Where does the beauty of Ann Arbor stop, and the Ypsi Ugly begin?

When you’re traveling down Washtenaw Avenue, heading toward Ypsilanti from Ann Arbor, at what point do you feel overwhelmed by the ugliness? At what point does it become clear to you that you’re no longer among the sophisticated intellectuals of Ann Arbor? Is there perhaps a particular house, storefront or other landmark that, every time you see it, makes you think, “There is no beauty from here on out”? Is there a point at which you just lock your doors and begin to weep like a baby?

These questions have been on my mind since earlier today, when I read the following comment on AnnArbor.com, in a thread about planned improvements along the Washtenaw Avenue corridor connecting Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti.

ypsiugly2

I think it’s a great question, and I’m curious to know what people think… When do you feel as though you’ve crossed the dividing line between civilization and the hideous travesty that is Ypsilanti? Is it just as you pass Whole Foods? Is that when the helplessness sets in? I know that the accepted dividing line between our two communities is Carpenter Road, but where’s the real dividing line? At what point is beauty overtaken by the repulsive ugliness synonymous with Ypsilanti?

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68 Comments

  1. James Madison
    Posted November 23, 2009 at 9:40 pm | Permalink

    I find the ugliness to begin around Packard and Washtenaw, and is especially intense to the north of that intersection.

  2. Brackinald Achery
    Posted November 23, 2009 at 9:53 pm | Permalink

    The beauty does end at Huron Parkway, but it’s Ann Arbor’s ugly till Carpenter, then a no-mans-land ugly till Golfside, then Ypsi ugly till Depot Town, then Beal ugly for about 30 feet, then Depot Town again, then Township ugly.

  3. Peter Larson
    Posted November 23, 2009 at 9:55 pm | Permalink

    The Arby’s on Washtenaw.

  4. Suzie
    Posted November 23, 2009 at 9:59 pm | Permalink

    Hahaha, there’s a wrong question if I ever heard one. The real answer to the real question is this: The AWESOME begins at the WATER TOWER.

  5. Tim
    Posted November 23, 2009 at 10:28 pm | Permalink

    If genericreg can’t see the beauty in former fast-food joints re-purposed as ethnic food restaurants, he’s a sorry excuse for a human being. Plus the Ypsi-Arbor Bowl sign is far more badass than anything in Ann Arbor.

  6. Andy Ypsilanti
    Posted November 23, 2009 at 11:06 pm | Permalink

    I love when the good people of the deuce make comments like that. It demonstrates how stuck up, closed minded, ignorant, and isolated the sophisticated intellectuals of A2 tend to be.

  7. Andy Ypsilanti
    Posted November 23, 2009 at 11:09 pm | Permalink

    But then I find Detroit beautiful and think its a great place to spend the weekend.

  8. 'Ff'lo
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 12:00 am | Permalink

    The beauty kicks in at first glimpse of the sign for Ypsi-Arbor Bowl.

  9. Posted November 24, 2009 at 12:02 am | Permalink

    Honestly, let’s let not allow Pittsfield to get away too easy.

    The “We don’t care about you, or ourselves” ambiance punches me in the face at K-Mart.

  10. kristin
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 1:47 am | Permalink

    Oh my gosh, it’s another “Ann Arbor doesn’t like us/think we’re smart/value our scrappy good nature” thing. We had been mercifully minus the low self esteem for a little while. Focus on the issue, which is that Washtenaw is ugly.

  11. Posted November 24, 2009 at 7:03 am | Permalink

    Sorry, but I can’t resist this stuff sometimes. This comment was just worded too perfectly, and it got me thinking about the real dividing line between A2 and Ypsi. At any rate, I thought that it was interesting. I can see, however, that it’s not terribly constructive.

  12. Robert
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 7:47 am | Permalink

    I don’t know how other people determine boundries between municipalities, but mine is totally based on gut feelings. If I feel mostly good feelings, I am home. If I am feeling mostly bothered at the moment, I consider myself to be in some foreign land. It’s my understanding though, that there are maps somewhere which show distinct lines some sticklers have drawn up.

