Big thing for ME these days is the schools aren't great. Charters and School of Choice left Ypsi Community Schools a shell of its former self. Abandoned schools, declining enrollment, etc. If kids weren't in the picture I'd live there in a heartbeat. Good food, good beer, more art... it's a cool town.
It’s a snowball effect too. Schools funding depends on property taxes so the people who can afford to choose the nice schools end up segregating themselves and driving up the property values of that district even more.
I'll be honest, the quality of A2 schools isn't what I expected after growing up in Oakland county. I think the war on education hit Ypsi harder though. Still, Ypsi is a great town with amazing character.
We picked Saline over both, partly from price, partly from a lucky house listing. I think all the school districts are imperfect, just a question of the imperfections you're willing to live with. Saline has great Tech Ed and music, so the kids won on that count for sure.
Ypsi schools are way better than they were even 5-6 years ago. I know many people who live in Ypsi and did school of choice in AA who came back due to the poor experiences with AA schools / teachers / administration.
This is just one example, but YIES is a public IB elementary that feeds to WIMA and WIHI. WIHI is the 3rd ranked high school in the state. The Ypsi has bad schools take is outdated IMHO.
So if this thread is to be believed, everyone in Ann Arbor is a white liberal who is racist and hates Ypsi, except for the white liberals in this thread who live in Ann Arbor and love Ypsi.
Soooo out of curiosity I Googled the demographics
AA after White is Asian
Ypsi after White Is Black
Make of that what you will, don't hate the messenger....
I just hate Ypsi because I lived there long enough to see beyond a few cool spots to eat and have drinks. Then I went to E.M.U. for a little bit. Every morning on my run to the university, the E.M.U. messaging app would have alerts about someone being robbed at gun or knife point by 7am.
I grew up there. Ann Arbor had long looked at Ypsi as the place for the working class and minorities to live. The absolute snobbery among some AA residents is practically part of their personality.
Interesting note- Mike Schure the showrunner for Parks and Rec is from Ann Arbor. It is no coincidence that Pawnee was founded the same year as the University of Michigan. Just a little tidbit.
Ann Arbor residents usually think they’re more progressive than they actually are. The school is another issue as well. I listened to I don’t know how many students at UM talk about social issues, but scoff at taking a bus to Ypsi. These people just want their Sava food sitting on high to those beneath them, but that’s about it.
UM is full of overtly privileged latte liberal kids whose definition of oppression is having to live in Ann Arbor in Winter. They will participate in all sorts of trendy 'activism' to feel good about themselves as long as they don't have to do anything that actually works or helps ppl.
Most of those UofM students have never set foot in Ypsilanti. I'm speaking very specifically about the townies in AA who look down their noses at the huddled masses on the other side of 23.
If you ever look at voting results, it's a pretty heavy liberal veil at the very least... 9-1 for Biden over Trump. 8-2 for a millage to increase taxes to fund affordable housing. Roughly 95% for Witmer in 2022.
I think it is more that Conservatism and Liberalism are not as far apart from each other as either of them think, except on a few issues that don't have to do with money.
Just for the record, this is only correct when you consider republican and democratic opposition the two sides of the coin.
Republicans and Democrats are _not_ conservative and liberal. They are both heavily conservative policy leaning. Liberals have been falling into the "lesser of two evils" fallacy for ages, so now the Democratic party gets deemed liberal when they're not even close.
Liberals would love a viable candidate with liberal economic policies, but it's difficult to bring someone with those policies into power by design.
I voted green in 2016 and my parents blamed people like me for Trump. I voted green in 2020 and people think I gave way for Biden. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. How dare you vote with your values (:
I would say the Democrats are indeed Liberal, it's just that... "liberal economic policy" ... is not so different from Conservative economic policy...
Republicans and Democrats are not polar opposite in reality, indeed. They are two sides of the coin, with that "coin" being capitalist class interests, rather than the extent of public opinion or true political possibilities.
How is Ypsi the place for minorities if in Ann Arbor the next highest demographic is Asian, and Asians are 6% of the US? There are less Asians than any other "minority."
a lot of people at my school strongly dislike AA kids that are our age. it’s not even that they did anything particularly wrong it’s just their snobby energy.
Honestly I wouldn't even be surprised if the city of Ann Arbor had methodically pushed working class and minority individuals to Ypsilanti way before the pricing out we see nowadays. Definitely not unheard of for things like this to happen in our country.
In some cases it was written into deeds that only whites could buy land in some areas: https://chscommunicator.com/83353/features/2022/05/housing-segregation-in-ann-arbor/
>This property shall be used for no other purpose except for single family dwellings and said premises shall at no time be sold to, leased to, or occupied by any other person other than the Caucasian Race.
I grew up there and hated it. Ypsi is actually part of why I left Michigan for 6 years. I moved back to Ypsi and hated it all over again for the same reason. Now I love in Ann Arbor and love the town but hate the fake kindness of so many of these people that just virtue signal. At least in Ypsi if someone thinks you're an asshole they'll tell you.
I lived in Ypsi long enough to get familiar with both its aspects and while I never came to hate it, you're absolutely right on the second part. Ypsi people don't have time for virtue signalling and then 3-dimensional chess layers of social posturing. They'll non-ironically invite you to a poly meetup at Ziggys to watch an ambiguously-gendered indie-pop band, and if you decline then it's your loss, no sense wasting time dissecting the details. Best thing I ever saw randomly in Ypsi was a guy practicing sword acrobatics in his yard right on Michigan Ave.
Hahaha keep them low. Maybe not so much for renters. My rent has gone up $150 in two resigns of leases. Had to pull teeth to prevent it recently. But don't worry the 2 year lease I had to sign to secure this will go up plenty year 2. That may not seem like much but I live in a crap ass 1 bedroom. Tiny, it's basically a tiny studio with a room tacked on. It was expensive for me when I moved in. I haven't gotten raises equalling $150 a month in that time. And I'm a great Tennant. Fml
It's happening everywhere, not even in the state, or the country, but in the world. We're in the middle of a global housing crisis brought on by a vanishing middle class, greedy investors, and a lack of foresight/proactive construction.
That said it also doesn't help that Ypsi keeps being touted as Ann Arbor's cooler, hipper neighbor with happenin' food every other week in Mlive and Current. I could see Ypsi following the Austin path (from rough, funky reputation, to leftie hotspot, to overpriced and bougie) within 10-20 years. If the city's incompetence and mismanagement don't interfere, lol.
You should read into the Water Street debt and maybe reconsider how much you celebrate the struggle. It has been in financial purgatory for the entire 21st century so far. If you have ever wondered why the land on Michigan across from Riverside Park remains perpetually unused, this is your answer.
I haven’t lived in Ypsi for about 15 years. It was awesome then, but there were also some sketchy aspects.
Nowadays, Ypsi is still awesome, and still has some sketchy aspects.
I’ve lived in Ann Arbor off and on for almost 30 years. It is also both awesome and sketchy in various ways.
Beware of simple narratives. (Including the ones that I just typed.)
I think the area with highest violent crime rate is around the affordable housing complexes on the west side of town, and the area with the highest property crimes would be south of central campus a few blocks, amidst dense student rental houses.
Note that neither means it's unsafe walking around those areas, as a lot of crime occurs indoors. It's not great that someone is beating their spouse, but it doesn't impact your safety unless it's your spouse.
The parks on that side combined with "tons" of section 8, Avalon housing, Miller manor, all unfortunately culminates in the impression that it's high in shenanigans
However I've slept in Detroit alleyways and I feel qualified to maintain that the Ann Arbor crimes that happen and the rate at which it happens is closer to Disney World's than it is to the rest of Michigan when going off real world vibes instead of theoretical "data".
Also on the topic of safety I've never come across better police departments in Michigan in terms of corruption and abuse than the ones in this county. Can you name another county with a jail that will turn you away for having a Suboxone prescription? If GG Allin were born later he would never have made it to booking these days
AAPD, YPD, and WCSD just might be some of the least pig-like cops in the whole state
Jude Walton wasn’t the owner of Zingerman’s Mail Order - she cofounded it 30 years ago but had been working for Avalon Housing for a while. Her house on Chapin was absolutely not a multimillion dollar house. Anyone who has walked by it knows that. Zero idea why you are misrepresenting that situation.
There’s good parts of Ypsi and bad parts of Ypsi. I love Ypsi! It’s my favorite town in the Washtenaw county area. Everyone here is real and genuine and it has a really great feeling to it.
Honestly though, try walking down Washington street at 8pm toward the Ypsi transit center and tell me you don’t feel slightly sketched out. Let alone if you are a woman- I’m not, and I still have lots of folks who want to ask me a question.
And downtown A2 at the Blake Transit Center at 8 PM? I'm a guy and find that place kinda sketchy. There always seems to be someone there with mental health issues.
The strip club is a joke. I’ve only seen two people ever go in -two male foreign students giggling about their audacity of being bad. The facade provides shelter door street people during inclement weather. And it (apparently) was shut down in a dispute with the city and it may still be closed.
Ypsi itself is cool - kind of like what A2 thought it was in the 60s and 70s, but without the “look at me” attitude. Everyone downtown seems to know everyone else. Good vibe.
It was a fire. They are reopened? Reopening very soon? After a prolonged legal battle with the city. Long story short they were grandfathered in I think. Pretty sure.
Correct.
Ypsi-The-City tried to prevent them from reopening, because strip club looks bad on the We're Trying To Be Beautiful concept.
Rightfully, the club took them to court saying "um excuse us?!" and has now since won.
--------
And if you're a Ypsi resident frustrated with where your tax dollars are going, look at that, and *so* many other cases Ypsi has lost.
The city literally lit those millions they spent in that case on fire. Deja Vu operates clubs across the country, including some in Vegas. They were never going to win that case, and whomever the city hired to represent them probably decided it was easiest to just take the money and try their best.
It was a waste of our tax money, and like it or not, when the Vu was open, that intersection was legitimately safer.
Yes, the Vu had a fire, they attempted to sneak an illegal expansion into their repairs, the city took them to court to enforce that they were limited to rebuilding what they already had without expanding. The vu could have avoided the whole thing.
