is Grand Rapids, as rough as Detroit? (Lansing, Saginaw: college, place to live)

[green_mariner]

With a murder rate of 5.3 murders per 100,000, that would not suggest that Grand Rapids is even close to as rough as Detroit. Are there some rough areas? Of course. As a whole though, GR doesn't seem nearly as rough as Detroit, or Flint or even Lansing. This is all just my opinion.

[detwahDJ]

Originally Posted by lydia415

There are quite a few in the Southeast section; Franklin/Eastern area- Wealthy/Hall area before you get to Eastown (which is a cool avant-garde section)- Division Avenue before you get to Downtown Grand Rapids to name a few. It's strange...there are bad neighborhoods, and then just a few blocks in a given direction, it's pretty affluent. Like Heritage Hill with all the beautiful Franklin-Lloyd Wright designed homes is a few blocks away from dope corners...

But, overall I really like Grand Rapids. They have nice resturants, museums, beautiful colleges. awesome hospitals and specialized health medical services...festival in the summer :~) etc.

I have frequented Billy's and I like the edgy "hipster" vibe of Eastown for sure. My nieces attended Aquinas. Since I usually drive up Breton, those are the neighborhoods I'm familiar with.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by lydia415

There are quite a few in the Southeast section; Franklin/Eastern area- Wealthy/Hall area before you get to Eastown (which is a cool avant-garde section)- Division Avenue before you get to Downtown Grand Rapids to name a few. It's strange...there are bad neighborhoods, and then just a few blocks in a given direction, it's pretty affluent. Like Heritage Hill with all the beautiful Franklin-Lloyd Wright designed homes is a few blocks away from dope corners...

But, overall I really like Grand Rapids. They have nice resturants, museums, beautiful colleges. awesome hospitals and specialized health medical services...festival in the summer :~) etc.

There aren't any boarded up houses on Wealthy, and Hall doesn't cross Wealthy. The boarded up homes on Division Ave just before you get to downtown are part of the Tapestry Square project at Division and Wealthy, which are going to be torn down. There may be a few here and there near Franklin and Eastern, but not that many.

If, say, Franklin and Eastern is the worst area of GR:

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=frank...49507&t=h&z=18


Here's a comparison to just one of many areas in Detroit, where 3/4's of the homes are just gone:

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Mt+Ol...+Michigan&z=18

Or here, this is a great illustration of what 1/2 of Detroit looks like:

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Mt+Ol...+Michigan&z=19

Go onto it and click on "street view" to see what all those big piles of white trash are. Those used to be streets with houses on them.

Or here's a nice neighborhood playground with basketball courts:

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Mt+Ol...124.59,,0,6.61

Here's a typical street in Highland Park in Detroit. Notice the curbs have completely disappeared?

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=highl...61.28,,0,-8.71

I would assume the debate of whether GR is like Detroit would be over by now. They are worlds apart.

[MS313]

Originally Posted by Amercity

Grand Rapids is significantly more diverse, intergreated with significantly less crime then detroit. You could probably live in the majority of the neighbourhoods with ease and without having to worry about your things being stolen unlike detroit. Detroit is only safe in 2 areas downtown, midtown and the area around wayne university. After that its just slums everywhere.

Schools are probably significantly better too but they arent quality schools just average

Oh yea? Try Indian Village, University District, Sherwood Forest, Rosedale Park, North Rosedale Park, ect just to name a few.

As far as the black cultural thing, that is interesting as the black culture in w. mi seems to be very stagnant. If you look at the population changes many communities saw a decrease in African Americans between 2000 and 2010 here and that might have something to do with the lack of amenities catering to that community. I heard somewhere that GR is the largest market in the US WITHOUT a urban/hip hop station. Churches chicken have all closed and there are no white castles as mentioned. All definitely part of the Detroit vibe. Its obviously very segregated here and theres a large income disparity. In my opinion, blacks that leave, and the ones that "make it", dont look back and dont reinvest in the community. Its not one persons obligation to do it but someone could finance the means to open up a Churches franchise or push to get an urban radio station, ect. in GR, kzoo, Benton Harbor, Muskegon, ect.

