6: Ann Arbor, Michigan

PHOTO: Visit Ann Arbor

HOMESCHOOL REQUIREMENTS: None. If you’re withdrawing your child from school, the state recommends notifying the school, but you don’t have to file any paperwork, meet any attendance requirements, or participate in any standardized testing.

COMMUNITY: Homeschoolers of Ann Arbor is a 4-H group with weekly meetings, co-op classes, long-term project opportunities, and social activities.

BOOKS: Forget best-sellers. At Literati Bookstore, new books share primo display space with titles from small presses, older books that are hard to find elsewhere, and literary classics. Bonus: The downstairs typewriter collection is like kid-nip.

RESOURCES: Download homeschool lesson plans for exhibitions at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, sing in the choir or march with the band in the National Homeschool Music Ensemble; take homeschool art classes at the Ann Arbor Art Center or Make Art Studio; do a kayak nature study on the Huron River; see a show at the Wild Swan Children’s Theater

INSIDER TIP: Borrow a bike to get beyond where the city buses will take you from ArborBike, Ann Arbor’s bike share program

NUMBER OF MUSEUMS: 11, including the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History, the Sindecuse Museum of Dentistry, and the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum

NUMBER OF LIBRARIES: 5, with activities including author events, a monthly webcomics lab, and arts and crafts workshops

MEDIAN HOME PRICE: $212,000

POPULATION: 117,025

Where can you be surprised by tiny fairy doors on the city streets, pay a visit to ancient Pompeii, and get a pretty freaking amazing pastrami sandwich? Why, in Ann Arbor, course, a university town where quaint charm, educational resources, and good eating intersect. 

It’s hard to imagine a more perfect college town than this one. The University of Michigan’s 3,200-acre campus gives the city an annual infusion of fresh energy and ideas and may be part of the reason Ann Arbor is chock-full of life learning opportunities, even if you don’t count all the art shows, film screenings, lectures, and performances happening on the university campus.

You might meet up with your homeschool group for bread-making classes at Zingerman’s Bakehouse, take a field trip the full-size replica of Pompeii’s Villa of Mysteries mural at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, or see a friend perform in a production of “Frog and Toad” at the Wild Swan children’s theater. Teens line up for cheap movie matinees at Rave or find their new favorite band at the funky Ark music hall, which attracts both up-and-coming and big-name acts. Exploring the Huron River, which runs through the city, is as easy as stopping by Gallup Canoe Livery to rent a couple of kayaks and gear, or you can get your exercise on foot, hiking the trails in Bluffs Nature Area, just steps from downtown. Stop by the famous Zingerman’s Deli for a sandwich you’ll need two hands to eat or stop at the food cart park downtown for a walk-and-talk lunch. Michigan’s homeschool laws are voluntary, so you can opt to inform your child’s school or the school district of your decision to homeschool, but you certainly don’t have to. 

Ann Arbor is a little more expensive than the U.S. average when it comes to housing—the median home price in 2013 was $212,000. But other costs, including groceries and transportation, are a little less than the national average, and utilities are right around the national average. One benefit to living in Ann Arbor is its low unemployment rate, which makes finding work here a little easier than it can be in other parts of the United States. Getting around in the city is easy thanks to a pedestrian-friendly downtown and handy bus system, but you’ll want a (winterized) car if you plan to venture out past the city limits.

This list was originally published by home/school/life in 2014. Are there great Ann Arbor, MI secular homeschool resources we missed or new resources created since we made this list? Add them in the comments!

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