anyone ever lived in ann arbor?

[anaismd]

---

Members do not see this ad.

i cant decide if i should put univ of michigan on my ROL
my main concern is that its in ann arbor
and being single and without a family or kids to take care of
i'm afraid i'll be BORED and lonely and eventually unhappy

any of you guys lived in ann arbor? how is the social life for single people (everyone keeps going on and on about what a family friendly place ann arbor is...)

 

[joshua_msu]

you wont get bored in ann arbor. there is an amzing amount of things to do. cultural events such as the hash bash and art festival, lots of nightlife, a hughe downtown area and many other things. it is very nice and cost of living is decent. also, detroit is about 30 min away, as well as windsor ontario being 35 min away. trust me, there is lots to do and is also a nice clean city.

 

[Finally M3]

Ann Arbor rocks...lots of cultural stuff to do (Orchestra 'cause of the School of Music is always bringing people in, Dance because of School of Dance is always bringing people in, Theatre...etc. etc.). There's the Folk festival and ArtFair/Freakshow in the summertime, and if you wanna go clubbing, Necto is bringing in some of the top house/trance talent in the world (Paul van Dyk is playing in April!!!!!!!!!!!!!).

Social wise, Ann Arbor has a monstrous graduate/professional student population, so there are TONS of social activities. You can get away from the undergrad scene by hanging out more towards Main St. rather than the on-campus meat markets (Ricks, Touchdown, Skeepers, etc.). I THINK (Can't remember off the top of my head) that Thursday's at Connor O'Neils was the unofficial grad school hang-out.

However, Ann Arbor is pretty damn pricey for a Midwestern city. Expect to pay a lot for housing.

 

[rxg16]

I've visited ann arbour. If you're not a wolverine fan then I would imagine it could be annoying. Plus I would imagine that the social life is pretty much dominated by undergrads.

 

[joshua_msu]

it is not at all dominated by undergrads. there are many things to do, with a huge downtown that has everything from clubs, restaurants, art galleries, and other upscale amenities. people of all types enjoy that city.

 

[LaCirujana]

I live in Ann Arbor--it completely sucks.

I came from a good sized, but not huge western city (just over 1 million people), with tons of outdoor recreation within 10 minutes to 3-4 hours away, depending on what kind you were looking for. There wasn't a huge club-type scene, but I wasn't into that anyway. The city had lots of really good restaurants, an incredible ballet, great live music, etc.

In contrast, Ann Arbor (despite what many of its residents seem to think) is seriously lacking in good restaurants (not a single decent Indian or Thai place), and Michigan football is considered a major cultural event. Yes, there is a large grad school population here, as well as young professionals at places like Pfizer, but you're going to be a resident, which=very, very little free time to participate in any of the "TONS of social activities" a previous poster mentioned (I have yet to discover their existence...🙄 ) There's really not much to do here, to be honest (and in asking around, most of the other residents in my program share that sentiment). Again, to rebut a previous poster, when school is in session, the undergrads completely overwhelm the town (it in no way qualifies as a "city"). Detroit being nearby is hardly a selling point--talk about the nation's armpit! I've been to Windsor, Ontario a few times, as well; they have great dim sum, casinos where 19 y/o American kids go to drink/gamble, and not much else. The weather here is rotten--freezing in the winter, humid and nasty in the summer. There are no mountains, which I miss horribly, since just about everything I enjoy doing requires them. Housing is quite expensive for being a small town in the midwest--but nothing compared to Chicago, LA, NYC. Look at paying about $150-180K for a condo.

On the positive side, Chicago is a quick 3 1/2-4 hour drive away (assuming you don't hit a lake-effect snowstorm around Lake Michigan), and Toronto is about 5 hours away.

Why the hell did I come here, one might ask? It was completely a career move--I felt like the residency program I'm in was one of the best in the country for my field, as well as one of the most resident-friendly. I will come out of here extremely well-trained and able to get any fellowship I want. I definitely chose program over location; last month I went home for a visit and was considering asking the PD at my school for a job next year--after weighing the pros and cons of it all, I decided to stay here in AA, despite the fact that I am BORED (outside of work), often lonely, and occasionally unhappy. I'm not miserable and I don't regret my decision, but I couldn't let all the cheerleading go unanswered.

You didn't mention what program you're applying for, but seriously consider what matters most to you, remember that your free time will be significantly curtailed as an intern, weigh the plusses and minuses of the program compared to the others you are considering, and then decide if UM meets your needs and goals such that you're willing to live in a small, midwestern college town for X-number of years to make it happen.

 

[rohsik]

Thank you La Cirujana.

