Seattle vs. Ann Arbor

[linnetbird]

Hey all,

I will be moving to one of these two cities hopefully sometime this summer.  I am having a very hard time choosing between programs and I was hoping that a better impression of both of these cities would help me decide!

I have visited Ann Arbor several times, but only for a few days at a time.  I'm not sure what actually living there would be like.  Is it dominated by undergrads? Do you run out of things to do after living there for several years?

My concerns about Seattle would be that the public transit is not great and/or the city is hard to get around.  Also, not making enough money to live at all comfortably.

What's important to me:

-Good public transit

-Ability to go hiking, camping, etc.

-Affordable (<$1000/month) housing

-Dog friendly

 

Thank you all for any insights/perspectives on this!

[Boba felt]

Seattle has a great bus and light rail system that everyone uses. UW has student bus passes for about $100 per semester, which is a good deal. Fast bus to downtown takes less than 15 minutes. Lots of new apartments and amazing student dorms all built in last 3 years next to campus. Univ housing is less than $1000, plus they own apts near campus for about $900 for a single with hardwood floors. Lots of hiking and camping, but that's harder to get to without a car. You can take the ferry to day hikes on the islands though. City is super dog friendly, lots of dog parks and people bring their dogs to the beach to play. Food can be expensive if you're not careful where you shop. Beer is pricey too, not as many cheap student deals

Never been to U Mich area, but also hear good things. Tough decisions!

[glm]

Seattle has a great bus and light rail system that everyone uses. UW has student bus passes for about $100 per semester, which is a good deal. Fast bus to downtown takes less than 15 minutes. Lots of new apartments and amazing student dorms all built in last 3 years next to campus. Univ housing is less than $1000, plus they own apts near campus for about $900 for a single with hardwood floors. Lots of hiking and camping, but that's harder to get to without a car. You can take the ferry to day hikes on the islands though. City is super dog friendly, lots of dog parks and people bring their dogs to the beach to play. Food can be expensive if you're not careful where you shop. Beer is pricey too, not as many cheap student deals

Never been to U Mich area, but also hear good things. Tough decisions!

 

I second this. I moved to Washington from Pennsylvania about 7 years ago, and I haven't looked back since. The hiking/camping opportunities proximate to Seattle (Mount Rainier, Lake Chelan, The Olympics, The San Juans, The North Cascades, Okanogan… the list goes on) are INCREDIBLE and would keep you quite busy. Like Boba felt said, Seattle itself has great bits of outdoors within its city borders that are easily accessible: union bay reserve, the UW arboretum, and golden gardens park. Great places to take dogs and go for a run! 

[ihatechoosingusernames]

SEATTLE! Like the people above wrote, the city is super dog friendly. I believe there are more people with pets than with children Many apartments will allow dogs, and there's a bar in Fremont (not too far from UW) which allows you to bring your dog if it's well behaved. The areas to hike and camp are phenomenal. You can find more info on the Washington Trails Association website (wta.org). If you're also into general fitness stuff, the UW gym is second to none. They have a great indoor track, a pool, an indoor climbing wall, a wide variety of classes, and saunas to relax in. The bus system is awesome - I used it all 4 years of undergrad. You could also bike, as the city is biker friendly and there are plenty of bike paths that lead right onto campus.

 

If there was a program in the area that I was interested in, I would move back to Seattle in a heartbeat. As it is, I'll have to wait until my husband leaves the military before we can move back  

[talpostal]

Ann Arbor is much, much smaller than Seattle so the differences here are pretty big despite the fact that both are well-educated cities that are wonderful places to live. Because of its smallness A2 is very easy to get around on foot or on bike and while public transit exists in the form of city and UMich buses I wouldn't necessarily say that they're a big part of life in A2 unless you're regularly going from central campus to north campus or something like that. A2 is pretty close to Detroit and the metro Detroit area, which is massive, but I think you'll find that the vast majority of people who live in A2 have very, very little involvement with the City of Detroit (which, for all of its knocks, is a really neat area to explore).

 

Is A2 dominated by undergrads? I don't think so. A2 is very well-segregated between undergrad districts and grad/adult districts--speaking in terms of nightlife, there's one street that will be 90% undergrads on any given night and another a ways away that would be 90% grad students and adults. There are definitely plenty of more mature student neighborhoods too so it's possible to find a place to live that isn't going to be a raging party ever night. That being said, football still owns the town so on fall Saturdays the entire city is going to be a zoo--if you embrace it you'll love it, if not you'll probably want to claw your eyes out.

 

Do people get bored in Ann Arbor? I don't think so. I haven't lived there for a long time outside of undergrad but in my experience graduate students and adults love living there because like Seattle, it's a very energetic and educated community. If you're used to a big city environment like Seattle, Chicago, or New York, A2 may seem kind of small to you but overall I think it's an awesome place to live.

 

To speak to housing for a second, it depends on what sort of housing you're looking for. In campus neighborhoods most students pay in the $600 range but if you want to go nicer, or in a single, then you're probably looking at $800+. The caveat is that if you're willing to live farther from campus (perhaps outside of walking distance) you'll get much higher housing quality for cheaper, but I wouldn't recommend that because Ann Arbor is great when you can walk everywhere. 

[roguesenna]

Don't know anything about Seattle, but I'd assume A2 would be cheaper by comparison just because it's a smaller city in a less affluent state. Michigan is beautiful for camping, hiking, any kind of outdoor activity and has great seasonal stuff. If you are finding yourself bored that close to Detroit, you're not trying hard enough. If you get sick of A2, there are tons of music and sports things to do in Detroit and it honestly isn't as bad as the rep it gets.If you're at all into sports or music, you should have tons of activities so long as you're willing to look for them.

[xiaowei900818]

I went to University of Washington, Seattle for my undergrad study. The city is gorgeous and fun. Lots of different neighborhoods to explore. All your four "rules" seem to be pointing at Seattle as your perfect match. I don't know much about Michigan, but as far as I know, the winter there is not quite pleasant.  The only bone I have to pick with Seattle is that rains a bit too much. 

[roguesenna]

 I don't know much about Michigan, but as far as I know, the winter there is not quite pleasant.  The only bone I have to pick with Seattle is that rains a bit too much. 

 

depends on what you mean by "pleasant." can be beautiful. can also be brutal. depends on what you're used to and what you're looking for and what part of the state you're in. southern Michigan (where A2 is) isn't usually as bad as the rumors make it sound, but can still be rough if you're from somewhere like California. It's not going to be that much worse than any other northern state though. That said, Northern Michigan is a TOTALLY different story.

[Vene]

depends on what you mean by "pleasant." can be beautiful. can also be brutal. depends on what you're used to and what you're looking for and what part of the state you're in. southern Michigan (where A2 is) isn't usually as bad as the rumors make it sound, but can still be rough if you're from somewhere like California. It's not going to be that much worse than any other northern state though. That said, Northern Michigan is a TOTALLY different story.

At least Ann Arbor is far enough east that it doesn't regularly get pounded by lake effect snow. But, really, it's just winter. You get warm clothing and life goes on. The city has the infrastructure and experience to keep everything running.