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I know these are technically not city comparisons but just wanted to hear some pros and cons of both areas. We are considering a move from Northern Va to GR someday and wanted some input.
Fairfax co pros;
Jobs
Culture
DC proximity
Schools
Cons -
Traffic
not as friendly
expensive
Grand Rapids
Pros -Friendly
Less expensive
less traffic
Near Familiy
Grand Rapids actually has a decent economy, in spite of the issues in many other parts of Michigan. It's an area that has been growing for a while now with about 1 million people in the metro. Nearby Holland has been growing as well. So, it wouldn't be a bad move.
Another pro you're missing for Grand Rapids is access to the outdoors. Michigan is a tourist destination and Grand Rapids gives you great access to much of what the state is so proud of when it filmed those "Pure Michigan" ads you might have seen.
Grand Rapids is 34 miles from Lake Michigan (the best beaches in the state are along the coast of Lake Michigan from Union Pier to Mackinaw City dotted with little beach towns), 2 hours from Traverse City (anchor of Michigan's northern lakes region), about 60 minutes from the Manistee National Forest, sits directly atop Michigan's longest river (the Grand... for which the city is named), within a stones throw of hundreds of public golf courses.
You did ask about jobs. I'd say unless you're a factory worker, Grand Rapids is decidedly average. That can be a good thing (if you're comparing it to Detroit which is 2.5 hours to the south east) or it can be a bad thing if you're comparing it to someplace like DC (or Fairfax) it's going to look rather paltry. Overall, however, GR is going to track the US average. The industry is diversified into automotive (supplying Detroit), aerospace (GE Aviation, L3 Communications, etc), office furniture (Steelcase, Herman Miller, Haworth are all multi-billion dollar companies HQ'ed here), consumer products (Amway, Wolverine World Wide), medical devices (Stryker and others), pharmaceutical (Perrigo), education (GVSU, several christian colleges, Davenport University, Michigan State's medical school, Cooley Law School and others) and other industries too though these are the big ones.
Another pro you're missing for Grand Rapids is access to the outdoors. Michigan is a tourist destination and Grand Rapids gives you great access to much of what the state is so proud of when it filmed those "Pure Michigan" ads you might have seen.
Grand Rapids is 34 miles from Lake Michigan (the best beaches in the state are along the coast of Lake Michigan from Union Pier to Mackinaw City dotted with little beach towns), 2 hours from Traverse City (anchor of Michigan's northern lakes region), about 60 minutes from the Manistee National Forest, sits directly atop Michigan's longest river (the Grand... for which the city is named), within a stones throw of hundreds of public golf courses.
You did ask about jobs. I'd say unless you're a factory worker, Grand Rapids is decidedly average. That can be a good thing (if you're comparing it to Detroit which is 2.5 hours to the south east) or it can be a bad thing if you're comparing it to someplace like DC (or Fairfax) it's going to look rather paltry. Overall, however, GR is going to track the US average. The industry is diversified into automotive (supplying Detroit), aerospace (GE Aviation, L3 Communications, etc), office furniture (Steelcase, Herman Miller, Haworth are all multi-billion dollar companies HQ'ed here), consumer products (Amway, Wolverine World Wide), medical devices (Stryker and others), pharmaceutical (Perrigo), education (GVSU, several christian colleges, Davenport University, Michigan State's medical school, Cooley Law School and others) and other industries too though these are the big ones.
Just asking, what is the current unemployment rate for GR?
Thanks..Unfortunately that is still a high unemployment rate compared to our 7 or so her in Fairfax.
Yes i did forget to mention the great outdoors MI has to offer particularly in the western part of the state.
I have already been to Muskegon beaches and Grand haven and liked it much..I was married in GR.
Our main concerns are employment and I am network engineer and wife is an attorney although she might me going the SAH mom route in a few years.
Don't forget though that unemployment numbers can be misleading if you have job skills that are in demand. I know even in high unemployment areas there are jobs that go unfilled for a long time due to nobody having the skills to fill them. Why nobody? Because those with the skills needed are already working and don't want to change jobs. If you are a network engineer, then a better thing to look at would be job specific postings instead of the general unemployment numbers.
Don't forget though that unemployment numbers can be misleading if you have job skills that are in demand. I know even in high unemployment areas there are jobs that go unfilled for a long time due to nobody having the skills to fill them. Why nobody? Because those with the skills needed are already working and don't want to change jobs. If you are a network engineer, then a better thing to look at would be job specific postings instead of the general unemployment numbers.
Very good point, as the percentage doesn't necessarily apply to every occupation. For instance, the metro where I live at is at 7.8%, but if you listen to some people you would think it is much worse. So, check out the job market for your field in the area.
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