It was good to hear your perspective!!!

 

[md-student]

There seems to be a discrepancy between what is considered a "cultural" event in Ann Arbor. One of the post cites dance, folk fest, art fest...another states only Michigan football. How frequent are these cultural events.

Also, how bad is Detroit.....compared to say, St. Louis or Cleveland? Is there anything of quality in Detroit (zoo, museums, theatres....)? Is the lakefront accessible?

joshua_msu...you mention there is a "huge" downtown. How big is it? Is it the area that is NW of campus?

I've never been to Ann Arbor outside of my interview day....so don't know the city very well. From what I saw...it seemed like a nice, quiant place to live. Definately small, but everyone keeps telling me there is so much culture. It has also been listed in several magazines as one the best cities to live and work.

 

[joshua_msu]

There are events all the time in ann arbor. it is defintely well regarded in the magazines for a reason. detroit is not bad. like every big city, it does have slums and urban problems, but is actually pretty decent compared to other cities of its size. they have great museums, the detroit insitute of arts has one of the largest van gogh collections in the world. also, the african american history museum is the largets of its kind. lots to do with botaing and water activities since it is right betwween lake erie and huron and st. clair. although technically not a suburb of detroit, there are many quality things to do in the surrounding area as well. i would check it out again if you have the time. havent met too many people that didnt like the area or found it not exciting, i guess uless you like mountains.

 

[Ligament]

Ok, I lived in Ann Arbor for 7 years, and am going back to Ann Arbor from Chicago for my residency. I do like Ann Arbor, even compared to Chicago.

First off, DETROIT IS THE ARMPIT of america. I grew up in metro-detroit, I've spent plenty of time in, and had my car stolen in Detroit. Friends of mine have been mugged at shotgun point in Detroit. Do not even consider Detroit as an asset if you live in Ann Arbor. The good thing is that Detroit is plenty far away that you do not have to worry about being shot or mugged by Detroiters. Sure there is a waterfront if you want to spend time on belle isle and get mugged there. Detroit is only good if you are into techno music. I spent the first 23 years of my life around and in Detroit so I feel I have some basis to say this.

Secondly, Ann Arbor is a very nice city. There really are plenty of operas, plays, musical and theatrical performances. It is very safe. It is very pleasant. Lots and lots of educated, nice people. As I said, I live in Chicago right now. I will be losing about 30% of the stuff I love about Chicago (tons of ethnic food, culture) and losing about 75% of the stuff I hate about Chicago (traffic, illegal aliens, crime, bums, TRAFFIC). So to me Ann Arbor is almost a lateral move. Not too bad when you consider Chicago has 11million people. *Per capita*, Ann Arbor blows Chicago away in terms of opportunites.

With all respect, Joshua_msu may be nuts. Saying Detroit is "actually pretty decent compared to other cities of its size" is WAY off base. Detroit is far, far worse than any city I have ever been to in America, especially for its size, except for maybe Gary, Indiana! There are whole neighborhoods in Detroit half burned to the ground or falling apart. I notice Joshua_msu is from Lansing, which is a pretty boring ass city, so Detroit may be exciting to him. If you've ever been to other american cities Detroit is such a pit! I'm sorry Joshua_msu, I do not mean to offend, I just cannot see your viewpoint unless you have never been outside of Michigan.

Detroit is FAR worse than St. Louis or Cleveland. There are a few good museums, surrounded by hookers, pimps, and bums. It is not a safe area.

Ann Arbor does NOT have a HUGE downtown!!! It is rather puny. The whole downtown is about 10square city blocks. Sure, its huge compared to Lansing, MI, but it is rather small overall. Do not get me wrong, I still like Ann Arbor very much, but it is not a metropolis like Chicago, or even Cleveland for that matter. That said, the number of restaurants per capita in Ann Arbor is the highest in Michigan.

To sum up anaismd, you could do far, far worse than Ann Arbor. The only three cities I would live in in the Midwest would be Chicago and Ann Arbor, maybe Milwaukee (due to proximity to Chicago). Other than these cities, the Midwest is a cultural wasteland. Nothing but Mcdonald's and Applebee's and truckstops for miles and miles.

For a point of reference, my favorite cities in north america are Seattle, Bellevue, and Vancouver (ok its canadian but just for reference). Ann Arbor is a few steps down from the above three cities, but not too far.

all the best.

 

[anaismd]

thanks everyone for your help!
i dont know what i'd do without you guys!
i have made my list and hopefully will not change it anymore
(all your thoughts made me bump up the UMich program)
now if i can just stay away from that nrmp website
and why are we putting all your faith in some computer algorithm?
let alone some computer?