Opinions on these neighborhoods: (Detroit, Grand Rapids: foreclosure, for rent, lofts)

[virgokid1]

Please see the list of neighborhoods in GR listed on the following link:

Grand Rapids – Rapid Growth - Grand Rapids' Neighborhoods

Who recommends which particular neighborhood to live in?

I'm going by this list to determine where to begin looking for a house to either buy or rent.

Here's a map - most of the way down the page.. of the neighborhoods.

Grand Rapids – Rapid Growth - CenterCity Moving Guide

I'll be moving with my spouse and child this summer.

Any suggestions are appreciated!

[magellan]

Originally Posted by virgokid1

Please see the list of neighborhoods in GR listed on the following link:

Grand Rapids – Rapid Growth - Grand Rapids' Neighborhoods

Who recommends which particular neighborhood to live in?

I'm going by this list to determine where to begin looking for a house to either buy or rent.

Here's a map - most of the way down the page.. of the neighborhoods.

Grand Rapids – Rapid Growth - CenterCity Moving Guide

I'll be moving with my spouse and child this summer.

Any suggestions are appreciated!

That's a big list of neighborhoods virgokid. Are schools an issue? Price range? Do you want to be close to downtown, or is that not so important?

[virgokid1]

I'm sorry, now that I look at it, it IS a lengthy list.

It does not need to be close to downtown, but shouldn't be more than half an hour away.

Price is an issue – I really like those homes that cost $50k. I know that sounds bad, but I am not exactly the wealthiest around. Cheap houses to buy, definitely sound attractive – although I can't imagine that any of them are in a super safe neighborhood. Do you disagree?

Being around a park, river or other outdoor amenity is a definite plus, as my wife and I are very outdoorsy types.

My main concern is safety. I don't want to live in an area of high crime – especially property crime. It's not fun watching bums wander around outside my house at all hours of the day and night. I've already lived in Detroit a while ago, and don't want a repeat of that lifestyle. I want to be able to go for a walk outside my house and feel fairly safe.

Schools are important, but not that much. My kid will probably just go to whatever school district we're in, unless we somehow can afford one of the private schools.

I will be driving to downtown almost every day.

Are there rural communities around that have foreclosed properties available? Or are those <$50k homes only in the immediate suburbs? Heck I'll even live in an old farm house if it's cheap enough. :-)

Are there any spacious lofts (downtown) available for rent in the ~$1000 range?

[Softballfan]

I'm sorry to tell you that a $50,000 house is going to be an absolute dump in a bad area. No way around it.

[virgokid1]

Okay thank you. You're probably right. It's just that in Dearborn/Dearborn Heights, where there is very little crime (at least not too much of the violent type), one can find a home that is in need of updates/repairs for $50k but still liveable.

I'll take your word for it, but I have to say that as a soon-to-be new resident of GR, I'm excited to live half an hour away from Holland and the beaches out there. Maybe that's what's blinding me at the moment. :-)

[Abbott D]

Not true about every 50k house in GR being a dump in a bad neighborhood. There are only a few bad neighborhoods in GR, though there are several that are a little unkempt. My wife and I lived near downtown for a long time, right by spectrum hospital, and though some of the neighborhood houses there were a bit rundown, many of the houses were very nice, and some of the streets were full of cheap-yet-beautiful little houses. People in Grand Rapids are not very urbanized (this is an under statement), and there isn't the desire to live in the city that there is in other places, though the downtown area is very nice, lively and economically charged. My advice: Check out the house yourself; the neighborhoods are hit or miss and some are improving so rapidly that it would be in your best interest to get on board. Houses on Heritage Hill were selling for 60 k five years ago and a few years later, after being fixed up some, were worth 200k +, just because they were beautiful homes in need of some repairs and because the neighborhoods turned around very rapidly.
Good luck with the move!! And, I'd be happy to answer any other, more specific questions you might have about the city (I grew up there and only recently moved to Ann Arbor).

[actinic]

Some of my research suggests the Alger Heights area is an affordable neighborhood to check out. Realty sites like trulia.com allow you to search by neighborhood.

Maybe those who live/lived in GR can chip in.

[cardwellave]

You could get a house in foreclosure far under 50k and put about 10-20k into and make it beautiful. Pretty much in any neighborhood anywhere across the state, I'd wager.

[suydam]

You're not getting a house for $50k in Alger Heights, but it is a great neighborhood.
At that price range, I cannot help you.

You only listed city neighborhoods, but then talked about farm houses in the 'burbs near parks.

Poke around here to see prices: http://public.grar.com/public/pubsrch.mac/start

[malamute]

Originally Posted by virgokid1

I'm sorry, now that I look at it, it IS a lengthy list.

It does not need to be close to downtown, but shouldn't be more than half an hour away.

Price is an issue – I really like those homes that cost $50k. I know that sounds bad, but I am not exactly the wealthiest around. Cheap houses to buy, definitely sound attractive – although I can't imagine that any of them are in a super safe neighborhood. Do you disagree?

Being around a park, river or other outdoor amenity is a definite plus, as my wife and I are very outdoorsy types.

My main concern is safety. I don't want to live in an area of high crime – especially property crime. It's not fun watching bums wander around outside my house at all hours of the day and night. I've already lived in Detroit a while ago, and don't want a repeat of that lifestyle. I want to be able to go for a walk outside my house and feel fairly safe.

Schools are important, but not that much. My kid will probably just go to whatever school district we're in, unless we somehow can afford one of the private schools.

I will be driving to downtown almost every day.

Are there rural communities around that have foreclosed properties available? Or are those <$50k homes only in the immediate suburbs? Heck I'll even live in an old farm house if it's cheap enough. :-)

Are there any spacious lofts (downtown) available for rent in the ~$1000 range?

I would look on the outskirts of town, or some of the small rural areas near GR for affordable homes, including mobile homes which might be in a very safe area with plenty of outdoors. Old farm houses that need work, but any of the rural areas would be relatively safe.