03-28-2012, 03:25 PM
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Downtown vs. Kentwood Living
I recently moved to the Grand Rapids area working for a company in Kentwood. I am in the 25-30 age group and like discovering restaurants and bars. I am trying to decide if I should live in Kentwood or downtown. Are there enough things to do in Grand Rapids on a weekday that makes it worthwhile to live in downtown? I keep getting advice that since I will only really be visiting downtown on the weekends, I should live close to work since I'll be at work 5 days a week. Also, I'm being told that downtown will loose it's "allure" if I stay in it vs. if I go there just on weekends. I keep telling these people that I can go to Hopcat or a restaurant or a festival on a weekday too. Disregarding the differences in rent , can you folks give me some thoughts and suggestions to help me with my decision? Are there any summer activities that you can only do in downtown that I should take into consideration? Thanks.
03-29-2012, 03:46 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
iceman157
I recently moved to the Grand Rapids area working for a company in Kentwood. I am in the 25-30 age group and like discovering restaurants and bars. I am trying to decide if I should live in Kentwood or downtown. Are there enough things to do in Grand Rapids on a weekday that makes it worthwhile to live in downtown? I keep getting advice that since I will only really be visiting downtown on the weekends, I should live close to work since I'll be at work 5 days a week. Also, I'm being told that downtown will loose it's "allure" if I stay in it vs. if I go there just on weekends. I keep telling these people that I can go to Hopcat or a restaurant or a festival on a weekday too. Disregarding the differences in rent , can you folks give me some thoughts and suggestions to help me with my decision? Are there any summer activities that you can only do in downtown that I should take into consideration? Thanks.
Definitely live downtown! As long as your commute is still 20 minutes or less, it will be worth it. Kentwood is boring, especially for a 25-30 year old. Downtown has interesting things to do every night of the week. There are open mic nights and live music every night of the week at different bars, concerts, and lots of other things happening during the week.
I am living/working in the Lansing area right now, but if I worked in the GR area, I would love to live downtown. I had a chance to do it for a year and it was a lot of fun. Kentwood is a blah anywhere USA suburb.
03-29-2012, 07:15 AM
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I agree with michigan83. I worked in downtown GR for 4 yrs. & we'd have drinks after work a lot. I lived in Wyoming. Much better downtown for your age group. You can move to the burbs when you get married & have kids!
03-29-2012, 08:58 AM
Location: Grand Rapids Metro
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Downtown has way more energy than Kentwood, unless you like counting cars. Downtown is great in the evenings and weekends for bike riding, running along the river, shows going on at many of the venues (that you wouldn't drive to but might stop in and check out if you're in the neighborhood).
03-29-2012, 03:47 PM
Location: East Grand Rapids, MI
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100% agree that downtown is a great option. Also check out East Hills neighborhood and East Grand Rapids (more of a focus on 30-something families though).
03-30-2012, 07:42 AM
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Can anyone elaborate where the live music or shows are on weekdays in downtown? Also, does Grand Rapids do any "movies in the park" or something outdoors that you can do in the summer on weekdays? Thanks.
03-30-2012, 08:23 AM
Location: Grand Rapids Metro
6,497 posts, read
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Reputation: 1998
Quote:
Originally Posted by
iceman157
Can anyone elaborate where the live music or shows are on weekdays in downtown? Also, does Grand Rapids do any "movies in the park" or something outdoors that you can do in the summer on weekdays? Thanks.
St Cecilia's, UICA, Pyramid Scheme, Founders Brewery, Billy's in Eastown, Ottawa Tavern, just to name a few.
Revue Magazine is a pretty good resource:
REVUE West Michigan
and GSync in Rapid Growth:
G-Sync
03-30-2012, 10:19 AM
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03-30-2012, 12:14 PM
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My favorites are open mic at Billy's on Mondays, open mic at Founders on Tuesdays, open mic at Rocky's Bar on Tuesdays. But there are others.
03-30-2012, 03:06 PM
Location: Grand Rapids Metro
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
actinic
Meh.
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Downtown vs. Kentwood Living
