Mapping Out the Best Fit for You

As you start to get situated in your new home away from home, you might start wondering where exactly you're living. Not the address – the neighborhood! Inevitably, you're living in one of a dozen places that each have unique historical, cultural, and geographical contexts. Locate your neighborhood below to learn about what it has to offer!

  • Elbel: Just north of the intramural Sports Building, it’s named after Louis Elbel, the alumnus composer of “The Victors.” It offers a short walk for its population consisting of almost entirely students.

 

  • Yost: South of Packard and East of State St, it is named after coach Fielding Yost, who led us to our first national championship in 1901. Yost houses numerous student athletes and undergraduates. Yost Ice Arena is open for a $3 admission fee.

 

  • North Ingalls: North of Rackham Graduate School is a heavily student populated neighborhood. Its colorful houses and proximity to central campus and the Power Center make it an attractive area.

 

  • Tappan: The Law Quad and Ross School of business both call this their home, a neighborhood named after Henry Tappan, the first president of UM.

 

  • West Murfin: North of Hubbard road is the only student neighborhood on North Campus. It is adjacent to Bursley, the North Campus Recreation Building, and to Northwood, as well as the Plymouth Road shopping center. West Murphin is chiefly comprised of apartments.

 

  • East Packard: The Tappan Triangle – a popular hangout for residents, and site for events – calls this neighborhood, located south of Oakland Street, its home. Its large student population (attracted to nearby restaurants and shops) helps create some of the strongest off-campus communities.

 

  • South University: A plethora of shops creates a vivid nightlife in this neighborhood east of Church and south of Geddes. The nearby Forest Hill Cemetery holds many leading citizens of Ann Arbor, such as coaches Fielding Yost and Bo Schembechler.

 

  • Germantown: This extremely historic neighborhood, situated between State and Main Streets, hosts  landmarks such as the Cube, the Union, and 1896 Bethlehem United Church. Its name alludes to the German settlers who moved here in the early 19th century.

 

  • Old West Side: Enclosed by Fifth, Kingsley, Seventh, and William Streets, this area is highlited by the Jefferson Markett & Cakery, and Washentaw dairy. It hosues many graduate students and permanent residents.

 

  • North Burns Park: Home to The Rock, a graffiti-covered boulder originally a memorial to George Washington, it is home to Professor's Row, an area housing numerous faculty houses.

 

  • Old Fourth Ward: Located west of State Street and north of Germantown, within one of the city's first residential neighborhoods, it was originally known as the center of Ann Arbor. It is home to Kerrytown, a vibrant marketplace which in turn hosts the Ann Arbor Farmer's Market.

 

  • Oxbridge – Thie neighborhood contains a number of Greek life houses, which gave it its historical name, “College Hill.” The Nicholas Arboretum offers 123 acres of nature to enjoy.

 

Contributed by: Paul Ligeti