  13. the injector
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 8:34 am | Permalink

    hmmm…so washtenaw by the big, painted rock on the corner of hill is beautiful?? the stench of vomit from all the frat houses permeates the air around there and red plastic cups litter the road and the yards almost everyday. and speaking of vomit, i work right in the midst of student housing near south university, and the sidewalks always have leftover chunks of hurl blasting this way and that, and outside of goodtime charlies and pizza house always stinks like a giant puke factory. While i sometimes catch a gigantic breeze of piss stench down on michigan in ypsi between the walkway by the party store and vgs, i only run across vomit strewn sidewalks every once in a very great while.

    and really washtenaw is just a nasty, nasty road…if people didn’t depend on their cars so much, maybe it could be saved.

  14. Alf
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 8:51 am | Permalink

    I don’t understand why all the A2 hate? Who cares what they think of us. I live in Ypsi and love living next to Ann Arbor for all that it offers. I wouldn’t live in Ypsi if A2 weren’t so close. Sometimes in life, its better to accept the shortcomings and praise those who do well. Fact is Ann Arbor is prettier, has lower crime per capita, better schools, better economy, more things to do, higher property values, and most of all people enjoy telling others they are from there. And there are plenty of reasons why. Why can’t everyone just accept things for what they are.

    That being said, I start getting depressed at the Bistro

  15. Christine M
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 9:10 am | Permalink

    I just don’t think about this topic all that often but it is food for thought (or puke). I like both Ypsi and Ann Arbor. I abhor the snobs in A2 but just ignore them for the most part. There are plenty of neighborhoods in Ann Arbor that I would not want to live in, it’s scary and nasty in plenty of parts over there: Ellsworth Coop area? Neighborhoods over near the west side behind Knights of Stadium? Not friendly or safe feeling like my own Normal Park. I work with some people who live in what is officially Ann Arbor but east of Carpenter. They take great pride in the fact that their subdivision is in A2 but to me that is Ypsilanti. Not that it matters much but it does matter when it comes to school districts. When my kids are beyond elementary age, I feel Ypsi public schools are lacking greatly in comparison to Ann Arbor public schools.

    This is a topic I would like to see more widely discussed, we aren’t sure, will we continue to pay private school prices or at that point should we sell and move to A2 simply for the schools? What is more cost effective?

  16. roots
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 9:13 am | Permalink

    I laugh at how far people will stretch the A2 boundaries to fit their needs. Don’t those all the way up to Golfside consider themselves within the boundary of Ann Arbor? I think that includes all that splendid ugliness between Carpenter and Golfide…just as ugly as the rest of Washtenaw, which is, as others have said, the real issue.

    Gooooooo empty Farmer Jack!

  17. steve-o
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 9:16 am | Permalink

    I don’t know if I would call it “ugliness”, but the poorly planned, non-walkable, urban sprawl suburban hell goes from around Arby’s to Dom Bakery. There is no excuse for commercial areas that are planned to require one to drive from one store to the one next door with no planning for pedestrians and bikes. AA/Ypsi light rail on Washtenaw now! Rah Rah!

  18. Mr. X
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 9:17 am | Permalink

    There used to be a street car that ran down Washtenaw. Some bright folks, however, decided to tear it out to make room for cars. History won’t judge them kindly.

    And I don’t think this has to be an us vs. them thread. I like Ann Arbor, and, as others have said, like the proximity of its cultural assets and jobs. What I find objectionable, though, is this equation that Ypsi=ugly. You can kid yourselves and say that most Ann Arborites don’t think that way, but I’m here to tell you that they do.

  19. Tim
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 9:25 am | Permalink

    We should push the ugliness barrier toward Ann Arbor.

    “Uglification West of Huron Parkway!”

    Who’s with me?

  20. roots
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 9:50 am | Permalink

    I like Ann Arbor, too. I just think we should all take the blame for sprawl. It’s ugly, wherever it exists. It’s even ugly in Novi, Northville, and Farmington Hills! GASP.

  21. Kristin
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 10:38 am | Permalink

    How do you know most Ann Arborites feel that way, Mr. X? Do you have anything other than the occasional anecdotal blog entry? There area lot of people in A2. I am fascinated by the perception that there are Ann Arborites huddled shoulder to shoulder over brie and chardonnay pooh-poohing Ypsilanti. I never noticed people in Ann Arbor, where I spent I first forty years, spending as much of their time defaming Ypsi, my hometown now, as contributors to this blog do waving their fists in perceived umbrage. Darn that east coast, I mean Ann Arbor, elite! Growing up here I always felt that Ann Arbor had its strengths and faults, and so did Ypsilanti, as well as Dexter, Saline, and Brighton. Just wondering where all of this Yspicentric defensiveness comes from.