It's funny that almost all of the points you mentioned I was going to mention but then took it out because the explanation was way to long lol. But yea you would think out of Kzoo, BC, GR, and Muskegon that there would be at least 1 urban station (outside of the old school station that is only in Kalamazoo). They really do have the most boring selection of radio stations I have ever heard of. BTW was there a Church's in GR??? I heard there was but when I was last there I tried to look it up on GPS and it was just a big cluster in Detroit and that's it. White Castle, I have had people in Kalamazoo that don't even know what that is lol. The income disparity could be a good point of why many of these things do not exist. I always said I would make a crap load of money by opening up some of the things that you mentioned around here since there is little to no competition lol.

[lydia415]

Originally Posted by magellan

There aren't any boarded up houses on Wealthy, and Hall doesn't cross Wealthy. The boarded up homes on Division Ave just before you get to downtown are part of the Tapestry Square project at Division and Wealthy, which are going to be torn down. There may be a few here and there near Franklin and Eastern, but not that many.

If, say, Franklin and Eastern is the worst area of GR:

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=frank...49507&t=h&z=18


Here's a comparison to just one of many areas in Detroit, where 3/4's of the homes are just gone:

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Mt+Ol...+Michigan&z=18

Or here, this is a great illustration of what 1/2 of Detroit looks like:

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Mt+Ol...+Michigan&z=19

Go onto it and click on "street view" to see what all those big piles of white trash are. Those used to be streets with houses on them.

Or here's a nice neighborhood playground with basketball courts:

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Mt+Ol...124.59,,0,6.61

Here's a typical street in Highland Park in Detroit. Notice the curbs have completely disappeared?

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=highl...61.28,,0,-8.71

I would assume the debate of whether GR is like Detroit would be over by now. They are worlds apart.

Yes, I agree. I wasn't trying to keep any debate going. I was answering a post to me from detwahDJ. We were only discussing different things, not 'debating' about Detroit. I'm sorry if I came across that way and also if any of my information was incorrect.

I thought that was what this site was about. To talk/discuss...If I have offended you by you thinking I was beating a dead horse, my apologies. That was not my intent Magellan.

Thank you for the links.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by lydia415

Yes, I agree. I wasn't trying to keep any debate going. I was answering a post to me from detwahDJ. We were only discussing different things, not 'debating' about Detroit. I'm sorry if I came across that way and also if any of my information was incorrect.

I thought that was what this site was about. To talk/discuss...If I have offended you by you thinking I was beating a dead horse, my apologies. That was not my intent Magellan.

Thank you for the links.

That last sentence wasn't directed at you lydia415. It was directed at the discussion as a whole, which has been going on too long.

[lydia415]

Originally Posted by magellan

That last sentence wasn't directed at you lydia415. It was directed at the discussion as a whole, which has been going on too long.

Oh okay... Yep it did go on quite awhile. LOL!

[Trilla1019]

well i grew up in the Neland Avenue Neighborhood By King Park On The Southeast Side N I Can Say Grand Rapids Is Rough Depending On Where U Are. But Not As Rough As Detroit

[Sparty35]

Flint is quite close to Detroit in the sense of crime, decay, and the look of an apocalypse. It's really really sad, but I've never been in any other city quite like either of those two. It's scary to even fathom how bad some of those areas have become.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by MarvinStrong313

Oh yea? Try Indian Village, University District, Sherwood Forest, Rosedale Park, North Rosedale Park, ect just to name a few.



It's funny that almost all of the points you mentioned I was going to mention but then took it out because the explanation was way to long lol. But yea you would think out of Kzoo, BC, GR, and Muskegon that there would be at least 1 urban station (outside of the old school station that is only in Kalamazoo). They really do have the most boring selection of radio stations I have ever heard of. BTW was there a Church's in GR??? I heard there was but when I was last there I tried to look it up on GPS and it was just a big cluster in Detroit and that's it. White Castle, I have had people in Kalamazoo that don't even know what that is lol. The income disparity could be a good point of why many of these things do not exist. I always said I would make a crap load of money by opening up some of the things that you mentioned around here since there is little to no competition lol.

This is interesting, considering that Lansing has 2 urban stations, if I'm not mistaken. To be fair, Syracuse has 1(2 if you include a gospel/church radio station), with others playing certain genres(i.e.-jazz and blues). Other cities in Upstate NY like Elmira, Utica and Binghamton kind of feel the same pain, but they may at least have college stations that play urban music or can get stations from Syracuse or Ithaca. Buffalo actually has 3 or 4 and Rochester and Albany have 2. So, it is a similar situation to MI here in Upstate NY.