OT: Advice on moving to Ann Arbor
Background: Recently my fiancé accepted a spot in a Master's program at U of M starting this fall, which means we're leaving St. Louis and moving to Ann Arbor! While I grew up nearby, I've never actually lived in Ann Arbor so I don't really know what to expect. I've been stressing out the last few days trying to figure out housing and work stuff from afar, when I realized the MGoBoard could probably help point me in the right direction on a few things.
Housing: This is where I'm struggling the most right now. Since I can't see any places myself, I'm basically relying on Google+ reviews of various complexes to determine if they're livable. It's also difficult because I can't drive around neighborhoods I like looking for "For Rent" signs, and I don't really know any of the realty companies in the area. If anyone here knows of any good apartment complexes that aren't too expensive, I'd love to hear about them. Better yet, it you know of a realty company that rents a lot of units in the downtown/campus area, or on the West side of town, I'd really like find out.
Work: I've still got a little time to figure this out, but I'm starting now because doing a job hunt in a small city from 8 hours away is probably not going to be fun. I'm a web developer, so I'm not too worried about being able to find something, but I have a job I really enjoy now, so I'd like to be able to find something like that again. I don't really know what the programming/development situation is in Ann Arbor, so if anyone has some insight on that I'd appreciate it. Are there any web development consulting companies based in Ann Arbor? What about just general programming/development consulting firms?
Other: Is there anything else I should be aware of or look for? Any good online resources to get familiar with the city, or just general advice you may have accumulated over your time in Ann Arbor? I'd appreciate anything you can give me.
Thanks for your help, and I look forward to going to a Michigan hockey game for the first time in probably 10 years. Go Blue!
Update
I just wanted to thank everyone who's contributed here. I got pulled into a couple of unexpected meetings so I wasn't able to follow this thread much in the last couple of hours, but I really appreciate all the help and advice. There's been more than a few useful suggestions that I'm certainly going to use in this moving process. Thanks again, you guys are great.
Padmapper is a nice little web app that takes craigslist ads and maps them onto google maps. In the very least, it'll help you get some sense of what the market looks like.
A little different perspective from those above. Depending on where your fiance's Master's program is, I'd opted for the West Side - specifically, Knob Hill Apartments and apartments/duplexes on 3rd Street south of Liberty Street. Points above are well taken re: pricing, but as a former grad student, my wife and I loved living in this area. It was away from students, it was within a beautiful neighborhood setting, it was ideal for nice walks at night, it is a ten minute walk to downtown Main Street, it is a 12-ish minute walk to the Business School (five min bike ride), it is a five minute walk to the Stadium and the pricing for a one bedroom apt is reasonable.
I own rental houses by the Business School and will echo the sentiment to stay away from places within a five minute walk to campus. South of Main Street and East of Washtenaw are the most popular and most pricey. There is a ton of Undergrads which translates into a lot of noise and partying at very random times. If you can find a well priced place north of Rackham Auditorium, it's worth a look. Very dense student population, but at least half are grad students and medical students.
Good luck and Go Blue!!
But other areas, I'd watch and check around to see how good the areas around some of the apartments are. Further west of the campus there are areas that can go from really nice to not so nice in a couple of blocks. I mean, it's only Ann Arbor bad, not Detroit bad, but some places (thinking apartments east of Stadium at Liberty and Pauline) go from really expensive houses to cheap apartments with some crimes in just a couple of blocks. The neighborhood may look great, but the complex itself might not be great. There seems to be more crime reports in those areas. But then if you're right downtown you have to watch yourself late at night too.
Domino's pizza is hiring like crazy in IT.
If you're trying to stay under $800, I don't think you're going to be too happy with the location or actual unit. I've been living in Ann Arbor since 2008 and housing is miserable. There are a lot of new developments in town but those are either undergrad bins or high end lofts in downtown. Your best bet will be west of 2nd street in a split house. I would recommend thinking about paying more than $800 and closer to $1000.
Agree - the quality of rentals jumps a lot beyond the $800 mark. Below it, it's sketchy.
From 2004-2008, I rented two different 550-600 sqft 1 bdrm places with one parking spot for around $700, both of which allowed me to have a dog. One was on Mary St. and the other was at Main and Hill. The maintenance man was a little sketchy, but the places were very livable. (Of course the landlord currently has no availabilities.)
With your skill set, you might want to consider talking to Arbor Networks. Full disclosure - I've worked there 7 years, and I've found it an excellent place to work. We make several products that are web based, some to do with network security, others with visibility and reporting. The front end guys don't need to know a ton about networking, just be awesome at making all the data and workflows look good and feel good.
Rob
Just moved back to A2 in late 2011 after 5 years in Arizona. Hate to say, but if you're looking for an apartment, you have to do it quickly. Since there are really not that many apartment options, students snatch them up quickly and well in advance, and then other renters quickly follow behind those students. There are plenty of complexes downtown that are being built (and are being marketed to young professionals, rather than students), so this maybe a year where you have to bite the bullet and move into a complex with availability that might not fit all your needs, all while keeping on eye on when you can reserve a lease at one the newer complexes.
As for development jobs, there are a bunch of tech oriented companies that might be worth looking into. Thomson Reuters and Barracuda standout as the larger A2 based ones, but if you are up to commuting a little bit, you may want to look more towards metro detroit. I prefer to stay in Ann Arbor for work, so I don't have much knowledge of those oppurtunities, but there sure seem to be a lot of them over by the Livonia area.
As for other tidbits, the West side is heavy with the yuppies/townies, closer to downtown is a hodge podge of people and a ton of students (obviously), Pittsfield area I generally tend to stay away from in terms of living accomadations (there are some nice places, but there something not right about it since it doesn't really feel like Ann Arbor, but more like a A2/Ypsi/Saline clusterf*ck), and the northeast side is heavily residential and family based with not much to do. I stick to the west side and downtown.
Anyways, Ann Arbor is changing, it's definitely evolving by getting bigger and a little more commercial, but it's still the best damn city in the world, you'll love it here.
live near Zingerman's.
Every other decision is meaningless.
Housing can be up to 30% of your combined salary, they say ... you can afford much more than $800/month.
http://www.woodburygardens.com/ Was the de facto grad student housing and a ton of my friends lived there.
Don't?
Seriously though, I love that area. Lots to do.
This may be a bit out of left field if you really want to live in A2, but look around at Pittsfield, Ypsi, and Saline for housing options. You'll have to drive more and that can suck, but for a year while looking for a better spot you'll get more bang for your buck and that way you aren't roped into a bad unit/house because of circumstances. As for work, as others have noted jobs are plentiful in tech. Google is still pretty much a sales/analytics office AFAIK, but it does sound like they are doing some tech. And if you like your old job, see if they'll let you telecommute and maybe just go down to St. Louis a couple of times a month. It isn't perfect, but it may make your life a bit easier in the short term as well as the long, especially if (as it sounds) you'll be returning to St. Louis at some point.
Good luck.
I'm jealous. I've been trying to convince my family to move to A2 for years. At least I have my husband buying into the idea of a partial Ann Arbor retirement: spending the fall there, and getting football season tickets.