Grand Valley States/Allendale Area (Grand Rapids, Lansing: renting, condo, home)

[DuckCommander]

Hello, can anyone tell me about GVSU and/or the area around it? Any information is helpful. I am getting out of the military soon and my wife and I plan to relocate to that area so I can finish my degree. We are both from Lansing originally.

We are looking at either buying or renting a home. What area(s) would be best?

My wife plans on working full time, what is the job market like in Allendale? Would she have better luck closer to GR? She has a degree in accounting/business admin. So she will be looking for office type work.

Any amplifying information is welcome, and helpful.

Thank you,
DC

[Jandur]

Allendale is pretty much Grand Valley... thats the only reason there are people out there really. There are businesses in Allendale obviously, but your wife's job hunt might be better in Grand Rapids. Lots of people commute from GR to Allendale and vice versa.

I'm assuming you're a little bit older, and I think you'll find that Allendale is filled with 18-22 year olds. If you live somewhere on the west side of Grand Rapids you could be close to jobs for your wife and to your campus. Plus if you are doing anything business or engineering related, there is a small campus in downtown GR where you can take some classes.

Just my 2 cents.

[DuckCommander]

Yes we are both in are late 20's, and looking to start a family soon. So we are not too interested in the "college" lifestyle, just the academics. I will be majoring in Exercise Science so the downtown campus is out of the question. Thank you though.

[magellan]

There's a lot of new single-family housing in Allendale, and fairly affordable. A new high school. But it's basically a bedroom community. The only jobs in Allendale are at Family Foods or at GVSU. However, it's a 20 minute drive to downtown GR, so a lot of people live there and drive to work in GR (or Grand Haven or Holland, which are the same distance the other direction).

[marliz]

I had to smile about the remark that Allendale existed because of the college. Actually it is a farming community and there was a growth boom before the housing market crash, partly because of the college and partly because it was halfway between the city of Grand Rapids (and a job market) and the Lake Michigan shoreline.

We are retired and moved here recently. We bought a home in a neighborhood of mixed ages, many younger. We have never known such a friendly neighborhood. And the people we meet locally are friendly.

There are a lot of college oriented neighborhoods and also quite a few newer subdivisions that are family oriented. Condo living as well. It still has a small town atmosphere.

There are a number of churches and probably a large Christian segment. I would guess the people who have been here longer are conservative. With the college and the population growth, there may be more of a mix now.

That's our impression after six months of living in Allendale. Hope it helps.

[angbanjo]

We're a young-ish family with school aged kids and Allendale is a great place! The schools are wonderful -- small yet very technologically advanced with all new buildings. Great teachers and parents who are very involved. There aren't a lot of businesses here, but in 20-30 minutes you can be at the beach, Grand Haven, Grandville shopping area, Grand Rapids, Alpine...pretty much anywhere you want to go. It's the best of both worlds. Close to all the attractions yet a nice friendly small town.