saugatuck, douglas (Kalamazoo, Holland, South Haven: real estate, vacation, work)

[catherine777]

Any one have any thing to say about Saugatuck, Douglas area? About real estate here? Safe area, beaches? I may be working in SouthHaven but a cousin mentioned Saugatuck and Douglas and I figured its a good time to get info before I make my interview trip. (Leaving MA).

[TeacherMan]

If you might be working in South Haven... WHY NOT live there as well?? I think it is a wonderful small town, somewhat artsy, reasonable real estate and great beaches.

In regards to your question, Saugatuck and Douglas are smaller, with fewer "amenities" (e.g. shops and restaurants). If you want that (i.e. a very small town), they would be good areas. I believe that they are cheaper (real estate wise). All that being said, Saugatuck is "known" to have a much higher gay population (%) than other areas of west Michigan. This could be a plus or a minus or an irrelevant, depending on your individual viewpoint.

Just MHO,
-TM

[catherine777]

thanks, someone just mentioned those areas to me. I have also looked into Southhaven. I want to have a couple of locations in mind when I make my trip up. thanks again.

[Frankawitz]

Saugatuck is a cool little town has some neat shops, A Girlfriend and I took a trip out there for the weekend and she took me to some of the shops it was pretty cool yeah the gays are there but so they don't bother anyone, the old buildings and how nice and clean the town is, it would be a nice little place to live

[allbusiness]

Saugatuck is a great place to visit and hang out, but personally, I wouldn't want to live there 24/7 due to the lack of any big city (even small city) amenities. South Haven delivers some of that, but Holland or even Kalamazoo would provide a lot more cultural opportunities. Saugatuck is an extremely small town in every way. If beaches and water are important to you AND you want at least some mid-size city benefits (having a major mall just 20 minytes away, etc) then Holland might be a good bet. It would be a rather pleasant 40 minute commute...

ps: The entire area will remind you of all the good things about MA. We've vacationed on Cape Cod and inland MA and the similarities are amazing --sand dunes, lots of trees, beaches, small shops --but the sun sets about 2 hours later. (And what a sunset!)