Possibly moving to Ann Arbor from Denver (Detroit, Flint: condo, job market)

[Buckley225]

My boyfriend just got a job in Ann Arbor and I am considering going with him. I have never even been to Michigan and just graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder. I have been interviewing all over the country and I am not sure what the job market is like in Ann Arbor but thought it was worth checking out. Can anyone give me some info in Ann Arbor? We are both 24 years old and love to go out and have fun. I have heard that it is the Boulder of the Midwest. Give me some feedback if possible. Thanks!

[Coldjensens]

Ann Arbor is a really great city. Very lively, lots going on. Lots of natural beauty. It is very much a college town. The university and the cit are mixed together. I have never been to Boulder so I could nto compare the two.

[magellan]

I've been to both and yes I'd say AA is the Boulder of the Midwest. It's a very liberal town with U of M's campus basically melding right into the city fabric.

Here's a good video about downtown Ann Arbor:


YouTube - Insights into a Lively Downtown: An Ann Arbor, MI Case Study

As far as job prospects, it depends on what you do.

[16 monkeys]

I've grown up in Ann Arbor and have visited Boulder. They have a lot of similarities, like being politically progressive, university towns with lots of cultural activities to offer. Big yoga community here. No mountains, but there are lots of great parks within the city and the Huron River runs around the north side of town and it's beautiful...dotted with metro parks, walking trails, canoe liveries and an active rowing community. As for nightlife, it's definitely not a clubbing place like Chicago, but there's a great folk music scene and a super film festival that's going to screen the last round of the Sundance festival this year.

As far as the job market, it really depends on your area of interest and skills. Ann Arbor isn't nearly as depressed as the rest of the state, but unemployment is higher that it has been for the past 30+ years.

People are pretty laid back, unpretencious and casual. You can go to even the nicest restaurants (and there's a ton of them) in jeans and not feel weird.

Hope this helps.

[J'aimeDesVilles]

We moved from Oakland County (suburban Detroit) to the Ann Arbor area in June. It's okay but not sure it lives up to all the hype. I like the diversity of the population and the downtown area is nice. Some cool restaurants, bars, and stores.

The parks are okay for city parks but we are still trying to find one not too far out of town with unpaved hiking trails and that allows dogs. A2 is not really a "dog town". Lot of condo people that probably have cats or no pets. The weather here is generally milder than the rest of the state.

Years ago I had a job where people referred to employees or customers as having an "Ann Arbor attitude". I never fully appreciated it until I moved here. Definite different and laissez-faire way of life here. You know, that "I'll get there when I get there and I'll do it when I do it" mentality. It can be pretty frustrating dealing with the locals to those of us that are from a large urban area. My wife and I thought we accidently moved somewhere down South!

As it is a small city it is fairly easy to get around. There do seem to be an unnecessary amount of "No right turn on red" places though. The most irksome thing about A2 though has got to be the drivers.

This place has got to have the worst drivers in the State of Michigan! For starters they are extremely pokey (see above comments on A2 attitude). The other day I was driving on a road with a 40 mph speed limit and the car in front of me was doing 25 for no apparent reason. Unfortunately this sort of thing happens often. This morning as I was getting on the freeway (which is 70 mph in Mich.) on a long, straight entrance ramp and the car ahead of me was doing about 45 mph and barely increasing. And it is not just that they drive so slow they also drive poorly. I have had so many close calls in the six months of living here. Cars pulling out into traffic without looking. Cars turning abruptly and without notice. Cars straddling between two lanes. Cars stopping in front of me for green lights (love that one!) Cars not stopping for red lights. Cars stopping and remained stopped at a stop sign, like they we were waiting for it to turn green. I could probably go on but you get the idea.

Sorry if this post sounds negative on A2. It is in general a nice area and is doing better economically than most of the rest of Michigan (though that is not saying much). Big economic drivers are the university and healthcare.

I do have to say though that I much prefer the metro Detroit area, warts and all.

