You Oughtta Know By Now
“At last we get to live in cute, charming, cozy Ann Arbor,” says a voice coming from a massive skyscraper planted incongruously next to a little ranch-style house in the Observer’s “Life in Ann Arbor” cartoon. Fortunately, though, this scenario will likely never play out — instead, the would-be high-rise dweller can move to Scio Township, profiled in the same issue as an alternative to A2 housing prices. “Ann Arbor is moving out,” says a sales consultant interviewed for the story who “finds the view of surrounding subdivisions and Meijer a welcome change from the urban views she had [in Chicago].”
And it seems such a waste of time, if that’s what it’s all about. Good luck moving up, ’cause Ann Arbor’s movin’ out.
I never thought I’d see Billy Joel invoked on this site.
posted by Brandon on November 22nd, 2004 at 4:02 pmSince I can’t get the Observer online, I just have to ask: You DID make up that quote about preferring a view of suburban sprawl a view of Chicago, yes?
posted by Anna on November 22nd, 2004 at 4:21 pmerr…I meant, “…to a view…”
posted by Anna on November 22nd, 2004 at 4:21 pmNow I’ve got this stupid song stuck in my head.
Anna, the quote is real. Although since it’s a paraphrase, perhaps the sales consultant didn’t actually mention Meijer and the Observer was just mocking its source. One can hope.
posted by ann arbor is overrated on November 23rd, 2004 at 12:05 am…as someone whose hobby is wandering the blue highways and dirt roads of the county, I can confirm that yep, AA is moving out. Scio is a hotbed of bloated McMansions, Augusta Twp is falling prey to same, York Township is seeing inroads. The wild rural beauty of the county in the townships surrounding AA is being destroyed. I mean, developed. No, I mean destroyed.
posted by Laura on November 23rd, 2004 at 12:58 amIt is so strange… many students love Ann Arbor because it is their first (and perhaps only) look at “city” life, where you walk to the bar and pizza parlor and to your crummy job. Now I learn that actually it is a charming little tourist town with thatched roofs.
posted by Personality on November 23rd, 2004 at 8:26 am“I remember once in London I saw a picture of an American suburb, in a toothpaste ad on the back of the Saturday Evening Post — an elm-lined snowy street of these new houses, Georgian some of em, or with low raking roofs and — The kind you’d find here in Zenith, say in Floral Heights. Open Trees. Grass. And I was homesick! There’s no other country in the world that has such pleasant houses. And I don’t care if they *are* standardized. It’s a corking standard!” — from Babbitt
posted by Dale on November 23rd, 2004 at 8:54 amOh, Laura, with your mentions of blue highways. Why are you so great?
The past week, in the undergrad class I’m GSIing, the topic was “economic growth” vs. “economic development”, where growth is having more stuff (jobs, factories, McMansions), and development is having better stuff. I think it’s safe to say that nature is being destroyed, and yet the urbanized area is not being developed–it’s just growing.
posted by Murph on November 23rd, 2004 at 11:03 pmHave a happy T-day, all…..
go Lions!
posted by Kozzie on November 24th, 2004 at 3:36 pmTo the keeper of this site:
posted by julie on November 27th, 2004 at 6:51 pmI read on your who we are page that “you kid because you hate”. Why do you choose to hate? Could it be that Ann Arbor has the traits you don’t like because of people hating it, or failing to love it? Could it be true that you kid because you are young and have not yet claimed your share of responsiblity for creating the environment that you live in? You are in Ann Arbor briefly: what place are you really invested in? What place do you love? What place would inspire you to preserve its downtown, its surrounding green spaces? I see your hate as a wish for love. What do you want Ann Arbor to give you? What work would you be willing to do to create that?
Hey, when I wrote that about page, no one hated, or failed to love, Ann Arbor. I hated it way before it was cool. But I’ve toned down the hate a bit over the long years.
In response to the last three questions: Boston, a PhD., and the requirements of my program.
posted by ann arbor is overrated on November 27th, 2004 at 8:25 pmOh, but if “preserve its downtown” means “keep it less dense so everyone moves to the suburbs,” I wouldn’t want to do that to Boston any more than here.
posted by ann arbor is overrated on November 27th, 2004 at 8:41 pmAAiO, your demands on Ann Arbor are too light — how about reasonable rent and a good grocery store downtown, too?
posted by Dale on November 28th, 2004 at 5:12 pmThose who move to a mcmansion out west of here are missing the point. pedestrian scale. neighbors you dont need binoculars to see. i think its great that they move there and turn scio into canton. more room for me in my little 2 br house here.
posted by nudnik numan on December 2nd, 2004 at 3:44 pmas for this site in general, go back to boston asap, please. If you dont have anything positive to say you are a part of the problem. writing this silly little blog does nothing or worse. take responsibility for your life and how you relate to where you live. dont be so insular. your thoughts have inbred in this information community. i find your comments generally disrespectful seeing as you are a guest here. simple courtesy would tell you that you are being a bit of a prick.
I’ve been trying to make my thoughts inbreed, so I’m glad it’s finally taken effect. By the way, in case you missed it, the point of this blog is that I’m not a guest here.
posted by ann arbor is overrated on December 2nd, 2004 at 10:55 pm