Ypsilanti, Michigan

Ypsilanti Is the Place to Be

Outside Café Ollie, dozens of hot rods catch the evening sun in their chrome. Professors, musicians, and businesspeople stroll into locally-owned restaurants for destination fare. The Farmers’ Market has stayed open late, and the smell of fresh strawberries hangs in the air. This is summer in Ypsilanti.

There is a sense of connectedness in the community, as often happens when a city’s businesses are 95% locally-owned. People get to know each other in Ypsi. It’s a city—you can tell from the bustle, the university, and the proximity to Metro Airport—with the heart of a small town. Ypsi is a hub and a center for commerce where people still stop and talk to each other.

Just five minutes from US-23, it’s easy to get here. If you’d rather have a chance to look at the historic buildings, just take the AAATA. However you arrive, you may want to stay awhile, whether to eat at the award-winning Haab’s Restaurant, or just rock out in Ypsi’s exploding music scene. Stay long enough, and someone will probably ask you to join their band.

That welcoming attitude practically defines Ypsilanti. For instance, Andrew Clock, director of the Ypsilanti Heritage Festival, made participation in this year’s parade open and free. The festival even offered a cash prize for the best float.“We’re encouraging people of all walks of life to team up and create floats. You don’t have to be an organization,” said Clock. He told the Ypsilanti Courier that he wanted to set a tone of unprecedented community interactivity and participation. This is not an unusual attitude around here.

The Dreamland Theater, a community-driven performance space, embodies that same ideal. The theater is a major contributor to Ypsilanti’s burgeoning DIY art scene. It is a surreal and eclectic place, featuring a diverse array of performance-oriented events like puppet shows, cabaret, and guest lecturers. The theater is run by volunteers who share the goal of making their community a diverse and fascinating place to live.

That spirit of ingenuity is visible all over the city, from the repurposing of the Thompson Block Civil War barracks into a premier apartment complex, to the SolarYpsi project—a grass-roots initiative focused on sustainable, renewable energy.

It should come as no surprise that Ypsi is a cradle of inspiration. 35% of the city’s population holds at least a Bachelor’s Degree. It is home to Eastern Michigan University, and just down the road from the University of Michigan. Ypsi is also proud to be the headquarters of HighScope Educational Research Foundation, a company who describes its mission as “Inspiring Educators to Inspire Children.”

Despite all it offers in the way of culture and things to do, Ypsi is still one of Michigan’s best-kept secrets. This allows its residents to reap the rewards of proximity to Ann Arbor, while keeping the cost of living below the national average.

If you’re looking to begin the next chapter of your life in a flourishing, connected community, there’s never been a more exciting time to explore Ypsilanti.For assistance relocating to Ypsilanti email me at [email protected].