Posted on Thu, Mar 11, 2010 : 1:40 p.m.
Top college sports town? Ann Arbor tops the list of 10 again, magazine says
By AnnArbor.com Staff
Ann Arbor is the No. 1 college sports town in the nation, Forbes magazine says. "If you're a sports fan who loves live sports, you'll love college towns," says Andrew Schiller, founder and CEO of a research company that runs the neighborhood data Web site NeighborhoodScout.com. (Photo: Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com)
Forbes puts Ann Arbor at the top because it remains affordable, has a low crime rate, a “little vibe” and big-time college athletics.
Forbes on Ann Arbor:
The town of 114,000 has it all: a top-notch public school system, a low crime rate and very affordable housing (the median price for a four-bedroom, two-bathroom, 2,200-square-foot is $148,000). Museums and good restaurants abound. And even though its high-profile football and basketball teams have struggled as of late, the school's other teams -Â like golf, rowing and softball -Â have excelled, so much so that Michigan finished fifth overall in the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup last year, a ranking by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics of schools based on their performance in every sport.
Ann Arbor beat out No. 2 Chapel Hill, N.C., and No. 3 Norman, Okla.
Comments
Kvetchmeister
Fri, Mar 12, 2010 : 3:02 p.m.
Single family homes are relatively low-priced, it's true. However, due to years of idiotic anti-growth policy, it is nearly impossible to find a DECENT apartment in town at a reasonable rate. (Neither one sixth of a former SFH or duplex nor a banlieue by Briarwood is very appealing to most people.) Moderately good apartments--to the extent they exist here, which is small-- rent for the same rate or even higher as the more expensive coastal/major cities others have mentioned. Ann Arbor seems like a great place to be a student, and a great place to be in one's 50s and wealthy and live in a more cultured version of the suburbs. In between, it can be frustrating to say the least.
acorn
Fri, Mar 12, 2010 : 12:52 p.m.
Not to quibble, but shouldn't the headline really be "Top College _Sports_ Town," as it says in the article? That was the actual Forbes list.
a2roots
Fri, Mar 12, 2010 : 11:30 a.m.
Ok, so the numbers may be wrong. So what! The fact Ann Arbor got positive press and a number 1 ranking is great. Those of us that care, know it is a great place and I for one am proud to call Ann Arbor home. Nice to see that others recognize this as well.
peg dash fab
Fri, Mar 12, 2010 : 12:21 a.m.
Zillow.com actually finds a 4BR/2BA house for sale for under $148K (910 Arbordale) and seven sold in the last year. Above $148K, zillow finds 31 for sale and 44 sold in the last year.
PortageLkBlu
Thu, Mar 11, 2010 : 8:20 p.m.
Boys and girls just have fun with it and there's no denying that Ann Arbor is a great town. I've travelled this great country with the military currently live in southern Ca. Ann Arbor is a great town maybe not the best but you boys and girls have nothing to complain about or do you? I was born at St Jo's raised awhile in Ann Arbor then at Portage Lake wow, I brag about that when people ask me where I hail from and when I run into people from that area they usually get a great big happy smile and just want to chat about Ann Arbor and whenever I run into people that have visited Ann Arbor they talk about it as a very nice memory. I ran into a guy in Bangkok Thailand and we chatted at length about Ann Arbor just a great town.
CynicA2
Thu, Mar 11, 2010 : 4:52 p.m.
I guess it could be a typo - no way that number is correct, though... mean, median, mode, or whatever!
chosen1
Thu, Mar 11, 2010 : 4:43 p.m.
fishy numbers or correct numbers, ann arbor is still a top notch town for college students. I only wish our new AD would bring in some new sports. For a prestigious university like Michigan to only have 26 varsity sports is a little weak. Even osu has 36. We're missing out on more championships in these other sports.
Freemind42
Thu, Mar 11, 2010 : 4:41 p.m.
@EyeHeart A2, you raise a good point. Don't conflate median and mean. However, The overall point to the article remains true: a good city with relatively affordable housing (considering the surrounding ammenities and school district) and THE BEST COLLEGE OF ALL TIME right in the heart of downtown.
Eep
Thu, Mar 11, 2010 : 4:35 p.m.
The story in Forbes says that they got the numbers from the Coldwell Banker Home Price Comparison Index. If you follow all the links, there is an explanation on Coldwell Banker's site that says: "Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC conducted its College Home Price Comparison Index study by compiling survey data from Coldwell Banker offices throughout the United States. Companies within the Coldwell Banker system submitted data based on the average sales price of sold real estate listings in 2009 or a comparative market analysis of homes previously sold. Because no Coldwell Banker real estate offices serve Troy, Ala., Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Ames, Iowa; Bloomington, Ind.; Athens, Ohio; Bowling Green, Ohio; Stillwater, Okla.; Charlottesville, Va.; Huntington, W. Va.; Morgantown, W. Va., and Laramie, Wyo. the average prices reflected in the study were from local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) data collected in September 2009. The criteria for the College HPCI subject home is: single-family dwelling, 2,200 square feet (approximately), four bedrooms, two and one-half baths." However, I agree, these numbers seem very suspicious.
CynicA2
Thu, Mar 11, 2010 : 4:14 p.m.
Something is very wrong with those housing numbers - I could believe $248K, but not $148K for that much house. Anyone at A2.com check these numbers - any A2 realtors out there?
Blue Marker
Thu, Mar 11, 2010 : 4:01 p.m.
Say what you will but I love Ann Arbor!
Lokalisierung
Thu, Mar 11, 2010 : 3:31 p.m.
"a top-notch public school system," - That could be up to 20 million in debt by next year "very affordable housing"(the median price for a four-bedroom, two-bathroom, 2,200-square-foot is $148,000)." - Ummm...wow. Maybe that was the price the last time the basketball team was "High profile."