Ann Arbor!

Ashley's in downtown Arb. shit ton of taps.

Shalimar is my girlfriend's favorite indian restaurant. it's on the main 'strip' of restaurants. Near by is Jolly Pumpkin brewery.

Zingerman's! Worth the wait in line! reminds of Hot Dougs...huge line but when you're in, you're great.
http://www.zingermansdeli.com/?utm_source=mailorder&utm_medium=zinglink&utm_campaign=zcobbar

i'm from chicago but i've gone there a few times. a buddy lives out there.

there's a spot in Ypsilanti called Stix. Pool place...only each time i've gone there, it's gone from 5 pool tables, to 2. or just one. Two levels. decent pub food, local beer, popular environment. each time i was there with my buddy, he ran in to someone else he knew in there. (across the street is another bar, was pretty good too)

 

Apts - Downtown isn't going to be your best option now since students have already leased out a majority of them for fall. What is your budget?

Restaurants - anything on Main St is good if you are willing to pay, Sava on State st is good food, Ashleys has decent bar food in addition to their awesome tap list. Blimpy Burger is awesome, has been on Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives, Tios is decent Mexican and was on Man vs Food. If you are into Indian food, Taste of Suvai, Madras Masala, and Shalimar are all great options. For Chinese, my personal favorite is TK Wu. The bowling alley, Colonial Lanes has a restaurant attached to it called Cubs AC, great food and a great place to watch games at. Kosmos is a great korean place in Kerrytown. For BBQ, Blue Tractor is your only option downtown, Satchels is good too.

Bars - Ashleys, The Arena, Good Time Charleys, Old Town, Black Pearl (martinis), Frasiers (if you dont want to be downtown), Conor O Neils

Farmers Market - There is a farmers market in Kerrytown right by Zingersmans on Saturday morning and Wednesday evening.

 

Also,

Check this guys blog every thursday, he posts about everything happening beer wise in Ann Arbor and and the surrounding areas:

http://www.annarborbeer.com/

And if you haven't already, get your ticket to the Michigan Summer Beer Festival that happens in the late July.

Also, check out Top of the Park, its a summer festival in downtown AA with free music, movies, and they have food/drinks for sale. Its a pretty good time.

http://www.annarborsummerfestival.org/index.php/events/top_of_the_park/

 

Plum Market is like a super Whole Foods w/ a great beer selection http://blog.plummarket.com/plum-market-ann-arbor/

I love the Beer Depot on 144 East Williams even if it's no longer a drive thru liquor store.

The Blind Pig is a pretty choice local concert venue. They have a soul dance night that's really fun.

The Corner Brewery in Yipsi (1 town to the east) is a underapprecatied gem http://www.arborbrewing.com/brewery/

If you're moving in time get Tickets to the Summer MI Brewers Guild Fest http://michiganbrewersguild.businesscatalyst.com/ it's the most fun I've had at a beer fest. (So fun that even after moving to Chicago I still come back for the quarterly MI Brewers guild fests)

Encore Records is a great used shop in downtown ann arbor http://www.encorerecordsa2.com/ . They share staff w/ Ghostly Records and have an expansive section of local music.

 

Gandy Dancer is a nice mid/upper range seafood restaurant made from a old train station. One of my favorites. Ashley's was my first beer bar.

 

I've been living here for a couple weeks now, hit me up when you get here and I'll buy yah a beer and we can discuss A2. I'm also planning a July tasting here, so let me know if you want in on that.

Cheers.

 

I relocated from Ann Arbor to Chicago and I envy you. Love it there. Summer is the best time to be there, enjoy!

 

Ashley's is the choice for sheer variety of beer (70+ taps, 100+ bottles, lots of local choices, regular brewery feature nights), and Jolly Pumpkin's cafe/brewpub on Main St. is always worth a visit. I've never been impressed with Arbor Brewing Company...

The farmer's market is a favorite destination of mine, as are the shops in Kerrytown directly adjacent. Especially of note is the fish market Monahan's, with the freshest catch anywhere in town.

 

Plum Market can be rather expensive for groceries; I tend to just shop at Kroger for groceries, and get my beer elsewhere. I moved out here a year ago, and Craigslist actually worked out pretty well for finding a house to rent. Some areas to search for on Craigslist (to get away from some of the more run down student zones) could be the "Old West Side" and the "Kerrytown" neighborhoods. As long as you get a place near a bus route, of which there are many around town (www.theride.org), you can get around the city pretty easily.

 

@Genuinedisciple - I'd also be interested in participating in an AA tasting if you'd have me. Would love to contribute!

 

Check out Brookside Apartments, reasonable and very close to downtown and kerrytown (5 minute car ride, 10 minute bike rd), right on a bus line as well. I think generally 1 bedroom apt is going to run you about $800-900.
http://www.brooksideapts.com/Brookside_Apartments/Home.html

Getting around car or bike will not be a problem. The only time getting around town via car isn't the best idea is during the summer art fair and football game days. The bus system is excellent and on time. For groceries, Krogers, Hillers, Busch's, and Meijers are all good options. There are also 2 whole foods in town.

Here is an awesome website to find happy hours for all hours of the day:

http://www.a2happyhour.com/

 

I'll add you to the list!

 

We live in kerrytown and think that we couldn't have picked a better locale...we are subletting a house for 1000 which is low here, but we'd pay more now that we know how great it is. The person across the street pays 600 for a smaller apartment-sized space. If you want me to help you look for some options, I'd be willing, just BM me.

Cheers!

 

Bike is fine, car might be a problem if you'll be around the University campus at all, as parking can be a bear during the school year. The bus system is actually pretty good, especially the university bus system (which is free for everyone, though obviously centered around the university campuses).

 

The town is small enough that many people bike/walk all over. I personally walk all over the city, but I own a bike that I might use for some further jaunts.

 

During the week, I think most city buses only run until around 10PM. On Sat/Sun, most routes stop earlier in the evening, and run less frequently during the day. I've almost never had problems with the city buses running late. They offer real-time updates on their website of what checkpoints each bus most recently passes (which has helped make my decision to walk or run to the bus stop in the morning many times). I don't ride the campus buses as often. Those are free, but (obviously) tend to stay right around campus.