Is Ann Arbor part of Detroit? (Flint, Canton: high school, university, quality of life)

[J'aimeDesVilles]

After living in the metro Detroit (Oakland County) area for 20 years I moved to the Ann Arbor area almost two years ago. Previously I had always considered A2 to be part of the Detroit metropolitan area, albeit on the fringe.

Now that I have had an opportunity to live in the A2 area for a short time I see that it has more of an identity of its own than I had previously realized.

My question to you is; Do YOU feel that Ann Arbor is part of the Detroit metropolitan region? In the same sense as Pontiac or Taylor for example.
Or is it more of an independent entity that happens to be near Detroit? Similar to Flint or Port Huron for example?

I am not interested in Census definitions or other dry stats per se. I want to know how YOU perceive it. Your gut feeling. I myself am now undecided.

[narual]

Nah. It's too far out. It's its own little world.

[ForStarters]

Originally Posted by narual

Nah. It's too far out. It's its own little world.

Seconded, but there is definitely a lot of cross-pollination going on between the two.

If A2 and Detroit were linked up by inter-city rail, it would be one really rockin' metro.

[michigan83]

This is my take, just as someone who has cruised up and down I-94 and U.S. 23 (I've only visited the city once):

If I'm going to Ann Arbor from the west, north, or south, it feels like I'm driving into a stand-alone city.

If I'm leaving the Detroit area and go to Ann Arbor, I don't feel like I ever left Detroit suburbia.

When I was actually in the city and walking around, it didn't feel like a Detroit suburb. In fact, it didn't feel like I was in Michigan at all...

[canudigit]

I don't think of AA as part of the Detroit Metro. The presence of the University of Michigan gives AA its own identity and national recognition. It also has a very unique vibe that makes it stand out as its own little entity. As someone once told me, "Ann Arbor is sixteen square miles surrounded by reality."

[Cliffie]

Ann Arbor/Ypsi and Detroit Metro are two entirely separate city-states.

[313Weather]

Yes & No, Ann Arbor's health & future is dependent on Detroit's economy. Ann Arbor shares Detroit's NWS and generally utilizes Detroit's media stations.

It's like Rockford to Chicago.

[tuebor]

I grew up in Ann Arbor. I agree with those who say it is not part of Metro Detroit.

There is ample evidence that Ann Arbor's economy is *not* linked to Detroit's. Ann Arbor's knowledge/service based economy has continued to prosper while Detroit's manufacturing-based economy has sunk. For decades, Ann Arbor has outperformed not just much of the state in terms of economy and quality of life, but much of the country.

I'm not so sure about Ypsi, though. I think a case could be made that Metro Detroit begins at the Ann Arbor/Ypsi border. But on the other hand, many Ypsi residents work or study in Ann Arbor.

[J'aimeDesVilles]

Thanks to all of you for your responses.

It seems so far everyone feels it is not part of metro Detroit. I'm kind of surprised. I expected a more even split.

Interesting point about Ypsi Tuebor. Perhaps because I live near Ypsi and often go into Canton (which is definitely in metro Detroit) my perspective is skewed.

I think the UM presence definitely plays a large part in A2's autonomy. Still, from a media standpoint A2 doesn't have a leg to stand on and is very much connected to the metro area.

Looking forward to more postings!

[JmanAA]

I was born and raised in Ann Arbor, and I didn't know anyone considered Ann Arbor part of the Detroit metro until after I left Michigan in 2006, and I had been in Southeastern Michigan my whole life up until that time (I was 24 years old when I left, just shortly after college graduation in '06). I always thought of Ann Arbor as being a seperate, relatively independent city. I always thought of the Detroit metro area as covering Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties. Therefore, I thought of Belleville as being the beginning of the Detroit metro area. But, in high school, I worked at Briarwood Mall in Ann Arbor, and alot of my co-workers at that store were from Belleville and went to Belleville High, so there had to be a reason why they chose to work in Ann Arbor as opposed to Twelve Oaks mall in Novi or someplace else in the Detroit metro.

Now Ann Arbor is in the Detroit media market and I'm sure there's plenty of travel between those two cities. Ann Arbor, unlike the other cities in southeastern Michigan, treats it's own water and takes care of it's own waste and sewage. The electric power, I'm sure, does come from Detroit (Detroit Edison).

I disagree with one poster about Ypsilanti being more connected with Detroit than Ann Arbor. Simply not true. Beside the fact that Ypsilanti is still in Washtenaw County along with Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor and Ypsilant have always been treated as "sister" cities. I should also comment that, while the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti borders are very close to each other, they don't quite come to together (there's primarily Pittsfield Township between those two cities).