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MSA's are based on county commuting patterns into core counties which by default are employment centers. They are NOT based on employment centers alone as often you will find multiple employment centers within one MSA. In order for a county to be added to a core metro at least 25% of it's workforce needs to commute into the core county. Ann Arbor is in Detroit's CSA which means between 15%-25% of it's workforce commutes into Wayne. To this point the economic pull of the University of Michigan has been enough to keep it as a statistically independent MSA, but still part of the Metro D CSA. However the number commuters into Metro Detroit has been steadily rising as eastern Washtenaw County gets built out.
As that commuting percentage continues to grow there's a very real possibility that by the 2023 metro realignment the Ann Arbor MSA will cease to exist, and be absorbed into the Detroit MSA where it belongs. Ann Arbor will still be an employment center, but it won't be it's own MSA.
People in Washtenaw don't exclusively commute into Wayne. They also commute into Oakland and Livingston County. It's only 9 miles from Ann Arbor city limits to Oakland County and there's a lot of jobs along the Grand River corridor.
Not really sure why Ann Arbor "belongs" in Metro Detroit since Metro Detroit is mainly defined by the auto industry. It's only been in the last couple of years that the auto industry has had any influence in Ann Arbor with the new Toyota Technical Center and UofM's autonomous driving research. Prior to that, Ann Arbor was (and still is) mostly filled with startup IT companies partly spurred by UofM. Ann Arbor has never had a population decline which can't be said of pretty much any Detroit suburb if even that decline only occurred in the last recession. Also because of UofM, Ann Arbor gets a lot of new residents from out of state which can't be said of Metro Detroit as a whole. Ann Arbor, politically, is a lot more liberal than Metro Detroit as a whole (many Detroit suburbs are very Red). There's too many things about Ann Arbor that makes it more dissimilar to Metro Detroit suburbs to make seem like "it belongs".
Either way, if Ann Arbor is to join in with Metro Detroit, it would likely be a twin cities situation like Fort Worth and Dallas or Raleigh and Durham. Ann Arbor wouldn't be considered a suburb because not enough people actually leave the city for work. Something like 80% of Ann Arbor residents still work in Ann Arbor (which can't be said for any Detroit suburb even it's a major job center).
People in Washtenaw don't exclusively commute into Wayne. They also commute into Oakland and Livingston County. It's only 9 miles from Ann Arbor city limits to Oakland County and there's a lot of jobs along the Grand River corridor.
Not really sure why Ann Arbor "belongs" in Metro Detroit since Metro Detroit is mainly defined by the auto industry. It's only been in the last couple of years that the auto industry has had any influence in Ann Arbor with the new Toyota Technical Center and UofM's autonomous driving research. Prior to that, Ann Arbor was (and still is) mostly filled with startup IT companies partly spurred by UofM. Ann Arbor has never had a population decline which can't be said of pretty much any Detroit suburb if even that decline only occurred in the last recession. Also because of UofM, Ann Arbor gets a lot of new residents from out of state which can't be said of Metro Detroit as a whole. Ann Arbor, politically, is a lot more liberal than Metro Detroit as a whole (many Detroit suburbs are very Red). There's too many things about Ann Arbor that makes it more dissimilar to Metro Detroit suburbs to make seem like "it belongs".
Either way, if Ann Arbor is to join in with Metro Detroit, it would likely be a twin cities situation like Fort Worth and Dallas or Raleigh and Durham. Ann Arbor wouldn't be considered a suburb because not enough people actually leave the city for work. Something like 80% of Ann Arbor residents still work in Ann Arbor (which can't be said for any Detroit suburb even it's a major job center).
Metro Detroit has alot more jobs outside of the auto industry. And I explained why I personally put Ann Arbor with Detroit for the OP in my earlier post.
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because they can enjoy the amenities of Metro Detroit just as easily as people who live in most far out suburbs and vice versa especially for people in the west burbs, they can enjoy the amenities of Ann Arbor/ Ypsi just as easy (if not easier) as they can enjoy the east or northside of the metro area.