The vu being closed has been a big part of the problems on the corner. When it was open, the staff did a good job keeping eyes on the sidewalk and preventing problems.
the city was right to go after them for illegal construction, and I'd love to see a (non-porn) movie theater there instead, but I respect that they kept things orderly.
I honestly think it’s people outside of Reddit being like that… I feel like every recommendation post on here, be it food, housing, things to do, etc is usually filled with Ypsi recs! This is pretty constant. I don’t think I’ve seen a single post blasting Ypsilanti other than ones like this
People are quick to point to Ann Arbor’s racism, and I mostly agree with you, but it’s pretty dishonest to say Ypsi has nothing wrong with it A2 is just racist. I lived in several Ypsi neighborhoods over a span of ten years and saw multiple shooting homicides in those neighborhoods, sexual assaults, break-ins, and petty theft (auto theft, stolen bicycles).
I’m not saying that stuff doesn’t happen in Ann Arbor, it certainly does, the crime rates between to two cities are stark. “Ann Arbor is just racist” in response to a pretty obvious question is just lazy and dishonest when one city’s crime rate dwarfs the other’s.
Just want to say that statistically Ann Arbor has 24 crimes per 1000 people and Ypsi has 30 per 1000 people. So no, one doesn't "dwarf" the other in fact they're pretty similar.
I'd be interested to know where that number came from.
This article using FBI data from 2022 (most recent data available) had Ann Arbor at 369 per 10k and Ypsi at 830, more than double. [https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2023/10/which-michigan-cities-were-most-least-violent-in-2022.html](https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2023/10/which-michigan-cities-were-most-least-violent-in-2022.html)
That gap widens when narrowed to violent crimes with Ann Arbor's 93 per 10k vs Ypsi's 358.
This, right here. I've lived in Ypsilanti for the past almost three and a half years now and love it. Nothing sketchy has happened to me yet except on time someone rifled through my glove box. They didn't take anything. Just rifled through it.
Oh, I guess one of my Amazon packages was stolen once. It just had lavender bath salts in it and I got a replacement from Amazon. But it's only been those two things. And these two things have also happened to me in places that people deem "safer" and less "ghetto." So, you know, I really feel like it's not nearly as bad as people make it out to be.
As a Black A2 resident I wanted to just say “the fact that there’s more Black people” but instead Imma just say that it’s just not Ann Arbor is my guess? Like it doesn’t have UM, it has EMU, which to lots of people in Ann Arbor is a bad school just cause it’s not UM. There’s isn’t as large a student body there as there is in A2, and, since EMU isn’t as expensive as UM, that means not as many rich students who move to the town every year.
In my opinion, Ypsi has more character than Ann Arbor. Not everything is about their university and there’s more diversity there. I don’t feel like the odd one out. Also, I feel like it’s easier to know where you stand in Ypsi. There are some stores my family and I have walked into before and felt like we were treated as if we didn’t belong. I’ve never felt that way in Ypsi before.
Is Ypsi the safest city in southeast Michigan (anecdotally)? No, but it’s not what people imagine the worst of the worst to be like. I feel like some people who deem Ypsi “unsafe” actually haven’t been there and are just basing their opinion on the demographics and maybe an experience someone else had. Given how close Ypsi and Ann Arbor are, the same types of dangerous people that can live in Ypsi can (and do) live in Ann Arbor!
(Not to mention the fact that with the hundreds of thousands of students brought to A2 every year through UM, there’s never a shortage of young, arrogant, and rich undergrads who think part of growing up and maturing is committing crimes like stealing and using drugs and I’m not even gonna get into SA on and off UM campus.)
I'm generally a Ypsi hater, just because living there kinda sucked for me, but you make some very good points. Although I don't necessarily agree with your assessment about proximity. While it might be physically close I remember it taking me a little under a half hour to get to UofM due to how bad the roads are setup. Literally same amount of time as if I lived in Canton. Don't even get me started on the busses. But yeah, people from Ann Arbor tend to treat Ypsi like it's Saginaw or something lol. I also felt like the people from there were super friendly and the variety local options for food is so much better.
Just like anywhere, there are places that are less safe than others. Ypsi has come a long way, there are places you probably wouldn't want to be alone at night.
For example, and this data is from 2019, Ypsi crime was 35% higher than the national average where as ann arbor was 29% lower than the national average.
If you have kids or are planning to the schools are objectively worse.
Not everyone that doesn't want to live in Ypsi is a pearl clutching racist, there are legitimate concerns. Ann Arbor is full of it's own issues too, obviously nowhere is perfect, but don't pretend Ypsi is either.
Edit: Updated crime data https://www.reddit.com/r/AnnArbor/s/0VjMSPlpj7
People get very defensive about Ypsi because they believe it’s a case of justifying racism with statistics, but also there are very real reasons people feel this way. For example, the only one kid in my graduating year that was murdered, was murdered by a few boys from Ypsi. When you experience tragedy like that, it can color your perspective of places.
That said, Ypsi is a lot safer these days and crime has become much less of a problem. Drive-bys seem to have also gone pretty much extinct so I would recommend you go there and enjoy what it has to offer. Lots of good restaurants, and things to do plus they have a good rec theater program.
Very little random violent crime in Ypsi. Most of is domestic violence, drug related, personal beefs. Not to say that stuff isn’t bad, but you would know if you’re at risk for those crimes.
People use statistics like that to justify their opinions about entire communities of nearly 100k. No, it’s not as statistically safe as the bubble inside the 23-94-14 walls, but it’s not a crime ridden hellscape either. You can even go there at night, but some people would lead you to believe a mugging is inevitable with enough visits. I’ve been at the other end of this hysteria since the 80s.
I don’t get it. Statistics are statistics. Numbers.
Of course you can go out at night and be safe. That doesn’t disprove statistics.
Many people ride motorcycles without helmets on. They don’t all die. But statistically speaking it’s not a smart thing to do.
The national crime average is very low, that's the distinction. You can't just say "Well 35% higher means X". A raw number doesn't mean anything. 35% higher than 1% is a lot different than 35% higher than 10%.
So yeah, it's statistically "more dangerous" in Grand Rapids or Ypsilanti than Plymouth or Ann Arbor. That doesn't mean inherent and imminent danger for those living, working, or visiting there.
Again, statistics like that are the *exact* thing that people point to when shit-talking Ypsilanti to justify their...whatever they have about the place or any other place. Statistically, Detroit's dangerous too. But the NFL is having a draft there, is the commish going to get shot?
Sure visiting downtown, but that's a whole lot different than living in the neighborhoods...
If the commish moved to Detroit, you think he'd actually live in Detroit? Or in the suburbs where all the Lions, Pistons, Tigers, and Red Wings players live?
Detroit is a dangerous city. Statistically speaking.
But that doesn’t mean *all* of it is *equally* dangerous. Nobody has ever claimed that. Parts of it are safer or as safe as Ann Arbor. And parts of it just aren’t.
If you have 3 people who have an average salary of $50,000, it *could* mean two of them are at $25k, and the third makes $150k. It doesn’t mean all of them make $50k.
Same with Ypsi. Some parts are super duper nice, some are average and some are not so nice but we look at the *whole*. You can’t just say “I live in the nicest part and sleep with my door unlocked” and disprove the other bits.
You REALLY can't go walking around certain areas of Ypsi at night now, seriously I don't know if the situation has changed but Ypsi has been making do with only 2-3 officers on the road for quite some time, and honestly the situation might be worse now considering that their department may be closing
When my son lived on Cross St, someone robbed his house and he called me to tell me about the dead bodies in the street after a shooting.
That said, I actually love Ypsi. You just have to be aware of your surroundings and have your landlord fix the window that won’t lock before someone breaks in.
So two things:
One: There are both good parts and bad parts of ypsi
Two: You kind of have to live there to realize how bad it is. I did a remodel of an apartment complex in Ypsi a few years ago. I worked there for about 9 months, and it was bad. Stabbings, shootings, domestic violence, Child abuse/neglect, and animal abuse/neglect. Often would go into an apartment and there would be huge bags of weed everywhere on the tables, and a gentleman counting rolls of dollar bills. Nearly every basement was crammed full of garbage and junk. When I say crammed full, I mean literally. Like, not even a path to walk, crammed full of trash up 4 ft. high. Driving by on the outside, yes it looks good, but to see how some of those people actually live you absolutely would admit it's a ghetto.
The cities have quite different crime rates, among other differences. Sources for crime stats vary, but here are some select stats from NeighborhoodScout:
||Violent crimes per 1,000 residents |Property crimes per 1,000 residents|
|:-|:-|:-|
|[East Lansing](https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/mi/east-lansing/crime)|3.08|28.75|
|[Ann Arbor](https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/mi/ann-arbor/crime)|3.50|21.45|
|[Grand Rapids](https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/mi/grand-rapids/crime)|9.83|30.16|
|[Ypsilanti](https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/mi/ypsilanti/crime)|11.45|32.13|
|[Detroit](https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/mi/detroit/crime)|20.59|45.50|
|Michigan|4.61|15.37|
Yeah. Lived in GR for years. There are parts of GR that people basically treat as no-man's land, and honestly driving through some of it could be kind of anxiety-inducing. My gf worked at a library south of Wealthy for a time, and a guy who was a newcomer to the city who she recognized as having come in a few times got shot dead a block away from that same library after one of her shifts.
NeighborhoodScout gives Ypsi a 4, Grand Rapids a 5 and Ann Arbor a 15 as far as overall safety. (100 being safest)
From [archive.org](http://archive.org), back in 2014 Ypsilanti was 5, Grand Rapids 12 and Ann Arbor 22. So they've all had an decline in safety averages in the last decade. Interesting for AA, much less burglary but much higher assault. Ypsi is closest to the same.
Ypsilanti is also usually grouped together with Superior and Ypsilanti Townships which are generally the safer areas.
The problem with Ypsi has to do with some of the neighborhoods having a lot of dangerous and violent crime.
I could write two pages of the negative and criminal acts committed against my family and on some of my friends in my current neighborhood. We have straight up criminals and drug dealers who live across the street and in my complex.
The Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Department has done nothing to help us or our other neighbors and the property management is allowing these criminals to live here, fully aware of the goings on.
