English family moving to GR

[drlol]

I am from the UK (Manchester) and have an American wife. We are about to move to GR from the UK. My wife has family in the GR area and we like what we see on various visits. We have looked carefully at houses and schools and love some of the houses especially in the Ada area. Can anyone give me advice on the lifestyle in GR compared to the UK and are there any British people on the forum who can give information about this major transition.
Many thanks

[allbusiness]

I'm no expert on Grand Rapids or England, but I do work in GR and have visited England. I think the differences that struck me when we visited England were the history and age of buildings, and the closeness of everything.

The oldest buildings in GR -- indeed all of Michigan -- date back to the mid 1800s. Michigan wasn't "settled" by pioneers until about the 1830s and later. It was mostly a wilderness until 1900. Many places still are!

We have so much wide open space, and none of the very narrow roads I experienced in England. My family made a trip to London in 2000, with a few days in Weymouth on the Channel.

Oh, and we drive on the "right" side of the road too, of course!

People are people everywhere. Good ones and idiots! You will meet all kinds.

I'm not sure which area would most reflect your neighborhood in Manchester which probably has diverse areas like GR does. Manchester is much larger than GR, but we also have industrial roots -- ours in the furniture industry.

You may have to get used to American football, but you can still catch international sports, especially at some of the local pubs and sports bars.

Plus, the beautiful shores of Lake Michigan (nearly an ocean!) are just a 30 minute drive west! (I live in Holland, Michigan along the lake shore.

Subscribe to some of the local publications like the GR Press, Grand Rapids Magazine and others and you should be able to catch up with the local goings-on fairly quickly. Welcome to America, Michigan and Grand Rapids!!

[magellan]

Our neighbors, and good friends, are from the UK. They've been here for five years now and plan to continue here for the foreseeable future. They have a group that they get together with once a month or so who are also from England, I believe based in East Grand Rapids. They've had friends from back home come over and visit several times a year.

The big culture shocks for them seemed to be the how much larger the sizes of homes and "gardens" were. Plus, you pretty much have to get DISH network here to watch any kind of European Football. Other than that, they seem to have no problems fitting in. We're also in the Grand Rapids Township/Ada area.

[drlol]

Great posts thank you very much "all business and magellan". Manchester was founded on the cotton industry and had strong links with the American south. It suffered a decline in the 70s and 80s and just recently has had a boom with all sorts of businesses locating here. Construction going on everywhere you look. We have Manchester United football team which is massive in Europe so I would need to get a sports channel to watch them.

I would be interested to know if Magellan's UK neighbours settled in quickly or it took them a while?

I get the impression from my wifes relatives that its a very outdoor life in Michigan with very strong family values which we have lost to a very large extent in the UK especially amongst the young

I am surprised however by some of the negative posts about Michigan as I have always found Americans to be the most positive people I ever meet. I realise that the economy is not great but think about life in the UK with $9 per gallon gas prices, nearly 50% tax rates and expensive houses and cost of living.

[allbusiness]

It's all relative, my friend!

When you are used to gas at $2-3 per gallon (as low as 25 cents per gallon back in the 70s), comparatively low taxes and nearly full employment for decades, our current economic struggles in Michigan are tough. Grand Rapids, however, remains an island of relative economic strength. Mostly, things are good. For some, it's the worst they've see in their short frame of reference, so a negative attitude is to be expected.

Welcome to Grand Rapids!

[GMonkey]

I think that the biggest difference for you will be car culture vs. public transportation available in England. East Grand Rapids has spectacular schools and everything is much closer. It will be a lot easier to get around than Ada. Also, you won't be quite as married to your car. Depending on where you work, you may be able to bike there in nice weather.

[G-rap]

I'd pay $9 a gallon and 50% taxes for the far greater extent of public sevices available in UK. That said, if you're well enough off to take care of your own (and you are if you're looking in Ada) you may find the US system far preferrable. It's the less advantaged who could use a hand rising up that find the situation dicey. Like allbusiness said it's all relative. As far as settling in, I believe you will feel very welcomed by the people and that will help. Economy aside, this is a wonderful area with strong family values, as you noted.

[drlol]

Yes I understand what G-rap is saying about the public services available in the UK for the higher taxes we pay and gasoline. We do have public services here. A socialised health care system, (not sure I would like to be ill in an NHS hospital), lots of social housing and help for people who need it. My experience of poverty in the US and the UK is that I know where I would prefer to be poor. I have lived in social housing in the UK and it is not pleasant. We have a lot of immigration from Eastern Europe, especially Poland who are a superb set of people. What we are finding is that they are starting to go back to Poland due to the crime, poor state education and feral youth we have here in the UK. If you would like to try life in the UK and sample the public services and how much it costs, come and try it. One thing I have noticed is that there is not a rush of US citizens wanting to leave the US in spite of the economy. You have a wonderful country and you may not realise how good it is until you try somewhere else, bad economy or not.

[drlol]

Let me tell you one aspect of life in the UK. We live in a nice neighbourhood. Similar to Ada or Cascade. We have had both our cars stolen off our drive, all the houses in our street have been subject to burglary in the past 3 years, the house opposite to us has had a violent robbery with 4 masked men with machetes held to the mothers throat, to steal a car. We live behind closed doors and gates and double lock our houses at night. The local village is not safe at night. Sadly this is typical of life in the UK and its not just the inner cities, it is everywhere.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by drlol

Let me tell you one aspect of life in the UK. We live in a nice neighbourhood. Similar to Ada or Cascade. We have had both our cars stolen off our drive, all the houses in our street have been subject to burglary in the past 3 years, the house opposite to us has had a violent robbery with 4 masked men with machetes held to the mothers throat, to steal a car. We live behind closed doors and gates and double lock our houses at night. The local village is not safe at night. Sadly this is typical of life in the UK and its not just the inner cities, it is everywhere.

Uhhh, you won't see anything like that in Ada or Cascade drlol. In fact, that kind of stuff doesn't even happen in the city of Grand Rapids very often (or it's mainly contained to a few precincts).

What is happening in the UK that it is becoming like that?