    And Washtenaw, much of it, is just awful. Whoever owns it. I’d add parts of Canton to the Novi, Northville, Farmington Hills list.

  22. Amanda
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 10:43 am | Permalink

    The portion of the Washtenaw between US-23 and Dom Bakery is certainly quite stark, and could be just about anywhere in America with its strip malls and fast food restaurants.

    I lived in Ypsi for a couple years while I was in graduate school at UM, and would drive that corridor every day… the one thing that told me I crossed that threshold was most apparent in the winter. The instant I was out of Ann Arbor, the roads instantly became free and clear of snow.

  23. Andy C
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 10:50 am | Permalink

    I’d say Ann Arbor ends where Washtenaw crosses 94. It’s kind of our Berlin Wall. That intersection sucks to drive thru and is also impossible to get past on foot or bike.

    The AATA doesn’t let many of it’s buses go between Ypsi and Ann Arbor after 7pm. That cut off is around Carpenter Rd too.

    I’m ignoring the whole “ugly” part.

  24. Peter Larson
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 11:06 am | Permalink

    Ann Arbor people think about Ypsi about as much as Americans think of Canada, yet Ypsians are more than vocal as to their hatred and disdain of Ann Arbor, just as Canadians are to the US, in my experience.

    Ypsi never comes up in any conversation I have within the borders of Ann Arbor. EMU never comes unless I am telling people what a good school it is and what a great time I had there. Yet when I am in Ypsi, I hear much Ann Arbor maligning and when I’m at EMU, I get the constant barrage of why UM is such a terrible place (which it is not).

    It’s stupid.

  25. the injector
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 11:28 am | Permalink

    okay, okay–it is not sometimes that i catch a gigantic whiff of piss stink on michigan between the party store and vgs; it is always. but if i had to choose between wading through piss stank or puke stank, i’d have to choose the piss…

    washtenaw blows; i avoid it like the plague…

  26. Andy Ypsilanti
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 11:29 am | Permalink

    I think that after you hear “Ypsi, that place is gross and dangerous” about the first dozen times, from people who has never been East of 23, the patience level starts to wear thin. And no, I don’t think the folks of A2 sit around and talk smack about Ypsi. They wait until the “Yps” of Ypsilanti leaves your lips before they get started. As in “I live in downtown Ypsilanti”, “Ypsilanti, I don’t go there because it’s too dangerous.” (And no, I don’t think ALL Ann Arborites have this type of attitude, just around 75%)

    Also, I prefer not to pay 20%-30% extra every time I have dinner or a drink. I personally only go to the Deuce about 12-15 times a year. I’d rather head east and go to the D and its (slightly less) snooty neighbors.

  27. Linda
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 11:53 am | Permalink

    The ugliness begins where the perception of safety leaves off..

  28. Kim
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 12:54 pm | Permalink

    I’d join a Committee for the Uglification of Ann Arbor, if someone wants to start one.

  29. Kim
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 12:55 pm | Permalink

    We could post pictures of blighted Ypsi buildings all over The Deuce.

  30. Curt Waugh
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 1:30 pm | Permalink

    Ugliness, my ass.

    The excellent mechanics at Speedy will do a great job on your car.

    The very good people who work for Washtenaw County are just down the street from there.

    The incredible Sarah Randazzo runs a dance school a couple hundred yards later.

    Great restaurants in the Chinese buffet and Ichiban. Nice, big bar at the Bistro.

    The new burrito place is coming at the re-purposed A&W (the Arby’s is still there). Tuptim re-purposed Long John Silver’s. Pita Pita re-purposed Dunkin Donuts. Temptations. The Mexican place behind Subway. China Chef. The Aisan grocery store. The mammoth new Asian restaurant coming. On and on….

    Bitch all you want about U-Haul, but they’re conveniently located and they have really professionalized their propane operations.

    There are batting cages and putt-putt and a ton of other locally-run food joints. Sure, the assholes who blow through there on the way to the highway see the physical ugliness that’s there. Let’s face it, it’s an ugly strip mall. But to those of us who use it, there is much to love about this particular stretch of road. The rents must be such that people can afford to take a chance on something wonderful. I feel very welcome along this stretch of my life. If you don’t like it, go hang out in the ever-growing chains in Ann Arbor. To each his or her own.

  31. Andy Ypsilanti
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 1:50 pm | Permalink

    Amen, Curt.

