I'm in Ann Arbor and work in Detroit, so I can empathize. I love the place. I haven't lived in as many different places as you, but I did live in Boston for a couple of years, and have traveled quite a bit.

Tuition rebates for staying in the state sounds like a good idea upon first impression. I'll have to think on it, but there aren't any red flags that immediately come to mind. Are there any other states doing this?

For all its problems, there is a lot to love about Detroit, and Michigan in general. Personally, I think there is a powerful character of pragmatism, and creativity here, topped off with a general lack of pretension. People just do interesting stuff here, and others are happy to get excited about it. It does take time to learn the city, (how does one visiting the city the first time stumble upon Le Petit Zinc or Leeland City Club? :)) however, so even getting grads to stay in the area for a few years would probably get a good number of them hooked. One possibility would be that the rebate be given out over the course of several years, -maybe something like $2k per year for 5 years. Or, if this was a State initiative, they could just get this as a credit to their state taxes for a few years.

Yeah, I like it.