Nobody wants to live in a faded city where it rains all the time and the highway system was never built to modern standards because the population began to decline BEFORE the Interstate Highway System was established in the 1950s.
I'm not a city person, but have lived in town for a few years, before.
It's probably one of the better run Rat towns.
Like any city, there are areas to avoid, but all in all, not bad, at all.
There are many very nice, peaceful neighborhoods.
The crime is exponentially worse in Chicago, NYC, Philthadelphia, LA...
Drive an hour out of the city in any direction and you're in beautiful country and the weather is, generally, fairly moderate.
And, no, it isn't fading and it doesn't rain all the time.