umstudents: Good neighborhoods for grad students?

bunni2413 (

bunni2413) wrote in

umstudents,
@ 2007-04-09 22:31:00

Good neighborhoods for grad students?
Hi everyone! I was recently accepted to UM for graduate school. I am starting to look into housing now to beat some of the rush. Can anyone recommend good neighborhoods for grad students? Ideally, I would like to be within close walking distance of Angell and Lane Hall. People have recommended Old west and Kerrytown so far, but are these actually pretty close to Angell? I have only been to campus once so far, so my grasp of walking distances is pretty minimal. Any other nice neighborhoods for grad students?

Also, when is the best time to apartment hunt to move in in August?

Any other housing tips?

Thank you, I really appreciate your help.

(Post a new comment)

	allforleyna 2007-04-10 03:20 am UTC (link)
	Kerrytown is, I'd say, at least a fifteen minute walk from Angell Hall, probably more like twenty or twenty-five, but the Link bus (the purple one) runs from campus to Kerrytown on weekdays. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	bunni2413 2007-04-10 03:27 am UTC (link)
	Wow... good to know... I really don't think I want to quite that far away. Thank you. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	hazey_way 2007-04-10 02:53 pm UTC (link)
	I second the "not 20 minutes" thing. maybe 10. I live between kingsley and lawrence and I have class at Angell and its really close to Lane (Reply to this) (Parent)

	lapenn 2007-04-10 03:52 am UTC (link)
	no way! It depends on exactly where you live, but it's only 20 or 25 minutes if you live on the far edge. I live on 5th and Catherine (right on the close edge of Kerrytown, and a block from the Farmer's Market), and it takes me 10 to 15 to walk to NatSci (right next to Angell), depending on how fast I'm walking and which lights I hit. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	allforleyna 2007-04-10 01:33 pm UTC (link)
	Well, I walk pretty slowly, so. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	armscrossed 2007-04-10 03:40 am UTC (link)
	Check into the Catherine/Ingalls/Ann neighborhoods. It's quiet around here and approximately a 10 minute walk from Angell. Remember, Ann Arbor is really bike friendly! (Reply to this) (Thread)

	bunni2413 2007-04-10 04:23 am UTC (link)
	Good to know! Thanks for the tip, I will look into that area (Reply to this) (Parent)

lapenn
2007-04-10 04:00 am UTC (link)

congratulations on your acceptance!

If I recall correctly, you'll be living with your husband, right?

Kerrytown is a super great neighborhood -- depending on where you live, you'll be 10-15 minutes walking from Angell (or maybe a touch more). The old west side is a bit further out (15-25 minutes walking), but you can speed that up by biking.

I currently live in 5th and Catherine (as I said in the other comment), and I love my location. I'll be moving a few blocks further out next year in order to have cheaper rent and live with less people. I really recommend Kerrytown as the best close neighborhood. If you go south or east right around campus, you get tons of undergrads. You could live a bit further out and south of campus, but then you really have to drive to get pretty much anywhere, and you'll mostly take the bus to campus (tho it's a 25 minute walk from the stadium area, and you can walk on nice days).

There's several apartments in and around the kerrytown area. If you have time to visit, I'd check out this place. It was on my short list for apartments, but my friend and I went with a place a touch bigger.

Now is the best time for apartment hunting for an August move-in. The closer you get to August, the less likely you'll be able to find a place for you and your husband.

My big tip is to check out craigslist. Lots of apartments on there. Do a search for kerrytown at the top, and you'll just get the area you'd like. Then, plug address into google maps (along with the address for Angell -- 830 N University is NatSci, which is next door to Angell) to see how far away the place is. Anything around 5th and Kingsley or closer should be not too bad of a walk.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

bunni2413
2007-04-10 04:10 am UTC (link)

Thank you so much... That is incredibly helpful. I would really like to find a nice apartment in a close but quiet neighborhood, and this information will really help. I'm very excited about coming to UM. I will be in the English PhD program and I'm thrilled since it is a very competitive program and was my first choice. I am going to peruse craiglist right now... And thanks for that listing it looks great. I am definitely adding it to my list.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

lapenn
2007-04-10 04:24 am UTC (link)

no problem :-) I spent the last three months looking for a good 2 bedroom that wasn't insanely expensive (well, I think everything here is insanely expensive -- we'll be spending $1080 total a month for a 2 bedroom with 2 parking spots and heat included, to give you an idea of prices. Right now, I'm paying $550 a month with no utilities included to live in a house with 5 other people -- ugh).

You can also check out the um housing website -- they have a landlord searcher -- but most of the stuff there is geared toward undergrads.

Kerrytown is super awesome b/c it's within walking distance of pretty much everything (central campus, main street, and all the awesome Kerrytown stuff). Hopefully you find a nice place here :-)

	crimson_clover 2007-04-10 04:46 pm UTC (link)
	It's good you can visit and that's a really good idea to walk from apartment to campus. Good luck! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	tenaciousb 2007-04-10 08:21 am UTC (link)
	disagree. completely. so many problems occur in the condensed undergrad section of campus that a 15-20 minute walk, which is basically what you have to walk to go anywhere fun from anywhere not smack dab on campus, is well worth the lack of bullshit. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	inbetween 2007-04-10 10:31 pm UTC (link)
	i love the undergrad ghetto as well... have lived here the first two years of grad school and will continue... but all my grad school friends disagree :) of course, i live in what i perceive as a calmer part of the ghetto between campus and downtown, so maybe it's not quite the same... (Reply to this) (Parent)

	tenaciousb 2007-04-10 08:20 am UTC (link)
	single or double apartment? i know a guy who owns an apartment building (well most of it) that has about 20-24 units thas tucked back in the north side of central campus (15-20 min walk which is nothing at UM) that might have some units thats an amazing landlord and reasonably priced. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	bunni2413 2007-04-10 12:12 pm UTC (link)
	We would like to get a double apartment if at all possible... Would you mind giving more details? These sound pretty good! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	Old Brewery Apt bunni2413 2007-04-10 01:47 pm UTC (link)
	Anyone heard of these Old Brewery Apartments? There are some in Old West and some in Kerrytown. They look pretty darn nice. They are a little pricey, but I am easily swayed by nice interiors lol. Here is the site http://www.theoldbrewery.org/ (Reply to this) (Thread)

	bunni2413 2007-04-17 06:48 pm UTC (link)
	Thank you for all the help everyone. Your suggestions have been very helpful. I'm still having a hell of a time finding something that might work. I will be visiting this weekend and have some visits set up, but I don't get a great feeling about any of them. (Reply to this)

	bunni2413 2007-04-19 08:00 pm UTC (link)
	I am definitely interested. Could you tell me who to contact? (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

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