Grand Rapids Area -- Diversity? (Detroit, Wyoming: real estate, condo, houses)

[magellan]

Originally Posted by HotSauce

Hello to you too. Were you Northern or Central before they built Eastern? I've been at a couple events at Eastern high. Quite a nice facility.

We would have been Northern, as we sit about 2 miles North of Northern High School. I have been by the new Eastern campus (Middle and High) but have not been in it. It looks very nice. Our elementary school is fairly new and is a spectacular facility, and already bursting at the seams (they added a mobile classroom the year it was finished to accommodate the demand).


I guess this article out today dispels the myth that Grand Rapids is still "ultra conservative".

http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2007/1...unk_is_gr.html

http://menshealth.com/drunk/

[GRRAZO]

I dont know what those articles have to do with anything, but as far as diversity goes GR city is fairly diverse although segregated like most midwestern cities...the subburbs however are not very diverse at all...Kentwood and Wyoming are definatly the most diverse...Forest Hills is becomming more diverse and the schools also take in a lot of kids from GRPS and other districts that make the schools even more diverse than the resident population...FHN seems to be the most diverse but Kentwood is much more diverse representing many races, religions and incomes.

[frecklesmi]

I grew up in Rockford & am really having a hard time understanding the "open to diversity" comments.. Most people moved to Rockford from EGR because it was becoming to "urban" for their taste. I moved 20 minutes N of there about 10 years ago & have now lived in several areas of Grand Rapids for the last 4 years but I still maintain relationships with people from Rockord. 2000 was the year of my graduation & I can honestly tell you that there was 1 african american student from elementary to hs. However I am only speaking about the people that I know & Rockford is twice as big now as it was 8 years ago.. but as a mother who appreciates diversity I would never consider sending my children to Rockford.

[frecklesmi]

[quote=conovercourt;1146485]GR is one of the highest crime areas in the country.




I live equidistant from Little Rock, Pine Bluff and Memphis. I'd try my luck in Grand Rapids any day![/quote/]

[response] THANK YOU!! I've always lived in West MI & until a few years ago never truly appreciated how diverse we are & with such a low crime rate despite our economic struggles until I met my ex-husband who had moved here from southern Illinois then began dating my current 2 yr bf who moved here from Little Rock Ark (before that he lived everywhere from N Dakota, California, Louisiana etc.) The amount of appreciation these 2 men & there friends & family have for "the terrible mess of a state we call MI" is absolutely AMAZING!! I couldn't be happier with where I'm at right now in lil' ol GRAND RAPIDS EVER CHANGING & EVOLVING MI- I feel our city/state is just like our seasons. So rejoice Michiganders & especially Grandrapidians because we truly do live in a special place & we ALL help make it that way!!

[sportzgal1277]

Since I began this thread, just wanted to let the nice people know (who were so kind to provide their opions) where our family landed..... After looking at over 75 houses in Rockford, Forest Hills, Kentwood and Lowell, we purchased one in Ada. 4 bdrms on 2.5 acres. We are closer to Forest Hills schools but are actually in the Lowell School district (Murray Lake Elementary). We've heard great things about the school, and we live in a small, 6 house private subdivision. We are thoroughly enjoying our new house and the snow!

Happy Holidays to all.

Sportzgal1277

[geenah03]

Hi sportzgal1277,

We too are considering moving to MI from CA... I have been going through the threads and posts... some make you feel excited to make the move, some make you think twice (especially the diversity part- my family is also of mixed race). If you can give me your perspective on what it has been like for you and your family since you moved, I'd like to hear them. You can provide me with great insight on how it's been with the communities, school, neighborhood, the cities, or anything for that matter... Seems like you are all doing well... Happy New Year!

[HotSauce]

For those of you looking for diversity in the Forest Hill School district, I just found this on the Forest Hills Schools web site. Our school district is currently considering different options for adding Mandarin Chinese language training. The 9 options being considered range from summer classes in Mandarin to different options for elementary, middle school, and high school Mandarin classes. And they are even considering a "K-4 immersion school for Mandarin Chinese (half-day Chinese and half-day English) - Students would start in kindergarten with half-day instruction in Mandarin Chinese and half-day instruction in English. With enough family interest, the program would grow, year by year, much like Ada Vista, our Spanish Immersion program has since it began in 1999." As a husband and father in an interracial family (Chinese and Caucasian), this sounds pretty exciting - though a bit late for my kids.

Here's the school web site: Forest Hills Public Schools | Grand Rapids, Michigan

[ninawolf07]

Wyoming sw would be your best bet bordering se side. Grandville has great schools also. I saw sw vs. se because of the dversity your looking for. Kentwood is a bad area getting worse, depending location. The school choices in the kent CO area is the best. I lived in Wyoming for 14 years. I miss it so much. Good luck with you new endevore.

[HereNowWhereTo]

Originally Posted by scottmi

LOL....Is GR a Mormon city? Wouldn't friggin' surprise me. That would explain it's economy. Michigan's very own Salt Lake City.

I have to laugh, I think that's funny. I am originally from Utah - yes, I grew up Mormon... Now, after leaving Utah I have left the religion too. I think GR is very similar to SLC. In fact I was surprised at how religious the area was when we first moved here - (we didn't research it too extensivly.) Living anywhere you have your own experiences, being a stay at home mom I don't see much of the Christian culture as my husband does. One experience I found to be very unacceptable was at his company Christmas party they said a Christian inspired prayer. Mentioning God and Jesus and all the familiar Christan lingo. I thought it was out of line as there were many there who were not Christian, keep in mind that he works for a major international company. I guess only here in WM can they get away with that.

There are a lot of churches and a few private schools in the area. I live 20 Min south of GR and find the people very nice, but then again, I am white and don't spend much time in the downtown GR area. For the most part I feel safe and think that GR and the surrounding areas are very safe places to live. I am sure it is directly corilated to the religious communities here, and I find that to be a nice feeling even though I am not religious myself.

But back to the whole reason why I decided to write was because when we first moved here I found it to be very refreshing in the sense that those whom I ran into were friendly and very down to earth, the seemed to be far less judgemental than the majority of Utah. I lived in many cities in Utah from Ogden down to Provo. In Utah it was a fashion show and a "I am more richeouse than you" kind of society. One thing I terribly miss is the sun though. For that reason alone we are planning on leaving Michigan. At least when it snowed in Utah you had the sun.

[snogirl]

Cascade
Township And Forest Hills Schools-love It Here, But I"m Moving To Ca In A Month---very Comfortable Here--check It Out