Moving to Flint Michigan

[mogo]

The good about Flint: There is a ton of renovation and rehab going into downtown Flint right now, thanks mainly to an investment firm that just about gobbled up the whole thing, and the new Mayor and his administration. There are three colleges within blocks of the downtown, but, until recently, no one took advantage of the student population. UM-Flint now has dormitory, and they are converting two downtown hotels (Hyatt and Durant) into more dorm rooms. There are several cool bars down there, and, like downtown Detroit, the crime rate in downtown Flint is incredibly low. It's future will be as a college town as the student population takes hold. There's no reason the downtown couldn't be as vibrant as Royal Oak's. There are major cities in the US that don't have the arts and activities that Flint has. There is a very nice neighborhood nestled between the Community College and Cultural Center, and another that straddles Miller Rd. on the cities far west side.

The bad about Flint: There are simply too many parallels between Flint and Detroit to list. This recent rebirth of the downtown has come after decades of absolutely ridiculous government circus acts. The last Mayor was actually a convicted felon (and I think he may have been mildly retarded), but he beat a Rhodes scholar (who is likely (fingers crossed) to be the next Mayor). Eventually, the business community ran him out of town, and basically installed the current Mayor. The City has been on the decline since the mid to late sixties, and the rebirth is only about 5 years old. The north-side of Flint was always bad, but that has spread to probably 80% of the city with GM's exit. It will be quite some time before people start to move back.

The surrounding suburbs like Grand Blanc, Flushing and Fenton have excellent schools, and have downtowns similar to Milford.

I could go on forever. I'll just leave it at that.

[jellybean80]

Please reconsider. Flint is not only high in crime but also was rated the "murder capital of michigan" per capita. It is full of poverty and the outskirts are nothing much to be desired. If you are dead set on that part of Michigan maybe you could look into Fenton or maybe Davidson. Those are both fairly safe cities that are clean and have some country appeal to them. Good luck!

I also agree with another poster about Grand Blanc or Swartz Creek!

[jmlowman]

We were in Flint for July 4th and the following week, and I was surprised how much progress has been made since we were there two years ago, particularly in the downtown area, which seemed to have been left for dead. I drove around the city and found neighborhoods that were still quite nice: off Miller Road, near MSD, Nolen Drive and the area around Mott Park Golf Course, and also the area south and east of East Court Street, near Mott CC. The trouble area always was the northeast part of the city, even dating back to the 50s and 60s, and it seems to have expanded west into the Civic Park area.

It won't happen overnight, but I see a city on the upswing. If it weren't for the weather, I'd seriously consider retirement in the Flint area, although it would be in Grand Blanc or some of the small towns or townships surrounding the city.

Not sure if the OP is still following this discussion, but you'd have to get almost west of I-75 on Pasadena to find a good neighborhood. My in-laws live on a street in Flint Township that is just east of, and parallel with I-75 and they are doing fine.

[eastwestman]

Originally Posted by mogo

The good about Flint: There is a ton of renovation and rehab going into downtown Flint right now, thanks mainly to an investment firm that just about gobbled up the whole thing, and the new Mayor and his administration. There are three colleges within blocks of the downtown, but, until recently, no one took advantage of the student population. UM-Flint now has dormitory, and they are converting two downtown hotels (Hyatt and Durant) into more dorm rooms. There are several cool bars down there, and, like downtown Detroit, the crime rate in downtown Flint is incredibly low. It's future will be as a college town as the student population takes hold. There's no reason the downtown couldn't be as vibrant as Royal Oak's. There are major cities in the US that don't have the arts and activities that Flint has. There is a very nice neighborhood nestled between the Community College and Cultural Center, and another that straddles Miller Rd. on the cities far west side.

The bad about Flint: There are simply too many parallels between Flint and Detroit to list. This recent rebirth of the downtown has come after decades of absolutely ridiculous government circus acts. The last Mayor was actually a convicted felon (and I think he may have been mildly retarded), but he beat a Rhodes scholar (who is likely (fingers crossed) to be the next Mayor). Eventually, the business community ran him out of town, and basically installed the current Mayor. The City has been on the decline since the mid to late sixties, and the rebirth is only about 5 years old. The north-side of Flint was always bad, but that has spread to probably 80% of the city with GM's exit. It will be quite some time before people start to move back.

The surrounding suburbs like Grand Blanc, Flushing and Fenton have excellent schools, and have downtowns similar to Milford.

I could go on forever. I'll just leave it at that.

This is really great news. I'm very pleased to hear that things are on the upswing.

[ocean2026]

Originally Posted by DandF

moving to flint, michigan

does anyone know what its like and if there are any areas that are bad for crime?

thanks

No none of the areas in Flint are bad for crime- in fact they are almost as great as Detroit is for crime. Where I live, Rockport Texas a small coastal town is bad for crime- probably why we have almost no criminals.

Enjoy!