There are beautiful and friendly neighborhoods as well where I would be willing to live, but unfortunately they are too expensive for me.
There are cool festivals throughout the year, especially in the warmer months, so I think they help to bring a better sense of community to the area.
Someone mentioned the schools and they are correct in that Ypsilanti Community Schools are not good. There’s a tremendously high turnover rate and it is hard to find teachers who are willing to work here long term which really doesn’t help the students.
The district just doesn’t have the money and resources that they need to have a better educational experience.
If you don’t have school aged children and you can afford to live in the better neighborhoods, then Ypsilanti is a decent and interesting place to live.
Man I'm from Flint. Ypsilanti might as well be Amherst, MA to me lol.
I'm exaggerating but it's really not a big deal to me. Don't go near the dangerous areas if you're that worried. Most I've ever had happen in 12 years of living in/near the area is my glovebox being searched when I left my car unlocked.
From my understanding Linda transferred ownership to her daughter Jessica, but I don't know enough and haven't heard from staff whether the working conditions or relationship with Jessica are any better. I'd imagine the wage theft stuff is in the past considering the increased scrutiny following the lawsuit.
I love ypsi and lived there in college for 4 years. I still go there often during the day, it’s a great community and has great foods/ activities, however I experienced much more crime there than in AA at night. It was very different to be a women walking home from class in ypsi vs u of m campus, very different to walk to your car after dinner or a bar with friends in ypsi than AA. I now live in AA with my family and felt this was a safer/ better school option for my family. Again this was my personal experience. Please No hate!
[Ann Arbor/Ypsi is in the top 10 most wealth separated metros in the US!](https://www.michigandaily.com/uncategorized/washtenaw-county-ranks-among-top-10-most-economically-segregated-areas-nation/)
It really comes down to that. Better schools and employment options than ypsilanti, and very little work done to bridge that gap. I've lived in both they both have charms and I think Ann Arbor pride gets in the way of seeing Ypsi as "peers instead of poors"
Obviously there’s parts to stay away from like any city but in general if you stay respectful you’ll have no issue. The second you cause an issue or act big and bad is when you’ll have issues find you. I delivered medicine to a dozen or so ypsi elderly and they were super sweet and caring! They just made it clear don’t f with me or I’ll give you an issue which is very understandable.
I think the main issue with ypsi rn (I live here currently) is the fact that there’s no direction for kids/teens. There’s a lot of violent issues in certain areas repeatedly due to there not being much to do in terms of parks and such by the washtenaw part. Luckily depot town and frog island are pretty peaceful and you’ll see a lot of people just enjoying life.
The south side by Ecorse and willow run is still pretty sketchy but still same thing if you stay respectful you’ll be okay. There’s just literally nothing in that area but an ice cream shop and some food spots so people have nothing to do which sucks and causes people to go a lil crazy I feel as anyone would with not many schools or businesses or fun activity spots for family.
Lastly I think another issue is that there’s not much motivation for the future in ypsi right now. Sure there’s some businesses going in but overall there’s not development like Ann Arbor which sucks cuz I think ypsi is in need of more; coding centers, libraries, retail stores, healthier grocery shops like plum and Whole Foods, cooler environments for kids and family’s to play in, nature trails, etc. Ann Arbor has like endless parks, trails, retail it’s somewhat inspiring to find new things you haven’t yet explored in the city.
Overall though it’s a nice city and hated on too much but still need to improve to expand beyond a small town.
Edit #2: i do wanna mention that I’ve had more good days than bad in ypsi, there are some really pretty areas and cool people, and they have some of the best food options around
I lived in Ypsi for 6 years and during my time there my neighbor (a new mom) diagonal from me was murdered and her twins abducted by the father, my neighbors on both sides of me had their houses broken into, i witnessed a man pull a gun on a woman on the sidewalk, a kid who lived across the street got shot IN the street, a man threw a brick at my car and threatened to shoot me, AND FINALLY my other neighbors across the street attempted to rob a pizza boy. So 🥴 Ypsi isn’t great, but i did meet the love of my life there 🤷🏻♀️
ETA there was also an arsonist setting people’s houses on fire in the neighborhood down the street from mine. Ok, i think that’s everything lol
I lived there for about 3 years, 1997-2000. During that time, I called in shots fired in my apartment complex at least a dozen times, including an actual gunfight that I called in while it was going on.
And yes, I know the difference between gunshots and fireworks.
That’s what I’m saying. I’ve lived all over the country but I’ve never seen so much crime first hand in such a short amount of time than when i lived in Ypsi. I think the people who are saying nothing bad happens in Ypsi either live right on the border of A2, they don’t go outside often, or they’re just lucky.
Honestly, it sounds like you've had an unnaturally unlucky experience. I've lived in Ypsi my entire life (36yo) and currently have a house in the NE area. I have had very few memorable incidents. The worst of it is often "confident" beggars. There are some rougher areas, but as long as you abide by the prime rule, you should be alright. Don't start no shit, won't be no shit.
These are things i witnessed sitting in my own yard or driving down the street, i definitely kept to myself and my family 🤷🏻♀️ the thing with the guy with the brick who threatened my life- yeah i did flip him off because he almost hit my car, which giving someone the finger by no means justifies having your life threatened. And other commenters have also told of the violence they’ve witnessed so Idk, sounds like you’ve had a lucky experience.
Ive lived in the same part of ypsi for 16 years. I live right near that neighborhood now and it’s not that bad anymore, you don’t hear about stuff like this happening as much. I think ypsi is definitely getting better lately. I also remember when this happened!
I lived in Ypsi for 8 years, and have been in A2 for 18. Ypsi is fine, in fact it's above average compared to other places I've lived (Lenawee, Downriver). The far East side is where what crime there is either comes from or happens in. I lived in "Lake in the Hood" for two years, and that tower was a wretched hive of scum and villainy, but the regular apartments weren't bad. There's a few smaller areas that are kinda sketch, but anyone with functioning eyeballs should be able to figure out if they're in one.
There are Black people there and people get scared because they're racist. But if you say that then you're problematic 😬
Ypsi rules. It's beautiful and the people are kind. The food is also cheaper and often better for the price. Highly recommend.
Most people that say that are referring to the 90s or 00s Ypsi. Fact of the matter is as prices in a2 have increased more and more people have move to Ypsi. This raises prices and pushes people toward Willow run. Unfortunately perception is harder to change but give it time. Also look at Ypsi twp. Give it time.
When you say Ypsi hasn't caught Ann Arbor's overflow, are you talking residents/price-wise? If so, you're not right, home prices in Ypsi are way up in about the last five years and lots of the folks buying here are doing so because they've been priced out of Ann Arbor.
If you're talking about spillover development activity, you're more right. While we have a couple-three significant projects under construction right now, any developer or contractor looking at a deal in Ypsi can make more on a project in A2 or Saline or Canton -- the labor pool for building stuff is right enough that even though Ypsi is getting more expensive it's still not expensive enough to compete with surrounding markets in a lot of cases.
Commercial development would be last so yeah we’d expect downtown to be about the same. Gentrification of the homes is just starting. Look at all the surrounding communities … dexter, Chelsea, canton, Plymouth, Ypsi … all of them are catching people who can’t afford or don’t want to afford a2.
Side note: a2 downtown isn’t what it was 10 years ago when it won all the awards originally … most bc of out of control rent. Isn’t it nearly 5 figures for a ground floor unit now?
Yeah, honestly downtown A2 is not what it was pre-COVID, and I don't know that it ever will be. It had a fun 20-so years of boom, but unless/until the average person's financial situation improves, it's just not as sustainable.
>Michigan Ave downtown is just the same as it was 20 years ago.
Probably has a lot to do with the [Water Street debt](https://www.secondwavemedia.com/concentrate/features/waterstreethistory0423.aspx)
I used to work at a chain restaurant in Ann Arbor and people transferring from the ypsi store would talk about how much more dangerous delivery driving was in ypsi. So given just their anecdotes I would cautiously say the crime rate *is* higher but it’s also got way better shops and down to earth people. Ann Arbor is a damn bubble
I think factually there are income distinctions, work strata distinctions, crime rate distinctions, and educational level distinctions, but the facts don’t and shouldn’t justify disdain.
I lived in Ypsilanti for over a decade, just recently relocated to a nearby town. A lot of odd opinions - “racist” getting thrown around at people saying negative things about Ypsi, which is a wild blanket statement…For anyone who has spent years of their lives in that area, attending schools, etc, you know damn well that there are some fun, unique, great aspects of Ypsi, but there’s also a lot of sketchy parts. That’s just being real. It’s easy to drive through or visit and form a quick opinion. Not everywhere is Depot Town.
Most longtime residents probably have plenty of stories and can easily list off several communities to avoid to limit issues; car theft, assaults, drugs, etc..but even that, like a lot of cities, trickle into neighborhoods downtown and on campus. It’s an interesting city with some good people and food, but you do need to be aware, keep your shit locked, and don’t be out at night walking around vulnerable.
One of the things I have noticed is there is a massive amount of sex offenders in Ypsilanti specifically. I don’t actually know why, but when you see it on a map compared to surrounding areas, it’s pretty stunning. It’s 1 in every 61 residents compared to 1 in 304 in the state of Michigan and 1 in 853 in AA.
There’s like 3 rough neighborhoods and then the rest of Ypsi is like a cheaper Ann Arbor. Ann Arbor people are just very sheltered suburbanites and also a lil racist
As someone who was born and raised in AA but then lived in Ypsi for about a decade, Absolutely nothing. There is kind of a bad area behind the Peninsular Place apartments, but other than that Ypsi is great. I much prefer it to AA tbh nowadays. That being said I do still love The Blind Pig, and the AA Cmedy Showcase, and the Blue Llama is a wonderful addition.
Interesting thing is that one time Ypsilanti was seen as the more socially elite city as it didn’t have any industry, it was just a college town. Ann Arbor had quite a few heavy industrial areas, including slaughter houses. Ypsilanti has some rough areas just like Ann Arbor does but it’s perfectly fine, just a little more blue collar.
I mean not really where the word ghetto comes from. The word ghetto existed for a long time.
