How to Survive (and maybe even thrive…) in Ann Arbor, Michigan

Welcome

If you’re reading this, you were probably accepted to the Helen Zell Writers’ Program. Yay, congratulations! This means you’ll be living in Ann Arbor (or, at the very least, spending a lot of time here).

About this Guide

Full disclosure, when I moved to Ann Arbor, I hated it. Vocally. I complained about and insulted the town to almost anyone who would listen, which in retrospect is pretty embarrassing, but it was a rough time on a global scale, so I’m somewhat blaming it on that. I had lived in the Midwest in my early twenties but moved here from a big city on the East Coast and was convinced that there was nothing interesting or of good quality in Ann Arbor–which is obviously not true about any place, but I was convinced of it anyway. Then, over the course of the next three years, I came to really appreciate–some might even say love–Ann Arbor. Once I accepted the town for what it is (a Midwestern college town of 120,000 people, with some village-like qualities) rather than resent it for what it is not (a large coastal city,) a lot of characteristics I thought were annoying became ones I enjoyed. The whole thing was a very concrete exercise in learning how to change my mind.

A Collection of Hand-Me-Down Advice for incoming Helen Zell Writers’ Program Students

This isn’t a definitive guide to being in the MFA program and living in Ann Arbor, but it’s my attempt to share what I grew to like and appreciate about it It’s a mix of my recommendations and recommendations from other writers in the program whose opinions I solicited in a survey. In places where there are unattributed quotes, that means I’m quoting a fellow MFAer from that survey. I didn’t include information like addresses and hours of operation, because I figured you could google those. I tried to include places and activities that would have broad appeal. I hope it is useful and makes you feel excited about your time here. high school production of Urinetown that rivaled professional productions and moved me to tears? Also yes.), but I’d argue that uncertainty is part of the experience.

Recommendations of things to do while you ’ re in the program from MFAers:

DoI am continuously shocked by the sheer number of events that happen in Ann Arbor every day. This town loves a lecture, a performance, a trivia night, a museum exhibit, a class for amateurs, etc.

Where to Find Events to Attend

The Happening at Michigan website (and email listserv, which you should automatically be subscribed to as a student) is very helpful in terms of finding out about things that are happening at the university outside of the MFA program and English department.

The Ann Arbor Observer events page will keep you up to date on all town(ie)1 happenings.

Flyers - Before I moved to Ann Arbor, I had never once in my life gone to an event I saw on a flyer, but (as mentioned above) people change, and there are a lot of flyers everywhere here The events advertised are going to be hit or miss (Did I spend a somewhat uncomfortable two hours in a sparsely-attended, buddhist “meditation session” led by a condescending man who just read out of a book in a soft voice the entire time? Yes. But did I also see a

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Look at the stars - The Detroit Observatory on campus has monthly open houses during which you can use their telescopes to look at the stars. The Ann Arbor District Library also has telescopes that you can check out for two week periods (there is usually a long waitlist, but it goes by pretty fast). There is a dark sky area an hour drive from Ann Arbor, at Lake Hudson Recreation Area, which is great for stargazing.

Go see new, old, classic, and cult movies at the Michigan and State Theatres - They are very good indie movie theaters. Their website is kind of confusing, so make sure to look closely. They often have themed film nights and sometimes film scholars give little speeches before or after the showings. The Michigan has an organ player. In the spring, the Michigan hosts the Ann Arbor Film Festival, which is apparently the oldest experimental film festival in North America.

Take ceramics classes - Multiple MFAers recommended Clay Work Studio

Go see writers at Literati - There are several great bookstores in the area (other top mentions in the survey were Schuler Books FKA Nicola’s and Blackstone Books in Ypsilanti), but Literati is the one that is the most centrally located in downtown Ann Arbor and has a relationship with the MFA program. They host writers, book clubs, etc. etc.

Attend community theater - There is a baffling amount of community theater in Ann Arbor. This year, Ann Arbor Musical Theatre Works performed “Moby Dick! The Musical!” in a pre-school and all MFAers who went agreed that community theater is a very high form of art. Other recommendations: The Burns Park Players, PTD Productions in Ypsilanti, even the high schools here do very high quality productions full of talent, grit, and sincerity. The UMich musical theater school also does a yearly play and musical.

Go to a football game - Some people are into it, some people aren’t, but it is inarguably a quintessential Ann Arbor experience. And, when you teach undergrads, it’s nice to have a sense of what they are talking about every Monday morning. Some of the less popular sports teams also have themed nights–like Bark in the Park for baseball, Pride Night for women’s soccer, which are way less overwhelming than football and also fun if you’re into it

Get into a relationship with the trees - There are, eponymously, a lot of trees here. Some favorite nature spots named by MFAers include:

● Bird Hills Nature Area

● Barton Pond - Right next to Bird Hills (you can hike through Bird Hills over to Barton Pond).

● The Arb - Look out for the peony festival.

● Scio Woods Preserve

● Silver Lake - About an hour away. This is a nice hike in the fall especially and in the summer you can swim in the lake.

