[MItoINtoOH]

Congratulations on the match! I recently matched myself (although not in Michigan) so I hope I can offer some insight. Other than the Ann Arbor area, your only other good options would be along the 275/96 corridor (Canton, Plymouth, Northville etc.). This area is much more suburban, which may or may not be of more interest to you.

I would also consider that US 23 will be undergoing a major construction project over the next few years between Ann Arbor and Brighton in order to add some sort of flexible shoulder lane. However, I believe the 275/96/14 area is also scheduled for a resurfacing project soon as well. Although if you are going to be going to work at 5am and coming back at 7pm none of this may matter much.

Another factor to consider is what your residency demands will be, and if they will differ substantially. For example, if your spouse is doing Gen Surg in Flint and you are doing Peds in Toledo then I would consider living further north on 23 (Whitmore Lake, Brighton) or vice versa (Milan, Dundee).

[Coldjensens]

Midtown or downtown Detroit. Grosse Pointes. Northville. Plymouth. Chelsea maybe. Brighton. Hell. Why not live in Hell? When will you ever have that opportunity again?

New Hudson or Brighton township up against Kensington Metropark would be pretty nice and kind of in the middleish.

Maybe Saline, I would have to look at a map for that. If you can afford Ann arbor, and tolerate the smugness, it is a really neat small city. One of the best anywhere.

[crystalballmagic]

I would go with Ann Arbor. I love Ann Arbor.

I don't think East Lansing is a good option. Plus, I use to live there, and I got so sick of it. Ann Arbor is the better city.

[brodie734]

East Lansing is really cool if you go to MSU. If you're a young professional, it's not going to have a lot for you to do with your limited free time. Ann Arbor has a lot more young professionals (including plenty of young doctors, MSU's residency programs are hyper diffuse) and therefore caters more to their needs.

You need to be off of a freeway corridor for this to work at all. 23 or 75. Whether you prefer living in a gentrifying urban area (Detroit), sprawling suburbs (most of the rest of your options) or a yuppie-ish college town (A2) is the real question.

[Geo-Aggie]

Originally Posted by Msarie89

Hi all,

I currently live in Salt Lake City Utah and I just matched with my wife into medical residency. I matched at the university of Toledo Ohio and she matched in Hurley medical center in Flint. We are trying to find a place in the middle to live. I'm looking at the maps and from what I can tell Ann Arbor lies approximately half the way between the 2 cities. I'd like to ask if it's a good idea to live in Ann Arbor and commute and if you guys can suggest any alternatives. We're newly wed couple with no children yet (so schooling isn't an issue here)

Thank you

Heyyy, I just moved out here from West Valley City, last October! It makes me happy to see another Utahan headed this way. I can't really speak much to Ann Arbor as I've not made my way out there yet, but I wanted to wish you the best of luck. My wife and I wife are staying in Royal Oak (it's a small, semi-trendy city about 50 minutes south of Flint and 70 minutes north of Toledo). We've liked it here, and we've had nothing but good to say about Michigan. It's beautiful, the people are friendly, there is diversity and incredible ethnic food, and you don't really realize just how small Salt Lake is until you live in a metro like Detroit. We're six months into this and every weekend still feels like a vacation. To be closer to Detroit and in a great city, I might suggest checking out Plymouth. I really like that area. It'll also put you about halfway between Toledo and Flint.

Some things I wish people would've told me:

• It's impossible to tell what way you're going. I never realized how much I depended on the mountains for that.
• Detroit neighborhoods are blighted, no where else really is. In fact some places are incredibly upscale - they blow away places like Draper or the Upper Avenues. Even Flint isn't that bad. The northern part is blighted, but most of the town is a depressed but still vibrant community.
• Visit the Detroit Institute of Arts, asap. It's the art museum in Midtown Detroit. It blows away the Leonardo or any other artsy museums we have out there - no comparison.
• Red Wings are the best ticket in town. Their games rival Jazz games in fan energy level. Pistons games are meh.
• Mexican Town (a neighborhood in SW Detroit) and a handful of places in Madison Heights off Dequindre are the only places you can get real Mexican food. Also regarding Americanized Mexican food, Q'doba is not Cafe Rio.
• Oberon is good beer.
• If you're Mormon, try diversifying your religious exposure. There are so many incredible churches to visit around here.

Uh, that's all I can think of - shoot me a message sometime if you have any questions a former Salt Laker may be able to answer about Southeast Michigan, best of luck!