ANN ARBOR, MI – Austin Murch says that Ann Arbor “felt like a surprisingly small city” when he arrived from rural Oklahoma in the late 2000s to attend the University of Michigan.
Since graduating in 2013, he has been back four times. His last two visits this year shocked him at how much the small-town charms he admired as a student have changed amid the flurry of high-rise developments.
“Part of the experience is that Ann Arbor had this small city campus in the middle of a big city, but now it’s just like you’re in the middle of another emotion-less downtown,” Murch added…