There's also the fact that both of their urban areas are connected and it's a part of the Detroit CSA and there are plenty of places in Detroit's MSA that are further from Detroit then Ann Arbor is. Since the OP asked about amenities and having alot of things to do this is pretty good info.
Ann Arbor being dissimilar to Detroit suburbs doesn't really change anything because Detroit suburbs are very different from one another themselves. For example, Rochester Hills, Birmingham, Brighton, Grosse Pointe, Dearborn, Warren, Grosse Isle, Ferndale, Hamtramck, and Southfield are all very different from one another despite being in the same metro area.
I never called Ann Arbor a suburb, I wouldn't call Fort Worth or Fort Lauderdale a suburb either or SF/Oakland and a suburb of San Jose but they're still part of the same area.
Not really sure why Ann Arbor "belongs" in Metro Detroit since Metro Detroit is mainly defined by the auto industry. It's only been in the last couple of years that the auto industry has had any influence in Ann Arbor with the new Toyota Technical Center and UofM's autonomous driving research. .
Either way, if Ann Arbor is to join in with Metro Detroit, it would likely be a twin cities situation like Fort Worth and Dallas or Raleigh and Durham. Ann Arbor wouldn't be considered a suburb because not enough people actually leave the city for work. Something like 80% of Ann Arbor residents still work in Ann Arbor (which can't be said for any Detroit suburb even it's a major job center).
I think you may have misinterpreted my point. Im not at all saying that Ann Arbor should be a "suburb" of Detroit, but I do think the urban areas are far too interconnected to be separate MSA's or regions. Obviously it would be a multi-nodal metro, but I don't think it would be anywhere near the same as a Fort Worth to Detroit's Dallas. Especially when the city of Fort Worth has more than twice the amount of people as Ann Arbors MSA. Where Detroit has a couple of suburbs that have more population than Ann Arbor itself.
It's more independent from the metro area than a Berkeley, or Evanston, but is much more interconnected to the amenities of a 4 million person metro compared to any 300-400k person metro it purports to be, based on OMB stat metrics.
Also the Automotive industry has a history in the Ann Arbor area that goes back decades. I believe Willow Run assembly was in Ypsi, not to mention numorous tier 2/3 suppliers. Toyota's presence goes back at least to the 90s.
Here are my thoughts on the best since I've lived here all my life....just my opinions but...in no order....
Grand Haven - absolutely a blast during the summer. Great beaches and boating, and wonderful on Holiday weekends.
Marquette - Friendly people, beautiful scenery, trails, skiing, and the restaurant scene is picking up. Unfortunately very little in terms of employment opportunities.
Birmingham - Might have the best downtown shopping/restaurant scene in the state. THE best schools, with Cranbrook, Brother Rice, and Seaholm. Housing is ridiculously expensive and people accuse of it being a snobby town along with Bloomfield Hills.
Northville - Quaint and lovely. Very desirable area to live in.
Charlevoix - Hilly, scenic views of the shoreline. Mushroom houses. Venetian Festival is a good time! Horrific winters, however.
I'd also like to add that Grand Marais, Mackinaw Island are just beautiful destinations in the summer, but not really ideal for living, employment and education...but some make it work.
The most underrated city is maybe Whitehall on the west side of the state. People talk rightfully talk up Ludington and Grand Haven....but Whitehall is an overlooked gem. Nice downtown, great people, and very relaxed.
I believe Willow Run assembly was in Ypsi, not to mention numorous tier 2/3 suppliers. Toyota's presence goes back at least to the 90s.
Willow Run has always been in Ypsi Township and Van Buren twp. Not in the city itself. Do you mean the airplane plant Ford built in WWII or the airport or the high school or the creek that runs along the Wayne/Washtenaw border? They are all in the same place
Subaru, Mercedes, Honda, Mitsubishi and a number of tier 1 suppliers have had R&D or plans off State Street for decades. Subaru's R&D center is across the street from Federal-Mogul's. M-B R&D is around the corner. All these buildings are from the 60s (Subaru didn't exist in North America till 68 and they didn't start R&D till later)
UofM has had the Transit Research Institute for 50 years. They've published a ton of studies since 1968 - probably half of the industry's published research comes out of there.
