that wealth is generally coming from the auto industry in some form (auto company, supplier, etc). People that are living like they’re going to keep earning 300k until they retire are going to be much harder hit when they lose their job than those that make 50k… or at least I’d imagine. The people making 50 at least have some sense of how to be frugal.