Grand Rapids Township? ADA? EGR? (Kentwood, Forest Hills: condos, house, transferring to)

[Iggs]

We are suppose to be finding out w/in the next 4 months where my husband is transferring to. GR is a strong possibility. Is Grand Rapids Township a safe area? There seems to be some nice homes(zip code 49546) listed in our price range there. We have a daughter (grade school age) so schools and safety are key. We currently live in a family friendly community, which is wonderful. In addition to GR Township, Ada, Rockford and EGR also look great. Are most of the older homes in EGR updated (wiring ect..)? My husband (or I, for that matter) are not handy so this is key. I am sure I will have a zillion questions once we actually know where we are headed. Ahhhh the waiting game!!! Thanks in advance.

[GMonkey]

Parts of GR Township are nice, you need to look at individual schools, though. I prefer East Grand Rapids. It is close to everything, safe, family-oriented, superb schools. Many of the homes are updated. Handypersons are really cheap in GR if you need anything done. Ada and Cascade are also nice, but a bit more of a drive to the city. Friendly people, but I find EGR folks to be more friendly and neighborly.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by Iggs

We are suppose to be finding out w/in the next 4 months where my husband is transferring to. GR is a strong possibility. Is Grand Rapids Township a safe area? There seems to be some nice homes(zip code 49546) listed in our price range there. We have a daughter (grade school age) so schools and safety are key. We currently live in a family friendly community, which is wonderful. In addition to GR Township, Ada, Rockford and EGR also look great. Are most of the older homes in EGR updated (wiring ect..)? My husband (or I, for that matter) are not handy so this is key. I am sure I will have a zillion questions once we actually know where we are headed. Ahhhh the waiting game!!! Thanks in advance.

All of the ones you mentioned are very family friendly and very safe. Virtually crime-free other than kids doing some vandalism at night.

Any of the zip codes of 49301, 49525 and 49546 in Forest Hills are great, and it's a very hilly wooded picturesque area. EGR is also a great area. It's a mix of homes that have been updated and those that have not been. We live in GR Township in the Forest Hills Eastern district, 49525, in a great neighborhood of about 170 families with a lot of social activities and a ton of younger kids. What is your price range? (if you don't mind me asking).

[Iggs]

Thanks for your responses. Magellan- Thank you for the exact zip codes. That is extremely helpful. We will be looking for something between $350,000-$400,000. Are there any schools or areas in the Forest Hills Dist. that we should avoid?

[suydam]

Iggs, I'll chime in with support of EGR as well. In that price range you won't have to worry about updated wiring... it'll all be done by the previous owners.

We bought into EGR around $200k and found that our wiring was "sort of" updated. Some circuits not properly grounded, etc.

I think at $300k, and especially at $400k you would have moved beyond that issue by and large.

One thing I'll say: The areas you listed are similar in their affluence and their racial makeup, but really that's where the similarities end I think. I wrote a big description of this for someone once.... I'll see if I can dig it up and post a link.

You ought to take a visit and see what you like. I haven't met too many people who have trouble deciding one way or the other which are they'd prefer (cost aside). If you like neighbors, front-porches, block parties, sidewalks, a small downtown you can walk to from your home, and pick-up baseball at the park then EGR will be your favorite.

If you'd prefer room for your kids to play baseball in their own yard, space to keep to yourself, don't like the feeling that your nosy neighbors all know what goes on at your house every day and would like to feel like you're "out in the country" a little bit, then you'll quickly find that you prefer Forest Hills.

In the end, as long as you pick whichever you prefer, you'll find that any of the areas you listed are really nice.

Oh, on the topic of commute: If you work downtown (downtown GR, that is), you'll see on a map that EGR is considerably closer to downtown. Depending on where you live in Forest Hills, the commute might be exactly the same.... EGR commuters go through GR proper, on city streets with 25mph speed limits. Forest Hills commuters go on the interstate. In my experience, it takes me 12 minutes to get to work from EGR to downtown. I know people from Cascade who only take 15 minutes to get to the same office, so the difference is negligible unless you live far from the freeway exit.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by Iggs

Thanks for your responses. Magellan- Thank you for the exact zip codes. That is extremely helpful. We will be looking for something between $350,000-$400,000. Are there any schools or areas in the Forest Hills Dist. that we should avoid?

Areas in Forest Hills to avoid? No not really. The only area I can think of that might be an issue is part of Kentwood is in FHPS, and the homes are not as nice. There are areas in the far Southern part of Cascade (49546) that are pretty remote, IMO.

But there are areas in FH where you will get sidewalks, front porches and block parties. Any of the Eastbrook communities will provide that. Downside is that you'll have to drive to get to the store, coffee shop, restaurants, etc..

As you can see, at that price range, you get a lot of beautiful homes to choose from:

http://public.grar.com/public/pubsrc...CLASS=SF&CMPY=