Here are my thoughts on the best since I've lived here all my life....just my opinions but...in no order....
Grand Haven - absolutely a blast during the summer. Great beaches and boating, and wonderful on Holiday weekends.
Marquette - Friendly people, beautiful scenery, trails, skiing, and the restaurant scene is picking up. Unfortunately very little in terms of employment opportunities.
Birmingham - Might have the best downtown shopping/restaurant scene in the state. THE best schools, with Cranbrook, Brother Rice, and Seaholm. Housing is ridiculously expensive and people accuse of it being a snobby town along with Bloomfield Hills.
Northville - Quaint and lovely. Very desirable area to live in.
Charlevoix - Hilly, scenic views of the shoreline. Mushroom houses. Venetian Festival is a good time! Horrific winters, however.
I'd also like to add that Grand Marais, Mackinaw Island are just beautiful destinations in the summer, but not really ideal for living, employment and education...but some make it work.
The most underrated city is maybe Whitehall on the west side of the state. People talk rightfully talk up Ludington and Grand Haven....but Whitehall is an overlooked gem. Nice downtown, great people, and very relaxed.
Whitehall is great. We rent a cottage there every summer on the Montague side. With all of the environmental cleanup that's going on with White Lake, and that old tannery site finally being developed, it's definitely an overlooked and underappreciated area. I love the bluffs that surround White Lake too, and with all of the sailboats constantly coming and going, makes if feel like you're out on the East Coast or something.
Michigan native here. Without looking at everyone's responses, I choose:
Best Places to Live:
Ann Arbor (medical field U of M, engineering, teaching)
Birmingham (medical field Beaumont at Royal Oak, very elite occupations, white collar)
Traverse City (medical field Munson, engineering, construction, teaching)
Petoskey (medical field McLaren, good nursing, construction, teaching, real estate - my husband and his family were RE Brokers here for many years with two successful offices)
Gaylord (we lived here for several years)
Harbor Springs (for the independently wealthy or white collar)
Second Best Places to Live (if you live in any of these beautiful little towns you will mainly find tourist driven economics, or be independently wealthy):
Charlevoix
Good Hart
Torch Lake
Walloon Lake
Ludington
Suttons Bay and entire Leelanau Peninsula
Mackinac Island
Must Visit:
Frankenmuth
Holland
Grand Haven
Paradise UP - Tahquamenon Falls
Whitefish Point - Lake Superior
Mackinaw City
Saugatuck
Cheboygan - It's my hometown. My family has lived there for generations ... so I have great nostalgia for this quaint, picturesque, friendly little town. Check it out on your way to Mackinaw City.
Last edited by SouthernProper; 08-26-2017 at 10:24 AM..
Michigan native here. Without looking at everyone's responses, I choose:
Best Places to Live:
Ann Arbor (medical field U of M, engineering, teaching)
Birmingham (medical field Beaumont at Royal Oak, very elite occupations, white collar)
Traverse City (medical field Munson, engineering, construction, teaching)
Petoskey (medical field McLaren, good nursing, construction, teaching, real estate - my husband and his family were RE Brokers here for many years with two successful offices)
Gaylord (we lived here for several years)
Harbor Springs (for the independently wealthy or white collar)
Second Best Places to Live (if you live in any of these beautiful little towns you will mainly find tourist driven economics, or be independently wealthy):
Charlevoix
Good Hart
Torch Lake
Walloon Lake
Ludington
Suttons Bay and entire Leelanau Peninsula
Mackinac Island
Must Visit:
Frankenmuth
Holland
Grand Haven
Paradise UP - Tahquamenon Falls
Whitefish Point - Lake Superior
Mackinaw City
Saugatuck
Cheboygan - It's my hometown. My family has lived there for generations ... so I have great nostalgia for this quaint, picturesque, friendly little town. Check it out on your way to Mackinaw City.
I'm glad you put Gaylord on your list. We move here 2 years ago and love it. We first moved to Honor 4 years ago, and really wanted to stay near TC (my favorite city in MI) but prices of homes are just too high. Gaylord is a great little town, but the best part is it is the absolute best place to live to hit all the great places up here...especially the U.P.
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