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DARCI SMITH

Special to The Jewish News

hen Karen Merkle moved to the Big Apple after law
school, she had every intention of returning to
Michigan someday. She just didn't realize that some-
day would come so soon.
"I moved there wanting to practice outside of Michigan and get
some good work experience," explained Karen, 27, who graduated
from Northwestern School of Law in 1996. The job offer with a
large Manhattan law firm was right up her alley, given its focus on
corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions — Karen's chosen
specialties.
She intended to stay in New York for three years, but after a year
and a half Karen received an offer she couldn't refuse: an in-house
legal position with General Motors Corp. Taking into account that
such an opportunity isn't easy to come by, she relocated back to
Michigan in May, settling in Birmingham.
"I was very much nervous to come back," Karen said. Although
there were great opportunities on the career front and it was won-
derful to be back near her family, she explained, what lay ahead
socially and personally was not as clear.
You've heard it before, maybe even uttered the phrase in your
teen years: Detroit's boring. But it's not, really. What many young
adults are finding is that, while other, big-time cities with bright
lights and fast action may have lured them away after college,
Detroit's provincial feel and excellent job market, not to mention
their family ties, are pulling them back home after years away. And
they like being back.
While living out-of-state for six years, Karen found that many of
her Detroit friends had also left, and she had lost contact with
many who had stayed. A 1989 graduate of North Farmington
High School, Karen contacted old friends, attended community
events and tried to take advantage of every opportunity to meet
people with which she was presented. "I made more effort than I've
ever had to in my life to establish friendships," she said.
A friendship she was able to re-establish was with former high
school classmate Andy Tobias, who returned in June after spending
five years in Chicago. "We were thrilled to know each other was
here," Karen said.
It was also a job opportunity that drew Andy back to Detroit.
Andy, who earned a law degree from DePaul in 1996, interviewed
for a job with Marcus & Millichap, the largest real estate invest-
ment brokerage company in the country, and found that they had
recently opened an office in Detroit.
The company gave Andy, 27, the option of working in either
Detroit or Chicago. Although he had always planned on returning
to Detroit at some point, the decision took nearly a month to
make.
"I had a lot of good friends in Chicago, and it was very difficult
to leave that city," Andy explained. "It's a great city"
In the end, though, the opportunity to live near his family and

• 12/4
1998

102 Detroit Jewish News

Karen Merkle: "I was very nervous to come back."