Grand Rapids for progressive minded? (Detroit, Flint: low crime, house, job market)

[summers19]

My husband, two small kids and I are thinking about relocating to MI. I grew up in Kalamazoo, moved away for graduate school, and after 15 years I'm thinking about moving back. But not to Kalamazoo b/c it's too small for us. We are very liberal/progressive minded people and are currently living in VA in a city where the religious-right, military, and conservative base are definitely the norm. We are thinking about moving to Grand Rapids because of the proximity to Lake Michigan, friends live nearby, and job market seems good. But I've heard that Grand Rapids is extremely conservative. I'm just wondering if our move would be redundant...moving from one conservative area to another. Does anyone know what the political climate is of Grand Rapids? I've heard Amway/Devos owns the city and I'm wondering how a liberal like me will survive with my sanity in tact? Thanks for any thoughts on this.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by summers19

My husband, two small kids and I are thinking about relocating to MI. I grew up in Kalamazoo, moved away for graduate school, and after 15 years I'm thinking about moving back. But not to Kalamazoo b/c it's too small for us. We are very liberal/progressive minded people and are currently living in VA in a city where the religious-right, military, and conservative base are definitely the norm. We are thinking about moving to Grand Rapids because of the proximity to Lake Michigan, friends live nearby, and job market seems good. But I've heard that Grand Rapids is extremely conservative. I'm just wondering if our move would be redundant...moving from one conservative area to another. Does anyone know what the political climate is of Grand Rapids? I've heard Amway/Devos owns the city and I'm wondering how a liberal like me will survive with my sanity in tact? Thanks for any thoughts on this.

I wouldn't say that Amway "owns" the city. They have invested hundreds of million of dollars into downtown venues (arena, new convention center, the public museum, medical research facilities, downtown GVSU campus) that most cities the size of Grand Rapids would love to have. However, Amway's HQ is out in the suburbs of Ada. There are a lot of other families who also have invested heavily in the city, like the Meijers, Weges, Freys, Tassells, Secchias, Cooks, Dyer-Ives, and many others.

The city of Grand Rapids tends to be more liberal than its suburbs, and the current mayor of Grand Rapids and many of the current commissioners are very liberal, and the city of Grand Rapids has voted democrat in every presidential election for as long as I can remember. I know mostly the East side of GR, and I know you can find a lot of progressive-minded liberals in Heritage Hill, East Hills, Easttown, and East Grand Rapids. Maybe even too liberal, if you are truly "progressive" and like to interact with people of all persuasions.

If you "despise" conservatives, however, I don't think you'll find Grand Rapids to your liking. The metro area does lean republican.

[aeroweb]

Grand Rapids is conservative. There's no other way to see it. There's a church on every corner, the only thing open on Sundays are restaurants, and there's two metaphysical stores in the whole area. If you are looking for progressive, definitely consider the Detroit Suburbs. There are lots of little suburban cities that will accommodate different budgets... not to mention, if you want it, you can find it in Detroit. The downtown area is slowly coming back to life and suburban sprawl makes it easy to drive an hour for dinner. You'll probably love it. (PS: Job availability is not good in GR.)

[magellan]

Originally Posted by aeroweb

Grand Rapids is conservative. There's no other way to see it. There's a church on every corner, the only thing open on Sundays are restaurants, and there's two metaphysical stores in the whole area. If you are looking for progressive, definitely consider the Detroit Suburbs. There are lots of little suburban cities that will accommodate different budgets... not to mention, if you want it, you can find it in Detroit. The downtown area is slowly coming back to life and suburban sprawl makes it easy to drive an hour for dinner. You'll probably love it. (PS: Job availability is not good in GR.)

That is interesting that most of the businesses in the city of GR are closed on Sundays (except restaurants), yet every WalMart and Chili's in the burbs is open.

[Sanveann]

The west side of the state is pretty conservative. The Lansing, Flint and Detroit areas are much more liberal.

