Ann Arbor Neighborhoods: Kerrytown, Old West Side, East Side (Student Area), Burns Park, North Side, & Pittsfield Twnship
Kerrytown, Old West Side, and Burns Park are pretty close to town and generally not student areas. They can be very pricey to live in but are walking distance to town. I also like the “north campus” side of Ann Arbor. There are a few decent apartment complexes there usually filled with medical residents and graduate students.
Ypsilanti Neighborhoods: Depot Town, Downtown, Student Area (south of Washtenaw north of MI Ave. east of Oakwood, west of Huron St.), Mid-town, College Heights, Normal Park, and the South Side.
People often ask me where I live, and I always say “Depot Town in Ypsi, I’m a Brooklyn kind of gal” ‘Ypsi’ in my opinion is the Brooklyn of Ann Arbor. It’s cheap to live here, we have festivals, a food co-op, vintage shops, great pubs, riverside parks, and it’s only a short bus ride to Ann Arbor.
I HIGHLY recommend Depot Town, or the family-friendly Normal Park and College Heights. Downtown ‘Ypsi’ is cool, but you have to have your city-street-radar on at night (don’t leave your car unlocked or walk in dark alleys). It has great nightlife and AWESOME cheap loft spaces. A heads up on one notorious landlord…a quick search of ‘Beal Properties’ will tell you all you need to know about them. Of course it’s up to you what you are willing to endure for a good deal.
Saline & Dexter: These are both cute small towns just outside Ann Arbor. Basically, it’s hard to find somewhere that isn’t safe to live here. I recommend living in walking distance to the downtown core- as they do occasionally have something fun to do and a coffee shop worth stopping in :c)