"Detroit: Automobile capital of the U.S.A." Detroit by midnight_mike

Detroit used to be a happening city. With the rise of the automobile in the early 20th century, good-paying jobs were abound and the city was filled with plenty of nightlife and beautiful architecture. With the influx of foreign import cars in the 1980s, namely Toyota, sales began to slump and jobs started to dissappear.

With high unemployment, crime rates began to soar and the city became a dangerous place to live. This caused a massive exodous to suburbs such as Dearborn and Auburn Hills. The low point of the city came earlier in this decade when census numbers revealed that Detroit's population slipped below a million people, which is the benchmark number for a metropolis.

The main event for Detroit is the annual autoshow, which is the biggest and best of its kind in the United States. It is also a gateway city as it is only five minutes from Windsor, Canada.

View inside Ford Field, home of the hapless Lions

For people who live in Midwestern cities, particularly Chicago, Detroit is a great place to take a road trip to see your team play. Joe Louis Arena is one of the best places to see hockey. The newly constructed Ford Field and Comerica Park are wonderful places to see games.

Having lived with a negative impression of Detroit most of my life, I decided to have an open mind when I went on a road trip there recently. While there are many new and renovated buildings, drug dealers still operate only a few blocks from the city's nicest areas. I know this as I saw some guys selling drugs two days before Christmas, just a block from the ice skating rink in the center of the city! Instead of avoiding Detroit, I would just be careful about where you stay and go. Then again, you can always stay in Dearborn or Windsor.

• Pros:Only a four-hour drive from Chicago
• Cons:Crime. Crime. Crime.