    How do the residents of Pittsfield Township feel about all of this? I mean, we’re calling this and Ypsi-A2 thing, but isn’t the area we’re talking about pretty much all township?

    And I like the idea of putting up pictures of Ypsi all over A2. Maybe we can have a gorilla marketing campaign, just pictures of locations around town with the “I “heart” Ypsi” symbol on it.

  32. Posted November 24, 2009 at 2:30 pm | Permalink

    I believe Mark’s whole point was to point out the silliness of that person’s comment. I laughed out loud when I read Mark’s post. There’s nothing to be offended about, the whole joke is about what this person said, it’s too funny. Ypsi is ugly in some parts, but beautiful in others, some of us know, even most Ann Arborites, and the ones who say things like that probably have never been much further east than Golfside. That’s OK, I like the quietness of Ypsi, most of the time I like living here tucked away from the busy and congestion of Ann Arbor. Washtenaw is indeed ugly but that’s OK too, gotta take the good with the bad, much more to be thankful for, including humor and being able to laugh at ourselves, Holy everything, holy Ann Arbor, holy Ypsilanti, holy Michigan, amen.

  33. Jim
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 2:55 pm | Permalink

    From 94 to Golfside is Pittsfield Twp., and from Golfside to Hewitt (north side) and Courtland (south side) is Ypsi Twp., so all four municipalities share responsibility for Washtenaw’s shortcomings. That said, there’s no better place for a car-centered shopping district than the main drag between a county’s two main cities, and of the county’s strings of strip malls, Washtenaw is among the the most dense, the most accessible to pedestrians and bus-riders, and the most charming (with its aforementioned mid-century attractions). I find Washtenaw much less depressing than the newer and much more sprawling development along Jackson Road, Carpenter Road, and Whittaker Road. With Packard running roughly parallel, Washtenaw is also easily bypassed.

  34. Jim
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 3:23 pm | Permalink

    Of course, 23 not 94.

  35. Edward Zero
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 3:44 pm | Permalink

    The comment was stupid, but the corridor is butt ugly.

    And I agree with Jim, if we had to have sprawl somewhere, it makes sense to have it down the Washtenaw corridor. It’s just a shame that it’s all such a mess.

    Does anyone know if there has ever been talk of bringing streetcars back? We’d probably lose two lanes in the process, and spend a few hundred million dollars, but it would be cool as hell.

  36. BrianB
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 3:45 pm | Permalink

    Beauty and borderlines are constructs of the mind but townships without sidewalks suck for real.

  37. Stacey
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 4:33 pm | Permalink

    Reminds me of the time I was in Wild Birds Unlimited, chatting with the cashier about seeing a red-headed woodpecker and some other interesting birds in my Ypsi backyard when another worker there muttered, “I’m surprised there ANY birds in Ypsilanti.” Come to think of it, she was pretty unattractive so she couldn’t have been from Ann Arbor.

  38. Posted November 24, 2009 at 5:23 pm | Permalink

    Contributing to the fuzzy boundaries is the number of different definable boundaries available.

    There’s the municipal boundaries, obviously, with the two Townships in between.

    Culturally, though, people are more likely to attach themselves to the boundaries of school districts (pdf) or zip codes and postal addresses.

    Going by school districts puts a hard line at Golfside. The Ann Arbor 48108 mostly stops at 23, but has a little peninsula between Washtenaw and Packard that extends as far as Golfside.

    Political boundaries give more layers. The County Board of Commissioners ward map stops Ann Arbor at US-23, with Pittsfield finally getting the recognition it doesn’t from either the USPS or the school districts. The Michigan House of Representatives (pdf), though, returns to Golfside for the defining line.

    So there’s not really much support for considering, “anything east of Huron Parkway to be Ypsilanti”, but if Arborland wanted to switch who they sent their tax payments to, I doubt Ypsi would turn them down.

  39. Andy C
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 5:30 pm | Permalink

    People from A2 attractive? Maybe some of the students but the locals with their fanny packs, beards, and saddles? ew! 15 minutes in Whole Foods once every 3 months is enough Ann Arbor for me. Got the willies now.

  40. kristin
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 6:50 pm | Permalink

    Ah, now Ann Arbor people are ugly. “Mom! Ann Arbor’s touching me!”

