UofM grad student housing (Ann Arbor: rent, travel, schools)

[wgoldman]

Hey everyone. I am a native Illinoisan looking at U of M - Ann Arbor for graduate school. I am trying to look at housing options on Craigslist and whatever else, but I know absolutely nothing about the school relative to anything else. I am getting my MPH, if that helps place me in terms of what part of the campus I would be on. I was wondering of anyone could give me a hint as to where I should be looking for apts. I want something walkable to campus (10-20 min), if possible. Thanks!

[Cliffie]

Originally Posted by wgoldman

Hey everyone. I am a native Illinoisan looking at U of M - Ann Arbor for graduate school. I am trying to look at housing options on Craigslist and whatever else, but I know absolutely nothing about the school relative to anything else. I am getting my MPH, if that helps place me in terms of what part of the campus I would be on. I was wondering of anyone could give me a hint as to where I should be looking for apts. I want something walkable to campus (10-20 min), if possible. Thanks!

The only on-campus grad student housing is on North Campus (Baits Housing for singles, and married-student housing next to it), up by the art and music schools, but there's a free bus line every 15 minutes to the main campus, where I daresay an MPH student would be taking classes. There are a zillion apartments in the main campus area, most of them 10 minutes or less from the main campus area. Said area covers an enormous territory in Ann Arbor. My advice is to get a roadmap of the area, take your old compass from high-school math and draw a circle as far as you are willing to walk. You might also hit the online Yellow Pages to find apartment complexes in the area and price them out before you arrive. They range from cheap and crab-infested to places a student can't afford unless s/he has 8 roommates.

Also: If you plan to walk places, you may want to just ditch your car. Parking is nonexistent in the main campus area since undergrads were allowed to have cars on campus; people I knew when I lived there who owned cars and attempted to use them had literally hundreds of dollars in unpaid parking tickets at any one time. It's a major source of revenue for the city. On the other hand, if you have a car, you can live farther out -- but you may have to park your car 2 miles from your classes in order to find a parking space. I'm not kidding!

I hope I'm not being too discouraging.

[Sociologist]

Originally Posted by wgoldman

Hey everyone. I am a native Illinoisan looking at U of M - Ann Arbor for graduate school. I am trying to look at housing options on Craigslist and whatever else, but I know absolutely nothing about the school relative to anything else. I am getting my MPH, if that helps place me in terms of what part of the campus I would be on. I was wondering of anyone could give me a hint as to where I should be looking for apts. I want something walkable to campus (10-20 min), if possible. Thanks!

I have lived near campus for the last 5 years. Most grad students tend to populate the west side of the city or "the old west side" near I-94. Many nice houses for rent, rooms, etc. Lots of apt's as well but some are steep in price ranges, walking dist. to campus is not an issue lots of public trans options, if you have a bike your free of the expense of travel all together and no one touches an expensive bike in A2. I also am a grad student there if you have any ?'s or needs I'd be glad to answer.

Cheers