Get to know the city before you go. Have someone take you around. It is not that big, so don't be nervous. I love driving around, even at 50 years old. It is a great little town. Watch for Madonna as she is often visiting Lourdes. You want to be in the mood to explore. I love the driving and looking ... (more) , so don't honk at me. Start on State Street and then go down Liberty take a left on Main, then a left of William, go back up to State then to Liberty then down to a right on Main. There is so much to see. Parking is very enforced, so careful and feed your meter. It is safe to walk after you park though. Watch for me(gawkers) as we are often unpredictable in our behavior. Just be in the mood to have fun and don't try to rush through it. It is confusing to find Kerrytown but that is a fun part of town too. The one way and cobblestone streets over that way will throw you but the businesses and Zingerman's Deli make it worth exploring. The Gandy dancer is another hidden gem, driving down by the old train station turned restaurant is a cool experience especially at night. I love this town. It can be a fun cruising town. Lots of nooks and crannies. Most important, beware of the entitled pedestrians... Bitches be like, yes I will step in front of your moving care. Pedestrians have the right of way.

If you live and work downtown, you could skip a car, but it is Michigan. The local liberal and lesbians (gay guy here) love a Prius. The soccer moms are there is their SUV no one will be mean, but they will make fun of your yoga pants when you walk away from your big car. This town is environmentall ... (more) y aware, if you want to be popular, an electric or smart car will get you noticed. However, any bow or above luxury car is equally embraced. They often look down on the blue collar American made cars. I like the smart car, drive the American car, and love a pretty Porsche. Anything will work, you just have to know your place based upon your car of choice. Purchasing a car here is easy, it is Michigan after all. One the Northwest side of town you will find the Jackson Ave row of car dealers. There is a BMW dealer downtown. There are a ton of cars on Craigslist. Careful though, and the Mlive website has classifieds. The dealers here are good and trustworthy. I suggest sticking with them. There are a couple of those little private lots between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. It is a good place to buy a car.

Ann Arbor is a city with a lot of one way streets, I remember one of my first trips to the city. I was with a couple of friends and Ann Arbor being a college town it is a great place for young people to hang out to meet people. As a young gay guys, we were excited to try to sneak into the gay night ... (more) a local dance club. I am 50 so this was long enough ago that clubs were less worried about lawsuits and undercover investigations and you could get in. So there were three of us in the car, and were on a mission. I remember how it felt driving into to town, and suddenly being terrified and not knowing my ass from a hole in the ground. I knew the police were watching for us. I drove on state street toward liberty and there is a split where you have to go straight or turn. I was not sure the direction that I wanted to go so I went straight and that was wrong I went down a way and turned the wrong way on a one way street. I was freaked out then there is the issue of the two lane in each direction but the turn lanes change from left to right. I thought my head would explode. We never made it to the bar that night. I could not get out of town fast enough. We did make it out, no accidents and no tickets.

Main Street - I love to drive down Main Street on a Friday or Saturday night. All the people are out, some walking, some sitting at those little café style tables trying to enjoy food with the exhaust from all the cars. They look cool though. My favorite restaurant has big open French doors that open onto main st ... (more) reet, so you get the feel without the fumes. I love the hustle and bustle, and the people watching as you drive through town. Ann Arbor people are the best for people watching. You might see a bunch of college kids or Goth kids. A dance troupe or a bunch of gay guys, or a gay dance troupe. You may see a celebrity or two or a homeless guy. I love driving through downtown. I saw a neighbor with a hot blonde that was not the hot blonde he was married to. It is fun. Sitting at the lights is the best, then the people are passing you. I have seen make out sessions and fights while waiting for the light to change. I enjoy seeing all the shops lit up at night. I like seeing the random street performers, I miss Shaky Jake. He was the cities favorite pan handler, could be found on a corner pretending play the guitar any night.

The best advice I can give anyone driving in Ann Arbor is watch out! There are actually a lot of bad drivers in the city. I am not sure if its because there are so many distractions, or if people just don't know how to watch for others in the city, but when you drive around Ann Arbor you will take n ... (more) ote of this. Also if you ever plan on biking, be very award of your surroundings.

Ann Arbor, Michigan is a very wealthy city. You can find dealerships on all sides of the city. Because of the University of Michigan, a lot of business is done throughout the city and transportation is huge out here. I personally have only bought my cars through Craigslist but that has been due to m ... (more) ore of a budget than anything. I am currently deciding on whether or not to go to a local dealership or to buy through a friend for my next vehicle.

My favorite memory from driving in Ann Arbor, Michigan is when I was about 18 years old. At this point I was driving my Saturn SL1 that I bought in High School. I had purchased a lot of sound equipment for this vehicle and you could tell from down that block. This memory was while I was headed to a ... (more) party with my friends Jack and Henry. We were pulling out of the Burns Park neighborhood listening to a Gucci Mane track (very ignorant Rap with a lot of bass) when we got stopped at the light on the corner of Packard and Wells. Immediately I noticed a house party on the corner. All the sudden, a you of M student came outside. The lady was standing on the grass near the street and started dancing to the song playing in my car. This quick moment with a stranger set the mood for the rest of our night. Jack, Henry, and I had a fun ride throughout Ann Arbor on the way to the party and this memory has stuck since. Anytime I hear loud bass, it immediately comes to mind.

Huron River Drive - Huron River Drive is a very notorious cruising spot for townies of Ann Arbor. It has such a good reputation because the entire drive follows the Huron River. There are a lot of trees, bridges, nice houses, bicyclists and motorcyclists throughout a journey down the drive. I say journey specifically b ... (more) ecause if you don't have an experience worthy of calling it a journey while on the Huron River Drive, you're doing something wrong!

Watch out for walkers, bikers, joggers, etc. This is a college town and there are students everywhere, at all times... And they don't look before they just cross the road. They just assume "Well, I'm here and I'm walking. Those cars will stop!" They usually do but there's accidents & deaths every si ... (more) ngle year from people being hit by cars. So watch out for people like a hawk and assume they will *not* wait for you or even look for you when crossing the street.

There's a lot of variety here in Ann Arbor so you just need to be diligent and consider all possibilities. Places like Craigslist and AutoTrader are good, but you can also find great deals simply by going to the dealership's website - places such as dunningtoyota.Com, kiaofannarbor.Com, etc. There's ... (more) also an area that I refer to as "Car Dealer Row" off Jackson Road because there's at least 10 dealerships in one area.

The first time driving north on Main during the evening hours is a delightful experience. When you're coming up north from Eisenhower, first you come to the "Big House" at the University of Michigan. It's all lit up and looks pretty incredible. As you continue driving north, approaching Pauline Blvd ... (more) ., Suddenly the skyline of downtown Ann Arbor opens up in front of you. It's all lit up and looks so beautiful! Downtown Ann Arbor might not be huge but it looks pretty amazing, nonetheless.

Scio Church Road - I love Scio Church because it's tree-lined on both sides and when autumn hits and the leaves start changing colors, it's a beautiful sight. It's a well-taken care of road and ends up leading you out into the country towards the city of Chelsea. We like heading out that way, just to go for a drive so ... (more) metimes.