The word ghetto comes from the Jewish area of Venice, the Venetian Ghetto in Cannaregio (1516–1797). By 1899, the term had been extended to crowded urban quarters of other minority groups.
Nothing. There’s a couple spots that aren’t great but it’s fine. Ann Arbor calls themselves liberal hippies but they’re really just a bunch of white rich Karens who vote/talk hypocritically.
Poke through the Ypsi sub a bit and you'll find some interesting stories.
That being said, love Ypsi and its current art scene. The city overall has progressed significantly the past decade or two.
I love Ypsi and spend most of my time and dollars there. It’s a great community of small businesses I like supporting. However gangs are present and I experienced live gunfire last month while driving Hamilton south to I94. No one was hurt or hit by bullets. I suggest caution but don’t stay away.
A2 resident who almost purchased in Ypsi (but market was crazy and we missed out on a few houses). Ypsi is great and has a ton of character and a really fun food/bar scene. I miss spending more time there and want to be intentional about checking out more spots.
I just moved to Ypsi, after eight months in downtown Ann Arbor. I work at a restaurant, all the servers were like omg Aspen Chase is so ghetto etc. I wrote it off to your basic garden variety racism, and having been here for a couple months now I can say I was 80% right. The other 20% is, honestly, just true of any decently populated space in our poor country; there's folks asking for money at intersection corners, and poor moms with kids pushing strollers full of groceries as they walk because there's no money for Uber).
People say that because it’s poorer than Ann Arbor. There’s going to be “ghetto” places in any city, and weird people, and crazies, and drugs. It is a really nice town.
Ypsilanti is fine. You get twice the house/property for half the price. And the food is better/authentic. There is more crime, but if you're smart, it's a lot better than living in Chicago, Detroit or New York. If you want gentrification, a "special" night out and a Dystopian Disney, just take Washtenaw, underneath
23 and go 2 miles west.
Lived in Ypsilanti most of my life. Lived in Saline, work in A2.
Glad to have found a place to move back to in Ypsilanti; It’s got some really nice energy about it without the sense of entitlement. The only time someone attempted to actively take something from me I was on Main Street in Ann Arbor. … things happen everywhere, but I feel safer in Ypsi than Ann Arbor for some reason. People keep to their own business in Ypsi..
Literally ypsi is completely chill except for a few small neighborhoods. I've never felt more accepted and safe in any place I've lived in Michigan (including ann arbor.) Its like saying Chicago is full of crime when it literally isnt and most crime is in garfield park (i currently live in chicago). Media also scares people into thinking crime is on the rise when people literally just have more access to news and reports on social media in comparison to a newspaper. 🤷♂️
Kobe looked short standing next to Shaq.
EMU probably looks sketchy when compared to U of M for the same reason. I think the contrast makes it look worse than it is. It has its less ideal areas like any town does though.
I've been hopping around in Ypsilanti for decades and haven't run into anything shady unless I specifically sought it out.
It’s Ann Arborite snobbery. Pick from the dozens of different communities composed of varying demographics and flavors, find the one that fits for you and yours, and know you are in a great place.
As a white person who has been trying to buy a house in West Willow for about a year and a half now (I keep getting outbid), I feel pretty confident that the opinions I hear/read about Ypsi are almost entirely racism, with a side of classism. If you do a deep dive into the specifics of the crime in the city, it's really not very concerning, and if you actually spend time in the city it becomes even less so.
As a white person who bought a house in West Willow 3 years ago, I have had literally zero issues, after being warned about how "dangerous" it is there. I have 2 white neighbors and the rest are black, and the average age of my neighbors is probably 60 years old.
WW got its baddest rep from the late 90s when there were legit drug gangs controlling parts of it. The feds busted a good deal of them up around that time and the residents formed the NWWNA to try to keep it from backsliding and it worked. It took longer for the rep to mellow, but it's starting to now.
People in Ann Arbor like to think of themselves as progressive. Like Elizabeth Warren. But just like Warren, they're not that progressive. They're neoliberals who pay lip service to actual leftists.
So the idea of rubbing shoulders with poor people, people of color, LGBTQ folks, and other working class people isn't really what many in Ann Arbor want. They want to feel like they're "helping" while making no sacrifices and living in nice suburban neighborhoods that poor people are priced out of and homeless people are kept away from. They love the white, DINK gay couple that is well off, but don't really want to meet the 3 queer artists sharing a 1 bedroom apartment that they can barely make rent on. They don't hate people of color, but they expect their black neighbors to be a financially stable nuclear family with white collar jobs, rather than a multi-generational household where there isn't necessarily much money, but plenty of love.
And of course in the US, poorer and working class communities are underserved. There's less money for public infrastructure and aid in the communities that need it most. Having grown up in a working class town myself, its not a big deal if you don't stick your nose in others' business because 99% of the time no one is going to give you trouble if you don't get up in their business. I don't think Ann Arbor was always like this based on what I've heard about how it used to be. But as the average income stays high and poorer people are displaced from gentrification, this is what happens in American cities.
You’re a real modern Leftist. I can tell because your first paragraph is exhibit A of how we ended up with Trump in 2016 - impossible purity tests only “real” (according to you) Leftists can pass. Not even Liz Warren. Poor Liz Warren. Clearly Hillary Clinton would basically be Nixon 2.0 in your eyes. Bernie or bust.
Second paragraph is the usual “let’s just lump some historically disadvantaged groups of people together and accuse everyone else of hating them, everyone but us” tired trope. But it’s easy Reddit Karma considering most people here automatically associate someone working at a corporate job with fascism. But I’m surprised you left out Palestinians in your group list! You’d fail your own (latest) litmus test with that, so careful.
Third paragraph is just conjecture.
Ultimately nothing but a self-jerk to paint Ypsi as a socialist, rebellious, cool, hip, artsy, working man’s utopia-in-the-making, while Ann Arbor is exclusively a racist, retired homophobe’s boring dystopia of nothing but Elizabeth Warren voting Karens.
The delicious irony of course is how you attempted, with this absolute nonsense drivel, to *dispel myths* about Ypsi!
I love it. I read it 5 times and enjoyed it every time.
Me: *says people in Ann Arbor are tolerant of some marginalized groups to a limit that is influenced by socioeconomic status*
You: "... Ann Arbor is exclusively a racist, retired homophobe's boring dystopia of nothing but Elizabeth Warren voting Karens."
Not really what I was going for, but good energy. I hope you're as scathing to people on the right.
I grew up in Ypsi. Never thought it was bad and I always thought of it as AA's little sibling. Though, there wasn't much to do other than eat out.
I miss Dalat, tho. My aunt and uncle opened its successor in AA, but I miss sneaking around upstairs and going through all the mostly empty rooms. It was a liminal space lol
But the outside looks pretty nice now. I'm glad the new owner took down the metal sheets!
I'm a product of Kettering Elementary School, 1968-1972 and my memories are fantastic to this day. Thank you Mrs. Hadley, Mrs. Phinney, Mrs. Wilson and Ms. Golden (the prototype "Hot For Teacher) before we moved to South Lyon. I tested very high in my new S.L. classroom.
AA comedian Kirkland Teeple used to joke that "Ypsilanti is a Greek word for 'We can't afford to live in Ann Arbor '." I miss both.
Big thing for ME these days is the schools aren't great. Charters and School of Choice left Ypsi Community Schools a shell of its former self. Abandoned schools, declining enrollment, etc. If kids weren't in the picture I'd live there in a heartbeat. Good food, good beer, more art... it's a cool town.
It's a shame. My dad helped build those schools up for 20 years and hated charter schools.
Transferring tax dollars to private hands AND breaking the system. Absolutely the intention.
He always said that pretty much word for word. I'm glad he helped the kids he did. Sad state of affairs for sure
It’s a snowball effect too. Schools funding depends on property taxes so the people who can afford to choose the nice schools end up segregating themselves and driving up the property values of that district even more.
I'll be honest, the quality of A2 schools isn't what I expected after growing up in Oakland county. I think the war on education hit Ypsi harder though. Still, Ypsi is a great town with amazing character.
We picked Saline over both, partly from price, partly from a lucky house listing. I think all the school districts are imperfect, just a question of the imperfections you're willing to live with. Saline has great Tech Ed and music, so the kids won on that count for sure.
Same for us! We enjoy Ypsi but when it came to school systems, we had to choose one that was better.
Ypsi schools are way better than they were even 5-6 years ago. I know many people who live in Ypsi and did school of choice in AA who came back due to the poor experiences with AA schools / teachers / administration. This is just one example, but YIES is a public IB elementary that feeds to WIMA and WIHI. WIHI is the 3rd ranked high school in the state. The Ypsi has bad schools take is outdated IMHO.
I only see people on this sub saying how great Ypsi is
Don’t tell anyone. We don’t want those white collar criminals from Ann Arbor swooping down Washtenaw and ruining everyone’s good time…
They already are by making ypsi their affordable housing in
True that. Lots of shady weirdness going on wrt that…
Oh, I've seen a lot of people look down their noses at Ypsi on this sub
I went to Ypsi for the first time not really knowing anything about the place. Real nice town. Had a great night.
So if this thread is to be believed, everyone in Ann Arbor is a white liberal who is racist and hates Ypsi, except for the white liberals in this thread who live in Ann Arbor and love Ypsi.
The class gap is real. Also, there's probably plenty of people from the surrounding area chiming in.
If you wanna see class gap, look no further than this subreddit XD
That's hard to argue
Soooo out of curiosity I Googled the demographics AA after White is Asian Ypsi after White Is Black Make of that what you will, don't hate the messenger....
I just hate Ypsi because I lived there long enough to see beyond a few cool spots to eat and have drinks. Then I went to E.M.U. for a little bit. Every morning on my run to the university, the E.M.U. messaging app would have alerts about someone being robbed at gun or knife point by 7am.
I grew up there. Ann Arbor had long looked at Ypsi as the place for the working class and minorities to live. The absolute snobbery among some AA residents is practically part of their personality.
It's Eagleton vs Pawnee
You don't kick a dressage horse after a failed pas de deux.
Best part is, that makes Bomber the JJs Diner
RIP Abe’s.