  41. Oliva
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 6:53 pm | Permalink

    Stacey, we had an indigo bunting hanging around our feeder for two days in April (tell that to the lady at WBU). My husband snapped a few pics for proof. We heard later that they like farmland, and our neighbors did turn their backyard into a big, wonderful garden, so maybe that is why the bird came. It was thrilling. And we had more hummingbirds and goldfinches than ever this past summer. So many singing goldfinches . . . making this a very fancy place.

  42. Suzie
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 8:44 pm | Permalink

    Yes, the goldfinches this year were great!

  43. Maria Cotera
    Posted November 24, 2009 at 11:09 pm | Permalink

    Ann Arbor — the Norman, Oklahoma of the Midwest.

  44. Posted November 24, 2009 at 11:20 pm | Permalink

    It’s on my Christmas gift list to get a bird and tree book. I just started feeding the birds this year. It’s really enjoyable!

  45. Dirtgrain
    Posted November 25, 2009 at 9:39 am | Permalink

    Where there aren’t sidewalks and trees.

  46. Karl
    Posted November 25, 2009 at 10:37 am | Permalink

    From yet another thread on AnnArbor.com about Ypsi crime comes this comment:

    Yet another reason, not to move, live in, or even, in some cases, get anywhere near Ypsilanti. Always bad news coming out of that place.- Matt Van Auker

    http://www.annarbor.com/news/ypsilanti-sees-spike-in-auto-thefts/#comments

  47. Andy Ypsilanti
    Posted November 25, 2009 at 11:53 am | Permalink

    If there is a printer out there that will print Pro-Ypsi Propaganda posters, I will make the ultimate sacrafice: I will go to the Deuce durring the hollidays; but only to hang up posters. My shopping will be done here in Ypsi.

  48. Oliva
    Posted November 25, 2009 at 2:59 pm | Permalink

    Andy, I hear they need the posters at the A2 bus station really bad (see another local blogger’s post: http://rareoats.blogspot.com/2009/10/aata-gets-f.html).

  49. Oliva
    Posted November 25, 2009 at 3:00 pm | Permalink

    Oh man, I missed that there was an update to that Rare Oats post:
    http://rareoats.blogspot.com/2009/11/update-aata-gets-f.html.

  50. Brackinald Achery
    Posted November 25, 2009 at 3:47 pm | Permalink

    Wouldn’t it be cheaper and easier to just not give a shit?

  51. Andy Ypsilanti
    Posted November 25, 2009 at 3:59 pm | Permalink

    But not nearly as fun and rewarding.

  52. Brackinald Achery
    Posted November 25, 2009 at 4:39 pm | Permalink

    I don’t know… I’ve tried both, and I think not giving a shit is more fun and rewarding.

  53. Andy Ypsilanti
    Posted November 25, 2009 at 5:14 pm | Permalink

    Yet you continue to spend large amounts of time here debating with people, so you have to still care a little, right? Besides, spreading Ypsi propaganda in A2 sounds like more fun than work.

  54. Andy Ypsilanti
    Posted November 25, 2009 at 5:17 pm | Permalink

    Oh, also, Murph, that post was brilliant. I love it.

  55. Brackinald Achery
    Posted November 25, 2009 at 5:29 pm | Permalink

    Yet you continue to spend large amounts of time here debating with people, so you have to still care a little, right?

    That’s what I’m comparing not giving a shit to.

  56. Dirtgrain
    Posted November 25, 2009 at 7:58 pm | Permalink

    “Yet you continue to spend large amounts of time here debating with people, so you have to still care a little, right?”

    He could be arguing in his spare time.

  57. Peter Larson
    Posted November 25, 2009 at 8:34 pm | Permalink

    Don’t you people have anything better to do?

  58. blamecomehome
    Posted November 25, 2009 at 10:01 pm | Permalink


    We could post pictures of blighted Ypsi buildings all over The Deuce.

    Pick ones (the empty buildings and crappy neglected rental houses) owned by AA residents who won’t fix them up, and won’t sell them as “someday when someone ELSE does something they will be worth more”.

  59. Andy Ypsilanti
    Posted November 26, 2009 at 12:04 am | Permalink

    Clearly not. Though I am having fun at the
    Elbow Room.

  60. Dharma
    Posted November 26, 2009 at 7:08 am | Permalink

    This is a sort of silly question. I live in Ann arbor and like both cities, but the stretch between about Huron parkway and the ypsi water tower IS ugly (with exceptions, of course- bowling sign being one of them).