● Independence Lake - Also about an hour away, and you can swim there.

● Gallup Park - You can kayak here, as well as ice skate. It also connects to the Arb through a trail.

● Saginaw Forest

● Pioneer woods - Small wooded area on the Old West Side. There is a butterfly meadow.

● Huron River Drive - You can drive or bike along it and stop off at various wooded areas along the river.

● Potawatomi Trail Loop

● Hunt Park - Seems like a relatively normal park in summer, spring, and winter, but in fall the huge maple trees go crazy with color.

Go to the farmer’s market - It’s very good, especially in the non-winter months.

Explore the state - Michigan is a big state with lots of water and woods. Some recommendations, ranked by distance (close to far away) from Ann Arbor:

● Saugatuck - Queer2 beach town on Lake Michigan.

● Warren Dunes - “Still nice dunes that are closer to Ann Arbor than Sleeping Bear Dunes.”

● Sleeping Bear Dunes - Giant picturesque dunes on Lake Michigan.

● Leelanau Peninsula (Northport, Sutton’s Bay, etc.). - “Some of the most charming towns I have ever visited ”

● Upper Peninsula - Hiawatha National Forest, Porcupine Mountains, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. “Beguiling.”

Hang out in Detroit and Dearborn - There are many online guides etc. to visiting Detroit so you can seek out lots of stuff on your own, but below are recommendations from current students for things to do in Detroit and Dearborn.

Detroit-Detroit Institute of Arts, Belle Isle, The Schvitz (Russian Bathhouse), Yemen Cafe, Motor City Wine Bar, The Congregation, Cranbook Art Museum, John King Books, The Room, The Fisher Building, Selden Standard, Rose’s, Black Scroll Network (Black history tours of Detroit).

Dearborn - Hashems Nuts & Coffee Gallery, Al Ameer’s.

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Go to the doctor - Another thing I recommend doing while you are in this program is go to every doctor possible, because you have very good health insurance (thank you GEO, the grad worker union). Get every scan! Go to therapy multiple times a week! Do physical therapy for a nagging hip injury! Get immunotherapy for your pet allergies! The sky is the limit!

Eat and Drink

I am going to be honest with you: The one thing I have not fallen in love with in Ann Arbor is the restaurant scene. But, there are some acceptable-to-good (occasionally very good) restaurants. Generally, I would recommend buying some cookbooks and frequenting the farmer’s market and many grocery stores/farm markets, but when you want to eat out, here are some places that aren’t all the obvious spots you will hear about on day one (Zingerman’s, Miss Kim’s, The Last Word, Braun Court, York, Ricewood, Blank Slate Creamery, Argus,3 Old Town).

● El Harissa - North African/Mediterranean food.

● Spencer - Expensive farm-to-table and cool wine spot. There is a prix fixe menu, but on Saturdays and Sundays they have “cafe hours” where you can have cheaper, smaller snacks, as well as wine.

● Yoon’s Bakery - Korean bakery by North Campus. Multiple people on the survey said it is the best bakery in town. There is also a good, large Asian grocery store next door.

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● TupTim - Solid Thai food in Ypsilanti.

● K&D Bistro - Solid Pho in Ypsilanti.

● Lan City Hand Pulled Noodles - Two locations, the one farther from campus is better.

● Pillar’s Tamales - Tamale place right off of Stadium Blvd.

● Basil Babe - Popular Thai food truck that opened a brick-and-mortar in Ypsilanti.

● Buddy’s Pizza - Detroit style pizza place. The original location is in Detroit, but they have one in a strip mall in Ann Arbor as well.

● Ginger Deli - Vietnamese food. “Good vegetarian broth.”

● Jefferson Market - Coffee and cafe on the Old West Side.

● Rich J.C Korean Restaurant - “Hole-in-the-wall” Korean place by campus.

● TeaHaus - “Kind of ~random~ but sweet.”

● Ypsi Cocktail - Queer leaning cocktail bar.

● Dixboro Project - Upscale restaurant as well as casual cafe on a wooded campus.

● Monahan’s Seafood Market - Seafood counter in Kerrytown Market that also has sandwiches etc. that you can eat there. Definitely the best place to buy seafood in town. It’s fun to order oysters and eat them there. You can also get wine from the shop next door, which has a good selection and the staff is very helpful and not pretentious.

● HOMES Campus/Brewery - Local brewery. The campus also has a coffee shop that is open during the day where you can do work.

● NorthStar Lounge - Queer leaning, hosts a lot of events like trivia, bingo, live music, etc.

Write

You will (hopefully) be writing a lot while living in Ann Arbor. Here are some MFAers favorite spots to write:

● North side or fourth floor of Hatcher Library

● Argus on Packard or Liberty

● The Reading Room and the East Longue in the Rackham Building

● The Hatcher Library Reading Room

● The bar at The Graduate Hotel

● The Traverwood branch of the Ann Arbor District library –Very peaceful, with nice wood interior and windows that look onto a meadow