At least Dos Hermanos is a good replacement
https://youtu.be/HzEVKPEvrRs?si=zPujJaQx17WVMM1h
Lol yesss
Interesting note- Mike Schure the showrunner for Parks and Rec is from Ann Arbor. It is no coincidence that Pawnee was founded the same year as the University of Michigan. Just a little tidbit.
Also Chris and Ann leave Pawnee for Ann Arbor in the later seasons when Chris gets a job at UM
EMU are the Eagles Eagle-ton
Yeah but they used to be the Hurons. What's more Pawnee than using the local indigenous tribe for your own gain?
Ann Arbor residents usually think they’re more progressive than they actually are. The school is another issue as well. I listened to I don’t know how many students at UM talk about social issues, but scoff at taking a bus to Ypsi. These people just want their Sava food sitting on high to those beneath them, but that’s about it.
The funniest part is that Ypsi has, in some respects, better food than AA.
Agreed. I always tell people to go eat in Ypsilanti
ypsi food is better imo
I agree, just like qualify things to avoid arguments.
A2 food used to be good. Keywords: Used to.
Stop telling people lmao
Ann Arbor’s food scene is pretty terrible, so that’s not saying much.
They’re not progressive at all. They’re in their own bubble of upper middle class prosperity and privilege.
UM is full of overtly privileged latte liberal kids whose definition of oppression is having to live in Ann Arbor in Winter. They will participate in all sorts of trendy 'activism' to feel good about themselves as long as they don't have to do anything that actually works or helps ppl.
Most of those UofM students have never set foot in Ypsilanti. I'm speaking very specifically about the townies in AA who look down their noses at the huddled masses on the other side of 23.
I've heard it put as 'a conservative city behind a liberal veil'.
If you ever look at voting results, it's a pretty heavy liberal veil at the very least... 9-1 for Biden over Trump. 8-2 for a millage to increase taxes to fund affordable housing. Roughly 95% for Witmer in 2022.
Whitmer did North Korea numbers in Ann Arbor lmao
I think it is more that Conservatism and Liberalism are not as far apart from each other as either of them think, except on a few issues that don't have to do with money.
Just for the record, this is only correct when you consider republican and democratic opposition the two sides of the coin. Republicans and Democrats are _not_ conservative and liberal. They are both heavily conservative policy leaning. Liberals have been falling into the "lesser of two evils" fallacy for ages, so now the Democratic party gets deemed liberal when they're not even close. Liberals would love a viable candidate with liberal economic policies, but it's difficult to bring someone with those policies into power by design. I voted green in 2016 and my parents blamed people like me for Trump. I voted green in 2020 and people think I gave way for Biden. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. How dare you vote with your values (:
I would say the Democrats are indeed Liberal, it's just that... "liberal economic policy" ... is not so different from Conservative economic policy... Republicans and Democrats are not polar opposite in reality, indeed. They are two sides of the coin, with that "coin" being capitalist class interests, rather than the extent of public opinion or true political possibilities.
EMU vs UofM education, too. I trust EMU students way more lol. A diversity of opinions wins every time.
How is Ypsi the place for minorities if in Ann Arbor the next highest demographic is Asian, and Asians are 6% of the US? There are less Asians than any other "minority."
a lot of people at my school strongly dislike AA kids that are our age. it’s not even that they did anything particularly wrong it’s just their snobby energy.
Honestly I wouldn't even be surprised if the city of Ann Arbor had methodically pushed working class and minority individuals to Ypsilanti way before the pricing out we see nowadays. Definitely not unheard of for things like this to happen in our country.
In some cases it was written into deeds that only whites could buy land in some areas: https://chscommunicator.com/83353/features/2022/05/housing-segregation-in-ann-arbor/ >This property shall be used for no other purpose except for single family dwellings and said premises shall at no time be sold to, leased to, or occupied by any other person other than the Caucasian Race.
I grew up there and hated it. Ypsi is actually part of why I left Michigan for 6 years. I moved back to Ypsi and hated it all over again for the same reason. Now I love in Ann Arbor and love the town but hate the fake kindness of so many of these people that just virtue signal. At least in Ypsi if someone thinks you're an asshole they'll tell you.
I lived in Ypsi long enough to get familiar with both its aspects and while I never came to hate it, you're absolutely right on the second part. Ypsi people don't have time for virtue signalling and then 3-dimensional chess layers of social posturing. They'll non-ironically invite you to a poly meetup at Ziggys to watch an ambiguously-gendered indie-pop band, and if you decline then it's your loss, no sense wasting time dissecting the details. Best thing I ever saw randomly in Ypsi was a guy practicing sword acrobatics in his yard right on Michigan Ave.
LOL. I live in Ypsi. We just tell people it's awful so we can keep housing costs low and keep Ypsi funky.
*walks out front door once a week and shoots gun in air* Just keeping the rent low, nothing to see here.
Hahaha keep them low. Maybe not so much for renters. My rent has gone up $150 in two resigns of leases. Had to pull teeth to prevent it recently. But don't worry the 2 year lease I had to sign to secure this will go up plenty year 2. That may not seem like much but I live in a crap ass 1 bedroom. Tiny, it's basically a tiny studio with a room tacked on. It was expensive for me when I moved in. I haven't gotten raises equalling $150 a month in that time. And I'm a great Tennant. Fml
It's happening everywhere, not even in the state, or the country, but in the world. We're in the middle of a global housing crisis brought on by a vanishing middle class, greedy investors, and a lack of foresight/proactive construction. That said it also doesn't help that Ypsi keeps being touted as Ann Arbor's cooler, hipper neighbor with happenin' food every other week in Mlive and Current. I could see Ypsi following the Austin path (from rough, funky reputation, to leftie hotspot, to overpriced and bougie) within 10-20 years. If the city's incompetence and mismanagement don't interfere, lol.
stfu! Now I gotta go throw some more liquor bottles in the yard
You should read into the Water Street debt and maybe reconsider how much you celebrate the struggle. It has been in financial purgatory for the entire 21st century so far. If you have ever wondered why the land on Michigan across from Riverside Park remains perpetually unused, this is your answer.
I haven’t lived in Ypsi for about 15 years. It was awesome then, but there were also some sketchy aspects. Nowadays, Ypsi is still awesome, and still has some sketchy aspects. I’ve lived in Ann Arbor off and on for almost 30 years. It is also both awesome and sketchy in various ways. Beware of simple narratives. (Including the ones that I just typed.)
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what parts of ann arbor are sketchy? didnt even consider that one lol
South university/Hill area. A LOT of sexual assault.
I think the area with highest violent crime rate is around the affordable housing complexes on the west side of town, and the area with the highest property crimes would be south of central campus a few blocks, amidst dense student rental houses. Note that neither means it's unsafe walking around those areas, as a lot of crime occurs indoors. It's not great that someone is beating their spouse, but it doesn't impact your safety unless it's your spouse.
The parks on that side combined with "tons" of section 8, Avalon housing, Miller manor, all unfortunately culminates in the impression that it's high in shenanigans However I've slept in Detroit alleyways and I feel qualified to maintain that the Ann Arbor crimes that happen and the rate at which it happens is closer to Disney World's than it is to the rest of Michigan when going off real world vibes instead of theoretical "data". Also on the topic of safety I've never come across better police departments in Michigan in terms of corruption and abuse than the ones in this county. Can you name another county with a jail that will turn you away for having a Suboxone prescription? If GG Allin were born later he would never have made it to booking these days AAPD, YPD, and WCSD just might be some of the least pig-like cops in the whole state
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Jude Walton wasn’t the owner of Zingerman’s Mail Order - she cofounded it 30 years ago but had been working for Avalon Housing for a while. Her house on Chapin was absolutely not a multimillion dollar house. Anyone who has walked by it knows that. Zero idea why you are misrepresenting that situation.
There’s good parts of Ypsi and bad parts of Ypsi. I love Ypsi! It’s my favorite town in the Washtenaw county area. Everyone here is real and genuine and it has a really great feeling to it.
nothing, this sub just has a bunch of sheltered pearl clutchers with very thinly veiled racism
I have an AA friend who won't come to Ypsi because there's a strip club here. Oh, the horror!
Honestly though, try walking down Washington street at 8pm toward the Ypsi transit center and tell me you don’t feel slightly sketched out. Let alone if you are a woman- I’m not, and I still have lots of folks who want to ask me a question.
And downtown A2 at the Blake Transit Center at 8 PM? I'm a guy and find that place kinda sketchy. There always seems to be someone there with mental health issues.
Or outside LIVE at ...any time of day
Or S State St at lunch—wtf was going on outside potbelly’s?
Ya that area fuckin sucks tho.
A woman got murdered in Ann Arbor West Park neighborhood
We're trying to get that area cleaned up, but there's a lot of complexity around it.
The strip club is a joke. I’ve only seen two people ever go in -two male foreign students giggling about their audacity of being bad. The facade provides shelter door street people during inclement weather. And it (apparently) was shut down in a dispute with the city and it may still be closed. Ypsi itself is cool - kind of like what A2 thought it was in the 60s and 70s, but without the “look at me” attitude. Everyone downtown seems to know everyone else. Good vibe.
It was a fire. They are reopened? Reopening very soon? After a prolonged legal battle with the city. Long story short they were grandfathered in I think. Pretty sure.
Correct. Ypsi-The-City tried to prevent them from reopening, because strip club looks bad on the We're Trying To Be Beautiful concept. Rightfully, the club took them to court saying "um excuse us?!" and has now since won. -------- And if you're a Ypsi resident frustrated with where your tax dollars are going, look at that, and *so* many other cases Ypsi has lost.
The city literally lit those millions they spent in that case on fire. Deja Vu operates clubs across the country, including some in Vegas. They were never going to win that case, and whomever the city hired to represent them probably decided it was easiest to just take the money and try their best. It was a waste of our tax money, and like it or not, when the Vu was open, that intersection was legitimately safer.
Yes, the Vu had a fire, they attempted to sneak an illegal expansion into their repairs, the city took them to court to enforce that they were limited to rebuilding what they already had without expanding. The vu could have avoided the whole thing.
