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Temporary move to Ann Arbor, what should I not miss?

stevechemist — Fri, 22 May 2009 16:29:29 -0800

I am moving to Ann Arbor, MI in a week and a half for a temporary summer assignment at U of Michigan. What are must see sights/places and must visit restaurants, bars, etc. that I should be sure not to miss?

Looking for a place to sit and eat lunch... for free.

Vorteks — Fri, 22 May 2009 12:28:52 -0800

Where can I eat my brown-bagged lunch in Ann Arbor, MI? I currently work in Ann Arbor, MI, near the corner of Washtenaw Ave and South Huron Pkwy. There are LOTS of good places to eat nearby, and I frequent them... too much. I need to save money and pack my lunch! The thing is, I don't want to sit in the office all day without taking a break. Where nearby can I take a brown-bagged lunch and eat it? Ideally, I'm hoping for an indoor location that I can use year-round. Huge bonus points if there's wi-fi access! A public library that allows you to eat inside would be ideal... but I doubt there is such a thing. Does what I'm looking for exist? What do you suggest? Thanks!

P.S. Any other suggestions related to what to pack, how to shop for cheap but healthy food, etc, are welcome.

How to look for non-undergrad apartments in Ann Arbor?

limeswirltart — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:39:27 -0800

The first weekend in April my husband and I will be visiting Ann Arbor, and I was wondering if apartments in the area put up 'for rent' signs, so that it's easy to walk around and call? We're moving from Chicago to Ann Arbor at the end of May, and we would like to find a quiet (non-undergrad area), unfurnished apartment in a walkable neighborhood. He'll be a grad student in the University of Michigan MFA program, I'll be looking for work, and we don't own a car.

I also saw this question, and I've been looking at Craigslist postings in Kerrytown, but is that the same as the Kerrytown business district, or is it a larger area? Also, what are the boundaries of the Old West Side?

The UM housing site seems very geared towards undergrads — are there any other local Ann Arbor apartment listing services I should check out before our trip?

Gifts to represent ten cities for an anniversary.

librarianamy — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 08:22:57 -0800

Help me distill these ten cities/regions into a giftable essence: Boston, Maui, San Francisco, New Orleans, NYC/Hoboken, Ann Arbor, Toronto, Outer Banks NC, Central PA (Dutch Country), Columbus OH. This year marks our tenth wedding anniversary, and I would like to give my husband something that represents the ten cities/regions that mean the most to our relationship (other than where we make our home).

If you were to give one gift representing one of those regions, what would it be? If you are from one of those areas, what is it that you crave the most when you "think of home"? I'm looking for something meaningful as a gift, not just a symbol of the area (so for New Orleans, I'd lean more towards a good gumbo cookbook than I would some plastic Mardi Gras beads).

I have some ideas, but in some cases we spent only a memorable week there, no more, so I might be missing something really stellar and neat that shouldn't be missed, gift-wise. We lean more to locally owned companies than large well known chains, indie book and music stores more than sports teams, museums more than beaches, and are big foodies. We live in Pittsburgh, so items must be able to be purchased online and shipped within a 2 month period. I'd really like these to be symbols of ten great years with an amazing man, so I don't want to be shortsighted on ideas. I look forward to your suggestions! Thanks!

To me, quarters are worth their weight in gold.

PhatLobley — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 18:42:09 -0800

Laundromat in Ann Arbor, MI or surrounding area that accepts credit cards? The bank screwed up and didn't send the PIN when I got a new ATM card. I live nowhere near a branch for my bank. It'll be 3-5 days before the envelope containing my PIN (which I ordered tonight) arrives. I am cashless until then. And all my clothes are dirty. They're loaded in my car and ready to go to the laundromat, but unless there's a place more technologically advanced than Mr. Stadium around here somewhere, I won't be able to use the washers and dryers. So does any body know of a laundromat in Ann Arbor (or even the surrounding towns- I'm willing to drive, I think) that accepts payment by credit card? Please help. I'm out of underwear.

Home buying suggestions in Ann Arbor

that_one_guy — Fri, 23 May 2008 04:35:56 -0800

Home buying suggestions in Ann Arbor, Michigan? My wife and I are moving to Ann Arbor soon and are looking to buy our first home there. Never having lived in Michigan before, we're naturally a bit baffled by the whole process and are hoping for help from some kind Michigan MeFites. Among the many questions we have:

1. What are good areas in and around Ann Arbor to look for first homes? If it makes a difference, she'll be a grad student at the University of Michigan and I'll be working, um, somewhere. We've heard that, given our situation, homes in places like Ypsilanti aren't worth the extra commute they'd involve. True?

2. Anyone have recommendations for good real estate agencies or mortgage brokers in the area? Especially ones that are good at working with first-time home buyers and buyers not yet in the area?

3. If our plan to buy right away turns out to be unfeasable, any recommendations on rentals that are willing to do short-term leases?

Thanks!

