[polmer]

I am considering a job in the Carleton area, and would consider living in Ann Arbor and commuting. I'm looking for nice lofts or condos in the downtown area. Is the downtown condusive to these? Is there a good nightlife there?

Any specifics regarding lofts or condos would be appreciated.

[athletesfoot]

Ann Arbor is home to the University of Michigan, so most of the nightlife around there centers on college students and cheap pitchers and dancing - but there are some really nice college bars as far as that goes. However, there are also a ton of excellent restaurants and music venues that appeal to crowds of all ages - downtown - Main Street and nearby areas. Nice delis and cafes, interesting shopping, a farmer's market, food co-ops, a very liberal town. There are some nice museums, everything is walkable, or you can always get a bus or taxi.

There are condos and apartment buildings in the area, mostly apartments, but I have heard of these new buildings in a great location downtown:

Ann Arbor Lofts Downtown - Kingsley Lane Loft Condos / Condominiums
I've never seen them in person, but they are in a good spot and look nice online! Ashley Terrace are some other condos I have heard of downtown. Hopefully someone who currently lives there can give you more details on which are the best deal.
There are also some highrises a little further out and not as walkable. You really can't go wrong anywhere you choose to live, there aren't any "bad" parts of the city. Affordability may be the only hurdle.

[M TYPE X]

Downtown Ann Arbor has many options, all nice and of course expensive. Happy hunting!

[MYamia]

Bring a BIG Bank Roll if you decide to come this way. Expensive and high Taxes

[nycjefftrain]

I have to laugh at the above comment. Try living in NYC and you will long for the days of Michigan's cost of living...

[MittenDweller82]

There are new condo's at the intersection of Huron and Ashley.....they start at at about 225K, although I dont know many details beyond that. Many grad students live downtown in duplexs, there are some very nice lofts on the north side of town that run anywhere from 1000-1500, depending on the size, there are lots of options. If you look around downtown (especially on S. Main) you'll find lofts above shops and resturants but the rent is in outer space compared to the rest of MI. If your comming from a bigger city then prices wont be too out of line. G Luck

[xlrbnc]

Originally Posted by nycjefftrain

I have to laugh at the above comment. Try living in NYC and you will long for the days of Michigan's cost of living...

As someone who transferred from NYU after two years to UofM for my degree, I will say that Ann Arbor is on an entirely different level cost-of-living wise than the rest of the state. Rent is astronomical for places that can be downright unlivable, and AA doesn't really have any good places for groceries within walking distance of downtown, necessitating car ownership. Also, as mentioned above, city and property taxes are very high. I lived in places in Brooklyn that were cheaper than my AA apartments and a quick train ride/walk away from much cooler locales than AA could ever hope to offer. I'd also add that sometimes driving in AA can seem like Manhattan, not because of traffic, but because of the vast plethora of stop signs, one way streets, inane highway onramp locations, and copious amounts of pedestrians that add ridiculous amounts of time onto every trip. I could drive across the entire east-west axis of the Grand Rapids city limits in the time it would take me to drive from downtown AA to the nearest highway.