10 ways to fit in like a true Detroiter

For decades, Michigan's largest city experienced a population decline fueled mostly by major automakers moving their manufacturing outside the U.S., leaving Detroiters with fewer middle-class job options.

However, Detroit's population rose in 2024, marking the first increase since 1957, city data shows. The newest Detroiters may be looking for ways to feel connected to their new home.

Here's some hints for anyone looking to blend in properly in Detroit:

Detroit is known as a blue-collar city where manufacturing jobs — predominantly automotive — fuel a large chunk of the local economy. For many, embracing that working-class identity comes with wearing a type of outerwear that started in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb, said Dave Beachnau, the executive vice president of Detroit's tourism bureau, Visit Detroit.

"You either have to have a trucker hat or a Carhartt vest for that transition between seasons," Beachnau said. "If you're going to blend in, you have to have more than one piece of Carhartt clothing."

Among a native Detroiter's favorite outdoor activities is walking the Riverfront near downtown. The Riverfront is a 3-plus-mile stretch that follows the Detroit River and features a seating area, a carousel, a sand volleyball court, a cafe and a bicycle shop.

Walking the Riverfront, particularly on sunny spring and summer days, will make a transplant feel more like a Detroiter, said native Chanel Hampton.

“We have an incredible riverfront property in Detroit,” said Hampton, the CEO of Strategic Community Partners, a firm that trains and handles project management for community-based organizations. "You can wave at Canadians from the Detroit side.”

Detroit's history dates to 1701, when French explorer Antoine de La Mothe Cadillac built a fort on land that's now called the Motor City. Many of the streets and roadways in the city today still have French names that are difficult for an outsider to pronounce.

Gratiot, for example, is pronounced "grash-it" and not "grah-tee-ott" as it looks. Likewise, Cadieux is pronounced "cad-joo." Mackinaw is pronounced "mac-kin-ah."

Be sure not to confuse Mackinaw Street with the Mackinac Bridge — the famous suspension structure that connects Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas and strikes fear into the hearts of some drivers. Both are pronounced the same way.

Some of the nation's most successful music artists have tour stops here, and those are held in the Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre, which Detroiters have shortened to "The Aretha."

“And if you’re a real Detroiter," Hampton said, "you’re not just going to sit inside the amphitheater seats; you get on a boat on the riverfront and watch the concert from behind.”

Bonus: Refer to The Aretha as "Chene Park," which is what the space was called before city officials renamed it in 2019 to honor the soul music icon.

Most major cities have a weekend farmers' market where residents go to buy fresh produce and sometimes local art and coffee. Detroit's version of that is Eastern Market, a 43-acre plot of land near downtown.

"If you're going to really live the Detroit experience, you have to show up every Mother's Day to the Eastern Market and get Mother's Day flowers," Beachnau said. "That's the one thing every year you have to build into your traditions."

The Detroit area has a local chain of restaurants named Coney Island that are somewhat akin to the diners in New York City. Coney Island serves a variety of foods, from omelets and pancakes for breakfast to club sandwiches and gyros for lunch to mashed potatoes and meatloaf for dinner.

The staple dish at Coney Island, however, is a hot dog served with chili, mustard, ketchup and diced white onions. Detroiters also get those toppings on an order of French fries.

Eating food at Coney Island has a special historical significance dating to the 1950s that anyone moving to Detroit needs to understand, Hampton said. Coney Island opened in 1917, but their popularity exploded roughly 30 years later once autoworker jobs dominated the city.

“Factory workers needed something quick and cheap to eat on their lunch break,” Hampton said. “So, they’ve become iconic. They’re tied to our blue-collar, factory worker identity.”

Campus Martius Park is a public square in downtown Detroit with seating areas, a water fountain, and an ice-skating rink. Detroiters who work downtown visit the park during lunch breaks to get fresh air and enjoy the greenery.

Campus Martius is a busy plot of land year-round, but it's particularly hopping in the winter, Beachnau said.

"Take your pair of skates and head to Campus Martius or propose to your girlfriend there," Beachnau said.

Native Detroiters will often accept an outsider as their own if said transplant wears Cartier brand glasses, what the locals call "Cardis," Hampton said.

“Cardis are customizable luxury eyeglasses or sunglasses, and they’re authorized Cartier dealers, so there’s only a couple of places you can get them,” Hampton said.

The most discerning Detroiter loves a specialty type of Cardis known as "Buffs." Buffs are glasses from Cartier that have temples made of horns from a buffalo.

Cartier glasses are synonymous with Detroit, Hampton said. “It’s like a Cardinals jersey in St. Louis or a Knicks jersey in New York."

Cartier eyeglasses are important to Detroiters because, at their core, residents work hard, so they love to look great, smell good and dress well when it’s time to party or hang out with family, Hampton said.

Detroit's Major League Baseball team — the Tigers — hosts games in Comerica Park, which is downtown. Opening Day typically marks a big celebration that natives enjoy from sunup to sundown, Beachnau said.

"Call in sick from work and spend the entire day downtown party hopping and bar hopping," Beachnau said.

New York City and Chicago may receive the most national attention for their pizza styles, but Detroit also has a special form of the dish.

Detroit pizzas are square-shaped, and so is each slice. The crust is not thin like in New York; it's thicker, airy and chewy. The first Detroit-style pizza hit the scene in the 1940s, and residents fell in love with it because the first batches were inspired by the rectangular trays that autoworkers used to hold parts, Bloomberg reported.

Recognizing how popular the style has become, some national pizza chains offer it.

People new to the Detroit area may get their pizza from Little Caesar's, but natives know the authentic Detroit style is served at Buddy's, Jet's or PizzaPapalis.