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Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder Says Chicago is for Yuppies, Promotes Detroit

By DNAinfo Staff | February 11, 2014 1:23pm
 Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder advised Michigan grads to choose Detroit over Chicago "If you want to make a difference."
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder advised Michigan grads to choose Detroit over Chicago "If you want to make a difference."
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CHICAGO — While encouraging University of Michigan students to stay in the mitten state after graduation, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder described Chicago as a place for "yuppies."

Snyder said Detroit's future job potential should not be ignored, according to The Michigan Daily.

“It’s one of the coolest places in the country,” Snyder said of Detroit, according to the Daily. "I’ve told people, if you want to be another yuppie, go to Chicago. If you want to make a difference, move to Detroit.”

Snyder should be concerned.

According to a study released last summer, 56 percent of new Cook County residents come from Michigan and many of them went to college there.

In his book "Nothin' But Blue Skies," writer and Michigan native Edward McClelland said half of Michigan State University's grads in 2010 left Michigan, with most heading for Chicago.

The influx of people with Michigan ties into Chicago is significant, with the North Side earning the nickname "Michago" among the ex-pats, McClelland said.

For young Michiganders, moving to Chicago is "the accepted endpoint of one's educational progression: grade school, middle school, high school, college, Chicago," writes McClelland.

Snyder's tweet about Chicago being for yuppies was liked by a few dozen Michiganders on Twitter, but one skeptical student replied: "'Yuppies' are exactly what Detroit needs."