Saline, MI 207 Apartments for Rent

If you heard the name "Saline" and immediately thought about the solution in which you soak your contact lenses every night, you're not far off. "Saline" is the French word for "salty" and became the name of this Michigan town because of the salt springs that its 19th-century French settlers and Native Americans found nearby.

Saline is a 10-minute drive from the bustling, tech-driven atmosphere of Ann Arbor. However, in many ways, a stay in the community of 8,810 residents feels like a trip to the past. Several of Saline's residents work in Ann Arbor, but live in Saline to escape the bigger city's hustle and bustle (and comparatively higher cost of living).

Moving to Saline

Many Saline residents own their homes, so the city's rental situation is a bit dicey. Rental houses in Saline exist, but might be hard to come by. Saline also has duplexes for rent, but, as with rental houses, it doesn't have many of them. However, the city does have apartments for rent, most of them in apartment communities like Six Trails Apartment Homes. Because there's no distinct neighborhoods in Saline, if you're looking for townhouses to rent, you might be best venturing toward Ann Arbor, which offers a greater variety of rental options than does Saline.

Living in Saline

There's really nothing special a person must do to prepare for life in Saline, other than maintain the desire to live in a small city that celebrates its history. Even the city's youngsters embrace an "old-timey" ethos. Saline has two groups of teenaged fiddlers (the "Saline Fiddlers" and "Fiddlers Restrung") who shun the music of Bieber in favor of authentic folk, bluegrass and swing tunes.

Saline's most notable neighborhood is its downtown district, whose 100-year-old buildings house a variety of bakeries, taverns, specialty shops and restaurants. The city's downtown merchants also host events like "Taste of Saline" and a concert series called "Music Under the Arch." Less than a mile away, in Mill Pond Park, Saline's annual Celtic Festival celebrates traditional music, food, and dance every summer.

What else is there to do in Saline? If you like marionettes (and, really, who doesn't?), you're in luck, as the Saline District Library has a permanent exhibit of the hinge-limbed puppets created by artist Meredith Bixby. Saline also has a museum in its former train depot, as well as a museum dedicated to farming. In addition, it offers 240 acres of park space. Getting to all these places is easy. Residents use their own vehicles, or take advantage of the People's Express mass transit program, which offers trips during regular business hours from Monday through Friday. Saline is also a hop, skip and a jump away from Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan, where visitors can watch theatrical performances, stroll through botanical gardens, or catch football games on sunny autumn days.