[wagonproject]

Well my soon to be wife and I currently live in Kalamazoo and are looking to move a little ways (family issues). We are both 20 and will be attending a community college (both have classes we want/need). We like the college atmosphere and college town feel (we like Kalamazoo for its college feel). We both work 6 days a week (crap jobs), so we don't have a lot of time to go check them out till a month or so, so I thought I would just ask you guys first. Thanks!

[MittenDweller82]

Not being biased, but Ann Arbor hosts much more to do for 20 somethings than Lansing. The atmosphere in Ann Arbor is much more aligned for your age group than Lansing is. You'll find much more diversity, not just in people, but in shops, restaurants, and also more employment opportunities. (And the scenery is better! More students stay in town during the summer in Ann Arbor than in Lansing, and I think you'll find it more comfortable in general being a student. You'll pay a little more to live in Ann Arbor but hands down there is more to do. I don't know your living situation but the west end of town offers many choices in apartments that are close to many employers and shopping (you really don't need a car.) I'm sure people will have other opinions for you but after spending 5 years there while in college (and still live close) I can honestly say you'll find more like minded people and better opportunity. Good Luck!

[Coldjensens]

no brainer - Ann Arbor.

[wagonproject]

Thanks for the words! Very much appreciated. Yeah I seem to read a lot more about Ann Arbor, but just thought I would ask.

[A2Mich]

Without a doubt..........Ann Arbor.

[michicletus]

Ann Arbor is so overrated. Do a Google search and you can find a website devoted to this very topic. You have all these culturally-starved kids who grew up in Boring-ass, MI who head there and think it's the best thing since sliced bread. If you want a quaint town, Grand Rapids and even K-zoo blow A2 out of the water. If you want cosmopolitan as in world-class amenities - I mean orchestra, shopping, and not just a Japanese dive restaurant, you can do much better in Oakland County and Chicago. A2 is a tweener town - too big to be a quaint college town, too provincial to be a cosmo place. Plus the faculty, staff, and students are so full of themselves. You are at a STATE school people, not Harvard. Your average undergrad can get a much more useful and meaningful education at a score of small liberal arts colleges littered across the Midwest. Grad students can have a great research experience, but they are rarely the ones drinking the U of M koolaid and preaching the gospel of Ann Arbor. You can live in Oakland County for the same amount of money with more to do than keg parties or get a quainter location for half the price in places like Grand Rapids.

[A2Mich]

[quote=michicletus;3830198] Plus the faculty, staff, and students are so full of themselves. You are at a STATE school people, not Harvard./quote]

You've got that right...the worst of the ones you mentioned are the professors, and on a fairly equal plane, are the doctors from U-M hospital. They are the kind of people that REMIND you that they are "Dr. so and so." Like I really give a s%#t....they like to think they are more important than you, but forget that they put their pants on one leg at a time, just as I do. I think that A2 is a nice town, but I really don't believe in all of the hype and snobbery that you find here. The prevailing attitude around this town seems to be along the lines of....why buy clothes at Target, when I can spend three times the price at Nordstrom? Many well-to-do people in Ann Arbor like to flaunt the fact and make sure that they are noticed. Again, like I give a s%#t who they think they are.....If you can get past the snobbery (mind you, not all Ann Arborites are that way, but there are quite a few), A2 is a pretty decent place to live.

[michicletus]

That's why I think two CC students would be ill-matched in Ann Arbor. There are those who are an official part of the U of M community and drinking the koolaid, and there's everyone else.

To the OP, go to OCC and live in Ferndale. If you can keep your wits about you, go to Wayne State and live in Midtown. Midtown is so much more real than Ann Arbor - artists, musicians, cafes, etc. Ask yourself, would you rather go to someplace like the Cass Cafe in Midtown or Espresso Royale in A2, filled with yuppies, privileged kids, and Michihicks trying to act like the privileged kids? Don't know what I mean? Visit both during a school day and you'll see.

[kovolev]

Cost of living differance is something you should definetely take into account, especially if you two are working "crap jobs." Ann Arbor is not a cheap place to live. Lansing is MUCH more affordable.

I can see why most people prefer Ann Arbor...nice tree lined streets and a safe, walkable downtown with lots of shops and places to eat....but I prefer Lansing. The people are A LOT more down-to-earth, and though the downtown has seen better days, it's steadily revitalizing. Also, if the college scene is your thing, East Lansing is right there....

[A2Mich]

But maybe he's wanting to live in a town with a real football team

Just kidding....Heck, the Wolverines lost their first game to Appalachian State....they may as well have just lost to one of the local high schools......Actually, what U-M does with "their" money is disgusting. For a state school that receives state funding, a ridiculously high tuition rate, takes half of the tax money from Ann Arbor, charges employees and visitors to park at their facilities, not to mention grants, athletic sponsorships, donations, etc, they sure know how to blow their money. They have outrageously paid hospital doctors, teaching professors, underpay the average worker, have drained the city's economy, and now are building a new press box and adding more seats to the football stadium for no other reason than to be able to maintain the status of having the largest stadium in the nation. If they wanted to do something smart with their money, they could pay their employees a lot better than they do.