[annika08]

Originally Posted by J'aimeDesVilles

We moved from Oakland County (suburban Detroit) to the Ann Arbor area in June. It's okay but not sure it lives up to all the hype. I like the diversity of the population and the downtown area is nice. Some cool restaurants, bars, and stores.

The parks are okay for city parks but we are still trying to find one not too far out of town with unpaved hiking trails and that allows dogs. A2 is not really a "dog town". Lot of condo people that probably have cats or no pets. The weather here is generally milder than the rest of the state.

Years ago I had a job where people referred to employees or customers as having an "Ann Arbor attitude". I never fully appreciated it until I moved here. Definite different and laissez-faire way of life here. You know, that "I'll get there when I get there and I'll do it when I do it" mentality. It can be pretty frustrating dealing with the locals to those of us that are from a large urban area. My wife and I thought we accidently moved somewhere down South!

As it is a small city it is fairly easy to get around. There do seem to be an unnecessary amount of "No right turn on red" places though. The most irksome thing about A2 though has got to be the drivers.

This place has got to have the worst drivers in the State of Michigan! For starters they are extremely pokey (see above comments on A2 attitude). The other day I was driving on a road with a 40 mph speed limit and the car in front of me was doing 25 for no apparent reason. Unfortunately this sort of thing happens often. This morning as I was getting on the freeway (which is 70 mph in Mich.) on a long, straight entrance ramp and the car ahead of me was doing about 45 mph and barely increasing. And it is not just that they drive so slow they also drive poorly. I have had so many close calls in the six months of living here. Cars pulling out into traffic without looking. Cars turning abruptly and without notice. Cars straddling between two lanes. Cars stopping in front of me for green lights (love that one!) Cars not stopping for red lights. Cars stopping and remained stopped at a stop sign, like they we were waiting for it to turn green. I could probably go on but you get the idea.

Sorry if this post sounds negative on A2. It is in general a nice area and is doing better economically than most of the rest of Michigan (though that is not saying much). Big economic drivers are the university and healthcare.

I do have to say though that I much prefer the metro Detroit area, warts and all.

I live in A2, and this pretty much sums it up.

[guitarslinger]

I live about 10 minutes (or less) outside Ann Arbor and Live a completly different lifestyle.I don't have to deal with AA traffic much.I'm on land with no neighbors,So theres lots of wildlife,plenty of room for bonfires,snowmobiling,atv's,gardening,livestock,wh atever.If this is your thing it can easily be found withen a short commute of AA. There is lots of rural areas surrounding Ann Arbor.
Thought you might like a different perspective.

[J'aimeDesVilles]

Originally Posted by guitarslinger

I live about 10 minutes (or less) outside Ann Arbor and Live a completly different lifestyle.I don't have to deal with AA traffic much.I'm on land with no neighbors,So theres lots of wildlife,plenty of room for bonfires,snowmobiling,atv's,gardening,livestock,wh atever.If this is your thing it can easily be found withen a short commute of AA. There is lots of rural areas surrounding Ann Arbor.
Thought you might like a different perspective.

This is a good point. A2 being so small you can get from downtown to countryside in minutes as oppossed to Detroit where it is a much longer drive. To the east of A2 it is pretty much suburbia flowing into the other suburbs of Detroit. To the north it is getting more filled in but still fairly open. West and especially south of A2 is definitely quite rural.

Another thing I like about A2 that I neglected to mention earlier is its proximity to other cities. Detroit/Windsor and Toledo are only 45 minutes away, Flint is about an hour, Lansing less than 1.5 hours. The Detroit metro airport is less than half an hour down the road and I-94 and Amtrack both run through A2 and can take you to Chicago in about 5 hours (not positive the time).

[timeofseasons]

Well I would prefer University of Michigan over University of Colorado, but speaking of being a college graduate I would go with Denver-Boulder area than Detroit-Ann Arbor area.

Edit: You've asked about job market. Well you may find it popular to know that you may live in Ann Arbor but commute east towards Detroit. Many of the jobs are going to be east of the city.