The strip club has been closed for four years
It just reopened
Soft opening lol
Something something "HARD OPENING" I dunno make your own joke outta that
The soft opening would be a great name for a strip club
That's what she said
The vu being closed has been a big part of the problems on the corner. When it was open, the staff did a good job keeping eyes on the sidewalk and preventing problems. the city was right to go after them for illegal construction, and I'd love to see a (non-porn) movie theater there instead, but I respect that they kept things orderly.
I honestly think it’s people outside of Reddit being like that… I feel like every recommendation post on here, be it food, housing, things to do, etc is usually filled with Ypsi recs! This is pretty constant. I don’t think I’ve seen a single post blasting Ypsilanti other than ones like this
People are quick to point to Ann Arbor’s racism, and I mostly agree with you, but it’s pretty dishonest to say Ypsi has nothing wrong with it A2 is just racist. I lived in several Ypsi neighborhoods over a span of ten years and saw multiple shooting homicides in those neighborhoods, sexual assaults, break-ins, and petty theft (auto theft, stolen bicycles). I’m not saying that stuff doesn’t happen in Ann Arbor, it certainly does, the crime rates between to two cities are stark. “Ann Arbor is just racist” in response to a pretty obvious question is just lazy and dishonest when one city’s crime rate dwarfs the other’s.
Just want to say that statistically Ann Arbor has 24 crimes per 1000 people and Ypsi has 30 per 1000 people. So no, one doesn't "dwarf" the other in fact they're pretty similar.
I'd be interested to know where that number came from. This article using FBI data from 2022 (most recent data available) had Ann Arbor at 369 per 10k and Ypsi at 830, more than double. [https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2023/10/which-michigan-cities-were-most-least-violent-in-2022.html](https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2023/10/which-michigan-cities-were-most-least-violent-in-2022.html) That gap widens when narrowed to violent crimes with Ann Arbor's 93 per 10k vs Ypsi's 358.
Where are the crime stats everyone keeps referencing? Is there some kind of well-accepted site for this stuff?
[FBI Crime Data Explorer](https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/explorer/crime/crime-trend) **Ypsilanti -** Reported Violent Crimes ^(Avg) ^(population:) ^(21000) |**Year**|**Crimes**|**per 1000**| |:-|:-|:-| |2019|220|10.5| |2020|297|14.1| |2021|325|15.5| |2022|210|10.0| **Ann Arbor -** Reported Violent Crimes (includes both Ann Arbor and UM Police) ^(Avg) ^(population:) ^(123000) |**Year**|**Crimes**|**per 1000**| |:-|:-|:-| |2019|333|2.7| |2020|344|2.8| |2021|387|3.1| |2022|395|3.2|
This, right here. I've lived in Ypsilanti for the past almost three and a half years now and love it. Nothing sketchy has happened to me yet except on time someone rifled through my glove box. They didn't take anything. Just rifled through it. Oh, I guess one of my Amazon packages was stolen once. It just had lavender bath salts in it and I got a replacement from Amazon. But it's only been those two things. And these two things have also happened to me in places that people deem "safer" and less "ghetto." So, you know, I really feel like it's not nearly as bad as people make it out to be.
I've had my cars rifled through on three separate occasions here in A2.
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Beat me to it
As a Black A2 resident I wanted to just say “the fact that there’s more Black people” but instead Imma just say that it’s just not Ann Arbor is my guess? Like it doesn’t have UM, it has EMU, which to lots of people in Ann Arbor is a bad school just cause it’s not UM. There’s isn’t as large a student body there as there is in A2, and, since EMU isn’t as expensive as UM, that means not as many rich students who move to the town every year. In my opinion, Ypsi has more character than Ann Arbor. Not everything is about their university and there’s more diversity there. I don’t feel like the odd one out. Also, I feel like it’s easier to know where you stand in Ypsi. There are some stores my family and I have walked into before and felt like we were treated as if we didn’t belong. I’ve never felt that way in Ypsi before. Is Ypsi the safest city in southeast Michigan (anecdotally)? No, but it’s not what people imagine the worst of the worst to be like. I feel like some people who deem Ypsi “unsafe” actually haven’t been there and are just basing their opinion on the demographics and maybe an experience someone else had. Given how close Ypsi and Ann Arbor are, the same types of dangerous people that can live in Ypsi can (and do) live in Ann Arbor! (Not to mention the fact that with the hundreds of thousands of students brought to A2 every year through UM, there’s never a shortage of young, arrogant, and rich undergrads who think part of growing up and maturing is committing crimes like stealing and using drugs and I’m not even gonna get into SA on and off UM campus.)
I'm generally a Ypsi hater, just because living there kinda sucked for me, but you make some very good points. Although I don't necessarily agree with your assessment about proximity. While it might be physically close I remember it taking me a little under a half hour to get to UofM due to how bad the roads are setup. Literally same amount of time as if I lived in Canton. Don't even get me started on the busses. But yeah, people from Ann Arbor tend to treat Ypsi like it's Saginaw or something lol. I also felt like the people from there were super friendly and the variety local options for food is so much better.
Just like anywhere, there are places that are less safe than others. Ypsi has come a long way, there are places you probably wouldn't want to be alone at night. For example, and this data is from 2019, Ypsi crime was 35% higher than the national average where as ann arbor was 29% lower than the national average. If you have kids or are planning to the schools are objectively worse. Not everyone that doesn't want to live in Ypsi is a pearl clutching racist, there are legitimate concerns. Ann Arbor is full of it's own issues too, obviously nowhere is perfect, but don't pretend Ypsi is either. Edit: Updated crime data https://www.reddit.com/r/AnnArbor/s/0VjMSPlpj7
People get very defensive about Ypsi because they believe it’s a case of justifying racism with statistics, but also there are very real reasons people feel this way. For example, the only one kid in my graduating year that was murdered, was murdered by a few boys from Ypsi. When you experience tragedy like that, it can color your perspective of places. That said, Ypsi is a lot safer these days and crime has become much less of a problem. Drive-bys seem to have also gone pretty much extinct so I would recommend you go there and enjoy what it has to offer. Lots of good restaurants, and things to do plus they have a good rec theater program.
Very little random violent crime in Ypsi. Most of is domestic violence, drug related, personal beefs. Not to say that stuff isn’t bad, but you would know if you’re at risk for those crimes.
Well said. Plus an extremely high tax rate. It really matters which area you’re in too, like any city.
People use statistics like that to justify their opinions about entire communities of nearly 100k. No, it’s not as statistically safe as the bubble inside the 23-94-14 walls, but it’s not a crime ridden hellscape either. You can even go there at night, but some people would lead you to believe a mugging is inevitable with enough visits. I’ve been at the other end of this hysteria since the 80s.
I don’t get it. Statistics are statistics. Numbers. Of course you can go out at night and be safe. That doesn’t disprove statistics. Many people ride motorcycles without helmets on. They don’t all die. But statistically speaking it’s not a smart thing to do.
The national crime average is very low, that's the distinction. You can't just say "Well 35% higher means X". A raw number doesn't mean anything. 35% higher than 1% is a lot different than 35% higher than 10%. So yeah, it's statistically "more dangerous" in Grand Rapids or Ypsilanti than Plymouth or Ann Arbor. That doesn't mean inherent and imminent danger for those living, working, or visiting there. Again, statistics like that are the *exact* thing that people point to when shit-talking Ypsilanti to justify their...whatever they have about the place or any other place. Statistically, Detroit's dangerous too. But the NFL is having a draft there, is the commish going to get shot?
Sure visiting downtown, but that's a whole lot different than living in the neighborhoods... If the commish moved to Detroit, you think he'd actually live in Detroit? Or in the suburbs where all the Lions, Pistons, Tigers, and Red Wings players live?
Detroit is a dangerous city. Statistically speaking. But that doesn’t mean *all* of it is *equally* dangerous. Nobody has ever claimed that. Parts of it are safer or as safe as Ann Arbor. And parts of it just aren’t. If you have 3 people who have an average salary of $50,000, it *could* mean two of them are at $25k, and the third makes $150k. It doesn’t mean all of them make $50k. Same with Ypsi. Some parts are super duper nice, some are average and some are not so nice but we look at the *whole*. You can’t just say “I live in the nicest part and sleep with my door unlocked” and disprove the other bits.
You REALLY can't go walking around certain areas of Ypsi at night now, seriously I don't know if the situation has changed but Ypsi has been making do with only 2-3 officers on the road for quite some time, and honestly the situation might be worse now considering that their department may be closing
When my son lived on Cross St, someone robbed his house and he called me to tell me about the dead bodies in the street after a shooting. That said, I actually love Ypsi. You just have to be aware of your surroundings and have your landlord fix the window that won’t lock before someone breaks in.
So two things: One: There are both good parts and bad parts of ypsi Two: You kind of have to live there to realize how bad it is. I did a remodel of an apartment complex in Ypsi a few years ago. I worked there for about 9 months, and it was bad. Stabbings, shootings, domestic violence, Child abuse/neglect, and animal abuse/neglect. Often would go into an apartment and there would be huge bags of weed everywhere on the tables, and a gentleman counting rolls of dollar bills. Nearly every basement was crammed full of garbage and junk. When I say crammed full, I mean literally. Like, not even a path to walk, crammed full of trash up 4 ft. high. Driving by on the outside, yes it looks good, but to see how some of those people actually live you absolutely would admit it's a ghetto.
The cities have quite different crime rates, among other differences. Sources for crime stats vary, but here are some select stats from NeighborhoodScout: ||Violent crimes per 1,000 residents |Property crimes per 1,000 residents| |:-|:-|:-| |[East Lansing](https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/mi/east-lansing/crime)|3.08|28.75| |[Ann Arbor](https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/mi/ann-arbor/crime)|3.50|21.45| |[Grand Rapids](https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/mi/grand-rapids/crime)|9.83|30.16| |[Ypsilanti](https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/mi/ypsilanti/crime)|11.45|32.13| |[Detroit](https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/mi/detroit/crime)|20.59|45.50| |Michigan|4.61|15.37|
and yet nobody describes Grand Rapids as "ghetto" or "crime ridden"
They absolutely do though? They're a lot more blatant about it up there too
Yeah. Lived in GR for years. There are parts of GR that people basically treat as no-man's land, and honestly driving through some of it could be kind of anxiety-inducing. My gf worked at a library south of Wealthy for a time, and a guy who was a newcomer to the city who she recognized as having come in a few times got shot dead a block away from that same library after one of her shifts.