  61. Basic Bob
    Posted November 26, 2009 at 12:37 pm | Permalink

    There are quite a few ugly parts. Pittsfield Township completely ignores their section between US-23 and Golfside that many people consider Ypsi. The township board only cares about the area with a Saline mailing address. The ugliest parts are at Platt Road, Washtenaw County Jail, K-mart, and the vacant lot next to Tio’s.

  62. Posted December 3, 2009 at 10:21 am | Permalink

    I am sure you could do some good art project if you could tag Ann Arbor vehicles and map out where they go, and see if there is some psychographic boundary that is widely shared.

    The Wall Street Journal did this story about how the fortified fences between Eastern and Western Europe still divide deer herds there:

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125729481234926717.html?mod=rss_Today%27s_Most_Popular

    “The fence is long gone, and the no-man’s land where it stood now is part of Europe’s biggest nature preserve. The once-deadly border area is alive with songbirds nesting in crumbling watchtowers, foxes hiding in weedy fortifications and animals not seen here for years, such as elk and lynx.

    But one species is boycotting the reunified animal kingdom: red deer. Herds of them roam both sides of the old NATO-Warsaw Pact border here but mysteriously turn around when they approach it. This although the deer alive today have no memory of the ominous fence.”

  63. Jacob
    Posted December 19, 2009 at 1:31 am | Permalink

    I don’t think the article had all that much to do with A2 vs. Ypsi. It was just stating the fact that Washtenaw is ugly. There’s a ton of good businesses on the street but its impossible to get from one strip mall to another without getting in a car. No sidewalks, crossing the street is impossible, etc. Did I mention its ugly as sin?

    When I first came to Ypsi to look for an apartment the hideousness of Washtenaw made me seriously reconsider where I was moving. I think its great that Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti are getting together to try plan something better for the area. The two cities compliment each other nicely and there’s no reason that the corridor between the two should be an eyesore.

  64. Posted March 31, 2010 at 7:14 pm | Permalink

    The folks at AnnArbor.com are discussing this now too. You’ll love some of the comments following their article, which is titled “Are the entrances to Ann Arbor ugly? Some think so.”

  65. Gotherelastyear
    Posted July 8, 2010 at 9:23 am | Permalink

    I can vouch for the fact that the AATA considers Ann Arbor to end at Arborland. The “Holiday Ride” and “Night Ride” service that allow people to continue commuting past the hours of AATA bus service ends at Arborland. Given the AATA hours for the #4 bus (especially on weekends: 6:35 pm on Saturdays and 6:05 on Sundays) this essentially limits all traffic crossing beyond this border of civilization to people traveling in cars. Even with the desire to walk/bike, there is no way to traverse the US 23 / Washtenaw intersection with a reasonable chance of survival. (Of course, the situation is only a little less dire heading East since the “sidewalk” is essentially non-existent, but I will limit my comments since the question was about the A2/Ypsi border).

    It is precisely for these reasons that my husband and I, young professionals who arrived in town early last fall and found a rental apartment in this “No-man’s land”, are electing to move into Ann Arbor “proper”. For the past many years we have elected to use mass transit and walk whenever we could. In the large city we were in previously, this was not an issue. Because Ann Arbor has a pretty good transit system, we decided to test our principles during our first year here and not bring our automobile cross-country. While I’m not sure how much longer that will last (it did get a mite chilly waiting for a bus in what I was told was not a blizzard), we are going to do what we can by getting away from Washtenaw Ave east of Arborland. (And, for the record, we’re moving to North Ann Arbor).

  66. Elf
    Posted July 8, 2010 at 10:25 am | Permalink

    If you read this site, you know where you belong, and it’s not Ann Arbor.

  67. R.A.
    Posted November 28, 2012 at 10:27 am | Permalink

    There’s not a visual marker. It’s a smell. The smell of desperation.

  68. Lovely
    Posted September 22, 2013 at 7:05 pm | Permalink

    Draw a line from Whole Foods to the upscale outdoor shopping mall just build across Washtenaw from it. That’s your line.

3 Trackbacks

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  2. By OK, so I guess it’s called yarn bombing on July 6, 2010 at 9:15 pm

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  3. […] is a blog post titled “Where does the beauty of Ann Arbor stop, and the Ypsi Ugly begin?” (link). While the actual racial diversity is not wildly different number-wise between the two towns […]

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