[Huitlambes]

TootiseWootsie, my best guesses are:

1. Cost of living in Ann Arbor is probably the highest in the state.
2. Did I mention it is pretty liberal in Ann Arbor; they still have the annual Hash Bash in April. A lot of area retirees are not looking for such a "young" citizenry.
3. Michigan people are pretty into scenery, and there are loads of far more beautiful places to live in Michigan than Ann Arbor.
4. The retirees that stay in Michigan are people that grew up in specific Michigan communities and that is where they stay. I've moved from Michigan a couple of times, but always come back to Norton Shores. I was raised here and I will only leave it kicking and screaming, regardless of the draw of other areas.

All that being said, Ann Arbor is a pretty special place. If you visit, be sure to have a meal at Zingerman's Deli.

[TootsieWootsie]

AA sounds like what I've read about Portland, Oregon (if you're not totally liberal, you'll be miserable..). And Hash Bash? That's pretty funny, really. Wonder what they do at that festivity?

[darstar]

Originally Posted by TootsieWootsie

AA sounds like what I've read about Portland, Oregon (if you're not totally liberal, you'll be miserable..). And Hash Bash? That's pretty funny, really. Wonder what they do at that festivity?

Thats Corn Beef and eggs.

[Huitlambes]

From Wikipedia:
Hash Bash is an annual event held in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on the first Saturday of April at high noon on the University of Michigan Diag. A collection of speeches, live music, street vending and some occasional civil disobedience are centered on the goal of reforming federal, state, and local marijuana laws. The first Hash Bash was held on Saturday, April 1st 1972 in response to the March 9th 1972 decision by Michigan Supreme Court declaring unconstitutional the law used to convict cultural activist John Sinclair for possession of two marijuana joints. This action left the State of Michigan without a law prohibiting the use of marijuana until after the weekend of April 1 1972.[1] Chef Ra was a fixture of the Hash Bash for 19 consecutive years before his death in late 2006.[2]
Ann Arbor has very lenient laws regarding the possession of marijuana – a $25 fine first $50 second $100 third (and subsequent) offense -- and is a simple civil infraction rather than a criminal offense, such as misdemeanor or felony (see Marijuana laws in Ann Arbor, Michigan). Even so, the campus of the University of Michigan sits upon state property, and so anyone caught with marijuana on any campus location is subject to the more strict state marijuana laws. As this is the case, there is a separate but heavily related event following Hash Bash just off campus known as the Monroe Street Fair, where there is usually a live show accompanying the many street vendors selling extravagant bongs and other paraphernalia, along with a Michigan NORML booth.
The second annual Hash Bash, in 1973, attracted approximately 3,000 participants. That year, state representative Perry Bullard, a proponent of marijuana legalization, attended and smoked marijuana,[3] an act which later earned him criticism from political opponents.[4]
Hash Bash participants did not encounter significant police interference until the seventh annual event, in 1978, when local police booked, cited, photographed, and released those participants alleged to be using illegal substances.[5]
The 2009 Hash Bash will be a celebration of Medical Marijuana's victory in Michigan and will occur on April 4th.

[TootsieWootsie]

Good information. Good law. Good city.

[pjmiami]

Another poster mentioned Kalamazoo as a possibility. If Ann Arbor seems too expensive for you, Kazoo may be worth a look. I am biased as that's where I attended both undergrad and grad school. There is less going on there than in Ann Arbor but WMU is a good university with a very strong business school. The landscape is much prettier on the West side of the state than either the east side (UM) or the central (MSU) part of the state: lots of hills, trees, small inland lakes and great soil if you're into gardening. Kazoo is much more liberal generally than other cities (GR) on the West side predominately because of the presence of both WMU and Kalamazoo College.

From Kalamazoo, Lake Michigan is an easy 30-40 minute drive; Grand Rapids is an easy 45 minute drive and Traverse City is a straight shot three hours North. Its located midway between Detroit and Chicago on I-94 so getting to either of those cities is also easy. When we lived there, we often took the Amtrak train from Kazoo to Union Station in Chi-town for the weekend. Its a very pleasant trip and you don't have to contend with traffic or parking. As I mentioned, I am biased but I think it offers a really nice mix of mid-sized city amenities (excellent juried Art Fair, Friday night Art Hop, Symphony, civic theatre--(be sure to "google" the Gilmore Keyboard Festival), and quiet, smaller city friendliness and convenience. They also have two excellent hospitals that are teaching facilities for residents (Bronson and Borgess) so the quality of healthcare is good.

[allbusiness]

You know I have to put in a good word for Holland. Named one of America's top retirement towns, yet with a college town feel and a beautiful rejuvenated downtown, you can't miss. Check out the video:
View Holland on Video! - Home.

[darstar]

Originally Posted by allbusiness

You know I have to put in a good word for Holland. Named one of America's top retirement towns, yet with a college town feel and a beautiful rejuvenated downtown, you can't miss. Check out the video:
View Holland on Video! - Home.

Holland can be expensive. The most wealthy county in Michigan. ( By bank deposits ).... The reform Dutch are very conservative . Some say getting to fit in can be a problem. Has a lot of traffic , quite congested in main areas..... The demographics are changing , there are areas that have been in fluxed with Latin folks. Not a negative , could be a positive , to the set ways of the die hard Dutchmen.

[Rapunzll]

Originally Posted by darstar

Holland can be expensive. The most wealthy county in Michigan. ( By bank deposits ).... The reform Dutch are very conservative . Some say getting to fit in can be a problem. Has a lot of traffic , quite congested in main areas..... The demographics are changing , there are areas that have been in fluxed with Latin folks. Not a negative , could be a positive , to the set ways of the die hard Dutchmen.

It's kind of sad though, the same as seeing ethnic neighborhoods disappear.

[deslok]

Sad? How so, only in Michigan is diversity or change considered a bad thing.