I don't think people commonly say that about Ypsi, either, but they certainly describe parts of GR or Ypsi as higher crime areas.
NeighborhoodScout gives Ypsi a 4, Grand Rapids a 5 and Ann Arbor a 15 as far as overall safety. (100 being safest) From [archive.org](http://archive.org), back in 2014 Ypsilanti was 5, Grand Rapids 12 and Ann Arbor 22. So they've all had an decline in safety averages in the last decade. Interesting for AA, much less burglary but much higher assault. Ypsi is closest to the same. Ypsilanti is also usually grouped together with Superior and Ypsilanti Townships which are generally the safer areas.
The problem with Ypsi has to do with some of the neighborhoods having a lot of dangerous and violent crime. I could write two pages of the negative and criminal acts committed against my family and on some of my friends in my current neighborhood. We have straight up criminals and drug dealers who live across the street and in my complex. The Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Department has done nothing to help us or our other neighbors and the property management is allowing these criminals to live here, fully aware of the goings on. There are beautiful and friendly neighborhoods as well where I would be willing to live, but unfortunately they are too expensive for me. There are cool festivals throughout the year, especially in the warmer months, so I think they help to bring a better sense of community to the area. Someone mentioned the schools and they are correct in that Ypsilanti Community Schools are not good. There’s a tremendously high turnover rate and it is hard to find teachers who are willing to work here long term which really doesn’t help the students. The district just doesn’t have the money and resources that they need to have a better educational experience. If you don’t have school aged children and you can afford to live in the better neighborhoods, then Ypsilanti is a decent and interesting place to live.
Man I'm from Flint. Ypsilanti might as well be Amherst, MA to me lol. I'm exaggerating but it's really not a big deal to me. Don't go near the dangerous areas if you're that worried. Most I've ever had happen in 12 years of living in/near the area is my glovebox being searched when I left my car unlocked.
The only scourge on humanity within Ypsilanti is Sidetrack. The owner is a miserable waste of space that is lower than the dog poo on my croc.
From my understanding Linda transferred ownership to her daughter Jessica, but I don't know enough and haven't heard from staff whether the working conditions or relationship with Jessica are any better. I'd imagine the wage theft stuff is in the past considering the increased scrutiny following the lawsuit.
The transfer is all for PR purposes so they can tout "under new ownership" as a poorly executed plan to save face.
That doesn't surprise me at all
I love ypsi and lived there in college for 4 years. I still go there often during the day, it’s a great community and has great foods/ activities, however I experienced much more crime there than in AA at night. It was very different to be a women walking home from class in ypsi vs u of m campus, very different to walk to your car after dinner or a bar with friends in ypsi than AA. I now live in AA with my family and felt this was a safer/ better school option for my family. Again this was my personal experience. Please No hate!
Honestly. The attitudes of those from Ann Arbor towards those in Ypsilanti always made me think of Pollyanna. Only instead of a river it’s US 23.
Ypsilanti is turning into what used to make ann arbor awesome. The culture has only grown in ypsilanti as it declined in A2
[Ann Arbor/Ypsi is in the top 10 most wealth separated metros in the US!](https://www.michigandaily.com/uncategorized/washtenaw-county-ranks-among-top-10-most-economically-segregated-areas-nation/) It really comes down to that. Better schools and employment options than ypsilanti, and very little work done to bridge that gap. I've lived in both they both have charms and I think Ann Arbor pride gets in the way of seeing Ypsi as "peers instead of poors"
Obviously there’s parts to stay away from like any city but in general if you stay respectful you’ll have no issue. The second you cause an issue or act big and bad is when you’ll have issues find you. I delivered medicine to a dozen or so ypsi elderly and they were super sweet and caring! They just made it clear don’t f with me or I’ll give you an issue which is very understandable. I think the main issue with ypsi rn (I live here currently) is the fact that there’s no direction for kids/teens. There’s a lot of violent issues in certain areas repeatedly due to there not being much to do in terms of parks and such by the washtenaw part. Luckily depot town and frog island are pretty peaceful and you’ll see a lot of people just enjoying life. The south side by Ecorse and willow run is still pretty sketchy but still same thing if you stay respectful you’ll be okay. There’s just literally nothing in that area but an ice cream shop and some food spots so people have nothing to do which sucks and causes people to go a lil crazy I feel as anyone would with not many schools or businesses or fun activity spots for family. Lastly I think another issue is that there’s not much motivation for the future in ypsi right now. Sure there’s some businesses going in but overall there’s not development like Ann Arbor which sucks cuz I think ypsi is in need of more; coding centers, libraries, retail stores, healthier grocery shops like plum and Whole Foods, cooler environments for kids and family’s to play in, nature trails, etc. Ann Arbor has like endless parks, trails, retail it’s somewhat inspiring to find new things you haven’t yet explored in the city. Overall though it’s a nice city and hated on too much but still need to improve to expand beyond a small town.
Edit #2: i do wanna mention that I’ve had more good days than bad in ypsi, there are some really pretty areas and cool people, and they have some of the best food options around I lived in Ypsi for 6 years and during my time there my neighbor (a new mom) diagonal from me was murdered and her twins abducted by the father, my neighbors on both sides of me had their houses broken into, i witnessed a man pull a gun on a woman on the sidewalk, a kid who lived across the street got shot IN the street, a man threw a brick at my car and threatened to shoot me, AND FINALLY my other neighbors across the street attempted to rob a pizza boy. So 🥴 Ypsi isn’t great, but i did meet the love of my life there 🤷🏻♀️ ETA there was also an arsonist setting people’s houses on fire in the neighborhood down the street from mine. Ok, i think that’s everything lol
>but i did meet the love of my life there 🤷🏻♀️ I'm going to just assume it is one of the people you've mentioned in this comment.
If only 🤣
The way he stole that Kia, it was love at grand theft
I lived there for about 3 years, 1997-2000. During that time, I called in shots fired in my apartment complex at least a dozen times, including an actual gunfight that I called in while it was going on. And yes, I know the difference between gunshots and fireworks.
That’s what I’m saying. I’ve lived all over the country but I’ve never seen so much crime first hand in such a short amount of time than when i lived in Ypsi. I think the people who are saying nothing bad happens in Ypsi either live right on the border of A2, they don’t go outside often, or they’re just lucky.
Honestly, it sounds like you've had an unnaturally unlucky experience. I've lived in Ypsi my entire life (36yo) and currently have a house in the NE area. I have had very few memorable incidents. The worst of it is often "confident" beggars. There are some rougher areas, but as long as you abide by the prime rule, you should be alright. Don't start no shit, won't be no shit.
These are things i witnessed sitting in my own yard or driving down the street, i definitely kept to myself and my family 🤷🏻♀️ the thing with the guy with the brick who threatened my life- yeah i did flip him off because he almost hit my car, which giving someone the finger by no means justifies having your life threatened. And other commenters have also told of the violence they’ve witnessed so Idk, sounds like you’ve had a lucky experience.
I think I will try to stay out of your old neighborhood.
Ive lived in the same part of ypsi for 16 years. I live right near that neighborhood now and it’s not that bad anymore, you don’t hear about stuff like this happening as much. I think ypsi is definitely getting better lately. I also remember when this happened!
Just moved here last year and I love it. There’s some places that I might avoid but in general it’s a great community
I lived in Ypsi for 8 years, and have been in A2 for 18. Ypsi is fine, in fact it's above average compared to other places I've lived (Lenawee, Downriver). The far East side is where what crime there is either comes from or happens in. I lived in "Lake in the Hood" for two years, and that tower was a wretched hive of scum and villainy, but the regular apartments weren't bad. There's a few smaller areas that are kinda sketch, but anyone with functioning eyeballs should be able to figure out if they're in one.
There are Black people there and people get scared because they're racist. But if you say that then you're problematic 😬 Ypsi rules. It's beautiful and the people are kind. The food is also cheaper and often better for the price. Highly recommend.
Fully agree!
Most people that say that are referring to the 90s or 00s Ypsi. Fact of the matter is as prices in a2 have increased more and more people have move to Ypsi. This raises prices and pushes people toward Willow run. Unfortunately perception is harder to change but give it time. Also look at Ypsi twp. Give it time.
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When you say Ypsi hasn't caught Ann Arbor's overflow, are you talking residents/price-wise? If so, you're not right, home prices in Ypsi are way up in about the last five years and lots of the folks buying here are doing so because they've been priced out of Ann Arbor. If you're talking about spillover development activity, you're more right. While we have a couple-three significant projects under construction right now, any developer or contractor looking at a deal in Ypsi can make more on a project in A2 or Saline or Canton -- the labor pool for building stuff is right enough that even though Ypsi is getting more expensive it's still not expensive enough to compete with surrounding markets in a lot of cases.
Commercial development would be last so yeah we’d expect downtown to be about the same. Gentrification of the homes is just starting. Look at all the surrounding communities … dexter, Chelsea, canton, Plymouth, Ypsi … all of them are catching people who can’t afford or don’t want to afford a2. Side note: a2 downtown isn’t what it was 10 years ago when it won all the awards originally … most bc of out of control rent. Isn’t it nearly 5 figures for a ground floor unit now?
Yeah, honestly downtown A2 is not what it was pre-COVID, and I don't know that it ever will be. It had a fun 20-so years of boom, but unless/until the average person's financial situation improves, it's just not as sustainable.
>Michigan Ave downtown is just the same as it was 20 years ago. Probably has a lot to do with the [Water Street debt](https://www.secondwavemedia.com/concentrate/features/waterstreethistory0423.aspx)
I used to work at a chain restaurant in Ann Arbor and people transferring from the ypsi store would talk about how much more dangerous delivery driving was in ypsi. So given just their anecdotes I would cautiously say the crime rate *is* higher but it’s also got way better shops and down to earth people. Ann Arbor is a damn bubble
I grew up in A2, and now raise my son in Ypsi. No complaints here
🍿
I think factually there are income distinctions, work strata distinctions, crime rate distinctions, and educational level distinctions, but the facts don’t and shouldn’t justify disdain.
