We lived in Northwood housing for three years, summer 2003 - summer 2006. We were located in Northwood 3, which is low-rise buildings with one and two bedroom single level apartments. However, I believe most, if not all, of these apartments are being converted to undergraduate housing (to supplement the dorms). As such, this review does not directly apply to the rest of the apartments (in Northwood 4 and 5 in particular, which are townhouse style) that are likely the only ones available now. But, the maintenance staff is the same for all the units, and I've been through many of the Northwood 4 and 5 apartments.

Northwood's main strength is its price, which includes many (in some cases all) utilities (except cable, but often including high speed internet). We paid much less there than anywhere else we could find. For this savings however, you lose many conveniences. We did not have a dishwasher, and though a landry room was right outside our door (but outside still, something to consider with Michigan's cold), we still wanted a washer and dryer in the apartment. Central air would also have been nice but is only available in a few apartments. Another positive is its proximity to the University of Michigan north campus. We could easily walk there, and if we needed to get to central campus the bus stop was right nearby.

However, there are certainly downsides. The buildings are quite old, though well maintained. As another reviewer pointed out, these buildings do indeed have thin walls. However, we never had much of a problem with noise, which was surprising as we had undergraduate neighbors the last two years. Also, the windows are poor, letting in lots of air; all the heat is paid for though, so the windows are not much of a concern. Unfortunately this means, for Northwood 3 anyway, that the heat is piped in from a central location and you have no conrol over it. If it was too hot, we opened the window, and if it was too cold we put on more clothes. It usually erred on the side of too hot however, so the windows just stayed open. One note though, this heating situation is different in Northwood 4 and 5 (they have thermostats), so you should see what the particular unit you are looking at has if this is an issue for you.

Overall, we enjoyed the apartment. It was totally functional (no major issues), convenient and on a student budget we decided to live without the extras I mentioned. However, now that one of us has a real job we've moved out (and hopefully up). I reccommend these apartments for anyone who needs to save some money and can be a little flexible in how they live. bYr9ljUwtCbMRXE8dRDC

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