Driving routes from Cincinnati to Ann Arbor?

matildaben — Mon, 19 May 2008 07:20:20 -0800

Please tell me about your experience driving the main or alternate routes from Cincinnati, OH to Ann Arbor, MI. Google Maps gives the main route as primarily on I-75, and says it takes 4 hours, but a friend of mine said it takes more like 6 hours and encounters big traffic jams in Dayton and Toledo. If I check "avoid highways", Google gives me a route that goes up the western side of the state, primarily on route 127, and it says that takes 6 hours. If the alternate route is a pretty drive, I'd be happy to take it. If you've driven from Cincy to Ann Arbor yourself, please tell me what you know about this or any other routes, and which you would recommend. Time is not so much the issue, I'd just like to have a nice non-frustrating drive.

Going to the Big House. Things to do for a football weekend.

lairc — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 19:16:14 -0800

Myself and 7 friends are about to visit Ann Arbor MI for Michigan's opening football game of the season. We pick one team each year and converge upon that city for opening day. Its a nice way for us all to get together once a year, revive the sleeping binge drinker in us and just have a good time. Since none of us have actually ever been to Ann Arbor before I was wondering what are the "must do" things during a football weekend? We're coming in from all over the country so none of us will have cars. Are cabs common in the area, or will we be walking alot? We're staying south of the stadium by the Briarwood Mall and had planned on walking up to the game. Is it possible to do a pub craw from the mall area to the game or vice versa? Google's Street View isn't rolled out there yet or I'd virtually crawl it.

Help me find a job near Ann Arbor!

DoctorFedora — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 12:22:57 -0800

RecentGradFilter: B.A. in each of English and Japanese. Where to look for a job in the Ann Arbor area? Career related to the latter is perhaps preferable but hardly a deal-breaker. I'm moving to suburban ~~Detroit~~ Ann Arbor this Fall, and I'm at an utter loss when it comes to where to look for work. I have a B.A. in English and a B.A. in Japanese, but no teaching certification (nor desire, at least not at a non-collegiate level, but I'd also probably prefer to avoid grad school).

What it all boils down to is that I have no idea what's out there in the area that would have any desire for me or my skill sets, and so I don't even know where to start looking.

My dream jobs involve either writing or editing (or both), optionally involving Japanese (although I'd be unable to clear JLPT level 2, the first one that matters), although I'm more than willing to find a decent gig that doesn't have the first thing to do with Japanese. It's hardly a deal-breaker.

Basically, in short, where would the hive mind suggest looking for an entry-level editing position or technical writing position in suburban Ann Arbor, or something involving localization from Japanese where dictionary-dependence wouldn't be an issue? Beyond those, I'm good with computers (although not in any resume-quantifiable manner) and enjoy working with design (but I can't draw worth a crap), so I don't know what to make of that sort of thing.

I'm told that the local universities all tell Japanese majors (and minors) to go work for Toyota, that they'll "hire anyone who's even heard of the language," but is there anywhere else that anyone out there would suggest for anything I've said?

Thanks to anyone with any suggestions!

Grad school suggestions for Master's in Japanese?

DoctorFedora — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 12:34:56 -0800

Gradschoolfilter: What's the best grad school for someone with BAs in each of English and Japanese to keep studying Japanese for a master's degree? Bonus points if it's near Ann Arbor. I guess exact location isn't critical, though I'd prefer if it were one of the universities in suburban ~~Detroit~~ Ann Arbor, since my girlfriend's planning to go back to college next Fall and I figure I might be able to swing grad school in the spring.

I'm mostly looking for somewhere that offers your standard grad-students-going-for-free-in-exchange-for-research-or-teaching setup. If it's of any particular value, my cumulative GPA is about 3.63.

Any other suggestions from anyone, by any chance?

Good places to sell used books in Ann Arbor, MI

take me to the river — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 19:10:33 -0800

Where's the best place to sell used books in Ann Arbor, MI? Who pays the most? My books are a mix of fiction and non-fiction and a few textbooks, and they're in great shape (and yes, I've already sold a bunch of them online).

Who are the Liberty Five?

aws17576 — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 22:01:08 -0800

Whose faces are depicted in this Ann Arbor mural? And is there a common bond among them?

There are actually five faces in the mural, but I couldn't find a photo that showed the one on the right at all clearly. Maybe some MeFite from Ann Arbor knows, though. I think I can identify two out of five, but I don't want to bias the jury.

The mural is located at Liberty and State Sts., Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Moving To Ann Arbor

silusGROK — Mon, 09 Aug 2004 13:15:43 -0800

MichiganFilter: Okay. My best friend in the whole world, his lovely wife, and my god daughter are moving next week to Ann Arbor... they'll be living on-campus while he pursues his doctorate (artificial intelligence/machine learning voodoo). I can't keep them here, so I thought that sending them off with a veritable treasure trove of Ann Arbor secrets would be a nice gift. So: what to do? where to go? where to eat? how to survive the winter? and anything else a young married couple with a toddler should know.

Thanks!