Relocating to Grand Rapids Area - advice? (Detroit, Saginaw: for sale, apartments)

[carynstetson]

Hey everyone - My name is Caryn. My husband and I are from the U.P. originally but have been living in Virginia since 2001. We want to move back to MI, but obviously the U.P. doesn't have the greatest job market, so we're thinking about the Grand Rapids area b/c we have some friends and family there already. I work in the legal field, so will most likely end up working right downtown and my husband's area of work will be pretty much up in the air for now. The main reasons to leave Virginia are 1.) traffic; 2.) poor school systems; and 3.)ridiculous prices of homes. We are looking at a suburbs for the school systems and family friendliness. So far, we're considering Rockford, Belmont, and maybe Hudsonville. Seems like the Northview area and Cascase and Ada are good too - people say good things about the schools in Forest Hills. Does anyone have an input on these cities? What has good school systems and the shortest commute?
Many thanks in advance for your help!

[mich2fla]

Originally Posted by carynstetson

Hey everyone - My name is Caryn. My husband and I are from the U.P. originally but have been living in Virginia since 2001. We want to move back to MI, but obviously the U.P. doesn't have the greatest job market, so we're thinking about the Grand Rapids area b/c we have some friends and family there already. I work in the legal field, so will most likely end up working right downtown and my husband's area of work will be pretty much up in the air for now. The main reasons to leave Virginia are 1.) traffic; 2.) poor school systems; and 3.)ridiculous prices of homes. We are looking at a suburbs for the school systems and family friendliness. So far, we're considering Rockford, Belmont, and maybe Hudsonville. Seems like the Northview area and Cascase and Ada are good too - people say good things about the schools in Forest Hills. Does anyone have an input on these cities? What has good school systems and the shortest commute?
Many thanks in advance for your help!

We live in Ada, Michigan and our children attend Forest Hills Public Schools. Great teachers and support from the community. House prices in Ada is on the high side but the schools are one of the best in the state. Lots of people re-located to Ada from more expensive areas and they all think Ada is cheap. I don't know Virginia so I can't compare it for you.

Ada has plenty of bike trails, deers, and turkeys. It's rural compared to Grand Rapids. Where I live in Ada (Cascade Township), we are only about a 20 minute drive to downtown and about 15-20 minute drive to the airport. On weekends we are 45 minutes drive to Holland where my parents has a place on the water. Everyone here is very friendly and welcoming. We love it here and have been here since 1999.

Your commute times (to and from work) from Rockford, Belmont, or anywhere along US 131 will be longer than from the Ada/Cascade areas. I have co-workers that deal with morning and afternoon commutes much longer than mine and they live about the same distance from work. My drive is only 18 miles to work and it takes me 20 minutes most days.

Rockford is nice...friends of ours complain they always has to come to GR for some major shopping and the airport on the SE side of GR. Ada/Cascade is located close to 28th street where all the stores are.

Hudsonville is very conservative community. It's growing like crazy since the new South Belt (M-6) highway just opened up 1.5 years ago. Lots of Hollanders/Zeelanders commute to GR for work and you will be dealing with those traffic.

You are probably aware that Michigan's economy has been struggling for some time now. West Michigan is doing much better than the Detroit/Saginaw areas.

I will be sending you a PM on other housing information that I cannot post on this forum.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Good luck!

[carynstetson]

Thank you so much! I have noticed that homes in Ada and Cascade are a little higher than the other areas, but it seems nice there. I see a few homes pop up for sale in Ada Moorings and that seems pretty decent. In Virginia, you can't find anything for less than 400K (650K in the good school district!), so everything we look at in MI seems very affordable to us. We are looking in the 150-250 range and have seen a ton of things that seem doable to us, especially on the high end of that range. We paid 151k in 2003 for our current home and it's listed now at nearly double that - the market here is crazy!
Thanks also for the PM on GRAR. That has been a very helpful website. I love that they have so many pictures - makes you feel like you can actually see the houses.
I'm in a wedding in GR on 9/23 so I'll be in the area checking it out. Even though we're from MI, we don't know that much about the GR area, so your input was great -thanks again!

[mich2fla]

We live about 3 miles south of Ada Moorings on Buttrick Ave. Ada Moorings is along the Grand River and is next to Ada Township park and near the bike trails.

There are many price ranges in the Ada/Cascade area and you will find something you'll like!

Here's the link to Forest Hills Public Schools if you want to check it out: http://www.fhps.k12.mi.us/

Good luck!

[cityview]

Look up Heritage Hill in Grand Rapids Michigan. Lot of historic houses and a short walk to downtown where there are law offices, hotels, stores, and many city festivals. I am relocating to Mount Pleasant Michigan and I am selling my home in Heritage Hill. It is huge 5000 sq ft, but it has two apartments that help pay for my mortgage. There are many homes set up like mine in this historic district. Check it out.... Heritagehill.org on the web. Good luck !
City View

[mich2fla]

Originally Posted by cityview

Look up Heritage Hill in Grand Rapids Michigan. Lot of historic houses and a short walk to downtown where there are law offices, hotels, stores, and many city festivals. I am relocating to Mount Pleasant Michigan and I am selling my home in Heritage Hill. It is huge 5000 sq ft, but it has two apartments that help pay for my mortgage. There are many homes set up like mine in this historic district. Check it out.... Heritagehill.org on the web. Good luck ! City View

Yes, Heritage Hill is very close to downtown (walking distance). My brother lives near there. The original poster wanted good schools. I would stay away from GRPS for a while.

[Dr.T.]

Hudsonville is nice but VERY conservative; schools are very well rated and homes are affordable. The GR area tends to get more conservative as you drive toward Holland and the areas east and north of GR tend to be more liberal (at least in a West Michigan sense). Hudsonville is roughly 20 minutes SW of GR. Grandville is affordable and pretty safe too, just 10 min SW of GR and also good schools.
Find the home that you want and you really can't go wrong just about anywhere in the area.

[carynstetson]

Thanks Dr. I actually was just in the area house hunting last week and bought something off of Aberdeen/Dean Lake in Grand Rapids, off the beltline. We got a decent price and heard so many good things about the Forest Hills school district, we decided to go for it. Closing on 11/29!
My friend lives in Hudsonville though, so we'll be visiting. Thanks again for the info.

[mich2fla]

Originally Posted by carynstetson

Thanks Dr. I actually was just in the area house hunting last week and bought something off of Aberdeen/Dean Lake in Grand Rapids, off the beltline. We got a decent price and heard so many good things about the Forest Hills school district, we decided to go for it. Closing on 11/29!
My friend lives in Hudsonville though, so we'll be visiting. Thanks again for the info.

Welcome back to Michigan carynstetson! You picked the right school district and you will be pleased!

It will be hard for us to leave this school district. My job is being outsourced to China and I'm still watching out for positions in the GR area. So far no luck.

Good luck on your move!