[catherine777]

hi being relocated to michigan to palisades power plant. any info on a good place to live? what is life like there? I am leaving MA, cape cod area and will be looking for a house.

[pjmiami]

You might like South Haven; its small and fairly quiet--probably a low key, less developed version of Cape Cod but lovely as it sits on the shores of Lake Michigan. Fairly lively with tourists in the Summer but very, very quiet in the Winter. Or, if you want something bigger, the Kalamazoo area is about 30-45 minute drive depending on which side of Kazoo you are on. Nice college town and if you have young kids, you will want to check out the Kalamazoo promise: free tuition at all state schools if they graduation from KPS. I'm not sure how far of a drive it is from Palisades to Grand Rapids but that might be a possibility also: very nice mid-sized city with good economic growth, etc. I'd say stay away from the Bangor area: small and very depressed economically. Allegan is another smaller town but it may be worth checking out; I don't know much about what's going on there these days--others on the forum probably will know more. Good luck!

[catherine777]

thanx for taking the time to answer my questions. i will look into those towns. i have never been there, but i don't have much of a choice. is there a lot of snow? is the lake ok to swim in? thanx again.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by catherine777

thanx for taking the time to answer my questions. i will look into those towns. i have never been there, but i don't have much of a choice. is there a lot of snow? is the lake ok to swim in? thanx again.

Yes, and yes.

[Patricia King]

Originally Posted by catherine777

thanx for taking the time to answer my questions. i will look into those towns. i have never been there, but i don't have much of a choice. is there a lot of snow? is the lake ok to swim in? thanx again.

They do get a lot more snow then some other areas of southwest lower Michigan.
I've heard negative things about Bangor. I know of one paticular family, and wouldn't wanna live there at all. I'd think, locating just west and south of Watervliet is the best.
There is Watervliet & Coloma, which are on Paw Paw Lake. Both towns are quaint old towns with many thriving small businesses. If you water-ski, have a small boat or just enjoy swimming, this is the area to be. At Christmas they are so beautiful to see. In the summer there is the Peach / Glad festival in Coloma, the first week-end in August. It's a great family event. There is Grandpa's cider mill & The Chocolate factory to the east of the City. Beautiful countryside drives. Along M63 there is Lake Michigan Beach in Hagar Shores.
Not far away in Benton Harbor is Lake Michigan College on Napier Road. St. Joseph has Silver Beach & some large homes on the lakefront. They currently have a lot of new construction & have widened the road, just north of the City.
I'd recommend this area to anyone wanting to locate to the SW Michigan area.

I've been told that the Coloma School District is very desirable.

[Coldjensens]

Rent first. Buy a house after you have become familiar with various areas. Once you buy your are there for the duration. Houses take years to sell right now.

[Cliffie]

But if you find a house you like and you know is in good condition, don't be afraid to haggle. It's TOTALLY a buyer's market right now. My next-door neighbor sold his place for $20,000 not that long ago. He'd had it on the market for 3 years and like a blamed fool turned down the only previous offer, for $85,000, thinking he could do better. Houses are selling for an average of 30% less than they are worth.

My recommendation is to call the banks in the area and ask to see their foreclosure lists. They are dying to unload these places and you can pick them up for a song.

Again, inspect anything you like CAREFULLY. My idjit brother-in-law keeps buying houses with major plumbing problems becausde he doesn't learn from previous mistakes. The last place they bought had no plumbing at all.

[LighthouseLady]

South Haven is awesome. One of my favorite towns and my favorite lighthouse. People seem very friendly. Clementines is also an awesome restaurant.

[skyl4rk]

South Haven is a very nice beach - marina - old fashioned tourist town, you will be able to rent during the off season, but from May to September rent will be very high, if you can find anything at all. Depending on who you ask, South Haven may be the top beach tourist town in Michigan. Lots of boat slips too. If you like Cape Cod tourist towns you would feel at home there. Swimming in Lake Michigan will be much better than the ocean because it does not have that horrible briny taste. South Haven is currently a kite surfing hotspot. During the tourist season a lot of places are rented by the week for more than what you usually would pay for a month anywhere else. House prices have not dropped much in South Haven due to demand for second homes from Chicagioso and Detroitistas.

If you go inland from South Haven, it is mostly poor and rural. Not necessarily bad if that is what you are used to or like to live in a rural area. Prices are lower. Bangor is the closest neighboring town at about 15 minutes commute. It is a poor town but south of M43 is low crime and not bad at all. I know of a few professional people that live there and they are quite happy, once again it all depends on what you like.

If you like a more suburban type living with more restaurants/services/shopping, take a look at St Joseph area, including Coloma and Stevensville.

Kalamazoo is too far to commute to Palisades, in my opinion, it would be 45 minutes. Even the western suburbs like Mattawan are too far. It could be done but winter commuting would be horrible, especially for a someone who did not learn to drive along the Lakeshore (winter snow).