I am a dissertating PhD candidate in a humanities discipline at UM. My experience with Island Drive Apartments has been one of the most...
I am a dissertating PhD candidate in a humanities discipline at UM. My experience with Island Drive Apartments has been one of the most positive experiences in all of my seven years in Ann Arbor.
First, the apartment itself. I am in a top-floor two-bedroom apartment. The apartment was clean when I received the keys, with new carpet in the living room, hallway, and both bedrooms, and with solid, dark lookalike hardwood floors in the dining room, kitchen, and bathroom. It is QUIET. I cannot stress this enough. As a PhD student with noise sensitivities, I was in an uphill battle to find QUIET housing, where I could focus on my work and sleep soundly at night. Island Drive is that. My apartment is also full of light during the day, with windows facing three directions! Marrie, Sarah, and the maintenance crew have been very attentive to all of my maintenance needs.
The LOCATION is UNBEATABLE. Living without a car in Ann Arbor, NATURE is one of the things that I miss. Here, my backyard is literally the river and the river trail! How amazing! Argo park and the Arb are both 10-15 minutes walk away. Downtown and central campus are a 20-30 minutes walk. The #23 bus comes right to the entrance of the apartments, making it equally convenient to bus to the Central Campus Transit Center, in one direction, and to the Plymouth Road Kroger (a local supermarket), in the other direction. The UMich Blue Buses also stop right in front of the complex and the North/South Commuter Blue Buses are a 7 minutes walk towards the hospital. An unexpected but delightful surprise was that one local Korean and Asian foods store is just a 6 minutes WALK away. In car-centric America, where no grocery shopping can ever be conceived of without a car, to have a grocery store within a 6 minutes walk is in itself a luxury. In that same plaza, you also have Cottage Inn Pizza, a Korean food diner, and a party store.
PET POLICY was another genuine surprise and relief. DOGS ARE NOT ALLOWED. Cats are welcome. Given that I am a student, I often study at home. When looking at other so-called pet friendly apartments, I could only think of dog-friendly places as human unfriendly. I was truly concerned about noise from yapping or barking dogs whose owners might leave their dogs alone all day while they go off to work, even as I would be trying to work from home all day. I am also not a fan of owners who pass off their dogs antics with an, oh hes just friendly, as the dogs jump and scratch any passer-bys. When I found out about the pet policy, it was like the cherry on top after seeing the excellent apartment itself and the phenomenal location.
I have yet to live through the winter here at Island Drive, but I feel confident that the office will be responsive to any maintenance issues that may arise. Also, with the buses coming right to the apartment entrance, I also feel confident that I will be able to stay warm as I go to and from campus.
I am delighted and grateful that I get to live in this community. It is quiet, clean, beautiful, and replenishing.