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4B Wednesday, September 28 2011 // Thle Statemnent
Wednesday, 2011 5- B
a SA FEST S
BEST
B E ST SHOPPIN G
& SERVICES
ET/RESTA U R ANTS
LOWEST
PRICE
TO
HOME
S W EET H 0 E By Statement Staff
You just settled into your off-campus home and probably haven't even unpacked your last box when your landlord rings the doorbell and arrives
with eager young house-hunters looking to rent a place next fall. With October right around the corner, the student lease-signing cycle begins anew.
As the house-hunting season begins, The Michigan Daily has put together a housing guide to help you find a neighborhood you'll love. The housing
information is based on an online survey of 186 students from the 1S different off-campus neighborhoods recognized by the University who shared their
thoughts on the quality, price, location and safety of their home. The Statement staff scoured business maps to find the neighborhoods with the most
and best shopping, nightlife, restaurants and green spaces and looked at reports from the University's Department of Public Safety and Ann Arbor
Police Department to find areas of low crime. Act fast before your dream home gets taken.
The area between West Huron Street and West Madi-
T son Street usually breeds the nicest living spaces for a
decent price in an eccentric and unique part of town. The
area is great because it's Ann Arbor at its finest: think free
trade stores and older hippies. The area - located in the old
West side historical district - is a five minute walk to the
Kerrytown shopping district (which means Zingerman's
and the farmer's market) and is adjacent to the classy and
overpriced shopping and dining available on Main Street.
So, if you want a fancy date night with your special someone
(or your parents), or feel like taking a stroll down the Huron
River to watch the crew team on Argo Pond, this area is
docile, quiet and one of the prettiest in Ann Arbor.
Almost every house has a special flavor to it, and most of
the living spaces are cozy and homey. Walk outside your
house in this district, and you will be greeted with beautiful
paved sidewalks to stroll along and clear your head or the
opportunity to feed an already fattened squirrel. Usually
called home by graduate students and Ann Arbor residents,
the houses here are usually kept up nicely, and kitchens
don't look like fallout shelters. The bedrooms also lack holes
in walls and unhinged doors. The two downsides to living in
this area are that higher quality often means higher prices,
and the neighborhood is about a 15-minute walk from Cen-
tral Campus, which makes walks from the library or Brown
Jug on a chilly winter night rather excruciating.
Well stocked with a bevy of outfitters, this area is a
haven for Carrie Bradshaw pretenders. State Street is
a murderer's row of retail, with women's boutique Pitaya,
men's staple Van Boven and other shops helming the block.
Like your threads distressed? With Liberty Street's Rag-
stock and Avtomobile, and State Street's Star Vintage and
The Getup, the area is host to a healthy crop of subversive,
used clothing destinations that tastefully complement the
mainstream, trend-driven offerings of heavy hitters Urban
Outfitters and American Apparel. And, with outdoors stores
State Street's Bivouac and Main Street's Moosejaw, the best
answers to Ann Arbor's Hoth-like winter inhabit the area.
There's no excuse to be starved for school spirit in this
area either. State Street's neighboring All About Blue and
The M-Den (and let's not forget local leviathan Under-
ground Printing's Main Street destination) boast an almost
ridiculous stock of University gear, saving a student that
annoying trek to Briarwood should, say, their "Michigan
Beer Pong" T-shirt get totally thrashed at that Psi U pre-
game.
Sprinkle in a few corporate conveniences - chiefly,
State Street's 7-Eleven and CVS - and dash it with Nickels
Arcade, Dawn Treader Book Shop and other only-in-Ann
Arbor locales, and the area is ultimately a shopping hotspot.
As our favorite obese gangster rapper Rick Ross would say:
"blowing money fast." Indeed, Rick.