[Pyewacket]

I left Battle Creek in the early 80s for a state that had much better financial (and therefore educational) opps for me but that is waaaaaay too conservative for my tastes. My husband, elementary-aged son, and I will have the chance to relocate to Mich in another year or so and I'm having a hard time pinpointing a good fit with a community. Definitely not Battle Creek. (800 miles away from family is too far---right in my back yard is too close! ;-)

I'm thinking of Kalamazoo, not least because of the Kzoo Promise, although I don't know a lot about the city. Employment is not an issue--each of us is self-employed and could live anywhere. We currently have a couple acres, and I'd like to find a similar location--maybe with even enough room (and right zoning) to have a few goats or chickens.

Grand Rapids seems interesting, but I'm constantly hearing that it's extremely conservative. I'm tired of mine being the only house on the street with Dem. candidate signs in the yard every election year, although that's not my only consideration. Good schools, reasonable housing prices, low crime, vibrant cultural offerings (art fests, theatre, museums, music venues, etc), good med. care are important to us (like most families, I'd think).

I also don't want to find myself the only atheist in a sea of born-agains who drag Jesus into every conversation, but have no problem with non-evangelical "traditional" religions, as long as their practitioners don't try to recruit us. Our friends tend to be a wide mix of religions, cultural & ethnic backgrounds, and so on. So I don't want to live next door to bigots or intolerant rednecks who would make our gay, black, or Hispanic friends feel unwelcome.

I love the SW part of the state and do not want to be too far from Lake Mich or too close to Detroit (otherwise, I'd make a beeline for AA). I love Marshall as a place to visit, but know next to nothing about the political or cultural climate. Anybody know much about Marshall?

Is there ANY community on the west side where we'd be a good fit? Summers19, how are you doing with your search? I have a feeling I'd feel comfortable in the same type of areas you would, though I'd lean toward smaller towns. Do you have any problem with Kzoo besides it being too small for your needs? Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions.

[flaneur]

Paywacket,
You might look at Traverse city. It appears to be liberal and natural setting is very nice. The only problem, it is very remote from any large city - if this is important. But I've heard that airport there has improved, so it is easier to travel in and out nowdays.
Another really small liberal town to look at would be Sagatauck - it is an art colony (and as such has also substantial gay presence) The town though is really small (~2,000, I think) but very pretty. It is about 2.5hrs from Chicago, so in the summer there would be a lot of tourists.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by Sanveann

The west side of the state is pretty conservative. The Lansing, Flint and Detroit areas are much more liberal.

Maybe "UAW-democrat-liberal", but hardly progressively liberal. I'd say Ann Arbor is truly liberal, same with Saugatuck and Traverse City.

Here's an interesting run-down of how the last governor's election went in Michigan. Keep in mind Wayne County (dark blue in lower right) is 90% African American and will always vote Democrat, and Ottawa County (pink lower left) is ultra conservative and will always vote Republican.

http://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006.../G/00/map.html

The only two areas that are showing any growth in the Detroit area (Macomb and Livingston counties) both show pink.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by magellan

Maybe "UAW-democrat-liberal", but hardly progressively liberal. I'd say Ann Arbor is truly liberal, same with Saugatuck and Traverse City.

Here's an interesting run-down of how the last governor's election went in Michigan. Keep in mind Wayne County (dark blue in lower right) is 90% African American and will always vote Democrat, and Ottawa County (pink lower left) is ultra conservative and will always vote Republican.

http://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006.../G/00/map.html

The only two areas that are showing any growth in the Detroit area (Macomb and Livingston counties) both show pink.

But ask any of these UAW democrats how they feel about vehicle emissions, gay marriage, mass transit, or a host of other liberal issues. I can tell you what their answers will be (not liberal).

[Wabbit]

Magellan is right.
There are many U.A.W- democratic
cities in Michigan but very few
progressive liberal ones.
Ann Arbor takes the cake, no
doubt about that.
Saugatuck too, but it's so small
it's more like a colony.
(As for your gay friends being
comfortable, they'll want to move in.)
Can't quite agree on Traverse City
though. There are pockets for sure
but I see it as more apolitical to
leaning right. -Either way I love me
some Traverse!