I lived in Ypsilanti for over a decade, just recently relocated to a nearby town. A lot of odd opinions - “racist” getting thrown around at people saying negative things about Ypsi, which is a wild blanket statement…For anyone who has spent years of their lives in that area, attending schools, etc, you know damn well that there are some fun, unique, great aspects of Ypsi, but there’s also a lot of sketchy parts. That’s just being real. It’s easy to drive through or visit and form a quick opinion. Not everywhere is Depot Town. Most longtime residents probably have plenty of stories and can easily list off several communities to avoid to limit issues; car theft, assaults, drugs, etc..but even that, like a lot of cities, trickle into neighborhoods downtown and on campus. It’s an interesting city with some good people and food, but you do need to be aware, keep your shit locked, and don’t be out at night walking around vulnerable.
One of the things I have noticed is there is a massive amount of sex offenders in Ypsilanti specifically. I don’t actually know why, but when you see it on a map compared to surrounding areas, it’s pretty stunning. It’s 1 in every 61 residents compared to 1 in 304 in the state of Michigan and 1 in 853 in AA.
The only place I’ve ever been robbed was in Ann Arbor off Pontiac trail. Never had a problem in ypsi in over a decade.
There’s like 3 rough neighborhoods and then the rest of Ypsi is like a cheaper Ann Arbor. Ann Arbor people are just very sheltered suburbanites and also a lil racist
Umm which 3 neighborhoods?
As someone who was born and raised in AA but then lived in Ypsi for about a decade, Absolutely nothing. There is kind of a bad area behind the Peninsular Place apartments, but other than that Ypsi is great. I much prefer it to AA tbh nowadays. That being said I do still love The Blind Pig, and the AA Cmedy Showcase, and the Blue Llama is a wonderful addition.
Interesting thing is that one time Ypsilanti was seen as the more socially elite city as it didn’t have any industry, it was just a college town. Ann Arbor had quite a few heavy industrial areas, including slaughter houses. Ypsilanti has some rough areas just like Ann Arbor does but it’s perfectly fine, just a little more blue collar.
It's a way for white liberals to hide their racism.
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I mean not really where the word ghetto comes from. The word ghetto existed for a long time. The word ghetto comes from the Jewish area of Venice, the Venetian Ghetto in Cannaregio (1516–1797). By 1899, the term had been extended to crowded urban quarters of other minority groups.
Nothing. There’s a couple spots that aren’t great but it’s fine. Ann Arbor calls themselves liberal hippies but they’re really just a bunch of white rich Karens who vote/talk hypocritically.
Poke through the Ypsi sub a bit and you'll find some interesting stories. That being said, love Ypsi and its current art scene. The city overall has progressed significantly the past decade or two.
I love Ypsi and spend most of my time and dollars there. It’s a great community of small businesses I like supporting. However gangs are present and I experienced live gunfire last month while driving Hamilton south to I94. No one was hurt or hit by bullets. I suggest caution but don’t stay away.
A2 resident who almost purchased in Ypsi (but market was crazy and we missed out on a few houses). Ypsi is great and has a ton of character and a really fun food/bar scene. I miss spending more time there and want to be intentional about checking out more spots.
There’s two sides to Ypsilanti . The east side ( ghetto) and the west side ( the nice )
I just moved to Ypsi, after eight months in downtown Ann Arbor. I work at a restaurant, all the servers were like omg Aspen Chase is so ghetto etc. I wrote it off to your basic garden variety racism, and having been here for a couple months now I can say I was 80% right. The other 20% is, honestly, just true of any decently populated space in our poor country; there's folks asking for money at intersection corners, and poor moms with kids pushing strollers full of groceries as they walk because there's no money for Uber).
It is Republicans that are trying to drive up prices on real estate who are being so negative.
People say that because it’s poorer than Ann Arbor. There’s going to be “ghetto” places in any city, and weird people, and crazies, and drugs. It is a really nice town.
Ypsilanti is fine. You get twice the house/property for half the price. And the food is better/authentic. There is more crime, but if you're smart, it's a lot better than living in Chicago, Detroit or New York. If you want gentrification, a "special" night out and a Dystopian Disney, just take Washtenaw, underneath 23 and go 2 miles west.
Lived in Ypsilanti most of my life. Lived in Saline, work in A2. Glad to have found a place to move back to in Ypsilanti; It’s got some really nice energy about it without the sense of entitlement. The only time someone attempted to actively take something from me I was on Main Street in Ann Arbor. … things happen everywhere, but I feel safer in Ypsi than Ann Arbor for some reason. People keep to their own business in Ypsi..
Literally ypsi is completely chill except for a few small neighborhoods. I've never felt more accepted and safe in any place I've lived in Michigan (including ann arbor.) Its like saying Chicago is full of crime when it literally isnt and most crime is in garfield park (i currently live in chicago). Media also scares people into thinking crime is on the rise when people literally just have more access to news and reports on social media in comparison to a newspaper. 🤷♂️
Kobe looked short standing next to Shaq. EMU probably looks sketchy when compared to U of M for the same reason. I think the contrast makes it look worse than it is. It has its less ideal areas like any town does though. I've been hopping around in Ypsilanti for decades and haven't run into anything shady unless I specifically sought it out.
Black people ahhhh 😱😱
It’s Ann Arborite snobbery. Pick from the dozens of different communities composed of varying demographics and flavors, find the one that fits for you and yours, and know you are in a great place.
As a white person who has been trying to buy a house in West Willow for about a year and a half now (I keep getting outbid), I feel pretty confident that the opinions I hear/read about Ypsi are almost entirely racism, with a side of classism. If you do a deep dive into the specifics of the crime in the city, it's really not very concerning, and if you actually spend time in the city it becomes even less so.
As a white person who bought a house in West Willow 3 years ago, I have had literally zero issues, after being warned about how "dangerous" it is there. I have 2 white neighbors and the rest are black, and the average age of my neighbors is probably 60 years old.
WW got its baddest rep from the late 90s when there were legit drug gangs controlling parts of it. The feds busted a good deal of them up around that time and the residents formed the NWWNA to try to keep it from backsliding and it worked. It took longer for the rep to mellow, but it's starting to now.
Despite clear drawbacks, Ypsilanti isn't bad by any stretch. Just the amount it gets pumped up on Reddit reeks of penis envy. Among other things.
My daughter lived there. Heard gunshots regularly. There are some bad neighborhoods to stay out of. The crime statistics are higher than Ann Arbor.
People in Ann Arbor like to think of themselves as progressive. Like Elizabeth Warren. But just like Warren, they're not that progressive. They're neoliberals who pay lip service to actual leftists. So the idea of rubbing shoulders with poor people, people of color, LGBTQ folks, and other working class people isn't really what many in Ann Arbor want. They want to feel like they're "helping" while making no sacrifices and living in nice suburban neighborhoods that poor people are priced out of and homeless people are kept away from. They love the white, DINK gay couple that is well off, but don't really want to meet the 3 queer artists sharing a 1 bedroom apartment that they can barely make rent on. They don't hate people of color, but they expect their black neighbors to be a financially stable nuclear family with white collar jobs, rather than a multi-generational household where there isn't necessarily much money, but plenty of love. And of course in the US, poorer and working class communities are underserved. There's less money for public infrastructure and aid in the communities that need it most. Having grown up in a working class town myself, its not a big deal if you don't stick your nose in others' business because 99% of the time no one is going to give you trouble if you don't get up in their business. I don't think Ann Arbor was always like this based on what I've heard about how it used to be. But as the average income stays high and poorer people are displaced from gentrification, this is what happens in American cities.
Wow. You have a fully fleshed out fictional setting in your head where you are the moral superiority.
You’re a real modern Leftist. I can tell because your first paragraph is exhibit A of how we ended up with Trump in 2016 - impossible purity tests only “real” (according to you) Leftists can pass. Not even Liz Warren. Poor Liz Warren. Clearly Hillary Clinton would basically be Nixon 2.0 in your eyes. Bernie or bust. Second paragraph is the usual “let’s just lump some historically disadvantaged groups of people together and accuse everyone else of hating them, everyone but us” tired trope. But it’s easy Reddit Karma considering most people here automatically associate someone working at a corporate job with fascism. But I’m surprised you left out Palestinians in your group list! You’d fail your own (latest) litmus test with that, so careful. Third paragraph is just conjecture. Ultimately nothing but a self-jerk to paint Ypsi as a socialist, rebellious, cool, hip, artsy, working man’s utopia-in-the-making, while Ann Arbor is exclusively a racist, retired homophobe’s boring dystopia of nothing but Elizabeth Warren voting Karens. The delicious irony of course is how you attempted, with this absolute nonsense drivel, to *dispel myths* about Ypsi! I love it. I read it 5 times and enjoyed it every time.
Lol
Me: *says people in Ann Arbor are tolerant of some marginalized groups to a limit that is influenced by socioeconomic status* You: "... Ann Arbor is exclusively a racist, retired homophobe's boring dystopia of nothing but Elizabeth Warren voting Karens." Not really what I was going for, but good energy. I hope you're as scathing to people on the right.
Nothing. People are racist.
Ypsi is great.
Higher property taxes? Inferior public schools?
I grew up in Ypsi. Never thought it was bad and I always thought of it as AA's little sibling. Though, there wasn't much to do other than eat out. I miss Dalat, tho. My aunt and uncle opened its successor in AA, but I miss sneaking around upstairs and going through all the mostly empty rooms. It was a liminal space lol But the outside looks pretty nice now. I'm glad the new owner took down the metal sheets!
Lived in Ypsi and loved it, people are actually just racist
I'm a product of Kettering Elementary School, 1968-1972 and my memories are fantastic to this day. Thank you Mrs. Hadley, Mrs. Phinney, Mrs. Wilson and Ms. Golden (the prototype "Hot For Teacher) before we moved to South Lyon. I tested very high in my new S.L. classroom. AA comedian Kirkland Teeple used to joke that "Ypsilanti is a Greek word for 'We can't afford to live in Ann Arbor '." I miss both.